Daunte Culpepper

Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings.

He rewrote virtually all of the school's quarterback records, approximately 30 in all, many held by Darin Slack since 1987.

Culpepper also set an NCAA record for single-season completion percentage at 73.6%, breaking a 15-year-old mark set by Steve Young (71.3%).

After his senior season in 1994, Culpepper was named Mr. Football in the state of Florida.

Culpepper was drafted in the 26th round (730th overall) by the New York Yankees in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft but did not sign and chose to attend college.

Culpepper struggled to get into college, because of low SAT scores.

Marquee football schools, such as the University of Miami and University of Florida, backed off from recruiting him when it was assumed he would not qualify.

The University of Central Florida, however, being a Division II school did not have to abide by the rules of Division I when it came to SAT scores.

With this, the University of Central Florida offered to tutor him and help him achieve the necessary scores, and he was able to qualify.

Although the big college programs returned to recruit him, as a show of loyalty, Culpepper enrolled at UCF.

Although he had a love for baseball, Culpepper committed to play football at UCF as a quarterback.

He played college football for the UCF Knights and was selected by the Vikings in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft.

During his seven seasons with the Vikings, Culpepper led the team to two playoff runs, one division title, and an NFC Championship Game appearance, along with earning three Pro Bowl selections.

Culpepper was drafted 11th overall in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings; he was the fourth quarterback chosen, after Tim Couch (first overall), Donovan McNabb (second) and Akili Smith (third).

In his first year Culpepper played in one game, rushing three times for six yards and not throwing a pass.

In 2000, Culpepper was named Minnesota's starting quarterback.

He led the Vikings to victory in the first seven games of the season, and helped them finish 11–5 and advance to the NFC Championship game, where they were beaten by the New York Giants 41–0.

During the season, Culpepper passed for 3,937 yards, 33 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

He also rushed for 470 yards and seven touchdowns.

One of Culpepper's most notable moments was against the Buffalo Bills when he threw a pass across his body and the field to Randy Moss for a 39-yard touchdown pass, although the pass was at least 60 total yards.

At the end of the year, he was selected to his first Pro Bowl.

Randy Moss, wide receiver for the Vikings, said that Culpepper was one of the most talented quarterbacks he had ever seen following the 2000 season.

Culpepper struggled over the next two seasons beginning in 2001, throwing 14 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.

His most successful season was in 2004 when he set the single-season record for the most total yardage produced by an NFL quarterback.

However, Culpepper suffered a devastating knee injury the following season that ended his Vikings career.

After his injury, he played sparingly in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins, the Oakland Raiders, and the Detroit Lions.

Culpepper last played professionally for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League (UFL).

Culpepper was born to a single mother, Barbara Henderson, who is the sister of former NFL linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson.

While his mother was pregnant with him, she was serving time for armed robbery.

Culpepper was adopted when he was a day old and raised as one of more than 15 children of the late Emma Lewis Culpepper, who worked in the correctional facility where his mother was held.

They lived in Ocala, Florida, where Culpepper attended Vanguard High School.

He played football, coached by Phillip (Phil) Yancey, as well as basketball and baseball.

In 2007, Culpepper was named to the FHSAA's All-Century Team that listed the top 33 football players in the state of Florida's 100-year history of high school football.

Near the end of his high school team's state basketball championship game, the referee called traveling on Culpepper when he was driving for the game-winning lay-up.

Later on in his career, Culpepper celebrated his football touchdowns by moving his hands in the motion that a basketball referee makes when calling traveling, also known as "the roll".

This record would stand until Colt McCoy (Texas) finished the 2008 season with a completion percentage of 77.6%.

Culpepper accomplished a feat equaled by only two others in NCAA history when he topped the 10,000-yard passing mark and the 1,000-yard rushing mark in his career.

He finished his career sixth on the NCAA's all-time total offense list for all divisions with 12,459 yards and was responsible for 108 career touchdowns (84 passing).

After his junior season, Culpepper was being lured out of the collegiate ranks to enter the draft and join the NFL, but instead returned to UCF to play his senior year.

UCF posted a 9–2 record, losing only to Purdue and Auburn.