- John Friesz
Infobox NFLretired
|position=Quarterback
number=17
birthdate=birth date and age|1967|5|19Missoula, Montana
deathdate=
debutyear=1990
finalyear=2000
draftyear=1990
draftround=6
draftpick=138
college=Idaho
teams=
*San Diego Chargers (1990-1993)
*Washington Redskins (1994)
*Seattle Seahawks (1995-1998)
*New England Patriots (1999-2000)
stat1label=TD-INT
stat1value=45-42
stat2label=Yards
stat2value=8,699
stat3label=QB Rating
stat3value=72.3
nfl=FRI395510
CollegeHOF=90103John Melvin Friesz (born
May 19 ,1967 in Missoula,Montana ) is a former professional football player, aquarterback who played for four NFL teams.Friesz grew up in Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho. He was a football standout at [http://www.cdaschools.org/chs/ Coeur d'Alene High School] , graduating in 1985. He enrolled at the
University of Idaho , recruited byhead coach Dennis Erickson , after attending the Vandal football camps while in high school.College career
Friesz
redshirted in 1985, and in 1986 under new head coachKeith Gilbertson , he served as the backup toScott Linehan , who would go on to coach theSt. Louis Rams . He was also a teammate of guardMark Schlereth who would also play in the NFL.Friesz was the Vandals starting
quarterback for three years, beginning in 1987, when he threw 28 TD passes as a sophomore and was named player of the year in theBig Sky Conference and second teamAll-American (Division I-AA ). In his junior season of 1988, he guided the Vandals to a 9-1 regular season and two playoff wins, ending the season with a road loss in the Division I-AA semi-finals. He was a consensus All-American selection at quarterback.In his senior season in 1989 (the first for new head coach
John L. Smith ), Freisz threw 31 touchdowns and for over 4000 yards in guiding the Vandals to their third consecutive conference championship. Idaho went undefeated in conference play (8-0), the only time in school history. Friesz averaged over 360 yards per game and passed for over 300 yards in ten consecutive games. He received theWalter Payton Award as the outstanding player in the nation in Division I-AA.In his college career, #17 passed for over 10,000 yards and was the conference player-of-the-year for three consecutive years. The Vandals' annual
MVP award has been renamed the "John Friesz Award" in his honor.In August 2006 John Friesz was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame inSouth Bend, Indiana . [http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=90103] His #17 was officially retired by theUniversity of Idaho in October 2006. [http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/view/2691/50/]Pro career
In the
1990 NFL Draft , Friesz was the tenthquarterback selected, taken in the sixth round (138th overall) by theSan Diego Chargers . [http://nfl.com/draft/history/years/1990] Other quarterbacks in this draft wereJeff George (#1 overall pick),Heisman Trophy winnerAndre Ware , futureSuper Bowl starterNeil O'Donnell , and Scott Mitchell.Friesz became the starting quarterback for the Chargers in 1991, his second season. He incurred a season-ending injury in a pre-season game in 1992, at which time the Chargers acquired
Stan Humphries from theWashington Redskins .John Friesz played with four teams in his NFL career: Chargers (1990-93), Redskins (1994), Seahawks (1995-98), and Patriots (1999-2000). Friesz passed for over 8,600 yards and 45 touchdowns in his pro career. [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/FrieJo00.htm]
External links
* [http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=90103 College Football Hall of Fame] - John Friesz
* [https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17100&ATCLID=1456219 University of Idaho - Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame] - John Friesz
* [http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/wac/idaho/yearly_results.php?year=1985 College Football Data Warehouse] - Idaho Vandals results 1985-89
* [http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=78435 College Football Hall of Fame] - Class of 2006 press release - from I-AA.org
* [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/FrieJo00.htm Pro Football Reference.com] - John Friesz
* [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FRIESJOH01 Database Football.com] - John Friesz
* [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/players.nsf/ID/07110060 Pro football statistics] - John Friesz
* [http://nfl.com/draft/history/years/1990 NFL.com] - 1990 NFL Draft - # 138
* [http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/nhb/archive.asp?postID=8105 Blog] - from Spokesman Review.com
* [http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/view/2691/50/ Friesz resonates on the field] - UI "Argonaut", 10-Nov-2006
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.