Tom Brandstater Thomas " Tom " Brandstater ( born October 21 , 1984 in Turlock , California ) is an American football quarterback in the National Football League who is currently a free agent . He played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs . He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft . He has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts , Miami Dolphins , Dallas Cowboys , and St . Louis Rams . Early life and high school . Tom Brandstater was born and raised in Turlock , California , a town in Stanislaus County . He is the first son and second child of William and Sharen Brandstater and has three siblings . He began playing football at the age of eight with the Turlock Vikings Youth Football program , a youth football program , where he lists Mike Hibden and Mike Huber as his most influential youth coaches . Several other WAC teammates and opponents , notably Colin Kaepernick of the Nevada Wolf Pack , and fellow Fresno State Bulldog Anthony Harding also played for the youth football program . He was the starting quarterback from the age of eight , but also played other positions . Brandstater attended Turlock High School . He achieved several distinctions as a high school player , including being named to the First - team All District team by the Modesto Bee as a defensive back , and guiding Turlock to the San - Joaquin Section Division I South championship against Stockton Lincoln High . As a high school quarterback , he directed an offense that was primarily focused on rushing and did not display his true passing ability , though he still threw for over 1 , 000 yards in his last season in high school . He was the top quarterback in Fresno State ' s Summer Football Camp in 2003 . College career . 2004 season . As a freshman , he was given a redshirt year so he did not play during the team ' s 2004 season . He served as the quarterback for the scout team in practice against the starting defense . During this time , he was officially listed as the number three quarterback behind Paul Pinegar and Jordan Chrisensen . Brandstater did not play in any games during the season , as coach Pat Hill elected to keep him on the bench so that 2004 did not count as one of his four years of eligibility . 2005 season . After redshirting as a true freshman , Brandstater became the backup quarterback to Paul Pinegar in 2005 , and was occasionally brought in by Coach Hill in late quarters of games where the Bulldogs had a blowout lead . In the season opener on Sept . 10 , 2005 , he was brought in late against Weber State , completing 2 out of 4 attempts for 11 yards with a touchdown . He was also credited with a single rushing attempt , for a loss of two yards ; this was to be his only rushing attempt of the season . He did not play in the next game , a close away loss to Oregon , and was brought out late in the 44 - 14 home victory against Toledo , where he attempted a single pass , which went for an incompletion . His next game was against Utah State , where he went 3 for 6 for 36 yards . He played his last game of the season in November against the San José State Spartans , where he completed a single pass for a two yard gain . As Pinegar ' s backup , Brandstater played in eight games , completed 6 of 13 passes for 49 yards , with one touchdown and an interception . 2006 season . The 2005 season ended with three losses , including a Liberty Bowl loss to Tulsa , along with a number of losses of senior leadership , including senior quarterback Paul Pinegar and running back Wendell Mathis , both of whom were 2nd in the WAC in passing efficiency and rushing yards per game , respectively . Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti , Jr . , who had led the Bulldogs to two consecutive top ten finishes in NCAA scoring offense in 2004 and 2005 , left for North Carolina , and was replaced for the 2006 season by Steve Hagen , the second offensive coordinator to work with Pinegar in as many seasons as a Bulldog . Fresno State opened the 2006 season at home against Nevada on Sept . 1 , 2006 , and Brandstater passed for 124 yards with a touchdown in his first start with Fresno State , getting revenge for the upset loss the previous season and adding interest to the 83 - year old rivalry . The next week brought a home game against the Oregon Ducks on Sept . 9 , with Oregon entering the game ranked # 20 . Brandstater went 16 of 33 attempts for 150 yards , with a touchdown and two interceptions , as Fresno State lost to the Ducks on account of several special teams errors . The remainder of the season turned out to be problematic for the Bulldogs and Brandstater , as the team proceeded to lose the next six games , including a loss to Utah State . On Oct . 14 against Hawaii , Coach Hill replaced Brandstater in the second quarter with his backup , Sean Norton , as the Bulldogs lost to the Warriors 68 - 37 at home . In the next game against LSU , Brandstater did not play . He returned to go 7 of 14 with 72 yards against Boise State , and proceeded to lead the Bulldogs to victories in the next three games against New Mexico State , Idaho , and Louisiana Tech . He started in the season finale at San José State , a loss , but the Bulldogs did end the season with some momentum heading into the 2007 season . 2008 season . Going into the 2008 season , the Bulldogs have found themselves ranked in several national preseason polls , including Athlon , ranking the Bulldogs # 25 , CBS Sportsline ranking the team # 24 , ESPN , with the dogs # 21 , and Brandstater is returning for his senior year along with 17 returning starters . Brandstater has been listed as a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate , and is rated number 6 out of 129 quarterbacks going into 2008 by nfldraftscout . com . On July 17 , 2008 , the Tom O ' Brien Watch List was released by the Davey O ' Brien Foundation and its National Selection Committee highlighting 31 quarterbacks who will vie for the award honoring the nation ' s best quarterback for the 2008 football season , and Tom Brandstater was listed alongside other top prospects . In a game vs Florida in 2008 he completed 21 of 22 passes with 3 touchdowns . Tom Brandstater was the starting quarterback for the Fresno State Bulldogs as they opened their 2008 season against Rutgers in New Brunswick , New Jersey in a non - conference away game on Labor Day . Behind Brandstater , Fresno State opened the game slowly , with neither team scoring any points in the first half . The Fresno State offense was only able to muster 102 yards and six first downs in the first half , but the defense was able to keep the Scarlet Knights from getting any points on the board . . The Bulldogs would go on to score three touchdowns and a field goal , with all three touchdowns run into the end zone by running back Ryan Mathews . Brandstater completed the game with 11 completions on 24 attempts for a total of 216 yards and a quarterback rating of 121 . 4 . Professional career . Denver Broncos . The Broncos selected Brandstater in the 6th round ( 174th overall ) of the 2009 NFL Draft . On July 26 , 2009 , Brandstater signed a four - year , $ 1 . 60 million contract with a $ 124 , 000 signing bonus . He would have earned an additional $ 2 . 285 million through final - year escalators . His base salary was $ 400 , 000 in 2009 , and would have been $ 395 , 000 in 2010 , $ 480 , 000 in 2011 , and $ 565 , 000 in 2012 . The Broncos acquired Tim Tebow through the 2010 NFL draft and brought in Brady Quinn from the Cleveland Browns , and therefore they released Brandstater on June 4 , 2010 . Indianapolis Colts . On June 7 , 2010 the Indianapolis Colts claimed Brandstater off waivers . Many speculated that the loss of former backup Jim Sorgi warranted the signing . On Sept . 4 , 2010 the Indianapolis Colts waived Brandstater , retaining Curtis Painter as the 2nd string QB . On Sept . 6 , the Colts placed Brandstater on their practice squad . On Sept . 29 , 2010 the Indianapolis Colts released Brandstater from the practice squad . Miami Dolphins . Brandstater was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad on November 15 , 2010 following injuries to their first and second - string quarterbacks , Chad Henne and Chad Pennington . At the end of the 2010 season , he was signed to a contract . He was waived on August 5 , 2011 . Dallas Cowboys . Brandstater signed with the Dallas Cowboys on August 6 , 2011 , but was waived on September 3 . St . Louis Rams . The St . Louis Rams signed him to their practice squad on September 13 , 2011 . He has been promoted to the active roster , released from the team , resigned to the practice squad , and once again promoted to the active roster during the 2011 season . On January 1 , 2012 Brandstater played in the 4th quarter of the Week 17 game between the St . Louis Rams and the San Francisco 49ers . After Kellen Clemens was injured on a second down sack at the hands of Linebacker NaVorro Bowman , Brandstater saw his first career NFL action with two incomplete passes . He was released by the Rams on September 1st , 2012 .