Isaiah Ramon Stanback (born August 16, 1984) 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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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 ...

as 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 ...

for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

. He was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in the fourth round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. He played in the NFL for the Cowboys,

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 ...

, and

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Early life

Stanback attended Garfield High School in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, where he played football,

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 ...

Junior (2000)

As a junior, he tallied 1,653 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. He was selected as one of just three "blue chip" players by the ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

''.

Senior (2001)

Stanback passed for 1,628 yards (second among Washington state Class 4A

s) and 12 touchdowns, and added 700 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns in 2001 for 2-7 Garfield High School. His passing total ranked second among Washington state Class 4A quarterbacks. He had his best game of 2001 against

Inglemoor High School Inglemoor High School is a public high school located in Kenmore, Washington, United States. In 2024, the student population was approximately 1,463 students in grades 9–12. Starting from the 2017 school year, the school accommodates 9th grade ...

, totaling 399 yards passing and three touchdowns. He was an all-KingCo Conference pick again, in 2001. He was the first "blue chip" quarterback since 1998. He was one of eight '' Tacoma News-Tribune'' "Northwest Nuggets". He was a member of the ''Tacoma News-Tribune's'' "Western 100". He was an all-KingCo Conference pick. Stanback earned

PrepStar ''PrepStar College Recruiting'', known also as ''PrepStar'', is an online magazine at www.prepstar.com, which was established in 1982. It provides information on the top football and basketball prospects in the United States. The online magazi ...

and SuperPrep

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n honors. He was a member of ''PrepStars Top 125 Dream Team. He was also, the fifth-rated quarterback in the nation according to SuperPrep. Stanback was the ranked the #23 player nationally in ''SuperPrep's'' "Elite 50". He was the #1 player in ''SuperPrep's'' Washington 22. He rated 14th among all quarterbacks nationally, fourth in the West Region, by ''PrepStar''. Stanback was also listed by ''PrepStar'' as one of the top-three run-pass combination quarterbacks in the nation. He was one of the nation's Top 101 recruits according to ''Student Sports Magazine''. He was also, considered the third-best "athlete" on the West Coast by ''PacWest Football''. He was rated #23 nationally among prep quarterbacks by Tom Lemming's ''Prep Football Report''. He also played on the baseball team.

College career

Following high school, Stanback accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Redshirt freshman season

In 2002, Stanback was

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ed for the season. During the 2003 spring game he went 4-of-9 for 82 yards and a

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 ...

Freshman season

In 2003, Stanback played in 11 games, mostly as a

. He also returned kicks and practiced with the quarterbacks. He was 2-for-2 passing during the season. Stanback's quarterback duties were limited to late-game situations versus

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. On the season Stanback caught ten passes for 143 yards, leading the team with a 14.3 average per reception. He had four catches for 82 yards vs.

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, including a career-long 41-yarder. He also rushed for a total of 25 yards from the quarterback position. He also returned eight kickoffs, averaging 16.6 yards per return. He returned seven kickoffs against

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, tying the school single-game record for returns in a game.

Sophomore season

In 2004, in the seventh game against number one ranked

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, he became just the second African-American to start at quarterback for the University of Washington (

Warren Moon Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football player who was a quarterback for 23 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He spent most of h ...

was the first one). He played in five games at quarterback against

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

, USC, Arizona and

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 ...

. He was second on the team behind Casey Paus with 389 passing yards. He scored his first career rushing touchdown in the season opener against Fresno State. He registered 11-of-29 for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in just three quarters of action against Oregon State, also leading the team with 51 yards rushing. He averaged 19.9 yards per completion against Oregon State (fifth in school history). He finished the year on a high note, coming off the bench to complete five of eight passes for 100 yards in the

Apple Cup The Apple Cup is an American college football rivalry game between the University of Washington Huskies and Washington State University Cougars, the two largest universities in the state of Washington. Both were members of the Pac-12 Conferen ...

against Washington State, including connecting with Craig Chambers for a 39-yard scoring play and rushing for one touchdown. He ran track during the winter of 2004, qualifying for the indoor conference championships in the 60-meter dash.

Junior season

In 2005, Stanback started all 11 games at quarterback. On the season his recorded 2,136 yards were the 15th most in school history. He averaged 194.2 passing yards per game, 11th-most ever in school history. He also ran for 353 yards on 100 carries, with five touchdowns. He entered the school's all-time top-ten in total offense (2,489 yards, tenth), and total offense per game (226.3, eighth). Stanback was named the Sports Radio 950 KJR Most Outstanding Offensive Player at the team's postseason banquet. Stanback led the Huskies to win at Arizona, completing 10-of-19 for 157 yards and one touchdown, along with a career-high 96 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He completed a career-long 69-yard touchdown pass to Craig Chambers on a

Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion (American football), completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes r ...

as the first half expired in Arizona, sparking the Washington win. He also, had a good day vs. #1 USC, completing 14-of-18 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown, while also scoring on a run. He completed 19-of-27 passes for 242 yards against

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

, with no interceptions and one touchdown. He surpassed the 300-yard passing mark twice, vs. Cal (301) and Notre Dame (with a career-high 353). His passing total at Notre Dame was the 14th-most ever at Washington. He also set a career-high for attempts (40) vs. Notre Dame. Stanback then ran track for Washington in the spring. He placed fifth in the finals of the 100-meter dash at the Pac-10 Championships. He was sixth at the West Regional meet at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, missing an NCAA Championships berth by just .02 seconds. He ranks among Washington's all-time top-ten in the 100-meter dash (10.48, eighth) and 4x100-meter relay (40.07, seventh) outdoors, and the 60-meter dash (6.80, eighth) indoors. His 100-meter best ranks third all-time among Washington football players who have competed in track ( Ja'Warren Hooker, 10.18; Sterling Hinds, 10.27).

Senior season

In 2006, Stanback opened the season with solid game vs.

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

, passing 16-for-25 for 168 yards, one touchdown, one interception, while rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. He set new career highs for carries and rushing yards against. San Jose. In the game at

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Stanback was 9-of-22, 139 yards passing. He led Huskies to a win over Fresno State going 15-of-26, 151 yards, zero interceptions, two touchdown passes, 12 carries for 91 yards and one rushing touchdown. He accounted for 248 of Washington's 249 yards of total offense vs.

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

going 18-for-29 for 200 yards, one interception and three touchdown passes, along with 13 carries for 48 rushing yards. Stanback went 14-of-25 for 293 and two touchdowns in win at Arizona. He went 17-of-38, zero interceptions, two touchdowns, and 212 yards at USC. Stanback injured foot in a loss to Oregon State (12-of-24, 162 yards; 11 carries, 11 yards, two rushing touchdowns). He had season-ending foot surgery October 17 on his badly sprained right foot. He ended up ranked in numerous school career and single-season statistical categories: second in career passing yards per completion with 14.38; third in career rushing yards by a quarterback with 794; fourth in career yards of total offense per game with 6.16; sixth in career passing yards per attempt with 7.40; sixth in career rushing attempts by a quarterback with 234; tenth in career total offense with 4,662 yards; eleventh in career passing with 3,868 yards; eleventh in career attempts with 523; 12th in career completions with 269; 14th in career touchdown passes with 22.

College statistics

Baseball

In 2006, Stanback was drafted by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in the 2006 MLB June Draft despite not playing baseball in college. He turned down the offer so he could play football.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

file:Isaiah Stanback.jpg, Stanback began his NFL career with the

. Stanback was selected by the

in the fourth round (103rd overall) in the

. Despite playing mostly as a quarterback in college, he was drafted with the intention of being converted into a wide receiver. He was active for two games in his rookie season, but did not record any receptions. In 2008, he was active for eight games, catching two passes for 24 yards in the opener against the

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

. On December 26, he was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a shoulder injury. On September 5, 2009, he was waived after being passed on the depth chart by undrafted rookie

Kevin Ogletree Kevin Ogletree (born August 5, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions and New York Giants. He signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free age ...

and struggling with injuries during his time with the team.

New England Patriots

On September 6, 2009, Stanback was signed 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 ...

of the

as a

. On November 14, he was promoted to the active roster, when the Patriots placed rookie wide receiver

Brandon Tate Brandon Tate (born October 5, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft. He pl ...

. He caught his first pass as a Patriot from

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 ...

the next day, in the Patriots' Week 10 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 ...

. He was active for six of the Patriots' final eight games of the season, finishing with three receptions for 22 yards. He also returned one kickoff for 22 yards. He was waived on May 27, 2010.

Seattle Seahawks

On June 1, 2010, Stanback was claimed off waivers by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. On August 7, he tore his left

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during practice. On August 8, he was waived injured and placed on injured reserve. On September 3, 2011, he was placed on injured reserve again, and released with an injury settlement on October 8.

New York Giants

On November 29, 2011, he was signed to the

' practice squad as a

. He would remain there as the team went on to win

Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2012.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 4, 2012, he was signed to the

' practice squad and converted into a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. On December 17, he was promoted to the active roster. In 2013, he struggled with a quadriceps injury and was released on August 27.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Stanback was a part of the WWE Performance Center at

Full Sail University Full Sail University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center f ...

in Florida, training to become a wrestler. He made an appearance on Netflix's Ultimate Beastmaster as a contestant for Team America, failing the second obstacle in the first round, which resulted in him placing last. Stanback and his wife Natalie’s oldest daughter, Nadia, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in April 2015 at the age of three. Over the ensuing years, the family has been active in

type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic cells (beta cells). In healthy persons, beta cells produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone require ...

education.

References

External links

Washington Huskies bioHusky Legend: Isaiah Stanback
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanback, Isaiah 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Seattle American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers American football tight ends Washington Huskies football players Washington Huskies men's track and field athletes Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players Seattle Seahawks players New York Giants players Jacksonville Jaguars players Garfield High School (Seattle) alumni