Ben Roethlisberger

Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ROTH-liss-BUR-gur; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Miami RedHawks, and was selected by the Steelers in the first round (11th overall) of the 2004 NFL draft.

Roethlisberger earned the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2004 and his first Pro Bowl selection in 2007. In 2006, he became the youngest Super Bowl–winning quarterback in NFL history, winning Super Bowl XL 21–10 over the Seattle Seahawks in his second season at the age of 23. Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a second Super Bowl title in four seasons as they defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, 27–23, after completing a game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left in the game. He appeared in his third Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLV, but the team lost by a score of 31–25 to the Green Bay Packers.

Roethlisberger was one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. Upon retirement, he ranked 5th all-time in NFL career passing yards (64,088), 8th all-time in touchdowns (418), and 5th in completions (5,440) among quarterbacks with a minimum of 1,500 career attempts. He also had the fourth-highest career winning percentage (.710) as a starter in the regular season among quarterbacks with a minimum of 100 starts and was one of only six quarterbacks in NFL history to have beaten at least 31 of the current 32 NFL teams.

Known for playing outside the passing pocket in what he calls "backyard football", Roethlisberger grew up idolizing John Elway and has often been compared to him, wearing number 7 in his honor.

Early life

Roethlisberger was born in Lima, Ohio, the son of Ida Jane (née Foust) and Kenneth Todd "Ken" Roethlisberger. His father is a former pitcher and quarterback at Georgia Tech. He is of part Swiss descent; his surname, Roethlisberger (Swiss-German spelling: Röthlisberger), is of Swiss origin, with roots in Geissbühl, a farming hamlet in the municipality of Lauperswil, Switzerland. His younger sister, Carlee Roethlisberger, played basketball for the University of Oklahoma.

At Findlay High School in Findlay, Ohio, Roethlisberger was captain of the Trojans' football, basketball, and baseball teams. Roethlisberger did not play quarterback until his senior year, giving way to the coach's son, Ryan Hite. Instead, Roethlisberger played wide receiver. "I'm a nationally known knucklehead in many people's eyes," Hite conceded in a 2004 interview to the Toledo Blade, but insisted his decision had not been an act of nepotism, or miscalculation. "We did a bunch of drills and my son throwing to Ben was a better combination," he said.

Ken Roethlisberger, a former Georgia Tech quarterback, never publicly criticized Hite for playing Ryan ahead of his son Ben. He has stated, "It was a coach's call. You make good ones, you make bad ones. And I'm not even saying this was a bad one. We can say it was now, but how do we know for sure?" Ryan Hite went on to Denison University where, as a wide receiver, he set numerous career and single-season records by the time he graduated from college.

College career

2000–2001

Roethlisberger played college quarterback at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. After arriving at Miami in 2000, he was redshirted his first season. In the 2001 season, he made his collegiate debut against Michigan, completing 18 of 35 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the 31–13 loss. Against Akron, he broke the school single-game passing record with 399 passing yards, with 70 of those yards coming on a Hail Mary to Eddie Tillitz to win the game by a score of 30–27 as time expired. When Miami played Bowling Green, he had two touchdowns and 305 passing yards and broke the MAC freshman passing yardage record in the 24–21 victory. Against Hawaii, he broke school records for attempts, completions, and yardage, when he went 40 of 53 for 452 yards and three touchdowns in the 52–51 loss. He finished his first year with the Redhawks with 3,105 passing yards, 241 completions, and 25 touchdown completions while leading them to a 7–5 record.

2002

Roethlisberger's second season as the RedHawks starter was marked with a 7–5 record once again. He broke the MAC single-game record for passing yards in a 48–41 loss against Northern Illinois on October 12 when he threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns. He won the MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week for three punts that landed inside the 20 in the 27–13 victory over Toledo. He established the Miami single-season record with 3,238 passing yards and 271 completions in 2002.

2003

After starting the season with a loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, Roethlisberger led the Miami RedHawks to an unbeaten record in the MAC, 12 consecutive wins, a #10 ranking in the Associated Press poll, and a 49–28 victory over Louisville in the 2003 GMAC Bowl. He finished his 2003 season with a conference-leading 343 completions, 4,486 passing yards, and 37 passing touchdowns, breaking school single-season records in all three categories. He was named as the MAC Offensive Player of the Year for the 2003 season.

His jersey number 7 was retired by the RedHawks during homecoming on October 13, 2007; the festivities included the RedHawks football game against Bowling Green. Roethlisberger became the third athlete in Miami football history to have his number retired, joining John Pont and Bob Hitchens. Roethlisberger's number being retired was the first time in 34 years Miami retired a football jersey number.

College statistics

Miami Redhawks records

All records are from the Miami University 2008 media guide.

Professional career

When ESPN began broadcasting MAC games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays—days without other football on television—in 2000, nationwide "MACtion" audiences watched Roethlisberger's teams. The success of the 2003 Miami Redhawks led to the expectation that he would be drafted early. At the combine, Roethlisberger scored a 25 on the Wonderlic. During the GMAC Bowl, commentators discussed some of his skills that would translate to success in the NFL. Roethlisberger was one of the players invited to attend the draft along with others in the "Green Room" and was featured on the show Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL.

During the 2004 NFL draft, Roethlisberger was the second-highest touted quarterback behind Ole Miss' Eli Manning. He was projected to be taken by the New York Giants as the fourth overall pick, with the San Diego Chargers taking Manning first overall. While the Chargers drafted Manning, the Giants instead selected NC State quarterback Philip Rivers as part of a trade deal that sent Manning to the Giants and Rivers to the Chargers. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Roethlisberger 11th overall, making him the highest-drafted quarterback to play for the team that picked him, and the highest draft pick the Steelers used on a quarterback since selecting Terry Bradshaw first overall in 1970.

The Steelers almost didn't select Roethlisberger, as head coach Bill Cowher and director of football operations Kevin Colbert had planned to select Arkansas guard Shawn Andrews. However, Steelers owner Dan Rooney overrode both Cowher and Colbert upon seeing that Roethlisberger was still available and the Steelers not wanting a repeat of passing on a franchise quarterback, as they had done in the 1983 NFL draft when they drafted Gabriel Rivera while local product Dan Marino was still available. Roethlisberger was being interviewed live on ESPN by Suzy Kolber when he received the phone call from Cowher, confirming his selection before it was officially announced by Paul Tagliabue.

Roethlisberger was one of 17 quarterbacks taken in the 2004 NFL draft, along with Manning and Rivers. All three would enjoy lengthy and successful careers with the teams that signed them and have been compared favorably to the aforementioned 1983 draft, which included Hall of Fame quarterbacks John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Marino. A two-time Super Bowl winner and six-time Pro Bowler, Roethlisberger leads the three in wins, winning percentage, and postseason appearances, and had the longest career among them.

2004

On August 4, Roethlisberger signed a six-year contract to the Steelers worth $22.26 million in salaries and bonuses, with an additional $17.73 million available via incentives. He was touted by Steelers head coach Bill Cowher in a press conference as a franchise quarterback.