Ryan Tannehill
Encyclopedia
Ryan Timothy Tannehill is the starting quarterback
for the Texas A&M Aggies
college football
team. He played at wide receiver
during his freshman and sophomore seasons. He continued to play receiver midway through his junior season, but switched to playing quarterback for the remainder of the season. He is considered one of the top quarterback prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft
.
at Big Spring High School
in Big Spring, Texas
. He played 10 games at defensive back
his sophomore season. As a junior, he passed for 1,410 yards and rushed for 822 at quarterback. He took his team to the playoffs as a senior, passing for 1,258 yards and rushing for another 617. He had to miss two games due to a separated shoulder in the second game of his senior year. He also posted three receptions for 62 yards and compiled a 39.2 punt average with a long of 84 yards as a senior. He received second-team District 4-4A honors for both his junior and senior seasons.
Ryan grew up a Texas Tech
fan as his father, Tim, played football there from 1985–87. His mother also attended Tech. Growing up, Ryan went to watch Tech games each year and even sported a small Tech uniform as a child. Tim played his first two seasons at quarterback before switching to receiver his final season. Ryan went into A&M as a quarterback and has split time between receiver and quarterback.
Although Tannehill aspired to play quarterback for Texas A&M, the school did not recruit him. Ranked as the No. 21 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com
, he received offers from Texas Tech
, TCU
, Houston
, Tulsa
, and UTEP. He chose to go to A&M as a walk on.
his first season (2007) at A&M.
took over as head coach. In summer camp, Tannehill competed against veteran quarterback Stephen McGee
and redshirt sophomore Jerrod Johnson
for the starting quarterback position. He finished third in the contest, behind Johnson and then McGee. Sherman, whose offense utilizes true receivers, moved him to receiver.
In his fifth game, he posted freshman school records of 210 yards on 12 catches. After his six receptions for 78 yards in the Iowa State game, he broke the freshman school records for receptions and receiving yards. Tannehill finished his redshirt freshman season with 844 receiving yards, which was 11 yards shy of breaking Robert Ferguson's record set in 2000. He attempted only one pass at quarterback the whole season.
Tannehill had expressed his desire to become the starting quarterback at A&M: "I still think of myself as a quarterback, I still want to be a quarterback here at A&M. Hopefully that’s the way it turns out. But if things don’t happen that way, and Coach thinks I can better help being a receiver, then I guess I’m okay with that."
competed for the starting quarterback position; the job went to Johnson.
Tannehill finished the 2009 season with a team-leading 46 receptions for 609 yards and four touchdowns. About 80% of his 46 catches went for first downs or touchdowns. He picked up All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors for his performance. He only took eight snaps at quarterback the entire season.
He saw extensive action at quarterback during the Kansas
game, splitting time with starter Jerrod Johnson
. Tannehill finished with 12-for-16 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns. In his first career start at quarterback, Tannehill led the Aggies to a 45–27 victory over Texas Tech. He set a school record with his 449 passing yards. He also made a 33-yard pooch punt
, his first career kick.
Tannehill quarterbacked the Aggies to a victory over No. 11 Oklahoma, which moved the team into the top 25. He helped the team maintain the top 25 ranking through victories over Baylor and No. 9 Nebraska. During the Nebraska game, he punted twice since the starter was injured. He and his team defeated Texas to finish off the regular season. He picked up All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.
Through the completion of the 2010 season.
He was engaged in May 2011 and is set to get married in January 2012.
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...
for the Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies football
The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...
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...
team. He played at wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
during his freshman and sophomore seasons. He continued to play receiver midway through his junior season, but switched to playing quarterback for the remainder of the season. He is considered one of the top quarterback prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft
2012 NFL Draft
The 2012 NFL Draft will be the 77th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players.-Trades:...
.
Early years
Tannehill played high school footballHigh school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at Big Spring High School
Big Spring High School
Big Spring High School is a 3A high school located in Big Spring, Texas . It is part of the Big Spring Independent School District located in north central Howard County. The high school building was dedicated on March 23, 1952. The dedication address was given by J.W. Edgar, State Commissioner...
in Big Spring, Texas
Big Spring, Texas
Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 25,233 at the 2000 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, Abilene to the east, Lubbock to the north, and San Angelo...
. He played 10 games at 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...
his sophomore season. As a junior, he passed for 1,410 yards and rushed for 822 at quarterback. He took his team to the playoffs as a senior, passing for 1,258 yards and rushing for another 617. He had to miss two games due to a separated shoulder in the second game of his senior year. He also posted three receptions for 62 yards and compiled a 39.2 punt average with a long of 84 yards as a senior. He received second-team District 4-4A honors for both his junior and senior seasons.
Ryan grew up a Texas Tech
Texas Tech Red Raiders football
Texas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University . The team competes, as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
fan as his father, Tim, played football there from 1985–87. His mother also attended Tech. Growing up, Ryan went to watch Tech games each year and even sported a small Tech uniform as a child. Tim played his first two seasons at quarterback before switching to receiver his final season. Ryan went into A&M as a quarterback and has split time between receiver and quarterback.
Although Tannehill aspired to play quarterback for Texas A&M, the school did not recruit him. Ranked as the No. 21 dual-threat quarterback in the nation 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...
, he received offers from Texas Tech
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, TCU
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
, Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
, and UTEP. He chose to go to A&M as a walk on.
College career
Tannehill redshirtedRedshirt (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...
his first season (2007) at A&M.
2008 season
Prior to Tannehill's second season, Mike ShermanMike Sherman
Michael Francis "Mike" Sherman is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies football team. Prior to coaching the Aggies, he served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from the 2000–05 seasons. Sherman led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons from 2000–04 and three divisional titles...
took over as head coach. In summer camp, Tannehill competed against veteran quarterback Stephen McGee
Stephen McGee
Stephen Richard McGee is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for Texas A&M....
and redshirt sophomore Jerrod Johnson
Jerrod Johnson
Jerrod Terrel Johnson is an American football quarterback who is currently a member of the Arizona Rattlers. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Texas A&M....
for the starting quarterback position. He finished third in the contest, behind Johnson and then McGee. Sherman, whose offense utilizes true receivers, moved him to receiver.
In his fifth game, he posted freshman school records of 210 yards on 12 catches. After his six receptions for 78 yards in the Iowa State game, he broke the freshman school records for receptions and receiving yards. Tannehill finished his redshirt freshman season with 844 receiving yards, which was 11 yards shy of breaking Robert Ferguson's record set in 2000. He attempted only one pass at quarterback the whole season.
Tannehill had expressed his desire to become the starting quarterback at A&M: "I still think of myself as a quarterback, I still want to be a quarterback here at A&M. Hopefully that’s the way it turns out. But if things don’t happen that way, and Coach thinks I can better help being a receiver, then I guess I’m okay with that."
2009 season
During the 2009 offseason, Tannehill and Jerrod JohnsonJerrod Johnson
Jerrod Terrel Johnson is an American football quarterback who is currently a member of the Arizona Rattlers. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Texas A&M....
competed for the starting quarterback position; the job went to Johnson.
Tannehill finished the 2009 season with a team-leading 46 receptions for 609 yards and four touchdowns. About 80% of his 46 catches went for first downs or touchdowns. He picked up All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors for his performance. He only took eight snaps at quarterback the entire season.
2010 season
Tannehill continued to play receiver during the first six games of the 2010 season. Over those six games, he made 11 catches for 143 yards. He attempted 4 passes during the season opener.He saw extensive action at quarterback during the Kansas
2010 Kansas Jayhawks football team
The 2010 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season which was the school's 121st season...
game, splitting time with starter Jerrod Johnson
Jerrod Johnson
Jerrod Terrel Johnson is an American football quarterback who is currently a member of the Arizona Rattlers. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Texas A&M....
. Tannehill finished with 12-for-16 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns. In his first career start at quarterback, Tannehill led the Aggies to a 45–27 victory over Texas Tech. He set a school record with his 449 passing yards. He also made a 33-yard pooch punt
Drop punt
A drop punt is a type of kick in various codes of football.It is the primary method of disposing the ball by foot in Australian rules football and the name describes its technique. The ball is held vertically, and dropped and kicked before it hits the ground, resulting in the ball spinning...
, his first career kick.
Tannehill quarterbacked the Aggies to a victory over No. 11 Oklahoma, which moved the team into the top 25. He helped the team maintain the top 25 ranking through victories over Baylor and No. 9 Nebraska. During the Nebraska game, he punted twice since the starter was injured. He and his team defeated Texas to finish off the regular season. He picked up All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.
College statistics
| Year | | Passing | | Rushing | | Receiving | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rating | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | 167.2 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -8 | -4.0 | 0 | 55 | 844 | 15.3 | 5 | ||
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | 113.0 | 4 | 8 | 50.0 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -5 | -1.3 | 0 | 46 | 609 | 13.2 | 4 | ||
| 2010 | 8 | 7 | 137 | 152 | 234 | 65 | 1,638 | 13 | 6 | 51 | 76 | 1.5 | 1 | 11 | 143 | 13.0 | 1 | ||
| Totals | 11 | 7 | 143.2 | 121 | 178 | 67.8 | 1,706 | 13 | 6 | 57 | 63 | 1.11 | 1 | 112 | 1,596 | 13.8 | 10 | ||
Through the completion of the 2010 season.
Outside of football
Tannehill plans to be an orthopedic surgeon. He received first-team All-Big 12 Academic honors for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons.He was engaged in May 2011 and is set to get married in January 2012.