Jeff Wickersham is a former
collegiate 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 ...
player for the
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...
of
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
.
College
Wickersham came to the
Louisiana State University (LSU) as a highly recruited quarterback out of Merritt Island, FL (located on the Atlantic coast east of Orlando, FL).
During his three years as the quarterback for
LSU's football team, Wickersham completed 58.4% of his passes for 6,921 yards, which at the time were both the 3rd best performances in
Southeastern Conference (SEC)
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
history.
Wickersham was also the first quarterback in LSU history to pass for over 5,000 career yards, the first LSU quarterback to throw for over 2,000 yards in three different seasons, the first LSU quarterback to throw for over 2,500 yards in a season (1983), and the first LSU quarterback to throw for over 350 yards in a game (368 yards vs, Mississippi State in 1983).
During his freshman year (1982), Wickersham was a backup to senior quarterback Alan Risher.
During his sophomore year (1983), Wickersham completed 57.3% of his passes for 2,542 yards and 7 touchdowns (including 1,064 yards to All-American
Eric Martin). One notable performance came against Washington, the ninth-ranked team in the country. In a 40–14 LSU win, Wickersham ran for three touchdowns. LSU finished the year with a 4-7 record.
During his junior year (1984), Wickersham completed 57.1% of his passes for 2,165 yards and 12 touchdowns. Major victories include LSU's 23-3 victory at #15 Southern California and #10 LSU's 36-10 victory at #16 Kentucky (televised on ABC). LSU finished the year with an 8-3-1 record and a #15 ranking in the final Associated Press Poll.
During his senior year (1985), Wickersham completed 60.4% of his passes for 2,145 yards and 5 touchdowns. Major victories include #16 LSU's 14-0 victory at Ole Miss (televised by TBS) and #17 LSU's 10-7 win at Notre Dame (televised by USA). LSU finished the year with a 9-2-1 record and a #20 ranking in the final Associated Press Poll. By the end of his college career, Wickersham held the school's record for most passing yards,
along with 15 other marks.
Professional career
Wickersham was taken in the 10th round of the
1986 NFL Draft
The 1986 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott ...
by the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...
.
He was the 11th quarterback taken, behind
Jim Everett
James Samuel Everett III (born January 3, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Purdue Boilerma ...
of Purdue,
Chuck Long
Charles Franklin Long Jr. (born February 18, 1963) is a former American football player and coach who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. He played quarterback in college at Iowa for Hayden Fr ...
of Iowa,
Jack Trudeau
Jack Francis Trudeau (born September 9, 1962) is a former professional American football player and morning show co-host on Fox Sports Radio. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft. A quarterback from ...
of Illinois,
Bubby Brister of Louisiana-Monroe,
Hugh Millen
Hugh Breedlove Millen (born November 22, 1963) is a former professional football quarterback in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college f ...
of Washington,
Robbie Bosco
Robbie Bosco (born January 11, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played college football at Brigham Young University (BYU). He is a native of Roseville, California.
College career
In 1984, Bosco took over as starting quarte ...
of BYU, Doug Gaynor of Cal State-Long Beach,
Mark Rypien
Mark Robert Rypien (born October 2, 1962) is a Canadian-born former American football quarterback who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State and was drafted by the Washington Redsk ...
of Washington State,
Stan Gelbaugh of Maryland, and Mike Norseth of Kansas. On August 20, 1986, the Dolphins released Wickersham from their roster.
Jeff Wickersham also played for the
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...
for the 1987 and part of the 1988 seasons. He suffered a knee injury during an
intrasquad game in '87 training camp which kept him out for most of the season
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickersham, Jeff
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
LSU Tigers football players
American football quarterbacks
Canadian football quarterbacks
American players of Canadian football
Ottawa Rough Riders players