Jared Zabransky Jared Zabransky ( born December 4 , 1983 ) is a former professional football player , a quarterback in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League . He was signed by the Houston Texans of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2007 , and played two seasons for the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL in 2009 and 2010 . He played college football at Boise State and was named Offensive Player of the Game in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl . Early years . Zabransky grew up in a farming family in Hermiston , Oregon . He attended Hermiston High School and was an outstanding three - sport athlete , competing in football , baseball , and basketball . Zabransky won Eastern Oregon ' s Male Athlete of the Year award his senior year in 2002 . In addition to being on the honor roll , Zabransky showed his prowess on the gridiron by passing for 1 , 600 yards and 15 touchdowns as team captain . College career . Zabransky was redshirted in 2002 , his first season at Boise State . He backed - up Ryan Dinwiddie in 2003 , in which Zabransky completed 11 - of - 23 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown . Zabransky took the reins as the Broncos ' starting quarterback in 2004 . It was this season that he led Boise State to an 11 - 1 record ; the only loss was to Louisville . He was named honorable mention All - America by " Sports Illustrated " , second - team All - WAC , and was voted the team ' s Most Valuable Player . In 2005 , he remained in charge of the Broncos ' high - powered offense . While he did start all 13 games , he had what many consider an off - year . He passed for 2 , 562 yards and threw 18 touchdowns . But he also threw 16 interceptions and was occasionally benched in favor of backup quarterback Taylor Tharp . The season opener against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens was a disaster for Zabransky , in which he threw four interceptions in the first half and fumbled . Despite having a sub - par season for a player of his ability , he was able to help take Boise State to the MPC Computers Bowl on their home turf of Bronco Stadium in Boise to face Boston College . After falling behind 24 - 0 at the half , Boise State rallied , reducing Boston College ' s lead to 27 - 21 late in the 4th quarter . Hopes of a comeback were crushed , however , when Zabransky threw an interception in the Boston College endzone with 37 seconds remaining in the game . The Boise State Broncos finished the 2005 season with a 9 - 4 record . Zabransky was named 11th best quarterback in the nation by " The Sporting News " , as well as being named to the 2006 Maxwell Award watch list . Zabransky resumed his job as starting quarterback for the 2006 season , his senior year . The season proved to be a resounding success for both Zabransky and Boise State . Zabransky led his team to a perfect 12 - 0 regular season record , capturing BSU ' s fifth consecutive WAC championship . Statistically , it was Zabransky ' s best season as well . He finished the regular season with 23 touchdown passes and only 7 interceptions . 2007 Fiesta Bowl . The Broncos defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in overtime in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on January 1 , 2007 by a score of 43 - 42 . Zabransky helped his team into overtime by executing a last - minute hook and lateral for the game - tying touchdown . In overtime , Zabransky executed a Statue of Liberty on the game - winning two - point conversion on a handoff to Ian Johnson , who took it in for two points and the win . Zabransky was named 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Offensive Player of the Game . Professional career . Houston Texans . Zabransky was not selected in the 2007 NFL Draft . However , on April 30 , 2007 he signed a free agent contract with the Houston Texans . He was issued uniform number 15 . He was released on August 31 , 2007 ; however , on September 3 , 2007 Zabransky was selected to be a member of the practice squad . However , unlike most coaches who prefer to have three quarterbacks on the active roster , Head Coach Gary Kubiak prefers having two quarterbacks and cut Zabransky on September 18 , 2007 . Pittsburgh Steelers . On February 5 , 2008 , Zabransky signed a two - year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was waived on July 2 . Edmonton Eskimos . Zabransky signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League on April 27 , 2009 . He won the third quarterback spot ( behind Ricky Ray and Jason Maas ) on the Eskimos roster for the ' 09 season , beating out NFL QB Lester Ricard . In 2009 Zabransky dressed for 18 games as the team ' s third - string quarterback . He was in for the first play of the game on Sept 20 in Saskatchewan and pitched the ball to Calvin McCarty for a five - yard gain . Zabransky dressed as the team ' s third quarterback for the Western Semi - Final . In 2010 Zabransky dressed for nine games as a backup quarterback . He was 20 - of - 43 in pass attempts ( 46 . 5 % ) for 266 yards , two touchdowns and five interceptions . He ran the ball eight times for 75 yards , including an 18 - yard touchdown in Game 6 vs . Toronto - his first in the CFL . He saw his first significant playing time in Game 8 vs . Saskatchewan . On October 23 , 2010 , in his first full - game start for the Eskimos , Zabransky completed 16 of 23 passes for 188 yards , two touchdowns and no interceptions to lead Edmonton to a 39 - 24 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders . The win was the fifth in six games for Edmonton , keeping them tied with the B . C . Lions for third place and a possible playoff berth in the CFL ' s West Division . On May 4 , 2011 Zabransky became a free agent when he was released by the Eskimos . In two seasons with the Esks , Zabransky started two games , both in 2010 . He finished the year with 53 completions on 104 attempts for 609 yards , four touchdowns and 10 interceptions . Zabransky posted 28 carries for 209 yards and one touchdown . In the media . Zabransky told ESPN ’ s Kirk Herbstreit in an interview that he could throw a potato 100 yards . The comment has been referenced in the video games NCAA Football 07 and NCAA Football 08 where Herbstreit will sometimes say " That reminds me of the time that kid at the Liberty Bowl told me he could throw a potato 80 yards . " Herbstreit was a color commentator at the 2004 Liberty Bowl , Zabransky ' s first bowl game as a starter . On February 28 , 2007 it was announced that Zabransky would grace the cover of EA ' s video game " NCAA Football 08 " . He is the second of the game ' s cover athletes to date to go undrafted , after its first feature athlete , Tommie Frazier on College Football USA 97 . Personal life . Zabransky majored in Communication at Boise State and graduated on the dean ’ s list . He and his wife , Melissa , moved to Houston in the off - season .