John Wolford

John Wolford (born October 16, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played for the New York Jets of the National Football League and the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football. He played college football at Wake Forest.

For the muse, confidant and the first romantic interest of the composer Benjamin Britten, see John Woolford. For the English rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, see Johnny Wolford.
John Wolford
No. 9 – Los Angeles Rams
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1995-10-16) October 16, 1995
Dallas, Texas
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Bishop Kenny
(Jacksonville, Florida)
College:Wake Forest
Undrafted:2018
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
TD–INT:0–1
Passing yards:231
Completion percentage:57.9
Passer rating:64.7
Rushing yards:56
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Wolford was born in Dallas, Texas, and moved to Jacksonville at an early age where he attended Bishop Kenny High School.[1] As a pro-style quarterback, he was rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com[2] and ESPN[3] and committed to play college football at Wake Forest. He was briefly the all-time leader in all major statistical passing categories for high school football in the state of Florida.

College career

Wolford started his college career as the first Wake Forest player to start all 12 games as a true freshman, setting school records in attempts, passing yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage by a true freshman. He struggled at times, throwing 13 interceptions in his first eight games, but showed improvement over the year, throwing only one interception in the final four. He finished eighth in the ACC in passing yards per game at 169.8, ranking second among freshmen in the conference behind only Miami's Brad Kaaya.

He had another strong year as a sophomore. In the first game of the season, he threw for a career-high 323 yards in a 41–3 win over Elon; the next week, he threw for 373 yards in a 30-17 loss vs. Syracuse. His 696 passing yards in the first two games constituted the best start ever by a Wake Forest quarterback. As a junior, he started 11 of 13 games, missing one game due to injury.

As a senior, he had the most impressive season of his college career, earning second-team all-ACC honors and setting school records in single-season passer rating, passing yards, touchdown passes, total offense yards, and touchdowns, as well as the school record in career touchdowns. In the Belk Bowl, he set school bowl game records in completions (32), attempts (49), passing yards (400), and touchdowns (4), becoming the first FBS player since 2000 to pass for 400+ yards, rush for 65+ yards, and throw no interceptions in a bowl game.[1]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m)		 200 lb
(91 kg)		 4.77 s 1.70 s 2.76 s 4.18 s 6.78 s 31 in
(0.79 m)		 9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)
All values from the 2018 Wake Forest pro day.[4]

New York Jets

After going undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft, Wolford signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets. He played in most of the preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, completing 8 passes on 20 attempts for 89 yards and an interception.[5][6] He was cut from the Jets on September 4.[7]

Arizona Hotshots

The Arizona Hotshots drafted Wolford with their second-round pick in the 2019 AAF QB Draft. He entered the preseason competing with first-round pick Trevor Knight for the starting job; in the Hotshots' sole preseason game against the Birmingham Iron, Wolford completed 9 of 14 passes for 116 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion. He was named starter prior to the regular season.[8]

In the first game of the regular season, a 38–22 win over the Salt Lake Stallions, Wolford completed 18 of 29 passes for 275 yards, four touchdowns, and two two-point conversions; for his performance, he was named Week 1 AAF Offensive Player of the Week.[9][10] He earned a second Player of the Week award in Week 7, when he completed 15 of 19 passes for 212 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a 126.3 passer rating and ran for a 35-yard touchdown in a 32–15 victory against the San Diego Fleet.[11] Statistically, he was the 2nd best quarterback in the AAF's lone season.

Los Angeles Rams

On April 10, 2019, Wolford signed with the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL after the AAF suspended operations.[12] He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019,[13] but was signed the next day to the Rams' practice squad.[14] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Rams on December 31, 2019.

Following an injury to starter Jared Goff during a Week 16 game against the Seattle Seahawks, Rams coach Sean McVay confirmed on December 28, 2020, that Wolford would start the final game of the season against the Arizona Cardinals.[15] Wolford would become the first quarterback to make his first start with a team during Week 17 with a playoff berth on the line since Kyle Orton with the Dallas Cowboys in 2013.[16] Wolford would go on to throw an interception to Jordan Hicks in his first pass attempt of the game. He quickly turned things around, however, completing 22 of 38 passes for 231 yards as the Rams went on to beat the Cardinals 18–7 to clinch a playoff berth.[17] He became the first quarterback to pass for 200+ yards and rush for 50+ yards in an NFL debut.[18] He started in the wild card playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, but left in the first quarter with a neck injury after sustaining a helmet to helmet hit from Jamal Adams.[19] He was taken to the hospital and later was released the same day.[20]

AAF statistics
YearTeamGPGSPassingRushing
CmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2019ARI 8713020663.11,6177.814795.9361604.41
Career 8713020663.11,6177.814795.9361604.41

NFL statistics
Regular Season
YearTeamGPGSPassingRushing
CmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2020LAR 11223857.92316.10164.76569.30
Career 11223857.92316.10164.76569.30
Postseason
2020 LAR 1 1 3 6 50.0 29 4.8 0 0 63.9 1 2 2.0 0
Career 1 1 3 6 50.0 29 4.8 0 0 63.9 1 2 2.0 0

Source:[21]

Career awards and records
  • First quarterback in NFL history to pass for 200+ yards and rush for 50+ yards in an NFL debut. [22]

Personal life

Wolford's uncle, Will Wolford, was a three-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle who played 13 seasons in the NFL.[23]

References
  1. "2017 Football Roster: John Wolford". WF Football. Wake Forest University Athletics. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  2. "Rivals.com". n.rivals.com. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  3. "John Wolford". ESPN Recruiting. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. "John Wolford, DS #16 QB, Wake Forest". NFLDraftScout.com. The Sports Xchange. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  5. Cimini, Rich (15 November 2018). "Story of ex-Jet's long shot: Summer fling, a perfect pass, Wall Street". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  6. "New York Jets vs. Philadelphia Eagles". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  7. "Jets Sign Ex-Giants QB Davis Webb To Practice Squad, Cut QB John Wolford". Gang Green Nation. SB Nation. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  8. "Wolford wins starting QB job for Arizona team in new football league". Winston-Salem Journal. BH Media Group, Inc. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  9. Romero, Jose (12 February 2019). "Arizona Hotshots quarterback John Wolford named Week 1 Offensive Player of the Week". AAF.com. Alliance of American Football. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  10. "Arizona Hotshots vs Salt Lake Stallions – Week 1". NoExtraPoints. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  11. "Wolford, Gates and Zema are players of the week". aaf.com. March 26, 2019. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. Dennis, Clarence (April 10, 2019). "Rams sign former AAF QB John Wolford". TheRams.com.
  13. Han, Jamie (August 31, 2019). "Rams trim roster down to 53 players". TheRams.com. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  14. Han, Jamie (September 1, 2019). "Rams sign 10 practice squad players". TheRams.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  15. Thiry, Lindsey. "John Wolford is now the Rams' starting QB, but who is John Wolford?". ESPN.
  16. Carlin, Skyler. "Rams QB John Wolford set to make history in first career start vs. Cardinals". Clutch Points.
  17. Klein, Gary (January 3, 2021). "John Wolford gets it done for Rams in playoff-clinching win over Cardinals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  18. "Rams QB John Wolford made NFL history with Week 17 performance". theramswire.usatoday.com. Rams Wire. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  19. "Rams QB John Wolford (neck) questionable to return vs. Seahawks; Jared Goff in". NFL.com. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  20. Thiry, Lindsey (9 January 2021). "QB Wolford out of hospital, celebrates with Rams". ESPN.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  21. "Arizona Hotshots Player Stats". aaf.com. Alliance of American Football. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  22. "Rams QB John Wolford made NFL history with Week 17 performance". theramswire.usatoday.com. Rams Wire. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  23. Journal, Conor O’Neill Winston-Salem. "Ultimate competitor: After three tough years, Wake Forest QB John Wolford leading high-powered offense". Winston-Salem Journal.
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