Damon Paul Huard (born July 9, 1973) is a former American football quarterback. He is the director of community relations and fundraising for the University of Washington football program, his alma mater.
Huard was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 1996, and played twelve seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs. While with the Patriots, he won two Super Bowl rings.
Early years
Born in Yakima, Washington, Huard was raised southeast of Tacoma in Puyallup, where his father Mike was a high school teacher and head football He was the first to hold a snap for kicker Ryan Longwell when they played for Aylen Junior High.
Huard attended Puyallup High School, where he was a letterman for the Vikings in football and basketball. He played tight end as a sophomore, as the quarterback was senior Billy Joe Hobert. As a senior in 1990, Huard was named the Powerade State Player of the Year and won All-America honors.
College career
After graduation from high school, Huard attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where he redshirted in 1991, the Huskies' national championship season. Wearing jersey number 7, he started for the first time in 1993 under first-year head coach Jim Lambright, and continued as a starter through 1995. That season, he passed for 2,415 yards and 11 touchdowns; he finished his career as the Huskies' all-time passing leader with 5,692 yards.
As a junior in 1994, Huard led the Dawgs to an 18-point victory over the Miami Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl, halting their nine-year home winning streak at 58 games.
Professional career
Cincinnati Bengals
After going undrafted in the 1996 NFL Draft, Huard was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent, but was waived on August 19.
Miami Dolphins
After spending the 1996 season out of football, Huard signed with the Miami Dolphins on April 24, 1997. He was released during final cuts on August 24, but was re-signed to the team's practice squad two days later. He was promoted to the active roster on September 6 and spent the remainder of the season as the Dolphins' third quarterback. Following the season, Huard played in NFL Europe for the Frankfurt Galaxy. In 1998, Huard saw action in two games for the Dolphins as a reserve, while acting as the team's third quarterback in eight games. He finished the season six-of-nine for 85 yards and an interception.
Huard began the 1999 season as the Dolphins' holder on the field goal unit, but following an injury to starter Dan Marino, in the future Hall of Famer's final season, Huard started his first NFL game on October 24 after replacing Marino on October 17. He won his first three games that he started, tying a Dolphins record set by Earl Morrall in 1972. Huard posted a record before Marino returned in November, finishing the regular season with eight touchdowns, four interceptions, and 1,288 passing yards. Huard also saw time in the playoffs, replacing Marino for the second half of a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Several weeks earlier on December 3, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Dolphins.
Despite Huard's performance in 1999, Jay Fiedler was signed to be the Dolphins' starter in 2000. Huard started one game in Fiedler's place, a win over the Colts on November 26. On that day, Damon and his brother Brock became the NFL's first set of brothers to start at QB on the same weekend in league history. Damon made his only start that year against the Colts, while Brock started against the Denver Broncos for the Seahawks.
New England Patriots
A free agent after the 2000 season, Huard signed with the New England Patriots. At training camp, he competed with second-year Tom Brady and third-year Michael Bishop for the backup job behind long-time starter Drew Bledsoe; In 2001 Brady became the team's second quarterback and Huard the third for the start of the season. When Bledsoe was injured in Week 2, Brady became the Patriots' starter for the remainder of the season, while Huard was the backup until Bledsoe returned in Week 10. As the third quarterback, Huard won his first Super Bowl ring in February 2002 when the Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams.
Huard appeared in his first game as a Patriot in 2002, leading a touchdown drive in a blowout win over the New York Jets on September 15. Later in the season, he entered a game in a punt formation and ran a successful quarterback sneak for a first down.