David Norman Greene (born June 22, 1982) 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 wi ...

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 drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 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 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

. He played college football at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Greene has also been a member of the New England Patriots,

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

, and Indianapolis Colts. He retired following the 2008 season, having never played in a regular season game.

Early years

While attending

South Gwinnett High School South Gwinnett High School (SGHS) is a public high school for students in grades 9–12. The school is located in Snellville, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Gwinnett County Public Schools system, one of the 15 largest public school sys ...

Snellville, Georgia Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. The population was 18,242 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 20,077. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metro ...

, David Greene was a two-sport standout as a quarterback in football, and as a right fielder in baseball. In football, he led his team to two consecutive playoff appearances and as a senior, he completed 134 passes out of 227 pass attempts (59.0 completion percentage) for 2,102 yards, and 19 touchdowns, and earned

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All-USA Honorable Mention honors, ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' Super 11 honors, Super Southern 100 honors, Top 75 in

honors, Class AAAA All-State honors, Georgia Sports Writers Association AAAA All-State honors, was named the

Gwinnett County Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...

co-Offensive Player of the Year,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Touchdown Club Quarterback of the Year, Gwinnett Touchdown Club All-Star quarterback, and Atlanta Club Quarterback of the Year. After his senior season, he participated in the Georgia-Florida All-Star game.

College career

Greene played quarterback at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in college. He began his career as a

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freshman in 2001, being named the starter before the season. His most notable freshman game occurred at #5 Tennessee on October 6, known as the "Hobnail Boot" game. This phrase was coined by Georgia's famous play-by-play announcer Larry Munson. After

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

took the lead in the fourth quarter on a successful screen pass with :44 left, Greene led the Bulldogs back down the field with an inspiring series of quick passes. The winning touchdown pass went to fullback

Verron Haynes Verron Ulric Haynes ( ; born February 17, 1979) is a Trinidadian-born former American football running back. Verron Haynes was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, following three successful college footb ...

in a now famous play known as "P-44 Haynes" or the "Hobnail Boot" play with just five seconds remaining on the clock. Upon Greene's completion to Haynes in the endzone for the winning touchdown, announcer Munson made this fateful call: "We just stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose. We just crushed their face!" This play marked the beginning of Greene's record-setting career at Georgia, highlighted by guiding the team to a Sugar Bowl victory in 2002. The same season he led the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.SEC

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since 1982. He was named SEC Offensive Rookie of the Year after the 2001 season, and was the 2002 Offensive Player of the Year for The

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

. In 2004, Greene made 214 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, a record that stood until broken by Andre Woodson from Kentucky in 2007., SEC Football Record Book. At Georgia, one of Greene's roommates was friend and future Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman

David Pollack David M. Pollack (born June 19, 1982) is a former professional American football linebacker who played in two seasons in the National Football League (NFL), having suffered a career-ending injury in the second game of his second season. He play ...

, who was drafted 17th in 2005. The two played football together when they were younger in Snellville, though they went to different high schools. Greene finished his college career as the winningest quarterback in

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 ...

Division I history with 42 wins in four years, eclipsing the record previously held by Peyton Manning. However, on November 21, 2009,

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

quarterback

Colt McCoy Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, where he won several awards and honors as a senior in 2009. McC ...

broke his record with a win over

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

. Greene finished his college career as the

all-time career leader in yards gained with 11,270 until that record was broken by Aaron Murray on October 5, 2013 against Tennessee.

Statistics

Awards and honors

* SEC Freshman of the Year (2001) *

SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

( 2002) * First-team All-SEC (2002) * Second-team All-SEC (2003) * Citrus Bowl MVP (2004) * Second-team All-SEC (2004) *

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's top upperclassmen quarterback in college football. Candidates are judged on accomplishments on the field as well as on their character, scholastic achievemen ...

finalist (2004)

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Greene was drafted in the third round, 85th overall, in the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent 2006 #3 on the Seahawks' depth chart, behind

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth ro ...

and Seneca Wallace. He had been expected to compete with Seneca Wallace to be #2 on the Seahawks' depth chart for the 2007 NFL Season, but disappointed with his play during the preseason. At one point, coach

Mike Holmgren Michael George Holmgren (born June 15, 1948) is a former American football coach and executive. He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowls XXI ...

expressed his dissatisfaction with Greene's progress as a quarterback. In September 2007, Greene was released by the Seahawks

New England Patriots

Greene was signed to the New England Patriots' practice squad on September 19, 2007

only to be released on November 20, 2007

Kansas City Chiefs

Greene was then signed to the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs, and eventually promoted to the active roster on December 29, 2007. He was waived by the team on July 18, 2008.

Indianapolis Colts

Greene was signed to the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts on September 25, 2008 after the team released

Josh Betts. The Colts released Greene on November 14, 2008.

Post-Retirement

In January 2009, Greene told the ''

Gwinnett Daily Post The ''Gwinnett Daily Post'' is a daily newspaper published in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and serves as the county's legal organ. The newspaper is owned by Southern Community Newspapers Inc. and prints Wednesday and Sunday each week. History In 1 ...

'' that he was retiring from professional football. He returned to Atlanta in September 2008 and joined an insurance brokerage firm, Sterling Seacrest Partners, along with fellow former Bulldog Matt Stinchcomb.Chris Gay
Bulldogs' visit thrills two devoted alumni

Augusta Chronicle ''The Augusta Chronicle'' is the daily newspaper of Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States still in publication. The paper is known for its coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is played in Augusta. The ''C ...

, February 19, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2009 Greene appeared on

MLB Network The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox C ...

's " The Next Knuckler", in which the winner received a chance to go to spring training with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

as a knuckleball pitcher. Greene finished second to

Josh Booty Joshua Gibson Booty (born April 29, 1975) is a former professional baseball and American football player. Booty played briefly in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, and also in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback. Hig ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, David 1982 births Living people People from Snellville, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football quarterbacks Georgia Bulldogs football players Seattle Seahawks players New England Patriots players Kansas City Chiefs players Indianapolis Colts players