John Friesz John Melvin " Deep " Friesz ( pronounced " Freeze " ) ( born May 19 , 1967 ) is a former professional football player , a quarterback in the National Football League for four teams . Selected in the 1990 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers , he later played for the Washington Redskins , Seattle Seahawks , and New England Patriots . Early life . Born in Missoula , Montana , Friesz grew up in Coeur d ' Alene , Idaho , and attended Coeur d ' Alene High School , graduating in 1985 . He was a year behind Scott Wellman , a two - time all - state quarterback who led the Vikings to the A - 1 state finals in 1982 and 1983 , winning the first . Friesz spent those seasons as a back - up and became the starter in his senior season in the fall of 1984 . His first game was against perennial state power Borah in Boise , who had beaten the Vikings 27 - 23 at Coeur d ' Alene in 1983 . The # 2 - ranked CDA Vikings returned the favor and beat the Lions 19 - 14 on the then - green AstroTurf of Bronco Stadium . Friesz completed 21 of 40 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns in his starting debut . The Vikings took over the top spot in the state poll and beat Rogers of Spokane 46 - 0 the following week . They won their first ten games , but lost in the state semifinals 25 - 20 to Capital , who also had handed them their last loss , at the finals in 1983 . The game was played at a neutral site , the Kibbie Dome in Moscow , Friesz ' s future home field . He finished the season with over 1 , 900 yards passing and 19 touchdowns in eleven games . He enrolled at the University of Idaho , recruited by head coach Dennis Erickson . after attending the coach ' s Vandal football camp in the summer of 1984 . College career . Friesz redshirted in 1985 as the Vandals won their first outright Big Sky Conference title since 1971 . In 1986 , under new head coach Keith Gilbertson , he served as the backup to Scott Linehan , who would go on to become head coach of the St . Louis Rams . Friesz was the Vandals starting quarterback for three years , beginning in 1987 , when he threw 28 touchdown passes as a sophomore and was named player of the year in the Big Sky and second team All - America n ( Division I - AA ) . In his junior season of 1988 , he guided the Vandals to a 9 - 1 regular season and two playoff wins , ending the season with a road loss in the Division I - AA semi - finals . He was a consensus All - American selection at quarterback . In his senior season in 1989 , Freisz threw 31 touchdowns and for over 4 , 000 yards in guiding the Vandals to their third consecutive conference championship . Idaho went undefeated in conference play ( 8 - 0 ) , the only time in school history . Friesz averaged over 360 yards per game and passed for over 300 yards in ten consecutive games . He received the Walter Payton Award as the outstanding player in the nation in Division I - AA . Idaho Vandal fans traveling to away games would put their opponent ' s stadium under a " Friesz Warning " during his college career . In his college career , # 17 passed for over 10 , 000 yards and was the conference player - of - the - year for three consecutive years . The Vandals ' annual MVP award has been renamed the " John Friesz Award " in his honor . In August 2006 John Friesz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend , Indiana . His # 17 was officially retired by the University of Idaho in October 2006 . Professional career . In the 1990 NFL Draft , Friesz was the tenth quarterback selected , taken in the sixth round ( 138th overall ) by the San Diego Chargers . Other quarterbacks in this draft were Jeff George ( # 1 overall pick ) , Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware , future Super Bowl starter Neil O ' Donnell , and Scott Mitchell . Friesz became the starting quarterback for the Chargers in 1991 , his second season . He suffered a season - ending knee injury in a pre - season game in 1992 . The Chargers then acquired QB Stan Humphries from the Washington Redskins , who was drafted by then Redskins GM Bobby Beathard , who was the Chargers GM at that time . Humphries became the Chargers starting QB and led the Chargers who were 0 - 4 to start the 1992 season to an 11 - 5 record , helping the Chargers end a 10 - year playoff drought and winning their first AFC West Division title since 1981 under rookie coach Bobby Ross . Friesz would return to the Chargers the next season as the backup QB and left the Chargers as a free agent prior to the 1994 season . Friesz passed for over 8 , 600 yards and 45 touchdowns in his professional career .