There’s a saying that past performance does not accurately reflect future performance.
When it comes to Heisman Trophy winners, that is certainly true.
While there have been plenty of success stories of former Heisman winners making it big in the NFL, several more have found pro success difficult.
Take Ty Detmer for instance.
In 1990 he won the Heisman after passing for 5,188 yards and 41 touchdowns.
The following season he passed for 4,031 yards and 35 touchdowns, taking third in the Heisman voting.
After posting monster numbers in college, Detmer wasn’t selected until the ninth round of the 1992 NFL Draft by Green Bay.
1993 Green Bay Packers
Ty Detmer#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/DtVx4UQQ6O— Daily Backup QB (@dailybackupqb) November 29, 2021
By the time he retired after 14 seasons, Detmer had just 25 career starts and didn’t play a snap in six of those seasons.
In retirement, Detmer has coached at the high school and college levels.
This is the story of Ty Detmer.
Coach’s Kid
Ty Hubert Detmer was born on October 30, 1967, in San Marcos, Texas.
Texas is well known as a football hotbed and the Detmer family was immersed in the game from the start.
Ty’s father, “Sonny,” was a high school football coach in the state for over 30 years.
Bear Bryant, Tom Landry, Ron Harms, Sonny Detmer.
Happy Birthday, Sonny. We all love and miss you! 💙 pic.twitter.com/zUceyFofZF
— Koy Detmer Jr. (@COACHKDJR) September 11, 2021
At a time when running the pigskin was the top priority of teams around the country, Sonny Detmer preferred the forward pass.
Although he loved the game, Sonny didn’t try to steer his boys, Ty and Koy, to play.
“You probably push them to a certain extent in that you provide everything that you can for them to play,” Sonny said in a 1998 interview.
Koy Detmer agreed, but it was inevitable that the boys would play ball.
“He never told us, ‘You need to play football,’” Koy said. “He has always just let us be what we are and encouraged us to be the best that we can at whatever we want to do.”
Texas Prep Star
By the time he arrived at Southwest High School in San Antonio, Texas, Ty was ensconced in the world of football.
The @aafhotshots quarterbacks begin to loosen up at the Home of the Southwest High School Dragons and the alma mater of 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer! #JoinTheAlliance #GoShots pic.twitter.com/rBgJsjeFkY
— Phil Savage (@PhilSavage) January 5, 2019
He played golf, baseball, basketball, and track for the Dragons, but playing for his father was Ty’s ultimate dream.
“I wasn’t gonna coach them,” remarked Sonny. “But I kept watchin’ them play and I said, ‘They’re too good not to play for me.’ There are some kids that you have to push a little bit harder to make them better players. These guys wanted to be players. You just put them out there and teach them and they have an inner drive, a fire to play.”
While playing for his dad, Ty started at quarterback.
Sonny got pushback initially because his son was barely six feet tall and didn’t carry much weight.
However, Ty proved he was worthy of the starting spot as he racked up massive numbers for Southwest.
His total stats as a prep player were 8,005 yards and 71 touchdown passes.
Did You Know?
In 1986 Ty Detmer threw for a NATION LEADING 3,357 yards as a senior at SWHS! Ty went on to play football at BYU and in 1990 won the HEISMAN TROPHY!
After his college success he spent 12 years as an NFL QB!
Take a look at some pics of our very own SW Dragon! pic.twitter.com/oxX6Bw4UIh
— Southwest Dragons Football (@SWDragonsFB) August 1, 2023
Detmer passed for 3,357 yards during his senior year alone and was named all-state and Texas Player of the Year.
In 1997, Detmer was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame and was added to the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
BYU
Already possessing one of the best arms in high school football, Detmer accepted a scholarship offer from head coach Lavell Edwards and BYU during his senior year.
The coach had always wanted a Texas kid under center for the Cougars, but when he first laid eyes on his new prize, Edwards was a bit stunned.
“I was expecting John Elway, and in walked Pee-Wee Herman,” Edwards said when first meeting Detmer, who stood at six feet and around 180 pounds.
For Detmer, the choice to go from his father’s offensive philosophy to Edwards’s was a no-brainer.
“It was a perfect fit, the right place at the right time,” he said. “The formations at BYU were real similar to what we had at Southwest. In those days, there weren’t many (high school) teams throwing the ball or running a pro-style offense. But offenses were starting to open up, and my dad was a big part of that.”
Detmer arrived on campus in 1987 and redshirted, then played enough in 1988 to pass for 1,252 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
14 days….
Ty Detmer, BYU (1987-91) pic.twitter.com/S6ub99U6Ss— collegefootballguy (@cfootballguy24) August 10, 2019
In 1989, he was named BYU’s starter and carved up the competition for 4,560 yards (an NCAA record for a sophomore), 32 touchdowns and five picks.
Detmer’s passer rating of 175.6 led the nation and his 576 passing yards against Penn State in the Holiday Bowl set an NCAA record.
1990 and the Heisman Trophy
The Cougars had several great quarterbacks in team history before Detmer.
Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Robbie Bosco, and Steve Young were just a few of the names who put BYU on the map.
However, Detmer elevated the program to even greater heights.
https://twitter.com/BYUstatsMAN/status/1586764877070094336
In 1990, the Cougars came out firing and won their first four games of the season.
One of the victories came against top-ranked and defending national champion University of Miami.
The contest was played in Provo, Utah, although the Cougars were expected to lose.
Instead, Detmer passed for 406 yards and three scores, leading BYU to a massive upset, 28-21.
After a loss to Oregon at the end of September, Detmer and the Cougars reeled off six more wins before getting blown out, 59-28, at Hawaii.
When the smoke cleared after the regular season, Detmer had passed for an NCAA record 5,188 yards along with 41 touchdowns and 28 interceptions.
He was voted a consensus All-American and received the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Awards before becoming the first BYU quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy.
Today in 1990, Texas native Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy while playing quarterback for Brigham Young University. pic.twitter.com/vZxwBaMATz
— Texas Sports History (@TXSportsHistory) December 1, 2016
Two weeks later, Detmer was voted as the college Player of the Year by United Press International.
“He is the toughest competitor and a marvelous executor of our offense,” said Edwards, who ranks Detmer ahead of all of the quarterbacks he has coached. “I can’t list all the good things Ty has brought to BYU football.”
Texas A&M soundly beat BYU in the Holiday Bowl, but Detmer provided comfort to Cougars fans when he announced his intentions for his senior year.
“I am coming back next year,” Detmer said. “I know Andre Ware (the 1989 Heisman winner) said the same thing last year, but I’m Ty Detmer and I’m coming back.”
1991
BYU had a rough opening to the 1991 season, losing its first three games before ending the year with an 8-3-2 record (including a tie in the Holiday Bowl against Iowa).
Detmer continued slinging the pigskin and ended his final year with 4,031 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
He was voted a Consensus All-American for the second year in a row and received the O’Brien Award and Sammy Baugh Trophy.
BYU's Ty Detmer is the only 2-time consensus 1st team All-American QB in CFB history. 1990 & 91. @BYUfootball pic.twitter.com/fB77oubkXA
— Vintage LSU Football (@vintagelsuftb) October 14, 2020
Unlike the season before, Detmer came in third in the Heisman race behind Michigan’s Desmond Howard and Florida State signal-caller Casey Weldon.
During his collegiate career, Detmer threw for 15,031 yards, 121 touchdowns, and 65 touchdowns and added 14 scores rushing.
At the time, his passing yards and passing touchdowns were the best in NCAA history.
Detmer also broke 59 NCAA records and tied three others.
His number 14 has since been retired by the Cougars and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
Ninth Round Pick
BYU quarterbacks such as McMahon and Young excelled in the NFL and both won a Super Bowl during their careers.
Detmer had surpassed them both in stats as well as national recognition as a Heisman winner.
However, despite his success in college, pro scouts weren’t exactly sold on Detmer.
After all, he hadn’t gotten any taller or put on much weight since Lavell Edwards first laid eyes on him.
Fearing that Detmer would get crushed by NFL defenders, the quarterback lasted until the 230th pick of the ninth round of the 1992 NFL Draft.
That’s when the Green Bay Packers selected him and promptly parked Detmer behind Don Majkowski and recently acquired Brett Favre.
Today in 1995: Packers open the season with a 27-17 win over the Saints at Camp Randall Stadium. Ty Detmer leads Green Bay's second-half rally with TD passes to rookie WR Antonio Freeman and TE Mike Bartrum. pic.twitter.com/YW9Mf5OZwn
— Packers History (@HistoricPackers) August 5, 2020
Favre quickly took the starting job from Majkowski and spent the next several years as an icon for the Packers, let alone one of the most durable signal-callers in league history.
With Favre firmly in place, Detmer only got a handful of snaps in four years.
During that time, he passed for 107 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Detmer Signs with Philly
With the 1996 season looming, the Packers wanted to keep Detmer, but he couldn’t stomach the thought of backing up Favre for the foreseeable future.
His former coaches in Green Bay, Jon Gruden and Ray Rhodes, had landed in Philadelphia and reached out to Detmer.
Longtime Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham had just retired and the club needed another arm.
Although he wasn’t promised anything, Detmer jumped at the chance.
“I had known (Eagles Head Coach) Ray Rhodes and (Offensive Coordinator) Jon Gruden from our time in Green Bay, and felt like it was an opportunity to get out from behind Brett Favre, where you may never play,” laughed Detmer.
Gruden had no second thoughts about signing Detmer, having enjoyed working with the quarterback in Green Bay.
“He has an innate feel for the position that is rare, and he has physical ability, which a lot of people don’t realize because he’s not the biggest or the strongest guy,” said Gruden.
Detmer began the 1996 season backing up Rodney Peete.
When Peete went down with an injury in Week 5, Detmer entered in relief.
1996 Philadelphia Eagles
Ty Detmer pic.twitter.com/5fq3YSpvnC— Daily Backup QB (@dailybackupqb) November 14, 2021
After the team’s bye, Detmer finally had his first career start in Week 7 against the New York Giants.
“That first start is something that you’ve waited for your whole life,” said Detmer. “I just wanted to go out and perform and not embarrass myself, but at the same time play well and help the team.”
Philly won the game and continued winning in Detmer’s first four starts.
In the third game of the win streak, Detmer passed for a career-high 342 yards against Carolina.
The following week, he helped beat the Cowboys for Philly’s first win in Dallas since 1991.
After a 10-6 record, the Eagles lost in the Wild Card round to San Francisco.
Detmer went 7-4 as the starter and threw for 2,911 yards, 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
He also rushed for one score.
1997
Detmer and the Eagles couldn’t maintain the momentum of 1996 into the 1997 season.
The year started off well when Detmer’s brother, Koy, was drafted by Philly in the seventh round of the draft.
Detmer won the starting job in training camp but struggled and was replaced by Peete for a few games.
1997- Ty detmer pic.twitter.com/xkGBcgPuwW
— him duncan (@TatumEnj0yer) August 17, 2023
Eventually, they were both demoted in favor of second-year quarterback Bobby Hoying.
The Eagles went 6-9-1 and Detmer ended his second season in Philly with a 2-5 starting record, 1,567 yards, seven touchdowns, six picks, and a rushing touchdown.
San Francisco and Cleveland
Before the 1998 NFL season, Detmer left Philly and Koy behind and signed with San Francisco.
That year, he backed up fellow BYU alum Steve Young and started one game, passing for 312 yards, four touchdowns, and three picks.
The Niners won 12 games and advanced in the playoffs before losing to Atlanta in the divisional round.
Months later, the Cleveland Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 after the original franchise moved to Baltimore and were re-branded “the Ravens.”
The Browns signed Detmer as its bridge quarterback and a tutor to their first-round pick, quarterback Tim Couch.
Ty Detmer (former Cleveland Browns) QB 1999 @TyDetmer14 pic.twitter.com/3tw8r0Po3E
— American Football 画像 (@AFpicture_japan) December 13, 2014
After starting the first game of the season, Cleveland’s coaches decided to abort the mentorship idea and threw Couch to the wolves.
Detmer started the final game of the regular season when Couch was injured.
In two starts, Detmer had 548 passing yards, four touchdowns, and two picks.
He severely injured his Achilles the following fall and was shelved for the entire 2000 season.
Detmer Calls it a Career
In 2001, the Detroit Lions signed Detmer and he started four games for a team that won only twice that year.
The result was 906 yards, three touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, including throwing seven picks against his former team, the Browns.
That time Lions QB Ty Detmer threw 7 interceptions vs the Browns. pic.twitter.com/ReFmYhPMxC
— Jarrett Bailey (@JBaileyNFL) April 7, 2022
That mark tied Detmer with seven others for the second-most interceptions thrown in a single game in NFL history.
Before 2002, the Lions selected Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington in the first round and Detmer once again became a quarterback mentor.
He remained with Detroit through the 2003 season but didn’t have any meaningful stats.
Then, in 2004, Atlanta signed Detmer.
During two years with the club, Detmer never played a down as he was stuck in the third position behind Michael Vick and Matt Schaub.
#Falcons QB Mike Vick, Matt Schaub, and Ty Detmer look over still shots during a 2004 game against the #Rams pic.twitter.com/uCkloFj9gu
— Quarterback Club (@TheNewQBClub) March 13, 2016
After the 2005 season ended, Detmer was released by the Falcons.
He never officially retired, but the writing was on the wall.
During his 14-year career, Detmer started 25 times and saw action in 54 games.
He was 11-14 as a starter and passed for 6,351 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 35 interceptions.
Additionally, Detmer rushed the ball 72 times for 177 yards and three touchdowns.
Life After the NFL
Detmer didn’t stray far from football after leaving the NFL.
He was hired as the head coach at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas in 2009.
Before that, Detmer was employed by Triton Financial Corporation from 2007 to 2009 where he worked to cultivate athlete clients.
In 2009, the company’s founder, Kurt Barton, was arrested for fraud.
Detmer was not implicated in the charges and lost a large sum of money himself as an investor in the company.
During the 2016 and 2017 college football seasons, Detmer worked as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at BYU.
After the Cougars went 4-9 in 2017, Detmer was fired.
He then found his way to Phoenix, Arizona, as the athletic director for the American Leadership Academies (ALA).
BYU QB commit Enoch Watson is being coached by two legendary BYU QBs at American Leadership Academy in Arizona: Ty Detmer and Max Hall.
Detmer and Hall have been helping Watson develop and prepare for the college game.@Harmonwriteshttps://t.co/AyCNdDJ8W2
— Ensign Gridiron (@EnsignGridiron) November 14, 2023
In 2021, Detmer was named the head coach for the Queen Creek branch of ALA.
“The interaction with the kids, that’s what you miss. Being the A.D., you kind of dealt more with the coaches instead of really being more hands-on with the players. So I missed that part of it,” Detmer said.
Detmer and his wife, Kim, have four daughters and two grandchildren.
References
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/12/17/Detmer-named-Player-of-the-Year/7927661410000/
https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/the-family-that-played-together/
https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/12/1/21771521/ty-detmer-heisman-trophy-byu-football/
packerspastperfect.wordpress.com
https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/where-are-they-now-qb-ty-detmer
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ty-detmer-1.html
https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=2326
https://www.texasfootball.com/hof-ty-detmer?ref=search
https://www.tshof.org/store/p79/Ty_Detmer.html
https://byucougars.com/sports/football/roster/season/1991/player/ty-detmer
https://byucougars.com/staff/ty-detmer
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DetmTy00.htm
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