Todd Boeckman
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Todd Boeckman (born June 8, 1984 in St. Henry, Ohio) plays quarterback for the Ohio State University Buckeyes in the NCAA college football tournament. After serving time as an understudy of 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, Boeckman had an undaunting task of filling in the hole left by Smith, yet he managed to put on one of the finest seasons by a Ohio State quarterback and in doing so, guided the Buckeyes to their second straight BCS national championship appearance. He led the league in passing efficiency (150.28 QB rating) as a junior and tossed atleast two touchdown passes as OSU piled up ten consecutive wins to open 2007. Boeckman enters 2008 as a sixth year senior after becoming the first Buckeye to greyshirt as a freshman.
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Personal Life
Todd is the son of Tim and Denise Boeckman. Apparently Todd is not the only Boeckman involved in athletics or football for that matter as his father Tim is his high school football coach at St.Henry's before being promoted to athletic director, while his brothers have represented their respective colleges in various sporting competitions. His older brother Trent was a baseball standout at Defiance College, his younger brother Toby is on the gridiron for the Cincinnati Bearcat squad, while his cousin Cory Luebke starts as a pitcher for the Ohio State baseball team. When he is not busy throwing football for the Buckeyes, Todd spends his time going to different sporting events (supports the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Browns), and playing cards or video games. His favorite music is country, and likes to listen to Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith.
According to his father, Todd has been on the sidelines with him since "he could walk and mostly behave himself." He had served as a waterboy and then grew to become the team's starting quarterback. According to him, his most thrilling experience in a Buckeye jersey was his first ever touchdown pass to Tedd Ginn.
Todd is a native of St. Henry, a town in the upper reaches of the Miami Valley, has 19 state titles in four sports to its name, and produced athletes such as OSU All-America lineman Jim Lachey, All-Pro lineman Jeff Hartings, Ohio's Mr. Football Bobby Hoying, and Cincinnati Reds great Wally Post. Todd's girlfriend is Shannon Heacock, daughter of OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.
High School
Boeckman attended St.Henry high school, where he excelled as a three-sport star playing football, basketball, and baseball. A four year letterman in basketball and a three-year letterman in baseball, Todd excelled in both sports as he earned all-state honors in basketball and baseball. But he was mostly recognized for his accomplishments on the football field, playing under the tutelage of his father Tim. He immediately inherited the starting playcaller's job and proved that he deserved it after leading the Redskins to the Division V state title game as a freshman, putting up eye-popping numbers of 2,520 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. That same year, Todd quickly caught the eye of college football scouts as he received a letter from Ohio State. By his sophomore year, Boeckman was already considered as one of the finest athletes in the state, earning an All-State honorable mention and was named as the Best of Ohio Bluechip Athlete. A couple of years later, playing his final year of eligibility, Boeckman continued to excel and prime himself up for the collegiate level until a sprained medial collateral ligament slowed him down. Still, he was able to produce with 1,415 passing yards on 95-of-177 passing with 15 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions in a limited capacity.
By the time his high school career drew to a close, Boeckman has established several records at St.Henry including the career yardage mark with his 7,021 yards to go along with 64 touchdowns in the football field, finished a season with a perfect 11-0 pitching record with a home run record of 13 during his sophomore year on the baseball field, and surpassed the 1,000 career point plateau in the basketball hardwood.
College
Boeckman was ranked by Rivals.com as the 19th-best quarterback nationally in 2003, the 33rd-best prospect in the Midwest by SuperPrep, and the 51st-best prospect in the region by ESPN.com’s Tom Lemming. Scout.com also gave him a three-star rating and was ranked as the #28 quarterback prospect. He visited Ohio State on the 22nd of November 2002. Although he received some big-time offers from other universities, including Iowa, Maryland, and Pittsburgh, he eventually decided to sign with the Buckeyes.
2003
After graduating from St.Henry in June of 2003 with a 3.0 GPA and an ACT score of 19, he immediately enrolled at the Ohio State University and agreed on assistant coach Joe Daniels' suggestion to grayshirt which means that he will be a part-time student at the university but will not be included in the team during the regular season to sit out and wait for a scholarship. His grayshirting not only allowed him and his team to evaluate his skills, but also prevented overpopulation in the team's quarterback position as the Buckeyes already had four returning QBs.
2004
In his second year at OSU, he enrolled full-time at the beginning of Winter Quarter 2004. He spent his time learning the ropes from Justin Zwick and Troy Smith but was promoted as the team's #2 quarterback behind Smith in the last six games of the season including the Alamo Bowl game after Zwick suffered a shoulder injury at Iowa.
2005
By 2005, Boeckman remained a third stringer and made his debut in the Miami (Ohio) game where he completed 5-of-7 passes for 67 yards and 1 TD connection (a 42-yarder to Ted Ginn to end OSU's scoring at 34 to the Redhawks' 14) in 7 minutes of action. He also had a 9.6 yards per attempt average and a 198.97 rating that game. He also saw the field in wins over Minnesota, Northwestern and on his postseason debut against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl but did not accumulate additional stats for the season.
2006
As a redshirt sophomore, Boeckman continued to ride the bench behind eventual Heisman Trophy winner Smith and Zwick, and even had to compete with new addition Rob Schoenhoft. His first taste of the field was against Cincinnati, completing a pass attempt to Ray Small for 7 yards while rushing twice for 9 yards with a 5-yard long run in the 37-7 win over the Bearcats. His second outing occured against Indiana, completing a pass to Roy Hall for 12 yards with a 116.7 passer rating. In his last bit of action for the year, he rushed the football twice for 5 yards with 1 touchdown and attempted one pass as the Buckeyes clobbered Northwestern on the road, 54-10. OSU went on to face Florida at the BCS National Championship and Boeckman had a first hand glance as he watched the game on the sidelines. He ended the year completing 2-of-3 passes for 19 yards with a 119.86 passer efficiency rating.
2007
With the departure of Smith and Zwick from the line-up, Boeckman finally cinched the starting quarterback position as he entered spring as the team's #1 playcaller. In his first career start, he completed 17 of 23 passes for 225 yards and 2 TDs as he led the Buckeyes to a 38-6 win. The following week, he went 14-for-23 for 131 yards and 2 TDs but was intercepted twice as OSU KO'd Akron, 20-2. In his third outing @ Washington, he launched a 68-yard scoring pass to Brian Robiskie that gave the Buckeyes the lead for good and preserve a 33-14 win. He was 15 of 26 against the Huskies for 225 yards and 2 TDs while gaining his first few yards on the ground (2 carries for 9 yards). Against Northwestern, Boeckman had a career high four touchdown passes with 179 passing yards on 11-of-14 completion as OSU notched its fourth straight win of the season. In the next four wins @ Minnesota, @ Purdue, against Kent State and Michigan State, Boeckman tossed two touchdowns a piece and passed for atleast 184 yards each game as OSU went up 8-0 in the standings. On the road against Penn State, Boeckman completed 19 of 26 passes for a career high 253 yards and three touchdown scores in a 37-17 win that put the QB's name in serious Heisman consideration and into the top 15 candidates for the Davey O'Brien Award for the nation's top quarterback. In the victory over Wisconsin, Boeckman was 17 of 28 passes for 166 yards and 2 scores as OSU racked up win number 10 and maintained its undisputed #1 ranking in the polls.
Following the win over the Badgers, the Buckeyes encountered a road block on their national championship aspirations as OSU struggled against Illinois with Boeckman dishing out his worst performance of the year. The first year starter at quarterback tossed three crucial interceptions and failed to register a touchdown connection for the first time in 11 outings. The loss dropped OSU into the 7th slot in the rankings entering their crucial Big Ten showdown against rival Michigan in the season finale. At the Big House, coach Jim Tressel decided to put the offensive load on Chris Wells' hands and feet as the running back carried 39 times for 222 yards in the rain-filled game. OSU turned back the Wolverines 14-3 and made a little headway in the polls at #5, but Boeckman was limited to single digits in completions and under 100 passing yards which was his lowest production for the year. In the end, key losses to top-rranked teams placed Ohio State back at the national championship game for the second straight year to face Les Miles and the LSU Tigers. Boeckman was able to redeem himself "stat-wise" as he completed 15 of 26 passes for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns, outperforming his counterpart Matt Flynn. Despite that, Boeckman folded when the team needed him the most as he got sacked and picked off twice in the crucial stages of the game, ending OSU's national title campaign with a runner-up finish.
Boeckman ended the year completing 191 for 299 passes for 2,379 yards and 25 TDs with a first team selection from the league media and a second team accolades from the Big Ten coaches.
Career Stats
| Passing | ||||||||||
| Year | Cmp | Att | Yds | Cmp% | Ypa | Lng | TD | Int | Sack | Rat |
| 2005 | 5 | 7 | 67 | 71.4 | 9.57 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 198.97 |
| 2006 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 66.7 | 6.33 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 119.86 |
| 2007 | 191 | 299 | 2379 | 63.9 | 7.96 | 68 | 25 | 14 | 18 | 148.95 |
Highlights
| Todd Boeckman and teammate James Laurinaitis at the OSU Media Day. |
Achievements
2007
- Big Ten All-Conference First Team (Media)
- Big Ten All-Conference Honorable Mention (Coaches)
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #1 QB in the Big Ten
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #18 Player in the Big Ten
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-Big Ten Offense
- Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award® Semifinalist List
- Ohio State Coaches Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Penn State, vs. Kent State, vs. Northwestern)
- Ohio State Rex Kern Award for offensive backs
- Phil Steele All-Big Ten Second Team
- Rivals.com All-Big Ten Second Team
References
- Boeckman latest in long line of St. Henry heroes
- Boeckman ready to welcome Pryor
- Future at OSU anything but gray for new recruit
- Ohio State Football: Too Tough on Todd Boeckman?
- Todd Boeckman ESPN.com Profile
- Todd Boeckman Ohio State Profile
- Todd Boeckman Scout.com Profile
- Todd Boeckman Wikipedia
- Tom Archdeacon: Boeckman ready for his chance
