Jeff Van Raaphorst
| No. 10 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | December 7, 1963 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | El Cajon (CA) Grossmont | ||||||||
| College: | Arizona State | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1987 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Jeffrey Richard Van Raaphorst (born December 7, 1963) is an American former professional football quarterback.
Van Raaphorst attended Grossmont High School in El Cajon, California, where he played defensive end and tight end before he was converted to a quarterback by his head coach.[1] As a senior, he threw for 2,970 yards.[1] Van Raaphorst committed to playing college football at Arizona State over Miami and Florida.[1] He led the Sun Devils to the Pac-10 championship in his senior year, where they won the 1987 Rose Bowl. He was the Rose Bowl Player of the Game after passing for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
After going unselected in the 1987 NFL draft, Van Raaphorst signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent because "they [didn't] have a third quarterback".[2] However, he was waived by the team during final cuts in September.[3] Later that month, Van Raaphorst signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL strike.[4] He played two games for Atlanta in the 1987 season.
Van Raaphorst was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2006.[5] He now serves as a color commentator for Arizona State football radio broadcasts.
Personal life
[edit]Van Raaphorst comes from an athletic family. His father, Dick, was a kicker in the NFL.[6] One of his brothers, Mike, was a backup quarterback behind Carson Palmer at USC in 1999, while another brother, Billy, is a college baseball umpire. Lastly, Van Raaphorst's son, Cade, plays professional lacrosse for the Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Professional Lacrosse League.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Hurt, Bob (August 26, 1984). "Van Raaphorst finding out it's no snap to run offense". The Arizona Republic. p. D1. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cohn, Bob (April 30, 1987). "Van Raaphorst plans to sign with Broncos". The Arizona Republic. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Van Raaphorst among 3 former ASU players cut by Broncos". The Arizona Republic. September 8, 1987. p. C5. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Shaw, Bud (September 23, 1987). "Falcons will sequester strikebreakers". The Atlanta Constitution. p. E9. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jeff Van Raaphorst (2006) - Rose Bowl Hall of Fame". Rose Bowl Game. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ Friend, Tom (December 20, 1985). "Quarterback Gets Return Trip". Los Angeles Times. p. 27. Retrieved January 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]- 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 County, California
- American football quarterbacks
- National Football League replacement players
- Grossmont High School alumni