Matthew Stafford (American football)

Infobox NCAA Athlete
name = Matthew Stafford


caption =
college = Georgia
conference = SEC
sport = Football
position = QB
class = Junior
number = 7
career_start = 2006
nickname =
height_ft = 6
height_in = 3
weight_lb = 228
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1988|2|7
birth_place = flagicon|Florida Tampa, FL
highschool = Highland Park High School, flagicon|Texas Dallas, Texas
former_school(s)=
career_highlights = yes
awards = 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl Offensive MVP

John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988 in Tampa, Florida) is a quarterback for the University of Georgia football team. He is in his junior year of college, having enrolled at the school in January 2006. He is majoring in speech communication.

Early Life and High School Career

Stafford was born in Tampa, Florida to John and Margaret Stafford. He lived in Dunwoody, Georgia while his father attended graduate school at the University of Georgia. His family then moved to Dallas, Texas, where Stafford attended Highland Park High School, (the "alma mater" of Bobby Layne and Doak Walker), and where he was widely considered to be one of the best high-school quarterbacks in the United States in the class of 2006.

He made his varsity debut in the 2002 playoffs against Sulphur Springs High. His first varsity start was against the Stephenville Yellow Jackets in 2003, and he led the Highland Park Scots to a 13-2 record that season. He threw for 3,161 yards, 38 TDs and 5 INTs. After a disappointing junior season in which he threw for only 1,748 yards, 18 TDs and 11 INTs, Stafford quit the baseball team to concentrate on football. In the summer of 2005, he injured his knee during summer workouts and had to miss the first two games of the season. After coming back from his injury, Stafford led his team to a 15-0 record and threw for 4,018 yards, 38 touchdowns and 6 interceptions en route to the Texas UIL 4-A Division 1 state football championship, Highland Park's first state football championship in 48 years. Stafford is the only quarterback in Highland Park history to lead his team to a 15-0 season.

He received numerous accolades including being named to the Parade Magazine All-America Team and the USA Today Pre-Season Super 25 in 2005. [ [http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=40675&SPID=3571&DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=307755&Q_SEASON=2006 Stafford Bio from GeorgiaDogs.com] ] He also won the MVP and Best Arm awards at the 2005 EA Sports Elite 11 Quarterback Camp and was named the 2005 EA Sports National Player of the Year. [ [http://ssfootball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1112&CID=507328 2005 EA Sports All-American Team] ] Famed American football analyst, Mel Kiper, Jr., predicted, before he ever started a game at the collegiate level, that Stafford would eventually be the first pick in the NFL draft. [ [http://www.oxfordpress.com/sports/content/shared/sports/stories/2006/09/FBC_GEORGIA_0912_COX.html "Some Things Will Be Different with Freshman QB"] ] After the 2008 NFL Draft in late April 2008, several NFL analysts predicted Stafford would be the #1 pick in the 2009 draft if he chose to leave school after the 2008 season. [cite web | title = Drafting '09: Georgia QB Stafford starts out as top dog | author=Prisco, Pete | url= http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10803407 | website= CBSSports.com | date=April 28, 2008] [cite web | title= 2009 Mock Draft | author= Perloff, Andrew | url= http://fannation.com/blogs/post/185277 | website= CNNSI.com | date= April 29, 2008]

College career

Career Statistics

(as of September 29, 2008)

2008 Season

Game 1 -- Stafford was 13 of 21 for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns in Georgia's season opener. Georgia easily beat the Georgia Southern, 45-21.

Game 2 -- Stafford was 18 of 28 for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns in Georgia's 56-17 rout of Central Michigan.

Game 3 -- Stafford was 15 of 25 for 148 yards and no touchdowns, but had a few key runs, including a 30-yarder to set up a Knowshon Moreno touchdown, in Georgia's 14-7 win over South Carolina.

Game 4 -- Stafford was 16 of 28 for 285 yards and a touchdown in Georgia's 27-10 win over Arizona State.

Game 5 -- Stafford and the rest of the offense struggled in a 41-30 loss to #8 Alabama. Stafford finished 24 of 42 for 274 yards. He had 2 touchdown passes and his first interception of the season. With the loss, Stafford's career record as a starter fell to 21-5.

2007 Season

Game 1 -- Stafford played very well, completing 18 of 24 passes for 234 yards and 2 touchdowns in Georgia's 35-14 victory over Oklahoma State.

Game 2 -- Stafford struggled, completing only 19 of 44 passes for 213 yards while throwing 1 interception and 0 touchdowns, and Georgia was upset by South Carolina, 16-12.

Game 3 -- Stafford completed 14 of 20 passes for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns in Georgia's easy, 45-16 win over Western Carolina.

Game 4 -- Stafford was 19 of 35 for 224 yards with 2 interceptions and 2 touchdowns, including the game-winner on the final play of the game [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC8X_hI3ypw YouTube video: Stafford to Henderson to beat Alabama] ] , as Georgia beat 16th-ranked Alabama, in overtime, 26-23.

Game 5 -- Stafford was 13 of 21 for 144 yards and 1 touchdown in an easy 45-17 win over Ole Miss.

Game 6 -- Stafford was 16 of 33 for 174 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, but Georgia was routed by Tennessee, 35-14, dropping the team to 4-2 on the season.

Game 7 -- Stafford was 16 of 31 for 201 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions in Georgia's 20-17 win over Vanderbilt.

Game 8 -- Stafford was 11 of 18 for 216 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception (returned for a touchdown) against the Florida Gators. Georgia defeated their bitter rivals, 42-30, to improve to 6-2 on the season.

Game 9 -- Stafford was 17 of 29 for 217 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against the Troy Trojans. With the win, #10-ranked Georgia improved to 7-2 on the season.

Game 10 -- Stafford was 11 of 19 for 237 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in a 45-20 rout of the Auburn Tigers. Georgia improved to 8-2 on the season and moved up to 9th in the BCS rankings with the win.

Game 11 -- Stafford was 12 of 22 for 99 yards and 2 interceptions and ran for one touchdown in leading Georgia to a 24-13 win over the Kentucky Wildcats, despite being down 10-0 after the 1st quarter. With the win Georgia improved to 9-2 (6-2 in the SEC) on the season and 7th place in the BCS.

Game 12 -- Stafford was 14 of 29 for 214 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions in Georgia's 31-17 win over bitter in-state rival Georgia Tech. Stafford also ran for a 31-yard touchdown. Georgia finished the regular season with a 10-2 record and was ranked #4 in the country after the game.

Sugar Bowl -- In Georgia's final game of the season, the 2008 Sugar Bowl, Stafford was 14 of 23 for 175 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Georgia easily defeated #10-ranked Hawaii, 41-10, to finish the season with an 11-2 record. Georgia finished the season ranked #2 in the AP poll and #3 in the Coaches poll.

2006 Season

Game 1 -- Stafford played in his first college game when he came off the bench in the 4th quarter of Georgia's 48-12 victory over the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers in the first game of Georgia's 2006 season.

Game 2 -- In Georgia's second game of the season, senior starting quarterback Joe Tereshinski III was injured early in the game. Stafford replaced him for the remainder of the game and, despite three interceptions, led Georgia to an 18-0 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks. Incidentally, this marked the first time Gamecocks head coach - and Georgia's arch-nemesis - Steve Spurrier had had his offense shut out in a football game since 1987, when he was head coach at Duke University. With Tereshinski out with an ankle injury for the next several weeks, Stafford was named the starting quarterback after the game.

Game 3 -- In his first game as the starting quarterback, Stafford threw for 107 yards and rushed for one touchdown in the Bulldogs 34-0 victory over the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers. He was the first true freshman starter for Georgia since Quincy Carter.

Game 4 -- In his second game as a starter, Stafford and the offense struggled, falling behind the Colorado Buffaloes, 13-0. Stafford was 8-of-16 for 76 yards with 1 lost fumble. He was replaced late in the 3rd quarter by Joe Cox who went 10-of-13 for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter, leading Georgia to a 14-13 win.

Game 5 -- In Georgia's 5th game of the season, against Ole Miss, Joe Cox started at quarterback and went 4-10 for 24 yards. Stafford came off the bench to share time with Cox in the first half and did well enough that Georgia coach Mark Richt decided to let Stafford play the entire second half. Stafford led two touchdown drives in the second half and finished 7-18 for 91 yards with zero interceptions, and Georgia won the game, 14-9.

Game 6 -- It was decided on October 4, 2006 that Joe Tereshinski III would start against the Tennessee Volunteers. Stafford was appointed his backup as second on the depth chart. He came into the game late in the fourth quarter after UGA had gone down by 17 points. Stafford went 2-of-5 for 11 yards with an interception. The Bulldogs would go on to lose their first game of the season.

Game 7 -- Tereshinski again started against the Vanderbilt Commodores, but he was replaced by Stafford late in the 3rd quarter, with Georgia trailing, 21-13. Stafford went 9-13 for 86 yards, but Georgia lost the game on a last-second Vanderbilt field goal, 24-22. After the Vanderbilt game, Richt announced that Stafford had regained the starting position.

Game 8 -- Against Mississippi State, Stafford completed 20 of 32 passes, with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Georgia won the game, 27-24. Stafford was named the SEC freshman of the week for his performance.

Game 9 -- Playing the Florida Gators, Stafford was 13-of-33 for 151 yards, with 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Stafford ran for a 13-yard touchdown in the 2nd half, but Georgia lost the game, 21-14, to fall to a 6-3 record for the season.

Game 10 -- Playing the Kentucky Wildcats, Stafford was 16-of-28 for 230 yards, with 1 touchdown, 1 lost fumble and 3 interceptions. Stafford's season-long problem with turning the ball over continued, with his third interception of the day (12th on the season) ending Georgia's last chance to win the game. Kentucky won, 24-20.

Game 11 -- Facing the #5-ranked Auburn Tigers, Stafford was 14-of-20 for 219 yards, with 1 touchdown, 2 lost fumbles and 0 interceptions. Stafford also had 83 yards rushing and another touchdown on 7 carries. Georgia upset the heavily-favored Tigers, 37-15, and Stafford was named the SEC freshman of the week for the 2nd time.

Game 12 -- Playing the #15-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Stafford was 16-of-29 for 171 yards with 0 interceptions and 1 touchdown. Stafford threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Mohammed Massaquoi with 1:45 left in the game. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaUyyVAMpqM Video of Stafford TD pass to Massaquoi, UGA/GT 2006] ] The game marked the first time an unranked Georgia team had beaten a ranked Georgia Tech team in the 100-year-old rivalry between the two schools.

Chick-fil-A Bowl -- Facing the #14-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Stafford was 9-of-21 for 129 yards with 1 interception and 1 touchdown. Stafford overcame a poor first half to help lead Georgia to a 31-24 win, despite the team's trailing by 18 points (21-3) at halftime. The game marked Georgia's 3rd consecutive win over a ranked opponent, a first in school history. [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=ArghRiLITgNmcJsBdzC7dtJt1LYF?slug=ap-t25--chick-fil-abowl&prov=ap&type=lgns Georgia 31, No. 14 Virginia Tech 24] ]

Awards

*Named SEC Freshman of the Week twice during the 2006 season.
*Named Rivals.com's National Freshman of the Week for his performance against Auburn on November 11, 2006.
*Received the University of Georgia's 2006 Offensive Newcomer of the Year Award.
*Named to the 2006 SEC Coaches' All-Freshman Team. [ [http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=2&url_article_id=8065&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2 2006 SEC Football All-Freshmen Team Announced] ]
*Named Offensive MVP of the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl

References

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=183518 ESPN.com Player information]
* [http://www.georgiadogs.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8800&KEY=&SPID=3571&SPSID=40675 UGA Roster]
* [http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/players/playerpage/1114942 CBS Sportsline Player Card]
*youtube|EMdXRLsh91s|Matthew Stafford's 2005 Season Highlights