Scott Tolzien

Scott Jeffery Tolzien (born September 4, 1987) is a former American football quarterback and coach who is the quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football at Wisconsin.

Tolzien attended and played college football for the University of Wisconsin from 2006–2010.

As a true freshman at Wisconsin in 2006, Tolzien was redshirted and did not play.

Tolzien did not play in any games for Wisconsin in 2007, as Wisconsin had Tyler Donovan, Allan Evridge, and Dustin Sherer at quarterback.

After Allan Evridge was benched following his performances against Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State, Tolzien saw his first major action for Wisconsin against Iowa in Kinnick Stadium.

He completed 5 passes on 8 attempts, but threw an interception in the red zone.

Dustin Sherer eventually took charge of the Badgers, who finished the season 7–6.

The winner of a spring quarterback competition, Tolzien beat out starter Sherer in 2009.

He set the Wisconsin record for completions in a single season, with 211, and passed for 2,705 yards.

Under Tolzien's leadership, Wisconsin finished the season at 9–3.

He threw a pair of interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in a loss at Ohio State and threw three interceptions against Iowa the following week.

Despite this, Tolzien played well in games against Michigan, Minnesota, and Michigan State, and was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against Michigan State.

Tolzien finished the 2009 season in a 20–14 win over Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl, completing 19 passes on 26 attempts as the Badgers knocked off the higher-ranked Hurricanes.

After a disappointing effort against Michigan State, Tolzien improved week after week as the Badgers won their next 7 games, to finish the year 11–1.

Against a top 5 Ohio State defense, Tolzien completed 13 of 16 passes.

His efforts led the Badgers to an eventual upset of then top-ranked Ohio State.

The next week against Iowa, Tolzien again had a solid game, completing 20 passes on 26 attempts for 205 yards and a touchdown.

Most impressively, Tolzien led the Badgers down the field for the game-winning touchdown with Wisconsin's running game stifled by Iowa's defense.

In his final home start, against the Northwestern Wildcats, Tolzien completed 15 passes on 19 attempts for 230 yards with four touchdown passes.

Tolzien made his final collegiate start at Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl against one of the top defenses in the nation, TCU.

He finished the game with 12 completions out of 21 attempts for 159 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions and a rating of 120.7 for the game, and the Horned Frogs won, 21–19.

Tolzien won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 2010, edging out finalists Andy Dalton of TCU, Colin Kaepernick of Nevada, Christian Ponder of Florida State, and Ricky Stanzi of Iowa, In 2010, he set a new Wisconsin record for completion percentage in a single season, completing 74.3% of his passes in 12 regular season games.

Tolzien ranked 4th nationally in passer rating, and led the nation in completion percentage.

He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2011.

He has also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts.

Tolzien was a two-star recruit out of William Fremd High School, located in Palatine, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago.

He made official visits to the University of Kentucky and the University of Toledo, but he did not attract many offers from major universities.

He chose to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Tolzein completed his college career at the East-West Shrine Game on January 22, 2011.

After going undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft, Tolzien signed with the San Diego Chargers on July 26, 2011.

He threw for 302 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the preseason.

On September 3, 2011, Tolzien was released by the Chargers during final team cuts.

On September 4, 2011, Tolzien was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco 49ers.

He became the 49ers third-string quarterback behind starter Alex Smith and backup Colin Kaepernick.

He remained with San Francisco after the conclusion of the 2012 preseason, still slotted as the team's third-string quarterback.

He was on the roster for the 49ers appearance in Super Bowl XLVII.

On August 26, 2013, Tolzien was waived by the 49ers.

Tolzien was signed to the Green Bay Packers practice squad on September 1, 2013.

After Aaron Rodgers suffered a clavicle injury, the Packers brought him up from the practice squad to the active roster.