David Garrard David Douglas Garrard ( born February 14 , 1978 ) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for East Carolina University . He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft , and served as the team ' s starting quarterback from 2007 to 2010 . Early life . Garrard was born in East Orange , New Jersey and grew up in Durham , North Carolina . When he was fourteen his mother died of breast cancer ; when he began his professional career he created The David Garrard Foundation to promote breast cancer awareness and research . Garrard attended Southern High School in Durham , where he was named an All - America choice by Prep Stars and rated the best high school quarterback in North Carolina . Veteran high school coaches in North Carolina said Garrard possessed one of the strongest arms they had ever seen and compared Garrard to former NFL quarterback Roman Gabriel . College career . Garrard attended East Carolina University , where he played for the East Carolina Pirates football team . Although physically larger than most quarterbacks at more than 240 pounds , Garrard displayed exceptional mobility . Former East Carolina head football coach Steve Logan compared the experience of tackling Garrard to " getting hit by a beer truck . " Garrard also proved durable , starting every game for the Pirates in the 1999 , 2000 , and 2001 seasons . In Garrard ' s sophomore season , he led the Pirates to a 9 – 3 record with victories over the West Virginia Mountaineers , South Carolina Gamecocks , Miami Hurricanes , and North Carolina State Wolfpack . In the fourth game of the season against Miami , East Carolina came back from a 20 – 3 deficit to defeat the 13th - ranked Miami Hurricanes , 27 – 23 . Garrard threw a 27 - yard touchdown pass to Keith Stokes for the go - ahead score in the final minutes of the game . ECU was unable to play the scheduled home game at Dowdy - Ficklen Stadium on its campus in Greenville , NC , because Hurricane Floyd had ravaged the eastern part of the state the prior week . The hurricane also prevented the Pirates from returning to Greenville following a road victory against South Carolina , leaving ECU ' s football team stranded in Columbia , SC . East Carolina moved the game against Miami to Carter - Finley Stadium in Raleigh . The victory propelled ECU into the Associated Press college football poll ' s top 25 . The Pirates spent eleven weeks ranked in the AP poll , climbed to as high as 16th in the poll , and finished the regular season ranked 20th . East Carolina dropped out of the top 25 to 27th in the voting after losing 28 – 14 in the Mobile Alabama Bowl to Texas Christian University and the Horned Frogs ' star running back , LaDainian Tomlinson . ECU finished 8 – 4 in Garrard ' s junior season . Garrard capped the season by throwing an unbelievable touchdown and rushing for another acrobatic TD in a 40 – 27 victory against Texas Tech in the Galleryfurniture . com Bowl . Garrard ' s senior season began with high expectations but ended in disappointment . Although East Carolina averaged more than 35 points per game in 2001 , the Pirates finished the season with a 6 – 6 record . Ironically , the final game of Garrard ' s college career pitted him against Marshall University and its starting quarterback , Byron Leftwich , in the 2001 GMAC Bowl . Garrard and Leftwich would eventually be teammates with the Jacksonville Jaguars and compete for the team ' s starting quarterback position . In the highest - scoring bowl game in college football history , Leftwich brought Marshall back from a thirty - point deficit to defeat Garrard ' s East Carolina Pirates 64 – 61 in double - overtime . Garrard broke 28 school passing and offensive records at East Carolina and joined a select few quarterbacks who achieved more than 9000 passing yards and 1000 rushing yards in their collegiate careers . Garrard went on to graduate from East Carolina University in 2001 with a degree in Construction Management . Professional career . Jacksonville Jaguars . Garrard was drafted as the apparent successor to starting quarterback Mark Brunell . However , following the 2002 season , the Jaguars fired then head coach Tom Coughlin , and new general manager James Harris drafted Byron Leftwich with the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft . Leftwich replaced an injured Mark Brunell as the starting quarterback during the 2003 season and Garrard continued to serve as the team ' s backup quarterback . Doctors diagnosed Garrard with Crohn ' s disease in 2004 . Despite undergoing surgery in June 2004 to remove a nearly 12 - inch portion of his intestines , Garrard played during the 2004 NFL season . Garrard started for the Jaguars ' when Leftwich was injured during Week 9 of the 2004 National Football League season with a sprained left knee . After the 2004 season , Garrard opted to stay with the Jaguars as a back - up instead of pursuing a chance at starting for another team . Garrard also started 5 games of the 2005 season when Leftwich went down with an injury in week 11 . With Garrard as starting quarterback , the Jaguars finished the regular season by going 4 – 1 and made the playoffs , with the only loss coming at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts . Leftwich then returned as the starter for the game , in which the Jaguars suffered a 28 – 3 loss to the New England Patriots . In 2006 , Del Rio named Garrard the starter in Week 8 and attributed the change to Leftwich ' s chronic injury problems , but Leftwich claimed he was healthy enough to continue serving as the team ' s starter . Garrard was inconsistent and went 5 – 5 to finish the season as the Jaguars missed the playoffs . In November 2006 , Garrard was intercepted four times in a 13 – 10 loss at home against the Houston Texans . In February 2007 , Del Rio attempted to avoid a quarterback controversy by naming Leftwich the team ' s unconditional starting quarterback . However , Garrard outplayed Leftwich in the 2007 preseason , throwing for 456 yards , one passing touchdown and another rushing touchdown . Del Rio said Garrard gave the Jaguars a better chance to win than Leftwich and announced Garrard would be the starting quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 31 , 2007 . The Jaguars released Leftwich the next day . Garrard led the Jaguars to a 11 – 5 record and threw for 18 TDs and 2 , 509 yds despite missing 3 games with a sprained ankle . He also tied an NFL record by throwing only 3 interceptions , which gave him a quarterback rating of 102 . 2 . On January 5 , 2008 , In the AFC Wild Card Game , Garrard led his team to a 31 – 29 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers . Down 29 – 28 with 1 : 56 to go , he led his team in a field goal - scoring drive highlighted by a 32 - yard run on 4th and 2 that eventually set up the game winning field goal for the Jaguars . On January 12 , 2008 , In the AFC Divisional Playoff Game , David threw for 278 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against the unbeaten New England Patriots . However , the Patriots won the game , 31 – 20 . On April 7 , 2008 it was announced that the Jaguars and Garrard had agreed to a contract extension , worth $ 60 million for 6 years . In 2008 , the Jaguars slumped to a 5 – 11 record , with an injured offensive line . Garrard threw for 3 , 620 yards , 15 touchdowns , and 13 interceptions , giving him a quarterback rating of 81 . 7 . The Jaguars missed the playoffs , and finished last in the AFC South . The 2009 and 2010 seasons saw the Jaguars finish 7 - 9 and 8 - 8 respectively , and narrowly miss the playoffs ; Garrard ' s touchdown - to - interception number and quarterback rating would increase each year as well . Garrard concluded the 2010 season throwing for 23 touchdowns , 2 , 734 yards and a quarterback rating of 91 , earning a spot in the 2010 Pro Bowl . Despite this , Jacksonville drafted Quarterback Blaine Gabbert with their first round draft pick , though still insisting Garrard would remain the starter . Garrard , however was released by Jacksonville on September 6 , 2011 , less than a week before the start of the 2011 regular season . Garrard received interest from the Colts , Dolphins and Raiders , but decided to use his time off to have surgery on his herniated disk and prepare himself for the 2012 season . Miami Dolphins . On March 19 , 2012 , Garrard agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins on a one - year contract . Garrard noted in an interview with ESPN , he made his decision due to likability and responsibility with the Miami Dolphins . He entered training camp as the favorite to win the starting job . On August 10 , 2012 , Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported that Garrard would undergo arthroscopic surgery and miss some time , including all four preseason games . The Dolphins released Garrard on September 4 , 2012 . New York Jets . The New York Jets announced that they had signed a contract with Garrard on March 11 , 2013 . Personal life . Garrard proposed to his wife Mary before a 2002 Jaguars preseason game ; the proposal was broadcast on the stadium ' s JumboTron . The couple was married in February , 2004 and have two children . Garrard suffers from Crohn ' s disease and has appeared in television commercials regarding treating the illness . He has spoken to children at the Painted Turtle Camp , a camp for children with disorders about living with Crohn ' s disease . Garrard has also appeared in a Zaxby ' s commercial . Garrard has also been the spokesman for 121 Financial Credit Union ( formerly Florida Telco Credit Union ) since 2007 .