DeShone Kizer

DeShone Allen Kizer (born January 3, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Green Bay Packers and Las Vegas Raiders.

DeShone Kizer
Kizer with the Cleveland Browns in 2017
No. 4 – Tennessee Titans
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1996-01-03) January 3, 1996
Toledo, Ohio
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:Central Catholic (Toledo, Ohio)
College:Notre Dame
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 2 / Pick: 52
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Reserve/Future
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
TD–INT:11–24
Passing yards:3,081
Completion percentage:53.1
Passer rating:58.9
Rushing yards:458
Rushing touchdowns:5
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Kizer attended Central Catholic High School in Toledo, Ohio.[1] Kizer was named the AP Ohio Division III co-offensive player of the year as a senior in 2013.[2] A three-year starter, Kizer helped lead the Fighting Irish high school football team to a combined 34–6 overall record in 2011–13 (8–2 in playoff games), including a 14–1 record and Ohio Division II state title in 2012.[3] In his career, Kizer's totals included 5,684 passing yards and 56 touchdowns to go with 1,211 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.[4]

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the ninth best dual-threat quarterback prospect of his class.[5] On June 11, 2013, Kizer announced his commitment to play college football at the University of Notre Dame.[6]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
DeShone Kizer
Dual-Threat QB		 Toledo, OH Central Catholic HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 233 lb (106 kg) Jun 11, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 17 (QB), 2 (regional), 1 (OH), 263 (national)   Rivals: 9 (QB)  ESPN: 16 (QB), 12 (OH)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Notre Dame Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "Notre Dame College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.

    College career

    Kizer redshirted his first year at Notre Dame in 2014 behind quarterbacks Everett Golson and Malik Zaire.[7]

    Kizer started 2015 as a backup to Zaire. On September 5, in the season opener, he made his collegiate debut against Texas in relief of Zaire in the 38–3 victory.[8] During the second game of the season against Virginia, Kizer replaced an injured Zaire and helped lead Notre Dame to a victory. With 12 seconds left, Kizer completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Will Fuller to give Notre Dame the lead.[9] After it was announced that Zaire would miss the rest of the season, Kizer was named the starter. On October 3, in a 24–22 loss to Clemson, he passed for a season-high 321 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while having 15 carries for 60 yards and a rushing touchdown.[10] Against Pitt, Kizer accounted for all six touchdowns (five passing and one rushing) helping Notre Dame to a 42–30 victory.[11] On Halloween, in a 24–20 win over Temple, he recorded 299 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, and had a stellar night on the ground with 143 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.[12] Kizer and the Fighting Irish finished the 2015 regular season with a 10–2 record.[13] On New Year's Day, Kizer and the Fighting Irish closed out their 2015 season with a 44–28 loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. In the loss, he had 284 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception while adding 21 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on the ground.[14] Overall in 2015, Kizer finished his redshirt first year with 2,880 passing yards, 525 rushing yards, and 31 total touchdowns in 13 games.[15]

    Kizer started off the 2016 season with 215 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, 77 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown in a 2OT 50–47 loss to Texas at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.[16] After a victory over Nevada, he had 344 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 14 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns in a 36–28 loss to Michigan State.[17][18] After a loss to Duke, he had a career day through the air with 471 yards and three touchdowns in a 50–33 win over Syracuse.[19] He put together some solid performances over the rest of the season, but the team faltered and ended up with a 4–8 record.[20] Kizer played 12 games with 2,925 passing yards, 472 rushing yards, and 34 total touchdowns.[21] After the 2016 season, Kizer decided to forgo the remaining two years of eligibility and enter the 2017 NFL Draft.[22]

    College statistics
    Notre Dame Fighting Irish
    General Passing Rushing
    YearGPGSCmpAttPctYdsAvgLngTDIntRtgAttYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
    2014 Redshirt
    2015 131121133563.02,8848.6812110150.01345203.9791052
    2016 121219532560.02,9018.879328111.83127 541 4.2 70 8 0 0
    Totals 252340666061.155,5898.4814518148.752521,0294.1791752

    [23]

    Professional career

    Kizer received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine drills except for the bench press. He also performed positional drills, but had a disappointing performance. He also participated at Notre Dame's Pro Day and only ran positional drills in front of team scouts and representatives, including San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Kizer completed 50/60 pass attempts and showed significantly better accuracy and footwork at his pro day.[24] NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be a first or second round pick.[25] He was ranked the second best quarterback in the draft by NFL analyst Bucky Brooks, the third best quarterback by NFLDraftScout.com and Sports Illustrated, and was ranked the fourth best quarterback by NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock.[26][27][28][29]

    Pre-draft measurables
    Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Wonderlic
    6 ft 4 1⁄4 in
    (1.94 m)    		 233 lb
    (106 kg)    		 33 1⁄8 in
    (0.84 m)    		 9 7⁄8 in
    (0.25 m)    		 4.83 s 1.72 s 2.84 s 4.53 s 7.40 s 30 1⁄2 in
    (0.77 m)    		 8 ft 11 in
    (2.72 m)    		 28[30]
    All values from NFL Combine[25][24]

    Cleveland Browns
    Kizer during training camp

    The Cleveland Browns selected Kizer in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[31] He was the fourth quarterback to be selected that year.[32] On June 14, 2017, the Browns signed Kizer to a four-year, $4.94 million contract that includes $2.42 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.73 million.[33][34] On August 27, 2017, following the team's third preseason game, the Browns named Kizer as the starting quarterback to begin the 2017 regular season, beating out veteran trade acquisition Brock Osweiler and second-year quarterbacks Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan.[35]

    Making his NFL debut on September 10, 2017, Kizer finished with 222 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed for 17 yards and a one-yard rushing touchdown, but the Browns lost by a score 21–18 at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers.[36] He orchestrated a 12-play drive that ended when he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.[36] Kizer's first career passing touchdown was a three-yard pass to wide receiver Corey Coleman in the fourth quarter.[37][38] He started the next four games for the Browns, which were all losses. During the Week 5 game against the New York Jets, Kizer was benched in favor of Kevin Hogan to begin the third quarter. Hogan was later named the starter for the team's Week 6 game against the Houston Texans.[39] After Hogan's struggles in Week 6, Kizer was renamed the starter for the Week 7.[40] Against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7, Kizer threw for 114 yards and two interceptions before being benched in favor of Cody Kessler in the third quarter. The Browns lost 12–9 in overtime.[41] Following the game, reports surfaced Kizer was out late the Friday before the Titans game, which caused some controversy.[42] During Week 14 against the Green Bay Packers, Kizer threw for 214 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions, including one in overtime that gave the Packers excellent field position. The Browns lost by a score of 27–21.[43] During the season finale against the Steelers in Week 17, Kizer finished with a season-high 314 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception as the Browns lost 24–28.[44] The Browns finished the year with an 0–16 record, only the second team in NFL history to have that record.[45][46]

    In 15 starts of his rookie season, Kizer completed 53.6 percent of his passes for 2,894 yards, 11 touchdowns, and a league-leading 22 interceptions.[47] He also rushed for 419 yards and five touchdowns.[48]

    Green Bay Packers

    On March 14, 2018, Kizer was traded to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Damarious Randall and a swap of both fourth and fifth-round draft picks.[49] On September 9, 2018, in Week 1, Kizer played in place of an injured Aaron Rodgers in the first and second quarters against the Chicago Bears. He threw for 55 yards and an interception which was returned for a touchdown. Rodgers returned in the third quarter and led the Packers to a 24–23 victory.[50] In the season finale against the Detroit Lions, Kizer played in relief of Rodgers, who had suffered a concussion, and threw for 132 yards and an interception as the Packers were shut-out by a score of 31–0.[51][52]

    Kizer was released on August 31, 2019 as part of the final roster cuts.[53]

    Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

    On September 1, 2019, Kizer was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Raiders.[54] On May 5, 2020, Kizer was waived by the relocated Las Vegas Raiders.[55] He was re-signed to the Raiders practice squad on September 7, 2020,[56] and was released on September 30.[57]

    Tennessee Titans

    On November 24, 2020, Kizer was signed to the Tennessee Titans practice squad.[58] He was signed to a futures contract on January 11, 2021. [59]

    NFL career statistics
    Legend
    Led the league
    Bold Career high
    Year Team Games Passing Rushing Fumbles
    GPGSCmpAttPctYdsAvgTDIntRateAttYdsAvgTDFumLost
    2017CLE 151525547653.62,8946.1112260.5774195.4596
    2018GB 30204247.61874.50240.55397.8011
    2019OAK DNP
    2020 LV DNP
    TEN DNP
    Career181527551853.13,0815.9112458.9824585.65107
    Source: NFL.com

    Personal life

    His father, Derek Kizer, played basketball at Bowling Green from 1987 to 1991.[60][61]

    References
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    2. Blade Staff. "Kizer tops area AP Division III All-Ohio football team". Toledo Blade.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
    3. "Toledo Central Catholic holds off defending champs in Division II to win state title". FridayNightOhio.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
    4. Junga, Steve. "Kizer: most talented H.S. quarterback Toledo has produced". Toledo Blade.
    5. "DeShone Kizer". Yahoo!.
    6. Junga, Steve. "Central Catholic quarterback DeShone Kizer commits to Notre Dame". Toledo Blade.
    7. Wieneke, Bob. "Notre Dame freshman DeShone Kizer learning as a backup quarterback". Notre Dame Insider.
    8. "Texas at Notre Dame Box Score, September 5, 2015". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
    9. Hale, David M. "Backup QB leads Notre Dame to dramatic win over Virginia". ESPN.
    10. "Notre Dame at Clemson Box Score, October 3, 2015". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
    11. Goodbread, Chase. "DeShone Kizer leads Notre Dame over Pittsburgh". National Football League.
    12. "Notre Dame at Temple Box Score, October 31, 2015". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
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