Jeffrey Richard Van Raaphorst (born December 7, 1963) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. After going to high school at Grossmont High School in

La Mesa, California La Mesa () is a city in San Diego County, located east of Downtown San Diego in Southern California. The population was 61,121 at the 2020 census, up from 57,065 at the 2010 census. Its civic motto is "the Jewel of the Hills." History La Me ...

, Van Raaphorst attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

. He led the Sun Devils football team to the Pac-10 championship in his senior year, where they won the

1987 Rose Bowl The 1987 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was the 73rd Rose Bowl Game. The Arizona State Sun Devils, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wo ...

. He was the Rose Bowl Player of the Game. Van Raaphorst made his professional debut in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

in 1987 with the Atlanta Falcons. He played two games for Atlanta in the 1987 season. Van Raaphorst's brother

Mike Van Raaphorst Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

was a backup quarterback behind

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

at USC in 1999. His brother Billy Van Raaphorst is a college baseball umpire. Van Raaphorst was inducted into the

Rose Bowl Hall of Fame The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. The Rose ...

in 2006.2009 Kickoff Luncheon and Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction program Van Raaphorst now serves as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and th ...

for Arizona State football radio broadcasts. Van Raaphorst has a son, Cade, who plays professional lacrosse for the

Atlas Lacrosse Club The Atlas Lacrosse Club is a professional men's field lacrosse team in Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Atlas are one of the six founding members of the PLL for the 2019 season. Roster Source: (C): Captain Coaching staff * Head Coach – ...

of the Professional Lacrosse League

References

External links

Jeff Van Raaphorst at NFL.comJeff Van Raaphorst player bio at Arizona State University
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Raaphorst, Jeff 1963 births Living people Arizona State Sun Devils football announcers College football announcers Arizona State Sun Devils football players Denver Broncos players Atlanta Falcons players Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio Players of American football from San Diego American football quarterbacks National Football League replacement players