Eric Joel Kresser (born February 6, 1973) is an American former college and professional football player who was a quarterback 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 ...

(NFL) and the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) for five seasons during the 1990s and early 2000s. Kresser played college football for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: ...

, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL and the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

of the CFL.

Early years

Kresser was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

in 1973.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Eric Kresser
Retrieved March 18, 2011. He attended

Palm Beach Gardens High School Palm Beach Gardens Community High School is a public magnet high school for grades 9–12 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The school mascot is the Gator. It was built in 1968 as a public high school. The original school was demolished and a new sc ...

in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida,databaseFootball.com, Players
Eric Kresser
. Retrieved March 18, 2011. where he

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in high school football,

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 ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

for the Palm Beach Gardens Gators. Kresser received all-state honors in football.

College career

Kresser accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...

team from 1992 to

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 ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 78–79, 127, 141–144, 168, 183 (2011). Retrieved August 30, 2011. Memorably, as a junior in 1995, Kresser threw for 458 yards and six touchdowns against the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athleti ...

, including a 96-yard touchdown pass to Gators wide receiver

Jacquez Green D'Tanyian Jacquez "Quezi" Green (born January 15, 1976) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver and punt returner in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1990s and early 2 ...

. After transferring to

for his senior year, Kresser became the starting quarterback for the

1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football team The 1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Bob Pruett, the Thundering Herd compiled ...

under coach

Bob Pruett Robert Lewis Pruett (born June 20, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach Marshall University for nine seasons, from 1996 to 2004. During his tenure at Marshall, the Marshall Thundering Herd f ...

.Garry Smits,
Gators QB Eric Kresser had a role in Florida-Georgia history
" ''Florida Times-Union'' (October 24, 2012). Retrieved July 13, 2012. With future NFL hall of famer, wide receiver

Randy Moss Randy Gene Moss (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee ...

, as his primary target, Kresser threw for 35 touchdowns and over 3,400 yards, while winning the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...

championship. Marshall defeated the

Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding six men's teams ( ...

49–29 in the

1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game The 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 21, 1996, and was the last I-AA title game contested ...

, and ended the season with a perfect 15–0 record.

Professional career

Kresser signed a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he spent his entire three-year NFL career. In 2000, the Bengals sent Kresser to play for the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games ...

. He started the first four games before injuring his right shoulder. After sitting out the 2001 season, Kresser played for the Grey Cup champion

in the

2002 CFL season The 2002 CFL season is considered to be the 49th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 45th Canadian Football League season. CFL news in 2002 On March 19, Michael Lysko was relieved of his duties as CFL Commissio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kresser, Eric 1973 births Living people American football quarterbacks American players of Canadian football Berlin Thunder players Canadian football quarterbacks Cincinnati Bengals players Florida Gators football players Marshall Thundering Herd football players Montreal Alouettes players Players of American football from Cincinnati Players of Canadian football from Cincinnati People from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Tampa Bay Storm players