College career
A quarterback at Texas State University, Nealy was honored as the 2005 Southland Conference Player of the Year after leading Texas State to its first-ever regular season conference championship. He held Texas State's career records for passing yards and total yards, and finished fifth in the voting for the 2005 Walter Payton Award.
For the twenty previous years, prior to Nealy coming to the institution from the University of Houston, the Bobcats had never made the I-AA playoffs. During his senior season, Nealy led his team to playoff victories over Georgia Southern and Cal Poly before falling in the I-AA semifinals to eventual I-AA runner-up the University of Northern Iowa. All three games were nationally televised by ESPN2 from Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.
The playoff dream may have not been realized had the Bobcats fallen in their season finale to rival Sam Houston State. Despite several Nealy turnovers, the Bobcats prevailed in overtime over the Bearkats in San Marcos. The Bobcats entered the playoffs as a fourth seed.
Nealy had a standout performance against Texas A&M in a game that took place in College Station, Texas. In this game Nealy went 26 for 34, completing 76.5% of his passes for 378 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 36 yards and another score. This game made many around the nation and in the state of Texas take notice of the Bobcats and more importantly, Nealy. Perhaps Nealy's most dominant game came in the NCAA playoffs against powerhouse Georgia Southern. In that game the Bobcats were trailing late in the fourth quarter and fought back to pull off a huge 50–35 victory. Nealy went 23 for 32 (71.9%) for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns. He rushed the ball for 126 yards and one more score.
Professional career
Nealy declared himself eligible for the 2006 NFL draft, but was not selected. He signed on as a free agent Wide Receiver with the Minnesota Vikings in May 2006. He was released by the Vikings in July 2006 and signed a contract with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League instead. Assigned to the practice roster, Nealy later asked to be released from his contract to attend personal business. In 2007, he returned to the Stampeders as the third quarterback on the roster.
Nealy retired from the Stampeders after two meetings with head coach Hufnagel on Friday, June 11, 2010, saying that football was no longer fun for him. He was retained on the retired list rather than simply being released, which entitles the Stampeders to compensation in the event that he signs with another team. [2]
Jeffrey Jason Garcia is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). After attending high school and junior college in Gilroy, California, Garcia played college football at San Jose State University.
David Dickenson is a Canadian-American professional football head coach and general manager for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played as a quarterback with the Stampeders and the BC Lions, where he won the 2006 Grey Cup and was named the game's MVP. Dickenson played college football for the Montana Grizzlies, where he led the team to the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA college football championship.
Reginald Parrish McNeal is a former professional American football player. He played five seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Texas A&M University.
Matt Dunigan is an American broadcaster and former professional football player and executive. He is a Canadian Football League (CFL) sportscaster for Canadian sports television channel TSN. Dunigan is a former quarterback, coach, and executive in the CFL. In 2006, Dunigan joined the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#39) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.
Drew Tate is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is an offensive assistant coach for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Iowa and was signed by the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2007. Tate has played professionally for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Redblacks in the CFL. He was a defensive analyst at Coastal Carolina University in 2018, before coming out of retirement to rejoin the Roughriders. On December 17, 2018, Tate retired from playing and was named quarterbacks coach for the BC Lions the following day. He has also been a coach for the TSL Alphas, and at UT Martin and the University of Northern Iowa.
Brian William Russell is a former American football safety who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 2001 to 2009. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2001 and last played for the Houston Texans. He played college football at The University of Pennsylvania and San Diego State University.
Russell Walter Michna is a former arena football quarterback. A two-time league champion of the United Football League (UFL), he has played several leagues, the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), UFL and AFL. Michna also played in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL).
Casey Austin Keenum is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Houston Cougars, where he became the NCAA's all-time leader in total passing yards, touchdowns, and completions. In the 2008 college football season, Keenum ranked first nationally in total offense and second in total passing yards.
The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for Montana State University. The program began in 1897 and has won three national championships. It is the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I-AA. Through the 2022 season, the Bobcats had played in 1,049 games with an all-time record of 525–492–32.
Ben Sankey is a former gridiron football quarterback. He was signed as a street free agent by the Calgary Stampeders in 2000. He played college football at Wake Forest.
Joseph Webb III is a former American football quarterback. He also played as a wide receiver, kick returner and special teamer. After playing college football for the UAB Blazers, Webb was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft as a quarterback. He also played for the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and New York Giants. Webb holds the NFL record for most tackles by a quarterback with 21.
Jamar Wall is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas Tech.
Marc Mueller is the offensive coordinator for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time Grey Cup champion as an assistant coach with the Calgary Stampeders. In university, he played quarterback for the Regina Rams of the CIS from 2007 to 2012.
Trerein "Tre" E. Roberson is an American professional football defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent following the 2016 NFL draft. He then played for the Stampeders until he signed with the Chicago Bears in 2020. Prior to entering the NFL, Roberson was a collegiate quarterback at Indiana University and Illinois State University. Roberson had a 3–4 record for his career as the starting quarterback at Indiana and a 23–5 record for Illinois State.
Bo Levi Mitchell is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He originally signed with the Calgary Stampeders in 2012 and became the team's starting quarterback for the 2014 season, setting a number of club and league records including best record for a first time starting quarterback in league history. He won the 102nd Grey Cup in 2014, the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 2016 and 2018, and the 106th Grey Cup in 2018. With his second Grey Cup win as starter, he became the first quarterback to start and win multiple Grey Cup games with the Stampeders organization.
Thomas Herman III is an American football coach who serves as the head coach for the Florida Atlantic Owls. He was the head football coach for the Texas Longhorns from 2017 to 2020. Prior to that, he served as the head football coach for the Houston Cougars from 2015 to 2016.
The 2012 Texas State Bobcats football team represented Texas State University–San Marcos in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bobcats were led by head coach Dennis Franchione, in his fourth overall year, and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium. This was Texas State's only season as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Texas State joined the Sun Belt Conference for all sports in 2013–14. It was the second year of their transition from the FCS to the FBS, so they were not eligible to win the WAC regular season title or participate in a bowl game until 2013. They finished the season 4–8, 2–4 in WAC play to finish in fifth place.
Gary Joe Kinne III is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at Texas State University. He played as a quarterback and was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
Taylor Heinicke is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Old Dominion Monarchs and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Heinicke has also been a member of the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Washington Football Team / Commanders of the NFL, and the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL.
Kamar Isaias Jorden is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Bowling Green. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He has also played for the Spokane Shock of the Arena Football League.
