Jeff Hostetler

At 63 years old, Jeff Hostetler has this physical status:

William Jeffrey Hostetler (born April 22, 1961) is a former American football quarterback for the New York Giants, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and the Washington Redskins.

"Hoss" is his nickname.

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College career

Hostetler began his career at Penn State, where he appeared in three games for the 1980s. But Todd Blackledge was fired as the starting quarterback, and Hostetler was drafted to West Virginia shortly after. Due to NCAA transfer laws, Hostetler skipped the 1981 season.

Hostetler's first game as a Mountaineer was a 41-27 victory over the #9 1982 Oklahoma Sooners football team, throwing for four touchdowns and 321 yards. Sports Illustrated's most coveted Hostetler Offensive Player of the Week honors following the dramatic win. Boomer Esiason led the Maryland Terrapins to another big victory of the season a week later. The Mountaineers defeated the Top ten ranked Terps 19–18. The Terps lost the game on a two-point conversion, while Hostetler threw for 285 yards and a touchdown. Hostetler led the Mountaineers to the 1982 Gator Bowl, where they lost to Florida State 31–12. Hostetler finished 1,916 yards with ten touchdown passes.

Hostetler led the #7 Mountaineers over Big East rival Pitt after a fourth quarter run to defeat the Panthers 24-21 for their first victory over Pitt in seven years. Hostetler led the game-winning effort that he capped off with a bootleg touchdown chase for victory. Hostetler led the University of Kentucky to a come-from-behind 20-16 victory, throwing two touchdowns. Hostetler played in both the 1984 Hula Bowl and in the Japan Bowl. During his senior season, Hostetler threw for 2,345 yards and 16 touchdowns.

During head coach Don Nehlen, Hostetler's two-year involvement with WVU led him to an 18-6-0 record. Hostetler is one of the top players at WVU in total offense, passing yards, pass attempts, touchdown passes, and passing efficiency in single-season games. Hostetler is also regarded as the world's highest innovator in intercept avoidance. Hostetler was accepted on to the WVU all-time roster. Hostetler was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

Hostetler was appointed to the 1984 GTE/CoSIDA academic All-America squad, and he received the National Football Foundation postgraduate scholarship the same year. He was also a fan favorite in Morgantown, and his film "Ole Hoss" was inspired by Jeff Hostetler's Ballad of West Virginia (The Ballad of West Virginia's Jeff Hostetler) was released.

Professional career

In the third round of the 1984 NFL Draft, Hostetler was drafted by the Giants. He played sparingly in his first five seasons, never making a single appearance as the third-string quarterback behind Phil Simms and Jeff Rutledge. In the 1986 season, he played in a regular season game for the first time. His first appearance in the 1988 season was late, where he assisted the Giants in defeating the New Orleans Saints in a road game. He started a crucial game in the middle of the season in 1989, leading the Giants to a victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. However, Hostetler's main roles outside of these games were mop-up service and as a holder for kickers Raul Allegre, Bjorn Nittmo, and Matt Bahr. Hostetler said he was dissatisfied with his lack of playing time and volunteered to play other positions, including wide receiver and blocker on the punt return team in 2007.

In December 1990, Hostetler seemed to have hit his breaking point. In the Giants' first game against the Phoenix Cardinals, he had seen meaningful action in only one game this season. Simms returned to his starting position this week after leading the team to victory by engineering a late comeback for the team by 19-10 (they would win 20-19). Hostetler had decided against the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, and that he would be moving back to the NFL after the season ended. However, there was something that would make him change his mind this week.

Simms went down with an injury in the second half of the Buffalo game, which the Giants would continue to lose. The Giants lost the game; Hostetler, who spoke directly to NFL Network, did not agree Simms was hurt and thought he was only a placeholder until Simms returned; Simms sustained a serious foot injury and therefore would miss the remainder of the season, giving Hostetler his long-awaited opportunity. He led the Giants to two victories, his second victory over the Cardinals to win the season, a season sweep over them, and then a close victory over the New England Patriots, who had the toughest record in the league, with a 13-3 record. In the divisional playoffs, the Giants defeated the Chicago Bears.

Hostetler sustained a knee injury in the fourth quarter as his former teammate, Jim Burt, hit him low after Hostetler announced the ball. Despite being injured, Hostetler was able to walk off the field on his own and later returned to the game and engineered two late scoring drives that culminated in a Bahr field goal and a 15-13 victory.

Hostetler started Super Bowl XXV, the Giants defeated the heavily favored Bills 20-19. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 222 yards with one touchdown. In 2008, ESPN named Hostetler as the 30th best quarterback show in Super Bowl history. He returned to work in 1991 after reconsidering his retirement.

Ray Handley, the new coach, made a decision regarding his quarterbacks in 1991. The coach instead of transferring the beginning of the job to the now-healthy Simms, the coach organized an open competition in which Hostetler would ultimately win. He then led the Giants to victory over the 49ers at home in their season opener, snapping their NFL-record 18 game road winning streak. Hostetler started his twelfth game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday but missed the remainder of the season. The Giants lost 7-5, out of Hostetler's initial games (including the one he didn't finish). Simms, on the other hand, lost his first three starts against the Cincinnati Bengals (who lost only three times this season), the Philadelphia Eagles (a defeat that barred the Giants from playoff contention), and the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins. The Giants won their last match against the Houston Oilers 8-8.

As the 1992 season began, Hostetler was again the back-up as Simms returned to regain the starter's position. However, Simms sustained a serious elbow injury in Week 4 that cost him the remainder of the season. Hostetler was re-appointed as the king once more, but he also suffered from injuries, including a concussion. Since returning to action, he lost three games, but he ended with five victories in his nine games, three against winning teams. Despite this, he only managed to throw for eight touchdowns, and the Giants, who went through four quarterbacks this season, finished 6-10.

Ray Handley was fired in 1992 and former Denver Broncos coach Dan Reeves was hired as his replacement. Simms will be named the starter, and Hostetler's deal was not renewed until 1993.

Hostetler played west and signed a 1993 offseason with the Los Angeles Reds. As the Oakland Raiders finished with a 10-6 record and made the playoffs as a wild card, he would be their starter once more.

Hostetler led the Raiders to a 42-24 playoff victory over the Denver Broncos following their 1993 regular season. In what will be the last NFL playoff game played in Los Angeles before the 2017 season, the veteran quarterback threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns.

After leading the Los Angeles Rams to a 9-7 record in 1994, Hostetler was named to his first Pro Bowl appearance in his career. Hostetler led his team back to Oakland for the 1995 season, leading off an impressive 8-2 record. However, he was out for about the last game of the season due to a shoulder injury. The Raiders lost their last six games and ended 8-8.

Hostetler's last year in Oakland saw him set a career high in touchdown passes with 23, starting thirteen games and ending with a 7-6 record. Hostetler was out of work this season as the Raiders did not offer him a contract.

The 36-year-old Hostetler, a former Washington Redskins quarterback, has been with the club since 1997, with the team naming him as a replacement for their fourth-year starter Gus Frerotte.

Hostetler returned to the starting lineup after a strange sequence of events late in the 1997 season. Frerotte scored what would be the Redskins' only touchdown in a 7-7 tie during a late-season matchup against Hostetler's former team the Giants. Frerotte walked over to a padded concrete wall in the back of the end zone and headbutted it, causing a neck injury that ended his season. Hostetler finished the game and then started the remaining three, ending with a 2-1 record. As the Giants beat the Redskins in the penultimate game of the season to win the NFC East championship, his loss came at the hands of his former staff.

Hostetler retired after the 1998 season, during which he was on injured reserve. After a tryout with the St. Louis Rams, where he would have backed up both Hostetler and Frerotte as the starter in Washington in 1998, he almost came out of retirement in 1999. However, the Rams drafted Ohio State quarterback Joe Germaine in the 1999 NFL Draft to replace their third string and elevating holdover Kurt Warner to second string; Warner would have been Hostetler if Hostetler had him signed with the Rams; It can be said that the Rams not signing Hostetler helped kick off The Greatest Show on Turf due to Green's injury in the following preseason and Warner's unexpected rise to fame and eventual induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hostetler completed 1,357 of 2,338 completions for 16,430 yards and 94 touchdowns, with 71 interceptions. He has also passed for 1,391 yards and 17 touchdowns. Hostetler's ability to do well in the post-season was perhaps the most impressive part of his game. He completed 72 of 115 passes (62.6 percent) for 1,034 yards, seven touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 112.0 passer rating in five playoff games, while going 4-1.

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