Rodney Peete

Rodney Peete (born March 16, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL).

Peete also was drafted in the 30th round (722nd overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft, but opted to attend college instead.

He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning first-team All-American honors in 1988.

The team played in the 1988 Rose Bowl, losing 20-17 to Michigan State University.

Peete's statistics on the season were: 197-of-332 completions (59.3%) for 2,709 yards, 21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 70 carries for 145 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

As a senior, Peete started all 12 games and had a 10-2 record.

He posted 223-of-359 completions (62.1%) for 2,812 yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 68 carries for 68 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

His teams would win both head-to-head matchups in the UCLA–USC rivalry against Troy Aikman's UCLA teams, with the 31–22 win being notable in that Peete was stricken with measles the week before the game and had been hospitalized.

He was drafted three different times while at USC; in the 1988 MLB draft by the Oakland Athletics in the 14th round (359th overall), the 1989 MLB draft by the Athletics again in the 13th round (348th overall) and the 1990 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers in the 28th round (742nd overall).

Peete was selected in the sixth round of the 1989 NFL Draft.

He played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, and Carolina Panthers

Peete was born in Mesa, Arizona.

He attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson.

Peete was a three-year letterman in football, basketball, and baseball.

In football, he was named the Arizona High School Player of the Year and an Academic All-American as a junior.

He also contributed to his teams winning state championships in basketball and baseball.

Peete transferred to Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kansas for his senior year, after his father Willie was hired as an assistant coach by the Kansas City Chiefs.

He received Prep All-American honors at quarterback at the end of the season.

The Trojans lost 22-14 in the 1989 Rose Bowl against the University of Michigan.

For his efforts, he was the second player ever and the first Trojan to win the Johnny Unitas Award as the nation's best senior quarterback (since earned by Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart as well).

He was second to Barry Sanders and ahead of Aikman in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Peete finished his college career as the school's all-time leader in pass attempts (1,081), completions (630), passing yards (8,225), total offense (8,640) and starts (40).

He also had 54 passing touchdowns, 42 interceptions, 290 carries for 415 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

In baseball, Peete played second base and shortstop as a freshman; although he was limited with a strained hamstring, he batted around .260 as part of a losing team.

As a senior, he was the starter at third base, hitting .338 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs, while receiving All-Pac-10 honors.

In his three seasons of collegiate baseball, Peete batted .297 with 18 home runs and 84 RBIs.

Peete was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 6th round (141st overall) of the 1989 NFL Draft, after dropping because he was not considered to have the size or the arm talent needed to succeed in the NFL.

In 2009, Peete was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 2012, Peete was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.

Peete accepted a football scholarship from the University of Southern California, because head coach Ted Tollner had given him an opportunity to play quarterback.

As a redshirt freshman, he began the season as a backup quarterback behind Sean Salisbury.

In the fifth game against Stanford University, Peete replaced Salisbury in the fourth quarter and led USC to its only touchdown in the second half, sealing a 30-6 win.

Salisbury would struggle to a 4-4 record and was replaced with Peete as the starter in the ninth game, against the University of Washington, which was a 20-17 loss.

In the next game, he contributed to a 17-13 win against UCLA.

Peete finished the season with a 2-2 record earning 50-of-85 completions (58.8%) for 566 yards, five passing touchdowns, three interceptions, 49 carries for 78 yards, and one rushing touchdown.

As a sophomore, Peete started all 12 games, while contributing to a 7–5 record.

He completed 160-of-305 attempts (52.5%) for 2,138 yards, 10 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 103 carries for 124 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

As a junior, Peete started all 12 games, while contributing to an 8-4 record.

He set a school record with five touchdown passes against the University of Oregon.

In 2014, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.