Josh Freeman Joshua Tyler " Josh " Freeman ( born January 13 , 1988 ) is the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League . He was selected 17th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2009 NFL Draft . He played college football at Kansas State . High school career . Freeman passed for over 7 , 000 yards at Grandview High School where he was a four - star rated prospect by both Rivals . com and Scout . com . As a sophomore , he threw for 1 , 946 yards and 24 passing touchdowns , leading Grandview to a 9 – 3 record and a spot in the quarterfinals of the Class 4 playoffs . In addition , he set 10 school records during his career at Grandview , including career passing yards ( 7 , 175 ) , passing touchdowns ( 78 ) , attempts ( 809 ) , completions ( 385 ) , yards passing in a game ( 404 ) and touchdowns in a game ( 6 ) . As a junior , he topped 2 , 400 yards through the air with 23 touchdowns . As a senior , he was the # 4 pro - style rated quarterback in the country by Rivals . com as well as being ranked as the # 92 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals and the top player in the state of Missouri . He was the # 9 quarterback nationally . He led Grandview to a 7 – 4 record , a district title and a berth in the sectional round of the Missouri state playoffs . He also completed 151 - of - 286 passes ( 53 % ) for 2 , 622 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2005 . He also earned first team Class 4 all - state honors from the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association . Freeman was selected to the Kansas City Star All - Metro team and was the 2005 Thomas A . Simone Award winner as the top player in the Kansas City metro area . College career . Despite being a highly - recruited quarterback prospect , at least one major program wanted the 6 ' 5 " 225 lb . Freeman as a tight end , which his African - American father saw as a racial slight . Freeman said he " didn ' t see it the same way " at the time , as the school already had a QB recruit from his class . Nevertheless , Freeman was not interested , as his longtime goal was to become an NFL quarterback . He originally committed to the University of Nebraska to play for former head coach Bill Callahan , but the head coach at Kansas State , Ron Prince , convinced Freeman to enroll at Kansas State instead . As a freshman in 2006 , Freeman appeared in 11 of 13 games that season , including starts in the final eight contests of 2006 . He took over at quarterback during the second half at Baylor and directed the Kansas State offense the rest of the season . He passed for a Kansas State freshman record 1 , 780 yards on 140 - of - 270 passing ( 52 % ) . He became the first true freshman to start a game at Kansas State since 1976 . Additionally , he had consecutive 250 + yard passing games against Colorado and Texas , marking the first time a Kansas State quarterback had done so since Michael Bishop in 1998 . He attempted a Kansas State freshman - record 47 passes against Nebraska , completing 23 for 272 yards . He earned his first career start against Oklahoma State and led the Wildcats to a comeback win . He finished the game 10 - for - 15 passing for 177 yards and ran for a game - winning 21 - yard touchdown with 1 : 11 to go in the game . In 2007 , he set new single - season school records for pass attempts , completions and yards after throwing for 3 , 353 yards and 18 touchdowns on 316 - of - 499 passing . In 2008 , Freeman was 224 of 382 passing for 2 , 945 yards and 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season for a passer rating of 132 . 9 . The 14 rushing touchdowns were the fourth - most in a single season by a Wildcat quarterback . In his three year collegiate career , Freeman completed 680 passes for 8 , 078 yards and 44 touchdowns and 34 interceptions in 35 career games . He accumulated a school - record 8 , 427 total yards and joined Ell Roberson as the only quarterbacks in Kansas State history to score at least 60 touchdowns . Professional career . 2009 NFL Draft . Freeman was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round ( 17th overall ) of the 2009 NFL Draft . He entered the 2009 NFL Draft with one year of college eligibility left . The Bucs later agreed to terms with Freeman on a five - year , $ 26 million contract , a deal that ( if Freeman achieves his incentives ) could balloon to as much as $ 36 million . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . 2009 . On November 8 , 2009 , Freeman started his first professional game at home against the Green Bay Packers . The Buccaneers won , ending an 11 - game losing streak . He completed 14 out of 31 passes for 205 yards , 3 passing touchdowns , and 1 INT , including a fourth down touchdown pass to rookie Sammie Stroughter to take the lead , 31 – 28 late in the game . Freeman became the youngest quarterback in Bucs history to start and win his first game . On December 27 , 2009 he led his Buccaneers to a 20 – 17 overtime win over the 13 – 1 New Orleans Saints preventing them from clinching the 1st seed in the playoffs for 1 more week . 2010 . Josh Freeman began the 2010 season as the starting quarterback . He started all 16 games of the season , the first Buccaneer quarterback to do so since Brad Johnson in 2003 . On December 26 , 2010 , Freeman completed 21 of 26 pass attempts for 227 yards and 5 touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks , matching a franchise record for touchdowns in a game . On January 1 , 2011 Freeman completed 21 of 26 pass attempts for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns against the playoff - bound New Orleans Saints . Both performances won him the FedEx Air Player of the Week . He was awarded NFC Player Of The Week on Week 5 and 17 . He led the team to a winning record of 10 – 6 , barely missing the playoffs . He was also named as an alternate for the 2011 Pro Bowl . 2011 . Freeman participated in 15 out of the 16 games in the 2011 - 2012 season . However , this season would prove to be very disappointing for him compared to the 2010 - 2011 season . He only threw 16 touchdowns with 22 interceptions , and a 74 . 6 quarterback rating . The Bucs finished 4 - 12 , losing the final 10 games of the season . 2012 . After the 2011 season , head coach Raheem Morris was fired and replaced by former Rutgers University head coach Greg Schiano . The Bucs also added new weapons for Freeman , signing former Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark , Pro Bowl wide receiver Vincent Jackson , and upgrading the offensive line with All - Pro left guard Carl Nicks . Personal . His father , Ron , was a hall of fame linebacker for Pittsburg State University and also played in the United States Football League with the Pittsburgh Maulers ( 1984 ) and Orlando Renegades ( 1985 ) . Freeman ' s brother , Caleb , was recruited to Missouri to play linebacker in 2008 . He was red - shirted .