Billy Joe Hobert
No. 9, 12, 8, 14
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1971-01-08) January 8, 1971 (age 53)
Puyallup, Washington, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school:Puyallup
College:Washington
NFL draft:1993 / Round: 3 / Pick: 58
Career history
Career NFL statistics
TD–INT:23–25
Passing yards:3,371
Passer rating:67.0
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Billy Joe Hobert (born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily as a reserve.[1] He played college football for the Washington Huskies.

College career

While at the University of Washington, Hobert led the Huskies to a national championship in 1991, during his redshirt sophomore season. He was elevated to the starting position after junior Mark Brunell suffered a serious knee injury during spring drills, causing him to miss most of the 1991 season. During the 1991 season, Hobert was 173/285 on completions for 2,271 yards with 22 touchdowns versus 10 interceptions, with 56 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns.[2]

After the success of the 1991 season, Hobert became implicated in a major NCAA scandal. It was revealed he had received a series of loans totaling $50,000 made by the father-in-law of a friend,[3][4] while Hobert himself had no assets and no specific payment schedule.[5][6] The story broke in early November 1992, when the top-ranked Huskies were 8–0 and on a 22-game winning streak;[3][7][8] they lost three of four games to finish 9–3.[9]

This cost Hobert his college eligibility, and was an aggravating factor in the university receiving Pacific-10 Conference sanctions for lack of institutional control; it led to head coach Don James resigning in protest in August 1993 over a two-year bowl ban.[5][10][11][12][13] Although several other Huskies players were implicated in improprieties, Hobert became the most well-known face of the sanctions, leading to him receiving death threats.[5][14]

Professional career

Hobert was the 58th pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, selected in the third round by the Los Angeles Raiders, sixty picks ahead of fellow Husky quarterback Brunell.[15] He was the third quarterback selected in the draft, behind the top two overall picks, Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer. Hobert was also selected in the sixteenth round (453rd overall) of the 1993 baseball draft by the Chicago White Sox, but chose to pursue a career in the NFL.[16]

Hobert was a back-up quarterback for four seasons with the Raiders, then went on to play for the Buffalo Bills in 1997. He was initially expected to compete with Alex Van Pelt and Todd Collins for the starting quarterback position made vacant by Jim Kelly's retirement; however, after a notorious incident in Buffalo where he publicly admitted that he was unprepared to play, he was promptly released in mid-October.[5][17] Hobert was acquired later that season by the New Orleans Saints, where he remained through 1999; he signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2000. While on the Colts roster for two years, he did not play a snap during the regular season.

Personal life

Hobert grew up in Orting, Washington.

Hobert has five children. Hobert became a born again Christian during the Saints pre-season camp in 1998.[5]

References

  1. ^ Billy Hobert Archived 2011-11-21 at the Wayback Machine. databasefootball.com
  2. ^ "1991 Washington Football Stats". Archived from the original on 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
  3. ^ a b Farrey, Tom; Nalder, Eric (November 6, 1992). "Hobert blows $50,000 loan". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Seattle Times). p. C1.
  4. ^ "College Football: Huskies suspend Hobert after learning of loans". New York Times. November 6, 1992. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e Carpenter, Les (June 20, 2002). "Billy Joe Hobert: Villain, hero? Debate rages". Seattle Times. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Borst, Don (November 6, 1992). "Hobert takes plunge from lofty perch". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (McClatchy News Service). p. C7.
  7. ^ "Washington is No. 1 in Stanford's book". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 1, 1992. p. 1E.
  8. ^ "Blowout of Stanford moves Huskies to No. 1 in AP poll". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 2, 1992. p. C1.
  9. ^ Bonk, Thomas (January 2, 1993). "Wheatley conducts 1-man Rose parade past Huskies". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 1D.
  10. ^ "It's judgment day for Washington". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. August 22, 1993. p. 8E.
  11. ^ Cour, Jim (August 23, 1993). "Penalty hits UW; James resigns". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1A.
  12. ^ Farrey, Tom (August 24, 1993). "Riding hot seat at UW". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Seattle Times). p. C1.
  13. ^ Boling, Dave (August 23, 1993). "UW head coach quits over sanctions". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. A1.
  14. ^ Noland, Eric (August 24, 1993). "Hobert bemoans sanctions". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Los Angeles Times). p. C1.
  15. ^ "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  16. ^ "1993 MLB Draft, 16th round".
  17. ^ "Bills waive unprepared Hobert". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 16, 1997. Retrieved October 6, 2017.

External links

Washington Huskies starting quarterbacks
Los Angeles Raiders 1993 NFL draft selections
Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterbacks
New Orleans Saints starting quarterbacks
1991 Washington Huskies football—UPI & USA Today/CNN national champions
Categories