Jared Zabransky: A Man Lost In History

this is our sin Stadium formerly known as Bronco Stadium until 2014 see there blue field it's pretty cool right this stadium is home to Boise State University's football team Boise State hasn't produced a lot of mega NFL stars they especially haven't done that at the quarterback position in fact as of 2022 Boise State quarterbacks have been selected in the NFL Draft and those were both in the 1970s think about that for a minute from 1976 to 2020 not a single Boise State quarterback has been drafted by an NFL team that's 44 years of quarterbacks who were considered not good enough to be drafted 44 years of football mean there's a been a lot of people at the quarterback position for Boise State throughout all of those quarterbacks there was one man who should always be brought up as one of the best Boise State quarterbacks Jared Zabransky my name is Gavin Worley and I'm here to make the story of Jared Zabransky more known than it is [Music] there's a brand ski story starts in Hermiston Oregon sobriety grew up in a farming family here he was quoted saying it was pretty quiet growing up there's not a lot going on so he had to create your own stuff to do I wrote a lot of four-wheelers and dirt bikes growing up he went to Hermiston High School and was just a freak athlete he played football baseball and basketball being an all-conference selection for all three in football he was under the helm of run first offense he didn't get to pass a lot and the lack of passing numbers hurt him and being recruited to you know throw the ball for a college football team speaking of being recruited I'm gonna do some justice for Jared here so if you don't know a lot about 24/7 sports it's basically where you can go to see where athletes in high school are committing to play college sports for more hyped up prospects let's take running back Derrick Henry for example it has way more information you can see the ratings all of the schools they considered a more in-depth timeline of events and scouting reports none of that is here for Speransky but a good amount of information is available publicly has been published that'sa brass key had main suitors in both Boise State and Idaho he also had a slight interest from Oregon and Oregon State Idaho in fact offered him a scholarship for football he then orally committed to hi-de-ho but chose Boise State last minute without telling the Vandals football program all this information is available but yet no one has updated his 24/7 page to show it so if you want to do that please do it flash forward to 2004 Sobran sees a sophomore at Boise State Ryan didn't woody just wrapped up his senior year after passing for over 4,000 yards and 31 touchdowns it's safe to say jared has big shoes to fill I went on the Boise State football subreddit to get some fans perspectives on Zabransky being announced for starter in 2004 here's some of the stuff they said seem like the right choice for the starter his sophomore year it was very exciting to have a sophomore win the job I look forward to seeing a three year starter so bran ski was stepping up and boy to heed the liver and his first season as a starter he took Boise to an 11 and 1 record he passed for over 2900 yards with 16 touchdowns he was named honorable mention all-america 2nd team all Western Athletic Conference and voted the team's MVP for that season however 2005 was its Pratt's Keys best year in fact it was kind horrendous he passed four less yards than last season and through 16 interceptions that's as many interceptions for Zabransky this year as touchdowns the year prior the opener of the o-5 season was especially tough for Jared number 18 ranked Boise State was set to play the number 13 ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Athens Georgia there was a lot of pressure on Zabransky and he crumbled [Music] yeah [Music] here's the stat lines for the two starting quarterbacks of that game yeah Boise State went on to lose this game 48 to 13 however even after all the interceptions being benched for his backup more than a couple times Jared was still the starter he got Boise State to the NPC computers Bowl this was a bowl game in Boise against Boston College this game was almost historical for Boise Boise was down 24 and OH at the half but then Boise fought back Boise brought themselves back and had the score at 27 to 21 late in the fourth quarter all the brands he needed to do was get a touchdown and they'd win in the red zone with 44 seconds left he didn't need to get a touchdown from the 12 yard line Zabransky throws an interception interception made by Ryan Glasper his second of the game and it looks like it's gonna be the Boston College Eagles winning their sixth consecutive bowl even after this Sobrante was still a top QB in the nation he was named the 11th best quarterback in the country by the Sporting News and was added to the 2006 Maxwell award watch list he also at this point had to let everyone know he could throw a potato at least 80 yards some sources say 80 yards and some say 100 2006 came and Zabransky was ready to put himself in the history books Boise State started in 2006 season unranked but the 2006 Broncos were a favorite and the league's preseason media poll to win the WACC title the Boise lit flyer they started winning winning winning winning and winning do you see where this is going they won a lot but then Boise did something I don't think anyone thought they were going to do by travelpod member [Music] 12 and out Boise State was undefeated after this they punched a spot to the Fiesta Bowl this game was gonna be one of the biggest stages they've been on but a monster stood in the way of Boise State's treasure [Music] Oklahoma was favored to win this game by Vegas and CS TV I think the big game experience gives the Sooners an edge and they win the Fiesta Bowl in a tight one the Boise State had other plans with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter down by 7 boise state sends themselves into overtime [Applause] covering and it is good it's not the size on the dog in the fight it's the size of the fight in the dog Lahoma scores in overtime Boise State does another trick player for a touchdown he's gonna throw it to the men on a 2-point conversion Boise puts themselves in the history books again one of the most iconic plays in college football history [Music] who was at quarterback for that play Jared Zabransky Boise State ended the season 13 and no running back and Johnson who poses to his cheerleader girlfriend during an interview a rash marcozzi of Sports Illustrated said this about the ending when it was over even Hollywood couldn't have scripted a more dramatic ending this was the ultimate underdog story of a team that believed from the start refused to give up even when it looked bleak and pulled off the improbable it's one thing for a Cinderella team to upset a heavily favorite opponent but come on this was ridiculous Boise State's mind-numbing 43 to 42 victory over Oklahoma and the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night had everything and will go down as one of the best games in college football history according to somebody on the Boise State football subreddit after this game sobriety walked into a bar took a few steps past the bouncers stopped and yelled I'm Jarrod Zabransky that right there is a man who was on top of the world after this legendary bull performance Zabransky got himself a spot on the cover of that year's NC double-a football game you had told Jared Zabransky and he was chucking potatoes on a farm in Oregon he was gonna be a part of one of the most historic games in college football history go undefeated in a season and beyond the cover of a college football video game he probably laughed and call you crazy but this all happened for him and essentially one year of his life if I takeaways of Baranski and just show you these accolades you'd think these are the accolades of an amazing and storied college football player it's a bran ski gets almost no recognition brands he didn't get drafted by any NFL team he was signed by two but never got to play in an NFL game after some time in the CFL that was it for the football career of Jared Zabransky now he's just a family man with two kids I wanted to tell his story because I believe Jared Zabransky should be a bigger deal than he is I also started this story because I want to use the bran ski as a motivation for all of us at the time of this video being made we are in a global pandemic a virus has put our country on halt people are unemployed social connections are put on hold and life seems bleak but we should use Jared Zabransky as a reason to stay strong Jared Zabransky was just a kid on a potato farm he lived day by day not really doing much but he had dreams just like we all do what if he gave up on those dreams what if he chose not to play sports instead just became a guy who Chuck's potatoes really far and he wouldn't have all of this that's how we all need to think right now don't quit don't abandon your dreams because of circumstances out of your control because you don't know what you might accomplish you [Music]

Channel: Blanco Kid Productions

Views: 8,190

Rating: 4.9173555 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: VV9oA-Pf1DM

Length: 10min 49sec (649 seconds)

Published: Mon May 18 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/CrinerBoyz]

Nice video!

I really do think Zabransky is one of the best redemption stories in college football, and he had a storybook ending to his career. I think you may have even downplayed some of the highs and lows that Z went through. Just off the top of my head:

High: he was undefeated through his first 11 games as a starter and lead Boise State to a top 10 ranking as a Sophomore.

Low: His undefeated streak came to an end with a pick at the end of the Liberty Bowl.

High: Z, along with Hawkins, was very hyped up in the 2005 offseason. BSU was considered a legit BCS buster after Utah had done the first BCS busting in 2004.

Low: Z's Georgia meltdown was legendarily bad. BSU had 6 turnovers at halftime, and ALL of them were committed by Zabransky. I'm not sure how true this is but there were rumors of him staying in the locker room with an IV in his arm in lieu of going back out to the sideline. There was a solid argument for starting Taylor Tharp over Z for large parts of the 2005 season too. The 2005 MPC Bowl was yet another example of a blown opportunity, first with the early meltdown and then with the failed comeback. It was an ugly year and Z got the reputation for being a bit of a headcase.

High: Z had an impressive 2006 with the amount of poise he displayed. He was far more risk-averse than 2005 or even 2004, which IMO was the biggest difference maker.

Low: Z nearly threw it all away AGAIN in the Fiesta Bowl by throwing that boneheaded sideline pick-6. Remember that would've been THREE years in a row where his bowl game ended in him throwing a pick.

High: Z had the clutchist moment of his life and totally redeemed his failure 10 minutes prior by throwing the hook and lateral.

In the end, I'll always remember Zabransky as something of a Brett Favre - a total gunslinger, tries to muscle his way through situations, doesn't always make the best decisions leading to highs and lows, but is someone who just has winning in their DNA.

[u/tictactoe61]

I enjoyed the video, It was well put and looks like you did your research. You do have that story telling narrative voice. I liked the incendiary’s root of all evil OU transition haha. Also, forgot how strong his arm was. Please do more videos like this.

[u/liontamer69420]

I have another video about a former MLB player named Ryan Court on my channel