Billy Volek

John William Volek (born April 28, 1976 in Hemet, California) is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2000. He played college football at Fresno State.

Early years

Volek attended Clovis West High School in Fresno, California and was a letterman in football. In football, as a senior, he was named the Northwest Yosemite League Offensive Player of the Year. He then went to Fresno State where he led his team to a WAC title in 1999 and holds the NCAA Football record for Lowest Percentage of Passes Intercepted in Career"''.

Professional career

Volek was signed by the Tennessee Titans in 2000 from free agency, after not being selected by any team in the 2000 NFL Draft. He would see very little action during his rookie season, completing 0 of his 3 passes with no touchdowns and no interceptions. After such a small amount of play time, he would not be seen on the field again until the 2003 season, where he would make a name for himself as one of the National Football League's more talented backup quarterbacks. It was announced on December 17, 2004 that he would be the starting quarterback for the rest of the 2004-2005 season for the Titans, replacing the injured Steve McNair. McNair's injuries healed in time for the next season, and Volek backed him up once again, starting only 1 game. McNair was later traded to the Baltimore Ravens during June 2006, allowing Volek the opportunity to truly earn the starting position. In late August 2006, coach Jeff Fisher announced that the Titans intended to sign QB Kerry Collins to compete with Volek for the starting QB job. In turn, it has been reported that Volek took issue with this decision and immediately asked to be considered for a trade. On September 19, 2006, Volek was traded to the San Diego Chargers for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft after the Titans played the Chargers in their Second game. Titans coach Jeff Fisher has since publicly stated that Volek was untruthful with him and that this may have led to his eventual trade. Fisher was quoted as saying "He was untruthful with me, untruthful with his head coach, about where he was and what he was doing. So we started off on the wrong page there, and that did not sit well with me. The trade as a whole is considered to have been messy, and although he has criticized Volek for lying to him, Fisher has not revealed what the lie was, and instead also states that Volek never took advantage of his opportunities once told he was the starter. Many critics state that Volek took full advantage of his chances to become the starting quarterback, pointing towards the reasonably good preseason that the Titans had.

In San Diego, Volek lost some of the qualities that made him a possible starting quarterback for Tennessee. In the 2006 and 2007 seasons, he threw no touchdowns and one interception, and failed to complete 50% of his passes. During the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts on January 13, 2008, Volek replaced the injured Philip Rivers and led a fourth-quarter comeback over the defending champions. He completed 3 of his 4 passes, including a 15-yard pass on his second pass attempt. He also scored his first touchdown of the year on a one-yard quarterback sneak which allowed the Chargers to win the game 28-24, and go to the 2007 AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.

On February 29, 2008, Volek signed a three-year contract with San Diego.

References

External links

• San Diego Chargers bio