Matt Behrendt is an

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

coach and former

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 ...

who is the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

for the

Green Bay Blizzard The Green Bay Blizzard are a professional indoor football team based in the Green Bay metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The franchise was founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the IFL in 2010, after hav ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL). 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 ...

University of Wisconsin–Whitewater The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW–Whitewater or UWW) is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. As of Fall 2024, the university offers 47 undergraduate majors ...

. Behrendt was a member of three NCAA Division III Football Championship-winning teams with the

Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks football The Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is a member of the ...

program, one as a backup in 2011 and two as the team's starting quarterback, in 2013 and 2014.

Early life and college career

Behrendt grew up in Illinois and attended Nazareth Academy in

La Grange Park, Illinois La Grange Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, about west-southwest of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13,475. Geography La Grange Park is located at (41.829831, -87.869 ...

, playing football and basketball for the school and was selected as an all-area athlete. Behrendt attended the

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

majoring in physical education while playing for the

team from 2011 to 2014. As a freshman in 2011, Behrendt backed up to starting quarterback Matt Blanchard as Wisconsin–Whitewater completed a perfect season and won the NCAA Division III Football Championship Behrendt took over as the starting quarterback during his final two years at school, leading the Warhawks to consecutive national championships in 2013 and 2014 and winning the Stagg Bowl Most Outstanding Player Award both years. He was named

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. In women's gymnastics, it competes alongside Division I and II members, as the NCAA sponsors a singl ...

(WIAC) Offensive Player of the Year for 2014. Behrendt earned Division III All-American honors while in college. Behrendt also lays claim to the two longest streaks of consecutive attempts without an interception (388 in 2013–14 and 225 in 2012–13) in school history. Behrendt claimed the records for most completions and touchdown passes in school history prior to his final game with the Warhawks. While at Whitewater, Behrendt was roommates with

Jake Kumerow Jake Anthony Kumerow (born February 17, 1992) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football at Illinois and UW–Whitewater, and was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He ...

College statistics

Professional career

After going undrafted in 2015, Behrendt was invited to rookie minicamp by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. However, he was not signed to a contract. He also took part in the local pro day held by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Colorado Ice

Behrendt signed with the

Colorado Ice The Colorado Crush were a professional indoor American football, indoor football team. The Crush played its home games at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado, outside Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Collins. The Crush began play in ...

of the

, playing in 3 games near the end of the

2015 Indoor Football League season The 2015 Indoor Football League season was the seventh season of the Indoor Football League. Playing with ten teams in two conferences located in mid-sized cities predominantly in the central United States, the league's regular season kicked off ...

. His jersey number was 2, the only time Behrendt has not worn number 16. His professional debut was also his first start for the Ice against the

Nebraska Danger The Nebraska Danger was a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Grand Island, Nebraska, and a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team was founded in 2011 by Charlie Bosselman as an expansion member of ...

; the Danger defeated the Ice, but Nebraska head coach Mike Davis commented, "Tonight they did some things on us early - that Behrendt kid is going to be a force." By the end of the season, Behrendt threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns to five interceptions, and also caught one pass for 12 yards.

Green Bay Blizzard

Behrendt returned to Wisconsin to play for the

the following two IFL seasons. Neither year resulted in a playoff berth, although his first season contained success, winning IFL Player of the Week for weeks 12 and 15, and also tying for the league lead in touchdown passes with 63. 2017 in particular was a difficult year; Behrendt finished 2017 on injured reserve, and the Blizzard ended up with a record of 3–13. Behrendt spent 2018 out of football.

Tucson Sugar Skulls

After a year off from playing, Behrendt signed with the

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

for the 2019 season, until being a preseason cut due to a crowded quarterback room. Behrendt then joined another indoor Arizona team, the

Tucson Sugar Skulls The Tucson Sugar Skulls are a professional indoor football team based in Tucson, Arizona, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Sugar Skulls began play in the 2019 season as an expansion team. The team plays its home games at Tu ...

for 2019, which proved to be his most efficient, albeit in a part-time role. Behrendt began the season as the starter, and won an early Player of the Week award after throwing 8 touchdowns in a game, but ended up splitting reps with Jake Medlock as the season progressed, with Medlock getting the nod in the playoffs. In his lone professional playoff appearance, Behrendt's only play was a two-yard touchdown rush in a narrow loss to the

Sioux Falls Storm The Sioux Falls Storm are a dormant professional indoor football team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Storm joined the original Indoor Football League as an expansion team in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras, and first took the field for ...

. With the 2020 Indoor Football League season cancelled, it was the last snap Behrendt played.

IFL statistics

Coaching career

Behrendt returned to Green Bay to serve as the

for the Green Bay Blizzard in 2021, a position which he retained for 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behrendt, Matt Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American football quarterbacks Green Bay Blizzard coaches Green Bay Blizzard players Colorado Crush (IFL) players People from Westchester, Illinois Players of American football from Cook County, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Tucson Sugar Skulls players Arizona Rattlers players