Michael Bercovici (born February 9, 1993) is an

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 ...

coach and former

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 ...

who currently serves as an offensive assistant for the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He signed with the San Diego Chargers 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 ...

after the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

and has also spent time with the Cardinals and

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

High school career

Bercovici was born in Northridge, California. He attended

Taft High School Taft School or Taft High School may refer to: * Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, founded by Horace Dutton Taft, William Howard Taft's brother Schools named after William Howard Taft: * William Howard Taft High School (Los Angeles) * Willi ...

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. As a senior, he was 240-of-399 passes (60.2%) for 3,755 yards with 37

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s and only nine

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

s in 2010, he also recorded 103 rushing yards with three touchdowns. He was rated by

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as the 91st overall prospect in the nation, and the seventh overall quarterback in the nation. He was also ranked the 14th overall pro-style quarterback in the nation by ''

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''. He was offered an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...

to Arizona State University in June 2010, he accepted the scholarship a week later.

College career

As a true freshman in 2011, Bercovici appeared in three games. He completed 2-of-3 passes for 15 yards. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, he

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

ed the season. As a redshirt sophomore in

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, he appeared in four games as holder on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He completed 3-of-4 (75%) for 18 yards and a

quarterback rating Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leagu ...

of 112.8. He also rushed the ball 10 times for 46 yards. As a redshirt junior in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, he appeared in eight games (three starts). He replaced starter

Taylor Kelly Taylor Kelly is an American football coach and former quarterback. He currently serves as the quarterbacks coach for Mater Dei High School. He played college football at Arizona State. Early years Born and raised in Eagle, Idaho, near Boise, ...

after Kelly was injured. Becovici complete 115-of-186 (61.8%) for 1,445 yards and 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed the ball 26 times for 16 yards. As a redshirt senior in 2015, he was named the starting quarterback. He was a unanimous

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

and member of the team's leadership council. He started all 13 games. He completed 318-of-531 (59-.9%) for 3,854 yards, 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed the ball 109 times for 84 yards. His 30 touchdowns tied the Arizona State school record for most touchdown passes in a single season. His 531 passing attempts set the record for most passing attempts in a single season in school history. On October 4, 2014 Bercovici threw a 46-yard Hail Mary with time expiring to beat USC in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 38–34. Bercovici ended the game with a record-setting performance, throwing for 510 yards and 5 touchdowns – the most ever thrown by a USC opponent. Bercovici graduated from Arizona State with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

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in 2014 and a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

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and Business in 2015.

College statistics

Professional career

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers

After going

undrafted 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 the

, Bercovici was signed by the San Diego Chargers. He was eventually featured on the

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...

show ''Undrafted''. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Chargers during the final roster cuts. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chargers on January 10, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Arizona Cardinals

On October 24, 2017, Bercovici was signed to the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad. On November 30, 2017, he was released by the Cardinals.

San Diego Fleet

In 2018, Bercovici signed with the

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...

of the newly-formed Alliance of American Football, but was later drafted by the

with their second-round pick in the league's quarterback draft in November. Bercovici began the 2019 AAF season as the Fleet's starting quarterback. In the opener against the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...

, he was hit by Shaan Washington in an impact that knocked his helmet off, but continued to play. Bercovici struggled in the 15–6 loss as he was sacked six times and threw two interceptions before being replaced by Philip Nelson. League offices credited Bercovici for being a sacrificial lamb for the league, as the hit provided viral buzz for the league on social media despite an otherwise mediocre on-field product. Nelson was eventually announced as the starter for the following week's game against the Atlanta Legends. In early March, Bercovici returned to the starting role against the

Salt Lake Stallions The Salt Lake Stallions were a professional American football franchise based in Salt Lake City, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The Stallions were the northernmost team i ...

after Nelson suffered a

clavicle fracture A clavicle fracture, also known as a broken collarbone, is a bone fracture of the clavicle. Symptoms typically include pain at the site of the break and a decreased ability to move the affected arm. Complications can include a collection of air in ...

in the previous game and was placed on injured reserve; Bercovici completed 22 of 43 passes for 304 yards with a touchdown and interception, including a 45-yard throw to Dontez Ford on the final drive that set up

Donny Hageman Don Hageman III (born February 17, 1993) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at San Diego State. College career Mt. San Antonio As a freshman and sophomore at Mt. San Antonio College, Hageman play ...

's game-winning field goal to clinch a 27–25 San Diego victory. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Career statistics

Coaching career

In May 2019, Bercovici returned to Arizona State as a graduate assistant. ASU head coach

Herm Edwards Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Phil ...

had approached Bercovici about the position in January, but he declined in order to play in the AAF.

Arizona Cardinals

In 2020, Bercovici joined the Arizona Cardinals' coaching staff as an entry-level assistant to head coach

Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously a collegiate football coach from 2008 to ...

. On May 10, 2022, Bercovici was promoted to offensive assistant.

References

External links

Arizona State Sun Devils bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bercovici, Mike Living people 1993 births American football quarterbacks American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Arizona Cardinals coaches Arizona Cardinals players Arizona Hotshots players Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches Arizona State Sun Devils football players Jewish American sportspeople Los Angeles Chargers players People from Calabasas, California People from Northridge, Los Angeles Players of American football from Los Angeles San Diego Chargers players San Diego Fleet players William Howard Taft Charter High School alumni 21st-century American Jews Sports coaches from Los Angeles