Chandler Harnish
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Chandler Harnish (born July 28, 1988) 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 the final pick of the
2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...
, selected 253rd overall by the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
, becoming
Mr. Irrelevant Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the last pick of the annual National Football League Draft. Although NFL drafts date back to 1936, the first person to be called Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk of the 1976 NFL Draft. History "Mr. Irrelev ...
2012. 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 ...
for
Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
, where he was the Huskies' starting quarterback for four years. Harnish was also a member of the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
.


Early life

A native of
Bluffton, Indiana Bluffton is a city in Harrison and Lancaster townships, Wells County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 10,308 at the 2020 census and the estimated population is 10,390. The city is the county seat of Wells County. History Blufft ...
, Harnish attended Norwell High School in
Ossian, Indiana Ossian is a town in Jefferson Township, Wells County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The town was named after Ossian, the narrator of a cycle of epic poems by the Scottish poet James Macpherson. The population was 3,289 at the 2010 census. Hist ...
, where he was a letterman in
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, basketball, and track. At Norwell, he passed for 4,760 yards and 48 touchdowns, and also ran for 2,343 yards and 35 touchdowns. He was also a safety where he tallied 129 tackles, seven fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles, and 13 pass deflections. He holds multiple Norwell High School records, including career all-purpose yards (7,103). As a senior, he led the Norwell Knights to a 14–1 record and the runner-up spot in the Indiana 3A state championship. Harnish was awarded the 2006 3A Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award and was named an all-state player and the Fort Wayne News Sentinel Athlete of the Year as a senior. Also, along with his brothers and sister, Chandler ran a sweet corn stand in Bluffton. He also competed in basketball and track at Norwell. In
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, Harnish earned all-conference honors as a junior and as a senior. In
track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
, Harnish was one of the state's top performers in the sprinting and throwing events. In sprints, he recorded times of 11.26 seconds in the
100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...
and 23.16 seconds in the
200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...
. As a thrower, he placed sixth in the discus at the Indiana state championships as a junior. He was the conference, sectional, and regional discus champion who finished sixth in the State Finals as a junior, with a top-throw of 52.71 meters. Regarded as a two-star recruit by ''
Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
'', Harnish only scholarship offer came from
Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...
, which he accepted.


College career

On August 6, 2006, Harnish committed to
Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
, the only FBS school that made him a scholarship offer. Despite not being heavily recruited out of high school, Harnish became one of the greatest quarterbacks in NIU history. He made his first start in the Huskies' first game of his freshman season. In that game, he nearly led the team to an upset over the
Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
's
Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...
. Harnish continued to be Huskies' starter for four straight years. He led the Huskies to a bowl game in all four years that he started, an achievement that surpassed the ''combined total'' of Division I bowl appearances by all other NIU quarterbacks before him. In his first three years at NIU (2008–2010), he started 31 games and totaled 7,332 yards of total offense, including 5,728 passing yards and 1,604 rushing yards. He was selected as a first-team All-MAC player after the 2010 season, and also received the Vern Smith Leadership Award, as the best football player in the
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...
. He was voted MVP of the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl after posting 300 passing yards and a touchdown in the 40–17 victory. During the 2011 regular season, Harnish had 4,043 yards of total offense, including 1,351 rushing yards and 2,692 passing yards. Playing against
Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...
on October 15, 2011, Harnish became only the 10th player in NCAA Division I FBS history with a 200–200 game, consisting of at least 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards. He rushed for a career-high 229 yards and passed for 203 yards in a 55–21 win over the Broncos. Harnish's average of 7.9 yards per carry during the 2011 regular season ranked third among players in the
NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...
with at least 100 carries. Harnish accumulated more than 11,000 yards of total offense in his four years at Northern Illinois. He averaged 336.92 yards of total offense per game in 2011, ranking 7th in the Football Bowl Subdivision. In November 2011, he was named one of 15 semifinalists for the
Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...
as the best player in college football.


College statistics


Professional career


Indianapolis Colts

Harnish was selected in the seventh round (253rd overall) by the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
in the
2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...
. As the last pick in the draft, he was given the mock title of
Mr. Irrelevant Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the last pick of the annual National Football League Draft. Although NFL drafts date back to 1936, the first person to be called Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk of the 1976 NFL Draft. History "Mr. Irrelev ...
. On October 16, Harnish was released by Indianapolis, after being inactive for five regular season games. He was re-signed to the team's practice squad two days later, but did not participate in any games during the 2012 NFL season. He competed for the backup job against
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 ...
in the 2013 preseason, but was waived and later signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/futures contract on January 14, 2014, and was expected to be the backup to
Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during his c ...
. He was released by the Colts on August 30, 2014.


Minnesota Vikings

On September 29, 2014, Harnish signed with the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
, who placed him on their practice squad after starting QB's
Matt Cassel Matthew Brennan Cassel (born May 17, 1982) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. A member of seven NFL teams, Cassel's most notable stints were with the New England Patriots ...
was placed on injured reserve and
Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school. Br ...
had sprained his ankle. On October 2, 2014, Harnish was put on the active roster to back up
Christian Ponder Christian Andrew Ponder (born February 25, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He played for the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Florida State, and was drafted by the Minnesota ...
in the Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings game after Bridgewater, who was injured in the previous game against
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 ...
was deactivated for the game. Harnish was waived the next day. On October 7, 2014, Harnish was re-signed to the Vikings
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, ...
and
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 ...
McLeod Bethel-Thompson McLeod John Baltazar Bethel-Thompson (born July 3, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UCLA and Sacramento State. He is the gran ...
was released. On December 16, 2014, Harnish was released by the Vikings.


Arizona Cardinals

Harnish signed with the
Arizona 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 t ...
on March 31, 2015. During the
2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...
, he read the name of the 2015 Mr. Irrelevant,
Gerald Christian Gerald Christian (born August 26, 1991) is a former American football tight end. He was Mr. Irrelevant in 2015 when the Arizona Cardinals drafted him with the 256th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville. His brothe ...
. Harnish was released by the Cardinals on August 8, 2015.


References


External links


Indianapolis Colts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harnish, Chandler 1988 births Living people People from Bluffton, Indiana Players of American football from Indiana American football quarterbacks Northern Illinois Huskies football players Indianapolis Colts players Minnesota Vikings players Arizona Cardinals players