Alex Brink (born June 2, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. After playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, Brink was selected by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the seventh round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. In 2010, he joined the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). Brink was also a member of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

and

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

Early life

A native of Eugene, Oregon, Brink attended Sheldon High School, and becoming a

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basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. In football, as a senior, he led his team to the state championship, with a 31–24 win over

Lake Oswego Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties ...

. During that season he passed for 3946 yards and 36

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s, while being named Oregon Player of the Year. He passed for over 3,500 yards in his junior season as well. His record as a high school starter was 35–3, with one state championship. In baseball, he was a standout player and threw a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New Yo ...

. He graduated from Sheldon High in 2003 with a 3.91

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

College career

Brink finished his career as one of Washington State's all-time greats, holding the school career records in passing yards, touchdowns, attempts, completions and total offense. His senior year, he threw for 3,818 yards, the second highest single-season total in school's history. He is the only Cougar to have five 400-plus yard games and has five of the top 10 and three of the top four passing games in WSU history. Although the program was coming off three consecutive 10 win seasons when Brink inherited the team, he failed to lead the Cougars to a single winning season in four years as a starter. Brink finished his career as the third leading passer, in terms of yards, in

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

history, behind

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy as ...

and Derek Anderson and fifth leader in touchdowns. He is also only the sixth signal caller in conference history to throw for more than 10,000 yards and toss 70-or-more touchdowns. In his college career, Brink completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 10,913 yards. He threw 76 touchdowns but also 43

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

. Brink led the Cougars to four straight seasons without a

bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, storing, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom, forming a seamless curve ...

berth. As a starter, Brink was 17–23 over four seasons. During a game against

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

in the 2005 season Brink set a new school record with 531 passing yards. Ahead 30–16 at the break, the Cougars, however, lost that game due in part to

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

lapses and other mistakes, but also because Brink threw one touchdown against four interceptions. For much of the 2006 season, Brink led the Pac-10 in passing yards. He was named second-team All-Pac-10 for his efforts. The Cougars were at one point in the 2006 season ranked No. 25 in the nation with a 6–3 record, but lost their final three games to finish the year at 6-6. In 2006-2007 Pac-10 rankings, he led the league in total offense with 242.2 yards per game, was second in passing at 241.6 ypg, and fourth in passing efficiency. Brink finished his senior year as the 2007 Pac-10 leader in total offense and named second-team All-Pac-10. His final game as a Cougar resulted in a come-from-behind, 42–35 victory over rival University of Washington in the annual Apple Cup in which he threw for 399 yards and five touchdowns. He remains the only WSU quarterback ever to beat Washington three times.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Brink was selected by the

in the seventh round (223rd overall) of the

. He signed a rookie contract with the team on June 27, 2008. He was later released on August 29 during final cuts. The Texans re-signed Brink to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on October 8 after

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Derrick Roberson was released. He was re-signed to a future contract at the end of the year. The Texans waived Brink on June 24, only to re-sign him on August 17 after an injury to

Rex Grossman Rex Daniel Grossman III (born August 23, 1980) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. Grossman played college football for ...

. He was waived again on September 5.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Brink tried out for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in late April but shortly after he agreed to a contract with the

of the CFL for the 2010 season. In early August 2012, he was named the starting quarterback for Winnipeg, following an injury to Buck Pierce. After a string of poor performances as the starter, he was replaced by Joey Elliott. Brink was released by the Blue Bombers on April 8, 2013. Brink spent three seasons with the Blue Bombers, starting 7 games over that time. He threw for 2,573 yards with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Toronto Argonauts

On April 29, 2013, Brink signed with the

. He was released by the Argonauts on May 16, 2013.

Montreal Alouettes

On October 3, 2013, Brink signed with the Montreal Alouettes. He began the 2014 season as a back-up to

Troy Smith Troy James Smith (born July 20, 1984) is an American former professional football quarterback who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning unanimous All-Americ ...

, but after ineffective play by Smith, Brink took over as the team's starting quarterback in week 8. He started two games before he was replaced by Jonathan Crompton, who remained the starter until the conclusion of the season. On February 6, 2015, Brink was released after the team had signed John Skelton.

Statistics

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes bioCFL profileHouston Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brink, Alex 1985 births American football quarterbacks Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Living people Players of American football from Eugene, Oregon Washington State Cougars football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Sheldon High School (Eugene, Oregon) alumni Canadian football quarterbacks Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Oregon Toronto Argonauts players