Reggie Ball
Encyclopedia
Reginald Lewis Ball is an American football
Quarterback
who currently plays for the Bricktown Brawlers
of the Indoor Football League
He was originally signed by the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football
at Georgia Tech
.
. As a senior he passed for over 2000 yards with 19 touchdown
s and just two interception
s. He was named to the Super Southern 100 and Top 50 in Georgia by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also, he was rated the number 133 player in Georgia by BorderWars.com and ranked among the nation's top 15 all-purpose quarterbacks by Rivals.com
.
for Georgia Tech since Stu Rogers in 1980. Ball's first start was in the Yellow Jackets' opening game against BYU
in 2003. Since then, Ball missed just one game and amassed 8,128 passing yards, 57 touchdown passes and 9,579 total yards of offense in his career, but also threw 55 interceptions. Ball's passing yards total is third on Georgia Tech's career list, behind Joe Hamilton
and Shawn Jones
, and his touchdown pass and total offense totals are second behind Hamilton. Ball accumulated 11 rushing touchdown
s and also rushed for 1,451 yards in his career, good for 18th on the Yellow Jacket leaderboard and second among Tech quarterbacks in history (Hamilton). He wore jersey number 1.
During his career, Ball was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2003 and was named the MVP of the Champs Sports Bowl
in 2004.
Reggie Ball began his senior season for the Yellow Jackets by leading the team to a sterling 9-2 record, but Ball's collegiate career ended on a negative note on December 2, 2006, with a 9-6 loss in the ACC Championship Game
to Wake Forest
, just one week after Ball's Georgia Tech team lost to in-state rival
UGA for a sixth straight year. Ball completed less than 30% (15-51) of his passes in these last two games, threw four interceptions, and gave up a crucial fumble
in the loss to Georgia. Although Georgia Tech earned a spot to play West Virginia in the Gator Bowl
that year, Reggie Ball's controversial career abruptly ended when he was named academically ineligible, and backup quarterback Taylor Bennett
was named the starter. He left Georgia Tech after this season having completed only 44% of his passes, the worst mark of his four-year career, and not receiving an academic degree.
teams and a win against #3 University of Miami
on the road in 2005, Ball-led Yellow Jacket teams were 0-4 against the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech's primary rival
. Ball's play in these games (including, in 2004, a drive-ending intentional incomplete pass out of bounds on 4th down and earning him the nickname "5th Down Reggie") will always be in question to Georgia Tech fans. Ball finished his career by losing to UGA, losing the ACC Championship game to Wake Forest, and being declared academically ineligible for the 2007 Gator Bowl, which would have been his final game. College football writer Pete Fiutak, contributor to the website Collegefootballnews.com, challenged readers to name a more ineffective four year college football starter than Ball. Brett Jensen compared his career to that of the Clemson Tigers
' Charlie Whitehurst
; both had impressive freshman seasons, but they were unable to live up to the expectations placed upon them. I
Ball tried out as a wide receiver, attempting to follow former college quarterbacks Antwaan Randle El
and Reggie McNeal
. He ran a 4.8 second 40-yard dash, and had somewhat inconsistent pass coverage. Ball was not selected during the 2007 NFL Draft
, but was signed by the Detroit Lions
, auditioning for a role as a wide receiver/kick returner. He did not make the team.
On December 5, he was re-signed to the practice squad when defensive back
LaMarcus Hicks
was placed on injured reserve and wide receiver Brandon Middleton
was promoted to the active roster. On July 27, 2008 he was placed on injured reserve.
Ball was released by the Lions on March 18, 2009.
of the Indoor Football League
in 2011.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
who currently plays for the Bricktown Brawlers
Bricktown Brawlers
The Bricktown Brawlers were an Indoor Football League team that played in the 2011 season. Based in Oklahoma City, the Brawlers played its home games at Cox Convention Center...
of the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
He was originally signed by the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
.
Early years
Ball played his high school football at Stephenson High in Stone Mountain, GeorgiaStone Mountain, Georgia
Stone Mountain is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,802 at the 2010 census. It is an outer suburb of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.-Geography:...
. As a senior he passed for over 2000 yards with 19 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s and just two interception
Interception (football)
An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...
s. He was named to the Super Southern 100 and Top 50 in Georgia by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also, he was rated the number 133 player in Georgia by BorderWars.com and ranked among the nation's top 15 all-purpose quarterbacks by Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
.
College career
Reggie Ball was the first true freshman to start at quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for Georgia Tech since Stu Rogers in 1980. Ball's first start was in the Yellow Jackets' opening game against BYU
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
in 2003. Since then, Ball missed just one game and amassed 8,128 passing yards, 57 touchdown passes and 9,579 total yards of offense in his career, but also threw 55 interceptions. Ball's passing yards total is third on Georgia Tech's career list, behind Joe Hamilton
Joe Hamilton (football player)
Joe Hamilton is a former American football player who now serves as running backs coach at Georgia State University. Before joining the Georgia State football staff in 2010, he had played professionally as a quarterback, most recently for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League...
and Shawn Jones
Shawn Jones
Shawn Jones was a National Football League player for the Minnesota Vikings. Jones was a four year starter at Quarterback for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.- High School :...
, and his touchdown pass and total offense totals are second behind Hamilton. Ball accumulated 11 rushing touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s and also rushed for 1,451 yards in his career, good for 18th on the Yellow Jacket leaderboard and second among Tech quarterbacks in history (Hamilton). He wore jersey number 1.
During his career, Ball was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2003 and was named the MVP of the Champs Sports Bowl
Champs Sports Bowl
The Champs Sports Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at the Citrus Bowl. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Capital One Bowl and Florida Classic...
in 2004.
Reggie Ball began his senior season for the Yellow Jackets by leading the team to a sterling 9-2 record, but Ball's collegiate career ended on a negative note on December 2, 2006, with a 9-6 loss in the ACC Championship Game
ACC Championship Game
The Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game is an American college football game held on the first Saturday in December by the Atlantic Coast Conference each year to determine its football champion. The game pits the champion of the Coastal Division against the champion of the Atlantic Division in a game...
to Wake Forest
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
, just one week after Ball's Georgia Tech team lost to in-state rival
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is the nickname given to an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Georgia Bulldogs football team of the University of Georgia. The two Georgia universities are...
UGA for a sixth straight year. Ball completed less than 30% (15-51) of his passes in these last two games, threw four interceptions, and gave up a crucial fumble
Fumble
A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
in the loss to Georgia. Although Georgia Tech earned a spot to play West Virginia in the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
that year, Reggie Ball's controversial career abruptly ended when he was named academically ineligible, and backup quarterback Taylor Bennett
Taylor Bennett
Taylor Bennett is a former college football quarterback for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. He began his collegiate career at Georgia Tech. He majored in International Affairs at Georgia Tech...
was named the starter. He left Georgia Tech after this season having completed only 44% of his passes, the worst mark of his four-year career, and not receiving an academic degree.
Legacy
Reggie Ball's college career will forever be marred with inconsistency. The teams he led "played to the level of the opponent," producing several impressive upsets while losing "easier" games. Although he won several big games for the Jackets including two wins against ranked Auburn UniversityAuburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
teams and a win against #3 University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
on the road in 2005, Ball-led Yellow Jacket teams were 0-4 against the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech's primary rival
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is the nickname given to an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Georgia Bulldogs football team of the University of Georgia. The two Georgia universities are...
. Ball's play in these games (including, in 2004, a drive-ending intentional incomplete pass out of bounds on 4th down and earning him the nickname "5th Down Reggie") will always be in question to Georgia Tech fans. Ball finished his career by losing to UGA, losing the ACC Championship game to Wake Forest, and being declared academically ineligible for the 2007 Gator Bowl, which would have been his final game. College football writer Pete Fiutak, contributor to the website Collegefootballnews.com, challenged readers to name a more ineffective four year college football starter than Ball. Brett Jensen compared his career to that of the Clemson Tigers
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are any team that represents Clemson University as a member of the NCAA's Division I or in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference....
' Charlie Whitehurst
Charlie Whitehurst
Charles David Whitehurst is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
; both had impressive freshman seasons, but they were unable to live up to the expectations placed upon them. I
Detroit Lions
At the NFL CombineNFL Combine
The National Invitational Camp or NFL Scouting Combine, as it is more widely known, is a week-long showcase, occurring every February in Indianapolis, Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium , where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general...
Ball tried out as a wide receiver, attempting to follow former college quarterbacks Antwaan Randle El
Antwaan Randle El
Antwaan Randle El is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He attended Indiana University, after turning down a Major League Baseball draft selection by the Chicago Cubs in 1997...
and Reggie McNeal
Reggie McNeal
Reginald Parrish McNeal is a quarterback and wide receiver in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos. He played college football at Texas A&M University.-High school career:...
. He ran a 4.8 second 40-yard dash, and had somewhat inconsistent pass coverage. Ball was not selected during the 2007 NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
, but was signed by the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, auditioning for a role as a wide receiver/kick returner. He did not make the team.
On December 5, he was re-signed to the practice squad when defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
LaMarcus Hicks
LaMarcus Hicks
LaMarcus Hicks is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Iowa State.-External links:*...
was placed on injured reserve and wide receiver Brandon Middleton
Brandon Middleton
Brandon Anthony Middleton is a professional gridiron football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Houston....
was promoted to the active roster. On July 27, 2008 he was placed on injured reserve.
Ball was released by the Lions on March 18, 2009.
Indoor Football League
Ball is currently signed to play for the Bricktown BrawlersBricktown Brawlers
The Bricktown Brawlers were an Indoor Football League team that played in the 2011 season. Based in Oklahoma City, the Brawlers played its home games at Cox Convention Center...
of the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
in 2011.
See also
- List of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Starting Quarterbacks
- Georgia Tech Yellow JacketsGeorgia Tech Yellow JacketsThe Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...