Jacque LaPrarie was an American football player for the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights, born on July 6, 1963. [1] He was the Rutgers starting quarterback in 1982 and 1983, leading the team in passing yards in both years. He died on 23 December 2024. [1]
LaPrarie started his Rutgers career in 1981 and became the Scarlet Knights' primary quarterback as a sophomore in 1982. [2] [3] During the first game of the 1982 season, he completed 16 of 24 passes for 119 yards in a 31–8 loss to Syracuse. [4] He also had 58 rushing yards. [5] Rutgers' second game was against Penn State; they lost 49–14, and LaPrarie threw one touchdown pass. [6] On October 9, in a win over Army, he was 9 for 15 passing with 129 yards. [5] Two weeks after that, he was 12 for 19 with 196 passing yards and two touchdowns, as Rutgers defeated Colgate to move to 4–3 on the season. [3] The team finished with a record of 5–6. [5] Overall, LaPrarie completed 100 of 186 passes with 1,164 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. [2] [5] He led the team in both passing yards and total offense yards (1,333). [7] His 17 interceptions set a Scarlet Knights team record that stood for 19 years. [2]
LaPrarie remained the starting quarterback in 1983. In the first game of the season, against Connecticut, he led Rutgers to a 22–5 victory with 173 passing yards and one touchdown. [8] However, the team lost its next four games. LaPrarie threw one touchdown pass in a loss to Army, which sent the Scarlet Knights to 1–4. [5] They eventually finished the season at 3–8; LaPrarie was 104 for 203 passing and had 1,275 yards, 7 touchdown passes, and 15 interceptions. [2] [5] He was Rutgers' leader in passing yards and total offense yards (1,328) for the second straight year. [7]
In 1984, LaPrarie played as a defensive back, as he was replaced at quarterback by Eric Hochberg. [5] That was LaPrarie's final season on the Scarlet Knights. He finished his Rutgers career with 35 interceptions, which broke Len Gasiencia's team record of 30. [2]