Kansas State University Athletics
2017 Football
Jesse Ertz
- Position:
- Quarterback
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 212
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Burlington, Iowa
- High School:
- Mediapolis
CAREER HONORS
• 2017 Maxwell Award watch list
• 2017 Davey O'Brien Award watch list
• 2017 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 20
• 2016 Texas Bowl MVP
CAREER: A tough quarterback who was one of the top dual-threat signal callers in the nation as a junior but saw his senior year cut short due to injury... Played in just 23 career games with 19 starts, 13 of which came in his junior year... Set the school’s career record for lowest interception percentage (1.92 percent), while he ranked third among quarterbacks in career rushing yards, tied for third in career 100-yard rushing games (4), fourth overall and tops among quarterbacks in career rushing yards per carry (5.46), eighth in career passing efficiency and 14th in career passing yards... One of four quarterbacks in school history with 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career, joining Michael Bishop (1997-98), Ell Roberson (2000-03) and Collin Klein (2009-12)... A two-time team captain (2016-17)... Helped 2017 Senior Class earn a 32-20 record, four bowl berths and two bowl victories.
2017: Started the first five games of his senior year before seeing his season and career cut short due to an injury... Threw for 930 yards on 55-of-100 aim with seven touchdowns and three interceptions... Helped the Wildcats finish eighth in school history in team yards per attempt (8.37) and passing efficiency (141.7), and 10th in yards per completion (14.48)... Held a pass efficiency rating of 150.22 to finish fifth in school history... Broke the program’s single-game record for passing efficiency against Central Arkansas (319.8)... Tossed four touchdowns against UCA, tying the school’s single-game record... Threw a 70-yard touchdown pass against UCA to mark his third-straight game with a pass of at least 70 yards, the longest such streak under head coach Bill Snyder... Threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schoen at Texas, the ninth-longest pass play in school history... Voted a team captain.
2016: Started all 13 games under center, throwing for 1,755 yards and nine touchdowns on 152-of-264 aim while rushing for 1,012 yards and 12 touchdowns on 183 carries... One of three quarterbacks in school history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,500 yards, while he was one of only four in the nation to accomplish the feat in 2016... Recorded the school’s 15th 1,000-yard rushing season and finished third among quarterbacks in single-season rushing yards... Was the third-fastest player in school history to reach 1,000 rushing yards as he did so on his 175th carry of the season... Recorded 2,767 total offensive yards to rank 10th in school history, while he was the 29th player in school history to throw for 1,500 yards in a season... Ranked eighth in the Big 12 and tops among quarterbacks by rushing for 77.8 yards per game, a mark that ranked sixth nationally among signal callers... Also led all Big 12 quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns... Averaged 5.53 yards per rush, ranking fifth in school history and tops among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts... Recorded three 100-yard rushing games, tying for third in school history among quarterbacks... Named the MVP of the Texas Bowl when he threw for 195 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-20 aim and rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns... Ranked fourth in K-State bowl history in completion percentage (70.0 percent) and rushing touchdowns... Tossed a 79-yard scoring strike to Byron Pringle, the second-longest pass play in K-State bowl history and the 12th-longest pass play overall... Ended the regular season with a 170-yard rushing effort at TCU, the fifth most yards in school history among quarterbacks... Teamed with running back Justin Silmon (133 yards) to give the Wildcats their first double 100-yard rushing game since Collin Klein (116) and John Hubert (101) against Kansas in 2012, while it tied for the third-most combined yards in a double 100-yard game in school history... Combined with Silmon and wide receiver Byron Pringle (126 yards) to give K-State two 100-yard rushers and a 100-yard receiver in the same game for the first time since 2003 (vs. California)... Recorded an 83-yard touchdown pass to Pringle at TCU, the eighth-longest pass play in school history... Rushed 30 times against Oklahoma State, tying for the fifth most in K-State history among quarterbacks... Recorded consecutive 100-yard rushing games against Iowa State (106) and Oklahoma State (153), the first Wildcat signal caller with back-to-back 100 yard games since 2013... Registered three rushing touchdowns against the Cowboys, while he had two scores against Texas and Texas A&M... Had a season-high 207 passing yards at Stanford, while his 20 completions against Texas were a season high... Threw two touchdown passes against Missouri State, a season best... Voted a team captain for the 2016 season.
2015: Rushed once for five yards against South Dakota before suffering a season-ending injury.
2014: Saw action in four games, rushing for 46 yards on seven attempts, including 26 yards against Oklahoma State.
2013: Redshirted... Earned Kansas State’s Red Raider Award as the top contributor on the scout squad.
HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at Mediapolis under head coach Brian Borrison... Named the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year in 2012... An Honorable Mention All-America selection by Parade... Broke the Iowa high school state record for career touchdowns (98) and ranked fifth in state history in career passing yardage (7,317)... Registered over 9,000 total yards and 130 touchdowns in his prep career... Named the 2012 Offensive Player of the Year as well as a first team all-state selection by Iowa Preps after leading Mediapolis to a state runner-up finish and a 13-1 record... Honored as the All-Hawkeye Player of the Year... A two-time Des Moines Register and Iowa Newspaper Association First Team All-State honoree... Twice named to the all-district first team as well as the district’s 2012 MVP... Was named to the Iowa Sports Connection’s First Team All-State squad in 2011... Named the All-Hawkeye Co-Offensive Player of the Year as a junior... An Iowa Preps Elite Second Team All-State selection as a junior... A three-year letterwinner in basketball... A first team all-conference selection and a second team all-state performer by the Iowa Newspaper Association in 2012... A first team all-conference and a third team all-state performer as a sophomore... Also a three-year letterwinner in track... Won a state championship in the 4x100 in 2012.
PERSONAL: Jesse Sisco Ertz was born December 7, 1994, in Burlington, Iowa... Son of David and Denice Ertz... Has three older sisters... Obtained a degree in business management from Kansas State in May 2017.
