Jordan Ta'amu
No. 8 – Kansas City Chiefs | |
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Position: | Quarterback |
Personal information | |
Born: | Pearl City, Hawaii | December 10, 1997
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Weight: | 214 lb (97 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Pearl City (Pearl City, Hawaii) |
College: | Ole Miss |
Undrafted: | 2019 |
Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Roster status: | Active |
Jordan Taalolo Ta'amu-Perifanos (born December 10, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss. He was the starting quarterback for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL during its inaugural season.
Early years
Ta'amu attended the Pearl City High School in Pearl City, Hawaii. As a senior, he passed for 1,779 yards with 29 touchdowns against four interceptions.
College career
Ta'amu played at the New Mexico Military Institute for two seasons before transferring to the University of Mississippi. As a sophomore he passed for 3,014 yards and 32 touchdowns. He transferred to Ole Miss before the 2017 season.[1] He entered the 2017 season as the backup to Shea Patterson, but took over as the starter for the final five games after Patterson suffered an injury. He finished the season with 1,682 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.[2][3][4][5] He also rushed for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns.[5] With Patterson transferring to the University of Michigan, Ta'amu entered the 2018 season as the starting quarterback.[6] In his senior season he passed for 3,918 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.[5] He also rushed for 342 yards and 6 touchdowns.[5] He finished the season ranked second in SEC passing yards, behind Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, who played in three more games.[7]
Professional career
Houston Texans
On August 7, 2019, Ta’amu signed with the Houston Texans.[8] On August 30, 2019, Ta’amu was released.[9]
St. Louis BattleHawks
On October 15, 2019, Ta'amu was allocated to the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL, the first player for the team.[10] He is the only one of the XFL's first eight quarterbacks to not have any professional regular season experience. He signed a contract with the team on November 4, 2019. On January 29, 2020, Ta'amu was named the starting quarterback.
During the BattleHawks first game against the Dallas Renegades on February 9, Ta'amu threw for 209 yards and a passing touchdown, while rushing for 77 yards, helping the team win a 15–9 victory against the Renegades.[11] He had another productive game in Week 2 against the Houston Roughnecks, with 316 combined yards of offense and four total touchdowns, but threw 2 interceptions as the Battlehawks lost 28 - 24.[12] After the XFL's season was cut short, Ta'amu was placed on the reserve/other league list on April 2, 2020, in order to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs.[13]
Kansas City Chiefs
Ta’amu signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on April 2, 2020.[14]
Statistics
Year | League | Team | GP | GS | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||||
2020 | XFL | STL | 5 | 5 | 97 | 134 | 72.0 | 1,050 | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 101.3 | 41 | 217 | 5.3 | 1 |
Career | 5 | 5 | 97 | 134 | 72.0 | 1,050 | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 101.3 | 41 | 217 | 5.3 | 1 |
References
- ^ Morales, Antonio (November 10, 2017). "How did Jordan Ta'amu, a Hawaii native who went to a New Mexico JUCO, end up at Ole Miss?". The Clarion-Ledger. Gannett. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ Kellenberger, Hugh (July 17, 2018). "Jordan Ta'amu is the quarterback Ole Miss needs for this moment". The Clarion-Ledger. Gannett. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ Sallee, Barrett (July 17, 2018). "Forgotten star of the SEC, Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta'amu ready to emerge from the shadows". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ Garrett, Ben (March 8, 2018). "Ta'amu taking ownership in senior season". Oxford Citizen. Daily Journal. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Jordan Ta'amu Stats". ESPN. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Kellenberger, Hugh (July 17, 2018). "Jordan Ta'amu ready for first season as Ole Miss' fulltime starter". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ Spencer, Adam (January 14, 2019). "Quarterback-needy NFL team reportedly spent a lot of time with Jordan Ta'amu after Shrine Game practice". Saturday Down South. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Wilson, Aaron (August 7, 2019). "Texans sign quarterback Jordan Ta'amu". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ Wilson, Aaron (August 31, 2019). "Texans roster moves: Team trades for Carlos Hyde, Keion Crossen; deals Martinas Rankin". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ Florio, Mike (October 15, 2019). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ Sullivan, Tyler (February 9, 2020). "XFL scores, highlights in Week 1: New York Guardians, St. Louis BattleHawks earn wins on opening weekend". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Shimabuku, Christian (February 17, 2020). "Pearl City's Jordan Ta'amu throws three touchdowns in Week 2 of XFL action". KHON2. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ Dajani, Jordan (March 23, 2020). "Chiefs sign former St. Louis BattleHawks quarterback Jordan Ta'amu after successful XFL season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
External links
- 1997 births
- Living people
- American football quarterbacks
- Houston Texans players
- New Mexico Military Institute Broncos football players
- Ole Miss Rebels football players
- St. Louis BattleHawks players
- People from Honolulu County, Hawaii
- Players of American football from Hawaii
- Kansas City Chiefs players
- American people of Samoan descent
- Samoan players of American football