Rex Grossman

Rex Grossman (born August 23, 1980 in Bloomington, Indiana) is an American quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. Grossman played college football at the University of Florida, where he set multiple school passing records, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and received national recognition.

High school career

Grossman played quarterback for Bloomington High School South in Bloomington, Indiana. In his senior year, Grossman led his team to the 1998 5A state title, throwing 216 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-14 victory over Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana [1]. Grossman's five touchdown passes set a record for the most touchdown passes thrown in an Indiana state high school championship game. He never lost a regular season home game.

College career

Grossman elected to attend the University of Florida rather than the school in his hometown, Indiana University, where both his father and grandfather played football. After redshirting his freshman year, in 2000 Grossman found himself the third-string quarterback in an extremely competitive group that included senior Jesse Palmer and highly rated true freshman Brock Berlin. Nevertheless, after an injury to Palmer, he quickly established himself as the Gators' starter, achieving the third highest passer efficiency rating in the history of the NCAA. His sophomore year he came second to University of Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch in the closest vote in Heisman Trophy history. His sophomore campaign culminated in the famed "Slinging in the Rain" game against LSU. In this game, Grossman threw 22 completions in 32 attempts, for 464 yards and 5 touchdowns, en route to a victory over the Tigers. He broke or approached many records set by Danny Wuerffel.

After his junior season in 2002 under new Florida head coach Ron Zook, who had replaced Steve Spurrier at the end of the previous season, Grossman opted to forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and declare for the NFL draft.

Professional career

The Chicago Bears selected Grossman during the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Under the coaching of Dick Jauron, Grossman was sidelined in favor of veteran quarterbacks Chris Chandler and Kordell Stewart. Grossman only saw playtime during the final three games of the season, after the Bears were eliminated from the playoff race. Grossman was removed from the final game of the campaign after breaking a finger in his left (non-throwing) hand.

Before the start of the 2004 NFL season, the Bears fired Jauron and hired Lovie Smith, who declared Grossman the team's starting quarterback. Grossman was criticized when he threw a game-ending interception against the Detroit Lions on opening day. Criticism of his durability intensified when he damaged his knee ligaments while scrambling for a touchdown. The injury forced Grossman to spend the remainder of the season recuperating.

Grossman missed most of the 2005 NFL season after breaking his ankle in a pre-season game. Grossman appeared in a press conference after the game, where he remarked, “Shit happens” to a crowd of spectators.[2] On December 18, 2005, Lovie Smith chose to substitute a fully recovered Grossman in favor of Kyle Orton. Although Grossman only played for one half, he managed to lead the Bears to 16-3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Grossman continued his momentum that following week by leading the Bears to 24-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. After a loss to the Vikings, Grossman and the Bears prepared to battle the Carolina Panthers. In Grossman’s first playoff game, he completed 17 of 41 passes, and threw one interception and touchdown for a 29-21 loss.

During a FOX Sports Chicago interview before the 2006 season, Grossman stated that he was eager to leave his injury prone past behind him. Despite a sub par preseason performance, Grossman stunned his critics by spearheading the Bears to five straight victories. He earned two "FedEx Air & Ground Player of the week awards" over four weeks, and many accolades from various sports casters. Grossman’s early success was soon diluted by a streak of inconsistency. While playing an almost perfect game against the Buffalo Bills, Grossman struggled against the Arizona Cardinals. He later went on to spearhead the Bears’ to 41-10 lead against the San Francisco 49ers, but was plagued with turnover-ridden game against the Miami Dolphins.

Personal life

Rex comes from a family of quarterbacks. His father, Dan, and grandfather, Rex, were quarterbacks for Indiana University. Furthermore, his grandfather was a quarterback for the Baltimore Colts during the late 1940s. He married Alison Miska in 2005, and resides in Bloomington, Indiana during the off-season.

Despite the bitter Bears-Packers Rivalry, Grossman has always been an admirer of Packers’ quarterback, Brett Favre [3]. Outside of football, Grossman enjoys playing basketball in his spare time. He is also a regular guest on FOX News Chicago’s The Final Word, where he talks post-game and answers fans' questions.

Trivia

• Rex claims his most prized NFL career moment came when he returned to the football field on December 18th, 2005, and led the Bears to a victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
• During one episode of The Final Word, Grossman admitted to being a fan of Vanilla Ice's smash hit, Ice Ice Baby.
• Grossman nickname in college was Sexy Rexy. Grossman's head coach while at Florida, Steve Spurrier, is said to have given him this nickname. Muhsin Muhammad, the first Bears player to publicly use the nickname, announced Rex Grossman as Sexy Rexy on ESPN Monday Night Football against the Arizona Cardinals on October 2006 during the starting line up segment. [4] [5]
• Grossman was also known as "Rex Glassman" or "Wrecks Grossman" because of his injury history – only playing 8 games after three years in the league (2003-2005) [6]

External links

• Grossman's Official Website
• Official Chicago Bears' Biography
• Grossman's College Stats