Craig Marion Kupp (born April 14, 1967) 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 ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
for the
Phoenix Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
and
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
. 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
Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...
.
Early years
Kupp attended
Selah High School
Selah High School is a public high school located in Selah, Washington, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. It is part of the Selah School District and enrolls approximately 1000 students yearly.
Selah excels in its excellent academi ...
, where he competed in football, basketball and tennis. He didn't have a notable high school football career, so he wasn't highly recruited.
He accepted a football scholarship from
Montana Technological University
Montana Technological University, popularly known as Montana Tech, is a public university in Butte, Montana. Founded in 1900 as the Montana State School of Mines, the university became affiliated with the University of Montana in 1994. After unde ...
, where he received All-Frontier Conference honors as a quarterback and punter. He transferred to
Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...
after his freshman season, to complete his studies closer to his home. As a sophomore in 1987, he was a backup behind Jeff Yarnell and was a part of the NAIA Division II national championship team.
As a junior in 1988, he became a starter at quarterback. His team eventually lost 35–56 in an NAIA Division II playoff game, after the
Oregon Institute of Technology
The Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) is a public polytechnic university in Oregon with a residential campus in Klamath Falls, Oregon, an urban campus in Wilsonville, Oregon, and additional locations in Salem and Seattle. Oregon Tec ...
accomplished the biggest comeback in school history, by scoring 49 points in the second half. Kupp led his team to a 35–7 advantage at halftime, tallying a career-high 272 passing yards, 16-of-21 completions, 2 passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, before fracturing his left ankle with just two minutes left in the first half.
As a senior in 1989, he made 185-of-286 pass completions (64.7%) for 2,398 yards (school record), 25 touchdowns (third in school history) and 3 interceptions, setting the record for passing yards in a season and an NAIA Division II record for interception rate with a 1.04% mark. Against
Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997.Kre ...
, he set school records for passing yards (411) and touchdown throws (6) in a single-game, while leading his team to a 52–50 win. He received All-Columbia Football Association honors at the end of the season.
He finished his college career with 300-of-499 completions for 3,921 yards (fourth in school history), 41 touchdowns (fourth in school history) and 11 interceptions. In 2003, he was inducted into the Pacific Lutheran Athletic Hall of Fame.
Professional career
New York Giants
Kupp was selected by the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
in the 5th round (135th overall) of the
1990 NFL Draft
The 1990 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990, at the Marriott Marq ...
, he was the ninth quarterback taken. He was released before the start of the season on September 3, after not being able to pass
Matt Cavanaugh
Matthew Andrew Cavanaugh (born October 27, 1956) is an American football coach and former quarterback. During his playing career, he earned two Super Bowl rings. Since his retirement after the 1991 season, Cavanaugh has worked as an offensive c ...
on the depth chart.
Phoenix Cardinals
In September 1990, Kupp signed with
Phoenix Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
and spent the rest of the year on 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, ...
. In 1991, a training camp knee injury to starting quarterback
Timm Rosenbach
Timm Lane Rosenbach (born October 27, 1966) is an American college football coach and former professional gridiron football player. Rosenbach was the head football coach at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, taking the position at t ...
, allowed Kupp to gain additional playing experience. In his only professional football game, Kupp completed 3-of-7 attempts for 23 yards in the fourth quarter of the Cardinals' 34–0 loss to the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in week 3. On November 6, 1991, he was released to make room for quarterback
Chris Chandler.
Dallas Cowboys
On November 7, 1991, Kupp was claimed off waivers by the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
. After starter
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from Oklahoma, he played college football at UCLA, ...
suffered a knee injury in the twelfth game against the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, Kupp ascended from third-string to backup quarterback behind
Steve Beuerlein
Stephen Taylor Beuerlein (born March 7, 1965) is a former American football quarterback, and is currently an NFL and college football analyst for CBS.
High school career
In his senior year, Beuerlein led Anaheim's Servite High School to the ...
.
In 1992, Kupp was one of three Cowboys players to be allocated to the
World League of American Football
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
. He spent the first six weeks of the season with the
San Antonio Riders
The San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas S ...
, having scant action, before being acquired by the
Montreal Machine
The Montreal Machine were the sole Canadian team in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a springtime developmental professional league set up by the National Football League (NFL) that played in 1991 and 1992. There were also three Euro ...
, where he spent the remainder of the season as a backup. He made 11-of-27 completions for 138 yards, one touchdown and 4 interceptions. He was released by the Cowboys on August 31.
Personal life
Kupp's father,
Jake
Jake may refer to:
Name
* Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer
* Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach
Animals
* Jake (rescue dog), a ...
, was a
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
in the NFL for the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
and the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
.
His son,
Cooper
Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to:
* Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels
Arts and entertainment
* Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads
* Cooper (video game character), in ...
, is a wide receiver and his other son Ketner was formerly a linebacker for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
. Cooper won the
Walter Payton Award
The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...
in 2015 and owns nearly every major career FCS receiving record.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupp, Craig
1967 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Dallas Cowboys players
Montreal Machine players
Pacific Lutheran Lutes football players
Phoenix Cardinals players
San Antonio Riders players
Players of American football from Washington (state)
People from Sunnyside, Washington
Montana Tech Orediggers football players