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Friday, August 1, 2008
Chris Redman
Greater Louisville, KY
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He seems to have found his niche in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.
The arrival of a freshman quarterback in 1996 changed University of Louisville Cardinal Football forever. The Cards had recruited Chris Redman, a Louisville Male graduate who held the national high school record for touchdown passes in a season. He would bring some much needed firepower to a lackluster program that had experienced a few ups and downs in recent years.
His father and high school coach, Bob Redman, spoke about coaching his quarterback son to a national record and the huge attention he drew from multiple college programs. “Coaching Chris was a tremendous experience,” Redman says. “He played in a time when the passing game was roughly 30 percent of the play calls and we realized he could throw it about 70 percent of the time for us. It was good for Male and good for Chris.”
Redman endured a tough 1-10 season in 1997 as a U of L sophomore, only to thrive under new head coach John L. Smith and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino in 1998. Redman threw for 2,049 yards in the final four regular season games of the '98 season—more than the season totals of 36 Division I-A teams. He threw for a total of 4,042 yards and 29 touchdowns in 1998, leading the Cardinals to a 7-5 record (including a Motor City Bowl berth, the Cards first bowl appearance since 1993). Louisville Cardinal Football was on the map thanks to Redman, but it would still need an outstanding senior year from its new Heisman hopeful to garner national respect.
The program was square on the shoulders of a senior heralded as the best thing to happen to the Cards since Johnny Unitas. The expectations put on Redman were huge. NFL scouts wanted him to break all NCAA records to earn an early draft. “Chris had to constantly prove himself,” Bob Redman says.
Chris took the Cards to a 10-2 record in 1999. He threw for 3,961 yards, 31 TDs and 16 picks. Redman also completed 64 percent of his passes that year. Unfortunately, the Cards lost 34-31 in the Humanitarian Bowl to the Boise State Broncos. The only question remaining was where Redman would be drafted.
Redman heard his name called by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He was the 75th pick overall and the third quarterback taken that year (Chad Pennington and Giovanni Carmazzi were selected before him). Tom Brady of Michigan was selected in the sixth round that same year.
After a stint with the Ravens, Redman bounced around to the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots during the off-seasons and even found himself out of football for a spell. Then last year, new Atlanta Falcons head coach Bobby Petrino picked him up. Redman sat the bench until the final four games of the season, when he finally got the chance to prove he belongs in the NFL. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 251 yards and 4 TDs on 17 completions to beat the Seattle Seahawks 44-41.
The Falcons have Redman listed as the starter this season, with rookie Matt Ryan getting acclimated to the NFL. “So much of the NFL is getting into the right situation,” says Bob Redman on Chris’s position, “He’s just really excited to get back down there and play. He’s a doer and when it comes time for him to perform, he does it and I think that speaks for itself.”
Alex Risen is VYPE’s very capable summer intern. He will be a sophomore at the University of Kentucky this fall, where he is a staff member for the Kernel, UK’s student newspaper.
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