Brett Stephen Basanez (born May 11, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He was signed by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2006. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Northwestern. Basanez was also a member of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Early years

Basanez played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at St. Viator in Arlington Heights. He participated in the first ever

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

game in 2000.

College career

Basanez played

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, where he holds many school records for passing categories, including passing yards (10,580) and total offense (11,576). Basanez ranks 13th on the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's all-time list for total offense, and 28th on the all-time list for passing yards. He was close to becoming the only player in

history with 10,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards (Basanez picked up 996 yards on the ground while at NU). He set two Sun Bowl records in the

2005 Sun Bowl The 2005 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2005, in El Paso, Texas. Sponsored by the Vitalis brand of hair tonic made by Bristol-Myers, the game was officially known as the Vitalis Sun Bowl. It was the 72nd Sun Bowl. ...

: 38 completions and

total offense Total offense (or total offence) is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage to the ...

of 448 yards. His 50 attempts in the game are tied for second, with

Kyle Orton Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Dr ...

and

Byron Leftwich Byron Antron Leftwich (born January 14, 1980) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for ten seaso ...

in all-time bowls, trailing only

Mike Kafka Michael John Kafka (born July 25, 1987) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). After attending St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chica ...

, another Northwestern Wildcat QB.

School records

Career *Total Offense (11,576) *Passing Attempts (1,584) *Passing Completions (913) *Passing Yards (10,580) *Passing Touchdowns (44) (ties record) *Wins (22) *Games Passing for 200 Yards (26) *Games Passing for 300 Yards (10) *Games Passing for 400 Yards (3) *Consecutive Games Passing for 200 Yards (10) *Consecutive Games Passing for 300 Yards (5) Single season *Total Offense (4,045) 2005 *Passing Attempts (497) 2005 *Passing Completions (314) 2005 *Passing Yards (3,622) 2005 *Passing Touchdowns (21) *Passing Yards Gained in Two Consecutive Games (824) 2005 *Passing Yards Gained in Three Consecutive Games (1,155) 2005 *Passing Yards Gained in Four Consecutive Games (1,481) 2005 *Passing Yards Gained in Five Consecutive Games (1,819) 2005 *Games Passing for 200 Yards (11) 2005 *Games Passing for 300 Yards (7) 2005 *Consecutive Games Passing for 200 Yards (9) 2005 *Consecutive Games Passing for 300 Yards (5) 2005 *Passing Efficiency Rating (135.1) 2005 *Passing Completion Percentage (.632) 2005 Single game *Total Offense (548) vs. TCU, 2004 *Passing TD's in a Half (3) vs. TCU, 2004 (ties record) *Passing Completion Percentage (.806, 25-of-31) vs. Illinois, 2005

Statistics

''Source'':

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Basanez was signed by the

as an

following the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

on May 1, 2006. He was waived on September 2 and re-signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 3. He was promoted to the active roster on December 10. Basanez suffered a hand injury prior to the start of the 2007 season and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on August 28, 2007, ending his season. He was released on August 30, 2008 during final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad on September 3.

Chicago Bears

Basanez was signed by the

in February 2009 to a two-year contract. He was waived on September 5 and re-signed to the practice squad on September 6. He was promoted to the active roster on December 30. He was waived/injured on May 19, 2010, and reverted to

. He was released from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 12, 2010.

Statistics

''Source'':

References

External links

Northwestern profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Basanez, Brett 1983 births Living people American football quarterbacks Carolina Panthers players Chicago Bears players Northwestern Wildcats football players People from Arlington Heights, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois