No. 15, 7, 11 | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Houston, Texas, U.S. | February 17, 1969||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Stratford (Houston) | ||||||||||||||
College: | Houston (1988–1991) | ||||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1992 / round: 1 / pick: 6 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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David Ryan Klingler (born February 17, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six years in the National Football League (NFL) and current Associate Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary. He played college football for the Houston Cougars, earning third-team All-American honors in 1990. Klingler was selected in the first round of the 1992 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, but his career was cut short by an elbow injury.
A 6-foot, 2-inch quarterback, Klingler rewrote numerous college passing records for the Houston Cougars from 1988 to 1991. On November 17, 1990, Klingler threw for an all-Divisions record 11 touchdown passes for a single quarterback against Eastern Washington at the Astrodome (since equaled at the NAIA level by Lee Kirkland of Pikeville in 2024 [1] ), and on December 2 set the NCAA (Division I) record for most yards gained in a single game, 716 [2] (since surpassed by Connor Halliday in 2014 and later Patrick Mahomes in 2016). In his four seasons at Houston, he completed 726 of 1,262 passes for 9,430 yards and 91 touchdowns, all of which were school records at the time. Klingler set the NCAA record for touchdown passes in a season with 54 in 1990. His single-season touchdown pass record stood for 16 years until it was broken in the 2006 Hawaii Bowl by University of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan with 58, though Brennan needed three more games than Klingler to break the record. Klingler made a valiant push to win the Heisman Trophy (following in the footsteps of fellow Cougar Andre Ware) but was eventually beaten by Ty Detmer of BYU and Raghib Ismail (runner-up) of Notre Dame. Klingler remained a stand-out for the University of Houston and still ranks in the FBS top ten for career touchdown passes and yards. [3]
Houston Cougars | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | GP | Passing | ||||||
Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | |||
1988 | Houston | 3 | 6 | 7 | 85.7 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 130.1 |
1989 | Houston | 8 | 68 | 114 | 59.6 | 865 | 8 | 1 | 144.8 |
1990 | Houston | 11 | 374 | 643 | 58.2 | 5,140 | 54 | 20 | 146.8 |
1991 | Houston | 10 | 278 | 497 | 55.9 | 3,388 | 29 | 17 | 125.6 |
Totals [4] | 32 | 726 | 1,261 | 57.6 | 9,430 | 91 | 38 | 138.2 |
Klingler was taken in the first round of the 1992 NFL draft with the sixth overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals. [5] From 1992 to 1995 he played for the Bengals— starting for the Bengals in 1993 and 1994 before losing his job to Jeff Blake. He then played two seasons as a backup for the Oakland Raiders. In 1998, he signed with the Green Bay Packers to back up Brett Favre, but he was cut and didn't play. [6]
Klingler injured his elbow and shoulder in the offseason before his third season. After the 1994 season (his third), he underwent elbow surgery. Being informed that his injury was career ending, he knew that his career was all but done. Before the operation he could heave a ball 85 yards; afterward he struggled to reach 35. [7]
In 2007, Klingler was listed at #10 on the NFL Network's "Top 10 Draft Busts" list. [ citation needed ]
Klingler entered school at Dallas Theological Seminary, earning both a master's degree in Theology and a Ph.D. in Old Testament studies. In June 2010, he became the director of DTS's Houston extension. [8] On April 15, 2012, Klingler was elected as assistant professor of biblical studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's Havard School of Theological Studies in Houston. [9]
Klingler was also an analyst for the University of Houston's football radio network from 2006 to 2008. [10]
Klingler's brother Jimmy also played quarterback for the Houston Cougars. [11] His niece, Baylee, played college softball at Washington. [12]
Jon Steven Young is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers. He was drafted by and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL career, Young was a member of the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, setting school and NCAA records en route to being runner-up for the 1983 Heisman Trophy.
Ty Hubert Detmer is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He won the Heisman Trophy in 1990 while playing college football for the BYU Cougars. Detmer broke numerous NCAA records with BYU, and was twice recognized as a consensus All-American. A late-round pick in the 1992 NFL draft, Detmer played for six NFL teams over 14 seasons, mostly in a backup role. He is currently the Athletic Director at American Leadership Academy – Gilbert North High School in Gilbert, Arizona.
Gregory Lynn Cook was an American football quarterback who played two professional seasons, in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Cincinnati and was selected 5th overall in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft. Once considered a rising star for the Cincinnati Bengals, he had his pro career prematurely ended by recurring shoulder troubles.
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John Jenkins is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach the University of Houston from 1990 to 1992, compiling a record of 18–15. A proponent of the run and shoot offense, Jenkins also coached professional football in the United States Football League (USFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL). He served as the head coach of the CFL's Ottawa Renegades in 2006, the FXFL's Blacktips in 2014 and the Hudson Valley Fort for part of 2015. During his career as a coach, Jenkins has mentored a number of notable quarterbacks such as Andre Ware, David Klingler, Jim Kelly, Eric Crouch, Kliff Kingsbury, Anthony Calvillo and Doug Flutie.
Brian Jeffrey Symons is an American former professional football quarterback. Symons played for the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), the Frankfurt Galaxy and Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe, and the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL). He was selected by the Texans in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL draft. He played college football for Texas Tech where he was a record setting passer. Symons never played in a regular season NFL game.
Casey Austin Keenum is an American professional 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.
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