Tom Brandstater
refer to caption
Warming up before the game against Dallas on October 4, 2009
No. 3, 4, 12, 5
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1984-10-21) October 21, 1984
Turlock, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:223 lb (101 kg)
Career information
High school:Turlock
College:Fresno State
NFL Draft:2009 / Round: 6 / Pick: 174
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
TD–INT:0–0
Passing yards:0
Passer rating:39.6
Completions / Attempts:0 / 2
Player stats at NFL.com

Thomas Brandstater (born October 21, 1984) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

He was also a member of the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, and St. Louis Rams.

Early life and high school

Tom Brandstater was born and raised in Turlock, California, a town in Stanislaus County.[1] He is the first son and second child of William and Sharen Brandstater and has three siblings. He began playing football at the age of eight with the Turlock Vikings Youth Football program,[2] where he lists Mike Hibden and Mike Huber as his most influential youth coaches. Several other WAC teammates and opponents, notably Colin Kaepernick of the Nevada Wolf Pack and fellow Fresno State Bulldog Anthony Harding, also played for the youth football program.[2] He was the starting quarterback from the age of eight, but also played other positions.

Brandstater attended Turlock High School.[3] He achieved several distinctions as a high school player, including being named to the First-team All District team by the Modesto Bee as a defensive back,[4] and guiding Turlock to the San Joaquin Section Division I South championship against Stockton Lincoln High. As a high school quarterback, he directed an offense that was primarily focused on rushing and did not display his true passing ability, though he still threw for over 1,000 yards in his last season in high school. He was the top quarterback in Fresno State's Summer Football Camp in 2003.[4]

College career

2004 season

As a freshman, he was given a redshirt year so he did not play during the team's 2004 season. He served as the quarterback for the scout team in practice against the starting defense. During this time, he was officially listed as the number three quarterback behind Paul Pinegar and Jordan Chrisensen.[5] Brandstater did not play in any games during the season, as coach Pat Hill elected to keep him on the bench so that 2004 did not count as one of his four years of eligibility.[4]

2005 season

After redshirting as a true freshman, Brandstater became the backup quarterback to Paul Pinegar in 2005, and was occasionally brought in by Coach Hill in late quarters of games where the Bulldogs had a blowout lead. In the season opener on September 10, 2005, he was brought in late against Weber State, completing 2 out of 4 attempts for 11 yards with a touchdown. He was also credited with a single rushing attempt, for a loss of two yards; this was to be his only rushing attempt of the season.[6] He did not play in the next game, a close away loss to Oregon, and was brought out late in the 44–14 home victory against Toledo, where he attempted a single pass, which went for an incompletion.[7] His next game was against Utah State, where he went 3 for 6 for 36 yards. He played his last game of the season in November against the San José State Spartans, where he completed a single pass for a two-yard gain. As Pinegar's backup, Brandstater played in eight games, completed 6 of 13 passes for 49 yards, with one touchdown and an interception.

2006 season

The 2005 season ended with three losses, including a Liberty Bowl loss to Tulsa, along with a number of losses of senior leadership, including senior quarterback Paul Pinegar and running back Wendell Mathis, both of whom were 2nd in the WAC in passing efficiency and rushing yards per game, respectively. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, Jr., who had led the Bulldogs to two consecutive top ten finishes in NCAA scoring offense in 2004 and 2005,[8] left for North Carolina, and was replaced for the 2006 season by Steve Hagen, the second offensive coordinator to work with Pinegar in as many seasons as a Bulldog. Fresno State opened the 2006 season at home against Nevada on September 1, 2006, and Brandstater passed for 124 yards with a touchdown in his first start with Fresno State, getting revenge for the upset loss the previous season and adding interest to the 83-year-old rivalry.[9] The next week brought a home game against the Oregon Ducks on Sep 9, with Oregon entering the game ranked #20. Brandstater went 16 of 33 attempts for 150 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions, as Fresno State lost to the Ducks on account of several special teams errors.[10]

The remainder of the season turned out to be problematic for the Bulldogs and Brandstater, as the team proceeded to lose the next six games, including a loss to Utah State. On Oct 14 against Hawaii, Coach Hill replaced Brandstater in the second quarter with his backup, Sean Norton, as the Bulldogs lost to the Warriors 68–37 at home.[11] In the next game against LSU, Brandstater did not play.[12] He returned to go 7 of 14 with 72 yards against Boise State, and proceeded to lead the Bulldogs to victories in the next three games against New Mexico State, Idaho, and Louisiana Tech. He started in the season finale at San José State, a loss, but the Bulldogs did end the season with some momentum heading into the 2007 season.

2007 season

Brandstater led the 2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team to a 9-4 season, capped by back-to-back victories over BCS opponents Kansas State and Georgia Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl where Tom earned The Most Valuable Player award.

2008 season

Going into the 2008 season, the Bulldogs found themselves ranked in several national preseason polls, including Athlon Sports, ranking the Bulldogs #25,[13] CBS Sportsline ranking the team #24,[14] and ESPN ranking them at #21. [15] Brandstater returned for his senior year along with 17 returning starters.[16] He was listed as a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate,[17] and was rated number 6 out of 129 quarterbacks going into 2008 by nfldraftscout.com.[18] On July 17, 2008, the Tom O'Brien Watch List was released by the Davey O'Brien Foundation and its National Selection Committee highlighting 31 quarterbacks vying for the award honoring the nation's best quarterback for the 2008 football season, and Brandstater was listed alongside other top prospects.[19]

Tom Brandstater was the starting quarterback for the Fresno State Bulldogs as they opened their 2008 season against Rutgers in New Brunswick, New Jersey in a non-conference away game on Labor Day. Behind Brandstater, Fresno State opened the game slowly, with neither team scoring any points in the first half. The Fresno State offense was only able to muster 102 yards and six first downs in the first half, but the defense was able to keep the Scarlet Knights from getting any points on the board.[20] . The Bulldogs would go on to score three touchdowns and a field goal, with all three touchdowns run into the end zone by running back Ryan Mathews. Brandstater completed the game with 11 completions on 24 attempts for a total of 216 yards and a quarterback rating of 121.4.[21]

NCAA statistics

    Passing   Rushing
Season Team GP Rating Att Comp Pct Yds TD INT Att Yds TD
2005 Fresno State Bulldogs 8 122.3 22 6 55.3 48 2 2 1 -2 0
2006 Fresno State Bulldogs 11 106.74 268 146 54.5 1490 13 14 32 86 1
2007 Fresno State Bulldogs 13 140.48 337 211 62.6 2654 15 5 48 118 3
2008 Fresno State Bulldogs 13 129.4 371 221 59.6 2664 18 12 51 -50 0
Totals[22] 45 126.50 989 584 59.0 6,857 47 32 132 152 4

Professional career

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos selected Brandstater in the 6th round (174th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft.[23] On July 26, 2009, Brandstater signed a four-year, $1.60 million contract with a $124,000 signing bonus. He would have earned an additional $2.285 million through final-year escalators. His base salary was $400,000 in 2009, and would have been $395,000 in 2010, $480,000 in 2011, and $565,000 in 2012. The Broncos acquired Tim Tebow through the 2010 NFL draft and brought in Brady Quinn from the Cleveland Browns, and therefore they released Brandstater on June 4, 2010.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts released their injured backup quarterback Jim Sorgi on March 5, 2010, and signed Brandstater off waivers on June 7, 2010, as the backup to Peyton Manning.[24] On September 4, 2010, the Colts waived Brandstater, retaining Curtis Painter as the second string QB, and placing Brandstater on their practice squad on September 6, 2010.[25] The Colts released Brandstater from the practice squad on September 29, 2010.[26]

Miami Dolphins

Brandstater was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad on November 15, 2010 following injuries to their first and second-string quarterbacks, Chad Henne and Chad Pennington. At the end of the 2010 season, he was signed to a contract. He was waived on August 5, 2011.

Dallas Cowboys

Brandstater signed with the Dallas Cowboys on August 6, 2011, but was waived on September 3.

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams signed him to their practice squad on September 13, 2011. He was promoted to the active roster, released from the team, re-signed to the practice squad, and once again promoted to the active roster during the 2011 season.

On January 1, 2012 Brandstater played in the 4th quarter of the Week 17 game between the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. After Kellen Clemens was injured on a second down sack at the hands of linebacker NaVorro Bowman, Brandstater saw his first career NFL action with two incomplete passes.[27] He was released by the Rams on September 1, 2012.[28][29]

References

  1. ↑ "Tom Brandstater Stats, News and Video - QB". NFL.com. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "About TYF". Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Scout.com: Tom Brandstater Profile". Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 "Player Bio: Tom Brandstater::Football". Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  5. ↑ "2005 Fresno State College Football Preview". Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Bulldogs led by 32 at halftime". Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Tom Brandstater Stats, News, Photos". Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  8. ↑ Phil Steele's 2007 College Football Preview. Northcoast Sports. 2007. p. 224.
  9. ↑ "Wright, Fresno State run away from WAC foe Nevada". Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Special teams play helps Oregon avoid Fresno State upset bid". Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Hawaii 68, Fresno State 37". Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Bowe ties LSU receiving record in rout of Fresno State". Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  13. ↑ "No. 25: Fresno State". Retrieved May 13, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Stop us if you've heard this before: Buckeyes top Dawgs". Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Buckeyes rise to No. 1 in updated Top 25". May 9, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  16. ↑ Phil Steele's 2008 College Football Preview. Northcoast Sports. 2008. p. 218.
  17. ↑ Phil Steele's 2008 College Football Preview. Northcoast Sports. 2008. p. 328.
  18. ↑ "Tom Brandstater, QB, Fresno State-2009 NFL Draft Scout Profile". Retrieved June 21, 2008.
  19. ↑ "2008 O'Brien Quarterback Award Watch List Released". Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  20. ↑ "'Dogs rise in the East". Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Sortable Stats: Passing". Retrieved October 2, 2008.
  22. ↑ Fucillo, David (March 11, 2009). "Niners Nation Scouting Report: Tom Brandstater, QB Fresno State". Niners Nation. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  23. ↑ "2009 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  24. ↑ Florio, Mike (June 7, 2010). "Colts claim Brandstater". Pro Football Talk.
  25. ↑ Frost, Alek (September 7, 2010). "Indianapolis Colts Roster Cuts: Who Stays and Who Goes in Indy". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  26. ↑ Cavin, Curt (September 29, 2010). "Colts' Linkenbach fills in nicely for Johnson". Indystar. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Tom Brandstater Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  28. ↑ Sports Network, WFMY (September 1, 2012). "QB Clemens a surprise cut as Rams pare down". WFMYNews2. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Tom Brandstater latest news and rumors". December 5, 2014. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014.
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