Matt Schaub Matthew Rutledge Schaub ( born June 25 , 1981 ) is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Virginia , and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft . Schaub holds every passing record in Texans franchise history . High school career . Schaub attended West Chester East High School in West Chester , Pennsylvania , where he lettered in football , basketball and baseball . During his senior year he led the school ' s football team to win the Ches - Mont League championship . College career . Schaub enrolled at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1999 , and began his career as a member of the Virginia Cavaliers football team . He redshirt ed his true freshman season . In 2000 , starter Dan Ellis missed some time due to injury , but fellow redshirt freshman Bryson Spinner received the bulk of playing time in relief . After the 2000 season , coach George Welsh retired and was replaced by Al Groh . Schaub was the starter for the first game of the 2001 season at Wisconsin . Over the 2001 season , Schaub and Spinner split quarterbacking duties nearly evenly . The two alternated in some games , while in others either Schaub or Spinner received nearly all the snaps . The two quarterback system worked relatively well with both effectively passing the ball to receiver Billy McMullen , the team ' s leading offensive threat . Spinner transferred to the University of Richmond for the 2002 season , seemingly making Schaub the unquestioned starter . However , Schaub was briefly replaced by redshirt freshman Marques Hagans in the first game of the 2002 season against Colorado State University . Hagans was named the starter for the next game , against Florida State University , but was replaced by Schaub who went on to his breakout season . Schaub was the 2002 ACC Player of the Year , 2002 ACC Offensive Player of the Year and first - team All - State Virginia Sports Information Directors Association ( VaSID ) as a senior . Publicized in the 2003 preseason as a Heisman candidate , Schaub suffered a shoulder injury in the first game of the season and did not return for several games ; therefore his overall numbers declined in his senior season . He was the Most Valuable Player of the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl and was twice selected to the All - ACC Academic Football Team . His University of Virginia awards included the John Acree Memorial Trophy , given to the football player with the highest qualities of leadership and unselfish service , and the Ben Wilson Award as the team ’ s most outstanding offensive player . Matt Schaub finished his college career with at least 22 school records . He played in a record 40 games at the quarterback position and finished his career as one of the most accurate passers in Atlantic Coast Conference history ( . 670 career completion percentage ) . His Virginia statistics included school career records for yards passing ( 7502 ) , touchdown passes ( 56 ) , completions ( 716 ) , attempts ( 1069 ) , completion percentage ( . 670 ) , 300 - yard games ( 8 ) , and 200 - yard games ( 20 ) . Professional career . Atlanta Falcons . Schaub was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 3rd round of the 2004 NFL draft as the 90th overall pick . He was the fifth of seventeen quarterbacks taken in a quarterback - rich class , including Eli Manning , Philip Rivers , and Ben Roethlisberger . In 2004 , Matt Schaub played in 6 games with the Atlanta Falcons , including starting the week sixteen contest against the New Orleans Saints , replacing injured Michael Vick . In 2005 , Schaub was named the Most Valuable Player in the American Bowl preseason game in Tokyo , Japan . In front of 45 , 203 fans at the Tokyo Dome , Schaub completed 11 of 13 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a 27 - 21 comeback victory over the Indianapolis Colts . During the regular season he played QB in 5 games , starting one . His lone start came against the New England Patriots in week 5 ; Schaub threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns in the 31 - 28 loss . Schaub was the holder on extra points and field goals . In 2006 , Schaub again was the holder on extra points and field goals . The Falcons traded him to the Houston Texans in March 2007 . Houston Texans . In March 2007 , the Houston Texans acquired Schaub from the Falcons for second round picks in 2007 and 2008 . As part of the deal , the teams also swapped first round picks in 2007 , exchanging the Falcons ' 10th pick with the Texans ' 8th pick . Schaub was introduced to his new team at a press conference on March 22 , 2007 , and the same day , the Texans released David Carr , opening the door for Schaub to become their long - term starter . Head Coach Kubiak also revealed a tattoo of the number 8 on his right shoulder at that time . 2007 season . In each of the first two games of the 2007 season , Schaub threw for over 220 yards , a 71 % completion percentage , and attained a quarterback rating of over 100 ; both games were victories for the Texans , winning 20 - 3 over the Kansas City Chiefs and 34 - 21 over the Carolina Panthers . The second victory marked the first 2 – 0 start in franchise history . In week four , he started against his former team , the Atlanta Falcons , in which he completed 28 of 40 attempts , with 317 yards , 1 touchdown , and no interceptions in what would be his second loss of the 2007 season . Though Schaub was plagued with injuries throughout the 2007 season , he and backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels improved on the team ' s 2006 record of 6 – 10 , bringing the Texans to their first . 500 season with an 8 – 8 record which is also a first in the team ' s short history . 2008 season . Schaub returned as the starter for the 2008 season . He played poorly in the first two games , losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans but then had a great game against the Jacksonville Jaguars despite another loss . He sat out the week 5 loss to the Indianapolis Colts . In week 6 , Schaub set the Texans franchise record for passing yards with 379 in a comeback win against the Miami Dolphins in which Schaub scored the winning TD on a QB draw with 3 seconds left . Schaub helped teammate wide receiver Andre Johnson lead the league in both receptions and receiving yards through week 8 of the season , having 56 catches for 772 yards . The new quarterback - receiver tandem had their best day together through midseason during the week 8 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals where Schaub threw for 280 yards , completing over 85 % of his passes ( 24 of 28 ) , 10 of those going to Johnson for 143 yards in the 35 - 6 rout . Schaub ' s season was broken up however with a knee injury against the Minnesota Vikings , which expected to keep him out for around 4 weeks , making Sage Rosenfels the new starter . Against the Green Bay Packers , Schaub completed 28 of 42 pass attempts for 414 yards and 2 touchdowns , also leading the Texans down the field to set up a Kris Brown game winning field goal . He played well down the stretch and the team finished 8 - 8 despite starting 0 - 4 . 2009 season . During the 2009 NFL season , Schaub led the Texans to a 9 - 7 record , the first winning record in team history . He led the league in passing yards ( 4 , 770 ) , completions ( 396 ) , yards per game ( 298 ) and passing attempts ( 583 ) , while finishing fifth in touchdowns ( 29 ) , compiling a quarterback rating of 98 . 6 . He was selected to his first Pro Bowl as an injury replacement to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady , winning MVP honors . 2010 season . There were high hopes for the Texans with the league ' s leading passer ( in yards ) coming back for the 2010 year , but with the development of the running game , Matt Schaub was only 9 / 17 for 107 yards for a touchdown and an interception in a Week 1 victory against the Indianapolis Colts . Hopes for strong start to the season were rejuvenated when Matt Schaub threw for 497 yards in an overtime victory over the Washington Redskins on September 19 , 2010 . Schaub would finish the season with 4370 passing yards , good for 4th in the league , but the team would finish 6 - 10 and miss the playoffs . 2011 season . In 2011 , the Texans made numerous defensive improvements as Matt Schaub led the Texans to its most successful season to date , helping guide his team part of the way to their first ever playoff appearance and clinching the first division title in Texans franchise history . Schaub started all 10 of the first regular season games , and while not on pace for one of his better seasons statistically , he helped his team reach 7 - 3 , the best start after 10 weeks in franchise history . After a week 10 game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Schaub was placed on IR with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot after a quarterback sneak . Schaub was initially replaced by Matt Leinart , who would go on to get knocked out for the season as well , leading to the eventual replacement by rookie T . J . Yates . The team finished 4 - 4 ( includes playoff games ) without Schaub as the starting quarterback . 2012 season . Schaub entered the 2012 season in the final year of the contract he signed when he initially joined the Texans back in 2007 . After the season opening win against the Miami Dolphins , Schaub signed a four year , $ 62 million extension with the Texans , keeping him under contract through 2016 . During the week 3 game against the Denver Broncos , Schaub was illegally hit by Broncos defender Joe Mays and was thought to have lost part of his earlobe on the play , however he suffered only a laceration . In week 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars , Schaub threw for a career - high 527 yards and a career - high 5 touchdown passes in a 43 - 37 overtime victory for the Texans . Schaub ' s 527 yards is tied with Hall of Famer and former Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon for the second - most passing yards in a single game in NFL history . In week 12 , during the Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions , Schaub was kicked in the groin by Ndamukong Suh . Schaub rallied the Texans from a 10 - point deficit to win once again in overtime , 34 - 31 . After the game , Schaub said that he wouldn ' t want Suh on his team , calling him " not Houston Texan - worthy . "