John William Volek (born April 28, 1976) 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

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 ...

for the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

. He was signed by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2000 and also played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Early life

Volek attended Clovis West High School in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, and was a letterman in football. In football, as a senior, he was named the Northwest Yosemite League Offensive Player of the Year. He then went to Fresno State, where he led the Bulldogs to a

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

title in 1999 and set the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record for career lowest percentage of passes intercepted.

College statistics

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Volek was signed by the

in 2000 from free agency, after not being selected by any team in the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

. He would see very little action during his rookie season, completing 0 of his 3 passes with no touchdowns and no interceptions. After such a small amount of play time, he would not be seen on the field again until the 2003 season, where he would make a name for himself as one of the

's more talented backup quarterbacks. In 2004, he became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history—along with

Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...

, Dan Fouts, and Phil Simms—to pass for over 400 yards in two consecutive games, a feat that was also accomplished in 2008 by

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

quarterback Matt Cassel, in 2011 by

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

and

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

, in 2018 by

Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine teams, the ...

, and in 2022 by Joe Burrow. It was announced on December 17, 2004, that he would be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season for the Titans, replacing the injured Steve McNair. McNair's injuries healed in time for the next season, and Volek backed him up once again, starting only 1 game. McNair was later traded to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

during June 2006, allowing Volek the opportunity to truly earn the starting position. In late August 2006, coach Jeff Fisher announced that the Titans intended to sign

Kerry Collins Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panth ...

to compete with Volek for the starting quarterback job. In turn, it has been reported that Volek took issue with this decision and immediately asked to be considered for a trade.

San Diego Chargers

On September 19, 2006, Volek was traded to the

for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2007 NFL draft after the Titans played the Chargers in their second game. Titans coach Jeff Fisher has since publicly stated that Volek was untruthful with him and that this may have led to his eventual trade. Fisher was quoted as saying "He was untruthful with me, untruthful with his head coach, about where he was and what he was doing. So we started off on the wrong page there, and that did not sit well with me." The trade as a whole is considered to have been messy, and although he has criticized Volek for lying to him, Fisher has not revealed what the lie was, and instead also states that Volek never took advantage of his opportunities once told he was the starter. Many critics state that Volek took full advantage of his chances to become the starting quarterback, pointing towards the reasonably good preseason that the Titans had. Since the trade to San Diego in 2006, Volek saw spot duty behind

Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football for the ...

. During the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

on January 13, 2008, Volek replaced the injured

and led a fourth-quarter comeback over the defending champions. He completed 3 of his 4 passes, including a 15-yard pass on his second pass attempt. He also scored his first touchdown of the year on a one-yard quarterback sneak which allowed the Chargers to win the game, 28–24, and go to the 2007

AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...

against the New England Patriots. On February 29, 2008, Volek signed a three-year contract with San Diego. On July 30, 2011, Volek signed a two-year contract with the Chargers. Volek was released on March 16, 2012. He announced his retirement on KMJNow News Talk Radio Show in May 2012.

References

External links

San Diego Chargers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volek, Billy 1976 births Living people American football quarterbacks Fresno State Bulldogs football players San Diego Chargers players Tennessee Titans players Sportspeople from Hemet, California Players of American football from Riverside County, California