Craig Nall
Encyclopedia
Craig Matthew Nall is an American football
quarterback
who is currently a free agent
. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers
in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Northwestern State and LSU.
Nall has also played for the Buffalo Bills
, Houston Texans
, and Florida Tuskers.
. He was redshirted
in 1997. In 1998, he was the #2 quarterback behind senior Herb Tyler
. When Tyler suffered an injury late in the game at Notre Dame
, Nall came off of the bench to lead LSU the length of the field in a furious comeback attempt. The comeback came up short as an LSU receiver dropped the potential game winning pass in the end zone
on fourth down as time was winding down. Nall then started the next week in the last game of the season at #13 Arkansas. Nall was sacked six times and threw for 147 yards and was intercepted once.
In 1999, Nall had to battle Josh Booty
and Rohan Davey
for the quarterback position. Nall was named the starter
for the season opener but was benched at halftime with LSU leading. He was sacked once for 8 yards and he threw two interceptions in 15 attempts (completing 6 of 15 for 79 yards). Nall made only one other brief appearance at quarterback for LSU in 1999 as he got some late mopup duty the next week. Nall did not play quarterback for the rest of the season.
Nall only got two passing attempts in the 2000 season opener after a groin
injury hampered him at the end of fall camp.
. There, he became the first quarterback in school history to surpass 2,000 yards passing in a season.
in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft
with the 164th choice overall. Nall also started for the Scottish Claymores
of NFL Europe
in 2003 and was the league's leading passer. In 2004 Nall played in 5 games as Brett Favre
's backup at Green Bay. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 314 yards and 4 touchdowns, with no interceptions, and a passer rating of 139.4.
, where he competed for the starting quarterback position until a hamstring
injury suffered on the second day of practice ended his involvement in the competition. In 2007, he fell on the team's depth chart behind J.P. Losman
and Trent Edwards
. At the end of pre-season, he was cut from the team's final roster. Early into the regular season he was re-signed by the Bills but was released shortly thereafter.
as insurance when starter Matt Schaub
was hurt against San Diego. He was released by the Texans on November 21, 2007.
. He became a free agent in the 2008 offseason.
on November 5, 2008 after an injury to Matt Schaub
. He was waived on December 17 when the team signed fellow Northwestern State alumnus cornerback
David Pittman
.
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 is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...
. 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 Northwestern State and LSU.
Nall has also played for the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and Florida Tuskers.
Early years
Nall was born in Alexandria, Louisiana and he attended Alexandria Senior High School. There, he was quarterback for the football team and he threw for 5,038 yards and 38 touchdowns.LSU
Nall initially played college football at Louisiana State UniversityLSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...
. He was redshirted
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
in 1997. In 1998, he was the #2 quarterback behind senior Herb Tyler
Herb Tyler
Herb Tyler, from New Orleans, Louisiana, was a quarterback for the LSU Tigers from 1995 to 1998.-College:In 1995, Tyler went to Louisiana State University Late in his freshman season, Tyler replaced injured senior Jamie Howard to become LSU's starting quarterback...
. When Tyler suffered an injury late in the game at Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, Nall came off of the bench to lead LSU the length of the field in a furious comeback attempt. The comeback came up short as an LSU receiver dropped the potential game winning pass in the end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
on fourth down as time was winding down. Nall then started the next week in the last game of the season at #13 Arkansas. Nall was sacked six times and threw for 147 yards and was intercepted once.
In 1999, Nall had to battle Josh Booty
Josh Booty
Joshua Gibson Booty is a National Football League quarterback and former Major League Baseball third baseman. He is currently a free agent after being waived by the Oakland Raiders...
and Rohan Davey
Rohan Davey
Rohan St. Patrick Davey is a Jamaican-born American football quarterback who is currently a free agent.-High school years:...
for the quarterback position. Nall was named the starter
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
for the season opener but was benched at halftime with LSU leading. He was sacked once for 8 yards and he threw two interceptions in 15 attempts (completing 6 of 15 for 79 yards). Nall made only one other brief appearance at quarterback for LSU in 1999 as he got some late mopup duty the next week. Nall did not play quarterback for the rest of the season.
Nall only got two passing attempts in the 2000 season opener after a groin
Groin
In human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles...
injury hampered him at the end of fall camp.
Northwestern State
In 2001, Nall transferred to Northwestern State UniversityNorthwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
. There, he became the first quarterback in school history to surpass 2,000 yards passing in a season.
First stint with Packers
He was drafted out of NSU by the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...
with the 164th choice overall. Nall also started for the Scottish Claymores
Scottish Claymores
The Scottish Claymores were an American football team from Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh and latterly sharing home games with Hampden Park, Glasgow...
of NFL Europe
NFL Europe
NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...
in 2003 and was the league's leading passer. In 2004 Nall played in 5 games as Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
's backup at Green Bay. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 314 yards and 4 touchdowns, with no interceptions, and a passer rating of 139.4.
Buffalo Bills
In 2006, Craig Nall signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, where he competed for the starting quarterback position until a hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
injury suffered on the second day of practice ended his involvement in the competition. In 2007, he fell on the team's depth chart behind J.P. Losman
J.P. Losman
Jonathan Paul "J. P." Losman is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills 22nd overall in the 2004 NFL Draft...
and Trent Edwards
Trent Edwards
Trent Edwards is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
. At the end of pre-season, he was cut from the team's final roster. Early into the regular season he was re-signed by the Bills but was released shortly thereafter.
First stint with Texans
On October 29, 2007, Nall was signed by the Houston TexansHouston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as insurance when starter Matt Schaub
Matt Schaub
Matthew Rutledge Schaub is the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.-College career:...
was hurt against San Diego. He was released by the Texans on November 21, 2007.
Second stint with Packers
He signed a one-year deal with the Packers on December 1, 2007, after they released Marviel UnderwoodMarviel Underwood
Marviel Underwood is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
. He became a free agent in the 2008 offseason.
Second stint with Texans
Nall was re-signed by the Houston TexansHouston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on November 5, 2008 after an injury to Matt Schaub
Matt Schaub
Matthew Rutledge Schaub is the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.-College career:...
. He was waived on December 17 when the team signed fellow Northwestern State alumnus cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
David Pittman
David Pittman (American football)
David Pittman is an Canadian football cornerback for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
.