Jake Delhomme

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Full Name: Jake Christopher Delhomme Primary Position: QB Height/Weight: 6' 2"/205 College: University of Louisiana at Lafayette Birthdate: January 10, 1975 High School: Teurlings Catholic (Lafayette, LA) Birthplace: Lafayette, Louisiana Pro Experience: 6 years

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[edit] Biography

Jake Christopher Delhomme (born January 10, 1975 in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers NFL franchise.

[edit] High School and College Career

Delhomme (pronounced duh-LOME) attended Teurlings Catholic High School (his hometown school), where he was an all-state defensive back -- even though he finished his career with 7,423 yards in total offense and 81 touchdowns completing 421-of-835 passes for 6,703 yards and 65 touchdowns as a quarterback. As a senior, he completed 218-of-394 passes for 3,351 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 265 yards and eight touchdowns, leading his school to the state semifinals.

Delhomme played college football for the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Delhomme was the only true freshman quarterback to start for a NCAA Division I-A school in 1993 and his completion percentage of 145-of-259 for 1,842 yards and 14 touchdowns with 12 interceptions gave him a 124.5 passer efficiency rating, a rating that ranked second among NCAA freshman quarterbacks. He also became the first true freshman in school history to pass for more than 1,000 yards, setting a single-season school mark for completions that he would later surpass.

As a senior, Jake completed 201-of-377 passes for a school-record 2,901 yards and 20 touchdowns with 17 interceptions in 1996.

Delhomme ended his college career as the all-time Louisiana college passing leader with 9,216 yards on 655-of-1,246 passing with 64 touchdowns and 57 interceptions. He led the Cajuns to three consecutive winning seasons and a pair of Big West Conference championships in 1993 and 1994. He became the first player to pass for more than 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons and started the last 43 games of his career, which was the longest streak among active quarterbacks in the nation. Jake was ranked 22nd in NCAA history for passing yards and 28th for total offense at the close of his collegiate career. During his collegiate career, Jake's primary target was Brandon Stokely.

[edit] Turning Pro

Delhomme was not picked by any team in the NFL Draft. He was later signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1998. He was assigned to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe as a backup quarterback to future NFL and Super Bowl MVP, Kurt Warner. In 1999, he was brought back to New Orleans as a third-string quarterback. He started and led New Orleans to a win versus Dallas (12/24/99) in his first NFL contest, completing 16-of-27 attempts for 278 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and scoring on a four-yard touchdown run. Jake started the regular season finale at Carolina (1/2/00) and attempted a team season-high 49 passes, completing 26 for 243 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions, in addition to leading the Saints with 78 yards rushing and one touchdown on eight carries. Following the 2000 regular NFL season, Delhomme was assigned back to NFLE and the Frankfurt Galaxy. Along with Pat Barnes, he was part of the "double-headed quarterback monster" that led the Galaxy to a World Bowl victory over the Barcelona Dragons.

Thanks to his success in Europe, he was brought back full-time to New Orleans, although he spent most of his time on the bench and backing up Billie Joe Tolliver, Jeff Blake, and Aaron Brooks. In 2001, Delhomme stepped up his play another notch in an attempt to win a starting position. During the preseason, he completed 36-of-52 passes for a 69.2 completion percentage. His 437 yards, four touchdowns and one interception compiled a 112.4 quarterback rating, tops among all NFC quarterbacks in the preseason. He also ran twice for 11 yards. In 2002, Delhomme, led all NFC quarterbacks for the second consecutive preseason with a 110.6 quarterback rating, completing 68.8 percent of his attempts on 33-of-48 passing for 370 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed for 20 yards and a touchdown on five carries.

In limited action with the New Orleans Saints in 2001 and 2002, he finished the season as the NFC leader in overall passer rating. A frequent chant during Saints home games during the 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons was the chant "We Want Jake, We Want Jake", during the frequent times of struggling of Saints starting quarterback Aaron Brooks, and "Jake not Blake," during the time that Jeff Blake was the starting quarterback.

[edit] Carolina Panthers

In 2003, he was signed by Carolina as an unrestricted free agent just one week after being granted free-agency. Delhomme dueled with Chris Weinke and Rodney Peete for the starting position through the preseason. In the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jake replaced a struggling Peete and led the Panthers to a comeback victory throwing three touchdown passes. Delhomme finished the comeback with a fourth-down, 12-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl to give Carolina a 24-23 victory. Delhomme started the second game against Tampa Bay, and as of the start of the 2006 season, he remains entrenched in the starting position. He led the Panthers to an 11-5 record, registering a record for most wins by a Carolina starting quarterback. He led the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII, where he passed for 323 yard and 3 touchdowns, and he completed the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history, an 85-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad. During the 2004 preseason, Delhomme was named to the Panther's 10-year anniversary team as the team's best quarterback during the first ten years of the franchise. The 2004 season proved bittersweet for Delhomme, as he posted career highs in pass attempts, completions, overall yardage, and touchdowns. Unfortunately, the team was decimated with injuries. Starting the season 1-7 after the losses of their first and second running backs as well as their leading wide receiver, the Panthers, under Delhomme's leadership, rallied for a fantastic second half of the season. They ultimately positioned themselves for a playoff berth, but lost that chance with a final game loss to the New Orleans Saints. The 2005 season shone some light on Carolina's future. Starting 1-2 (unlike the 1-7 start the previous year), Jake took the Panthers to 6 straight wins, an NFC wildcard playoff berth, and a spot in the NFC conference championship where they lost to the Seattle Seahawks. Jake was also been voted into the 2006 Pro Bowl for the first time in his career, along with his favorite target, Steve Smith.

[edit] Personality

Delhomme is well-known and liked for his down-home personality and charisma on the field. This character has helped lead the Panthers to some clutch last-minute wins, particularly in the run-up to Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Delhomme has also garnered popularity as a pitch-man for the Cajun fast food restaurant, Bojangles', where he is often depicted as a single-minded fried-chicken addict who audibles Bojangles' "fixin's" at the line of scrimmage. Delhomme has also done SunCom Wireless limited edition cell phone commercials with feature a panthers logo and his signature.

His good natured personality has led Chris Berman to bestow him with the nickname "Jake 'Daylight come and you gotta' Delhomme", a play on the Banana Boat Song by Harry Belafonte.

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