Damon Paul Huard (born July 9, 1973) 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 is the director of community relations and fundraising for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

football program, his alma mater. Huard was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals 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 1996, and played twelve seasons in the NFL with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

, New England Patriots, and

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 ...

. While with the Patriots, he won two Super Bowl rings.

Early years

Born in

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninc ...

, Huard was raised southeast of Tacoma in Puyallup, where his father Mike was a high school teacher and head football He was the first to hold a snap for kicker

Ryan Longwell Ryan Walker Longwell (born August 16, 1974Ryan Longwell
NFLPA.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

when they played for Aylen Junior High. Huard attended

Puyallup High School Puyallup High School is a high school in the Puyallup School District in Pierce County, Washington, commonly referred to as PHS. History Founded in 1890 as Central High School, the first nine students graduated from the school in 1893. In 1902, ...

, where he was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the Vikings in football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He played

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

as a sophomore, as the quarterback was senior

Billy Joe Hobert Billy Joe Hobert (born January 8, 1971) is a former professional American football quarterback. He played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with four teams, primarily as a reserve. College career While at the University of Wash ...

. As a senior in 1990, Huard was named the

Powerade Powerade is a sports drink created, manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. Its primary competitor is Gatorade, owned by PepsiCo. History In 1988, Powerade became the official sports drink of the Olympics, alongside Aquarius, ano ...

State Player of the Year and won

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors.

College career

After graduation from high school, Huard attended the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, where he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, the Huskies'

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

season. Wearing jersey number 7, he started for the first time in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

under first-year head coach

Jim Lambright James Ralph Lambright (April 26, 1942 – March 29, 2020) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Washington for six seasons, from 1993 to 1998, compiling a record of Prior to becoming head co ...

, and continued as a starter through

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

. That season, he passed for 2,415 yards and 11 touchdowns; he finished his career as the Huskies' all-time passing leader with 5,692 yards. As a junior in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, Huard led the Dawgs to an 18-point victory over the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

at the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

, halting their nine-year home winning streak at 58 games.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

After going undrafted in the 1996 NFL Draft, Huard was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an

, but was waived on August 19.

Miami Dolphins

After spending the 1996 season out of football, Huard signed with the

on April 24,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. He was released during final cuts on August 24, but was re-signed to the team's practice squad two days later. He was promoted to the active roster on September 6 and spent the remainder of the season as the Dolphins' third quarterback. Following the season, Huard played in NFL Europe for the Frankfurt Galaxy. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, Huard saw action in two games for the Dolphins as a reserve, while acting as the team's third quarterback in eight games. He finished the season six-of-nine for 85 yards and an interception. Huard began the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

season as the Dolphins' holder on the field goal unit, but following an injury to starter Dan Marino, in the future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

's final season, Huard started his first NFL game on October 24 after replacing Marino on October 17. He won his first three games that he started, tying a Dolphins record set by

Earl Morrall Earl Edwin Morrall (May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American football player who was a quarterback (and occasional punter) in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he be ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

. Huard posted a record before Marino returned in November, finishing the regular season with eight touchdowns, four interceptions, and 1,288 passing yards. Huard also saw time in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, replacing Marino for the second half of a loss to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

. Several weeks earlier on December 3, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Dolphins. Despite Huard's performance in 1999,

Jay Fiedler Jay Brian Fiedler (born December 29, 1971) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played 76 games at quarterback in the NFL, starting 60, and threw 69 touchdowns. He was inducted into the National Jewi ...

was signed to be the Dolphins' starter in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. Huard started one game in Fiedler's place, a win over the Colts on November 26. On that day, Damon and his brother Brock became the NFL's first set of brothers to start at QB on the same weekend in league history. Damon made his only start that year against the Colts, while Brock started against the Denver Broncos for the Seahawks.

New England Patriots

A free agent after the 2000 season, Huard signed with the New England Patriots. At training camp, he competed with second-year

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

and third-year Michael Bishop for the backup job behind long-time starter

Drew Bledsoe Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Washington State, whe ...

; In 2001 Brady became the team's second quarterback and Huard the third for the start of the season. When Bledsoe was injured in Week 2, Brady became the Patriots' starter for the remainder of the season, while Huard was the backup until Bledsoe returned in Week 10. As the third quarterback, Huard won his first Super Bowl ring in February 2002 when the Patriots beat the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

. Huard appeared in his first game as a Patriot in 2002, leading a touchdown drive in a blowout win over the New York Jets on September 15. Later in the season, he entered a game in a punt formation and ran a successful quarterback sneak for a first down. While a backup for the Patriots in 2003, Huard saw time in two more games while also seeing time on the team's scout team during practice. Before the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts, he mimicked the line calls and audibles of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning for the Patriots' defense during practice.

Kansas City Chiefs

After 2003, Huard signed with the

as a free agent. As the team's third quarterback, he did not see any action for his first two seasons ( 2004 and 2005). In the 2006 opener, starter

Trent Green Trent Jason Green (born July 9, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fifteen seasons. He played college football for Indiana University. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in ...

suffered a concussion and was replaced by Huard. He started the next seven games, posting a record until suffering a groin injury. Green returned and started the remainder of the season and the team's

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

game against the Indianapolis Colts. After the season, the Chiefs signed Huard to a three-year contract extension, and Green was traded to the

. During the 2006 season, Huard set the NFL record for lowest percentage passes intercepted in a season among qualified players, with only one of his 244 attempts being intercepted. In the Chiefs' 2007 training camp, Huard competed with second-year Brodie Croyle, the team's third-round draft choice in 2006. Huard was named the starter on August 25, and started the first nine games of the season, going In his final start, Huard suffered a back injury and was replaced by Croyle, but Croyle himself was injured after his second start, both losses, and Huard returned as the starter in Week 13. He suffered a hand injury in the game and Croyle started the Chiefs' next two games. In Week 16, Croyle was injured again and Huard saw time in a reserve before Croyle returned to start the last game of the season. The Chiefs ended the season on a nine-game losing streak. Croyle started the opener in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, but again suffered an injury and was replaced by Huard. In Week 2, Huard started but suffered a concussion and was replaced by Tyler Thigpen, a seventh-round draft pick in 2007. Thigpen started the Chiefs' Week 3 game before Huard returned for Weeks 4 and 5. Croyle returned after the bye week in Week 7 to start, was injured again, and replaced by Huard, who suffered a thumb injury. He was placed on injured reserve the next week, ending his season. The same week, Croyle was also placed on injured reserve, leaving Thigpen as the Chiefs' starter for the remainder of the season. Following the season,

Scott Pioli Scott Pioli (born March 31, 1965) is an American football executive who most recently worked as the Assistant General Manager for the Atlanta Falcons. He was an NFL analyst for NBC Sports' '' Football Night in America'', NBC Sports Network's Pro ...

, the Patriots' director of player personnel during Huard's tenure in New England, was hired to be the Chiefs'

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. Huard was released by the Chiefs on February 24, roughly a week before Pioli traded for

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 ...

, a Patriots backup who replaced an injured Brady in

, to be the Chiefs' starter in 2009.

San Francisco 49ers

Huard signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

on March 4, 2009, and competed for a job behind

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 2 ...

with

Shaun Hill Shaun Christopher Hill (born January 9, 1980) is a former American football quarterback who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college fo ...

and 2009 fifth-round pick Nate Davis, he was released on September 1, and retired.

After football

The University of Washington announced in June 2013 that former Husky quarterback Damon Huard had taken a new role as Chief Administrative Officer of the football program. Huard had been a fundraiser for the previous three seasons in the athletic department. Under new head coach

Chris Petersen Christopher Scott Petersen (born October 13, 1964) is a former American football coach who was most recently the head coach at the University of Washington. Previously the head coach for eight seasons at Boise State University, Petersen guided ...

, Huard became director of external relations. Since 2010, he has been the analyst on Husky radio broadcasts, alongside

Bob Rondeau Bob Rondeau is a retired American sports announcer. He is known for a 37-year career associated with University of Washington athletics. Early life Rondeau grew up in Colorado. He majored in journalism at Colorado, graduating in 1972. Career R ...

. Huard and former teammate Dan Marino have a winemaking venture in

Woodinville Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. There is also a much larger population with Woodinville mailing addresses in adjacent unincorporated areas of King ( Cottage Lake) and ...

called

Personal life

Huard and his wife Julie Ann have three children. His younger brothers were also quarterbacks at Puyallup: Brock also started at Washington and in the NFL, and Luke played at His son, Sam Huard, is a left handed quarterback in the class of 2021 who attends the University of Washington. Sam started his first game in the 2021 Apple Cup.

References

External links

University of Washington Athletics
– Damon Huard * {{DEFAULTSORT:Huard, Damon 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Yakima, Washington Players of American football from Washington (state) American football quarterbacks Washington Huskies football players Cincinnati Bengals players Frankfurt Galaxy players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players Kansas City Chiefs players San Francisco 49ers players Washington Huskies football announcers Sportspeople from Puyallup, Washington Ed Block Courage Award recipients