Reggie Ball

Reginald Lewis Ball (born October 6, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Georgia Tech.

Reggie Ball
No. 12
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1984-10-06) October 6, 1984
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Stephenson
(Stone Mountain, Georgia)
College:Georgia Tech
Undrafted:2007
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Ball played his high school football at Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia. As a senior, he passed for over 2,000 yards with 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He was named to the Super Southern 100 and Top 50 in Georgia by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also, he was rated the number 133 player in Georgia by BorderWars.com and ranked among the nation's top 15 all-purpose quarterbacks by Rivals.com.[1]

College career

Ball was the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Georgia Tech since Stu Rogers in 1980.[2] Ball's first start was in the Yellow Jackets' opening game against BYU in 2003. Since then, he missed just one game and amassed 8,128 passing yards, 57 touchdown passes and 9,579 total yards of offense in his career, but also threw 55 interceptions. Ball's passing yards total is third on Georgia Tech's career list, behind Joe Hamilton and Shawn Jones, and his touchdown pass and total offense totals are second behind Hamilton.[1] Ball accumulated 11 rushing touchdowns and also rushed for 1,451 yards in his career, good for 18th on the Yellow Jacket leaderboard and second among Tech quarterbacks in history (Hamilton). He wore jersey number 1.

During his career, Ball was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2003[3] and was named the MVP of the Champs Sports Bowl in 2004.[4] He compiled a record of 29-20 as the starting quarterback for the Yellow Jackets.[5] Ball, whose athleticism was well noted as CouchScout.com listed him at 4.46 in the 40-yard dash, led Georgia Tech to three 7-win seasons in a row. He capped off his career with a 9-5 mark in 2006 that included a #25 ranking nationally (heading into the Toyota Gator Bowl) and an ACC Coastal Division Championship.[6] In 2005, Georgia Tech was trailing UGA 7-14 with 1st & 10 at the UGA 11. Ball threw an interception that helped secure a victory for the Bulldogs. Thus stretching the streak to five games over their in state rivals.

Ball started his senior season for the Yellow Jackets by leading the team to a sterling 9-2 record, but his collegiate career ended on a negative note on December 2, 2006, with a 9-6 loss in the ACC Championship Game to Wake Forest, just one week after Ball's Georgia Tech team lost to in-state rival UGA for a sixth straight year. He completed less than 30% (15-51) of his passes in these last two games, threw four interceptions, and gave up a crucial fumble in the loss to Georgia.[7] Although Georgia Tech earned a spot to play West Virginia in the Gator Bowl that year, Ball's controversial career abruptly ended when he was named academically ineligible, and backup quarterback Taylor Bennett was named the starter.[8][9] He left Georgia Tech after this season having completed only 44% of his passes, the worst mark of his four-year career, and not receiving an academic degree.[7]

Legacy

Ball's college career will forever be marred with inconsistency. The teams he led "played to the level of the opponent," producing several impressive upsets while losing "easier" games.[10] Although he won several big games for the Jackets including two wins against ranked Auburn University teams and a win against #3 University of Miami on the road in 2005, Ball-led Yellow Jacket teams were 0-4 against the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech's primary rival. Ball's play in these games (including, in 2004, a drive-ending intentional incomplete pass out of bounds on 4th down and earning him the nickname "5th Down Reggie") will always be in question to Georgia Tech fans. He finished his career by losing to UGA, losing the ACC Championship game to Wake Forest, and being declared academically ineligible for the 2007 Gator Bowl, which would have been his final game. College football writer Pete Fiutak, contributor to the website Collegefootballnews.com, challenged readers to name a more ineffective four-year college football starter than Ball.[11] Brett Jensen compared his career to that of the Clemson Tigers' Charlie Whitehurst; both had impressive freshman seasons, but they were unable to live up to the expectations placed upon them.[12]

Statistics
Passing Rushing
YEAR CMP ATT CMP% YDS TD INT ATT YDS AVG TD
200318135051.71,99610111393842.83
200416433049.72,14716181303322.62
200518237948.02,16511121043813.74
200613530444.41,82020141223542.92
Totals6621,36348.68,12857554951,4512.911

Professional career

Detroit Lions

At the NFL Combine, Ball tried out as a wide receiver, attempting to follow former college quarterbacks Antwaan Randle El and Reggie McNeal. He ran a 4.8 second 40-yard dash,[13] and had somewhat inconsistent pass coverage.[14] Ball was not selected during the 2007 NFL Draft, but was signed by the Detroit Lions, auditioning for a role as a wide receiver/kick returner.[15] He did not make the team.[16]

On December 5, he was re-signed to the practice squad when defensive back LaMarcus Hicks was placed on injured reserve and wide receiver Brandon Middleton was promoted to the active roster. On July 27, 2008, he was placed on injured reserve.

Ball was released by the Lions on March 18, 2009.[17]

Indoor Football League

Ball signed to play for the now-defunct Bricktown Brawlers of the Indoor Football League in 2011.

See also

References
  1. "Georgia Tech profile". RamblinWreck.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  2. "Freshman Quarterback To Start For Georgia Tech". USA Today. August 25, 2003. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  3. "Faces in the Crowd: "Rookie of the Year"". The Technique. September 10, 2004. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  4. Long, Mark (December 21, 2004). "It's All Georgia Tech In Champs Sports Bowl". USA Today. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  5. "Reggie Ball". GT RamblinWreck.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  6. "2006 NCAA Football Rankings - Week 15". ESPN.com. December 3, 2006. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  7. "Profile and Statistics". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  8. "Georgia Tech's Ball, Scott ruled out of Gator Bowl". ESPN.com. December 20, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  9. "Jackets lose starting QB Ball, corner Scott for Gator Bowl". CBS SportsLine.com. December 20, 2006. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
  10. Holt, Andy (October 15, 2004). "Beyond the White and Gold: Too much talent? Dilemma of a quarterback controversy". The Technique. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  11. Fiutak, Pete (December 21, 2006). "ASK CFN - The Most Ineffective QB Ever?". College Football News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  12. Jensen, Brett (October 19, 2006). "The Trials and Tribulations of Reggie Ball". CUTigers.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2006. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
  13. "Reggie Ball 2007 NFL Draft Scout Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  14. Ledbetter, D. Orlando (February 26, 2007). "NFL COMBINE NOTEBOOK: Tech's Ball shows stuff as a receiver". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  15. Winkeljohn, Matt (April 30, 2007). "Ball to work out for Lions as receiver". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  16. "Detroit Lions Roster". NFL.com. Retrieved November 13, 2007.
  17. DetroitLions.com Archived August 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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