Nick Foles

Nicholas Edward "Nick" Foles (born January 20, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Arizona, he was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Foles played his first game with the Eagles in Week 10 of 2012 after regular starter Michael Vick left with an injury and made his first start the following week.

Early years
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Foles graduated in 2007 from Westlake High School, the alma mater of star NFL quarterback Drew Brees. A two year starter for the football team, Foles threw for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns, breaking school records previously held by Brees. Foles also excelled at basketball, where he started three years, twice received team MVP honors, and was recruited by Georgetown, Texas, and Baylor.

Foles originally committed to Arizona State but later decided to attend Michigan State. He ultimately transferred to University of Arizona.

College career
After attending Michigan State for a year, Foles transferred to Arizona and had to redshirt the 2008 season.

After Willie Tuitama graduated, Foles entered a quarterback competition with expected successor Matt Scott. After spring practice Matt Scott was given the starting role when the coaches felt that being a dual threat quarterback would open up the offense. Despite victories against Central Michigan and Northern Arizona, Scott struggled against Iowa and the next week Foles was given the chance to start. In Corvallis, Foles led the Wildcats to a victory against Oregon State. Foles continued to start for the rest of the year, completing 260 of 409 pass attempts for 2486 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.

As a redshirt junior in 2010, Foles was the unquestioned starter. Foles led the Wildcats to a 7-1 start which included a victory against #9 Iowa on national television. Foles led the game-winning drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Bug Wright. Against Washington State, Foles suffered a knee injury that kept him sidelined for two weeks. Foles finished off his junior year with 3,191 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions despite missing two games due to injury.

During the 2011 season, Foles completed 387 of 560 passes for 4,334 yards and 28 touchdowns. He ranked first in the Pacific-12 Conference and fifth among all NCAA Division I FBS players with an average of 352.58 yards of total offense per game. He also ranked second in the Pac-12 and 20th among all FBS players in total passing yardage.

Foles graduated from Arizona with a degree in communication.

Philadelphia Eagles
Foles was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round (88th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year contract with the team on May 21, 2012. Despite speculation that Foles would start the Eagles' Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints on November 5 (Week 9), Eagles coach Andy Reid stated that Vick would start that game. The following week against the division rival Dallas Cowboys, after Vick left the game in the second quarter with concussion symptoms, Foles made his NFL debut. Foles threw his first career touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin for 44 yards and finished with 22 completed passes out of 32 attempts for 219 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. With Philadelphia behind 31-23 in the last minute, Foles lost the ball as he was sacked, and Jason Hatcher of the Cowboys recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Vick was eventually ruled out of the following game against the Washington Redskins in Week 11, and Foles made his first career start. Philadelphia lost to the Washington Redskins 31-6, and Foles was 21-for-47 in passing 204 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

On Monday, December 3, 2012, Eagles coach Andy Reid announced that Foles would start for the remainder of the year, regardless of when Michael Vick returned from a concussion. The following Week 14 game on December 9, Foles earned his first win as a starter in the Eagles' 23-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With two seconds remaining on the clock and Philadelphia down 21-16 at the Bucs' one-yard line, Foles threw a 1-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin for the game-winning touchdown as time expired. Foles completed 32 of 51 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns - both coming in the final four minutes. He also had 27 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. On December 23, Foles broke his hand against the Redskins, and was replaced by Vick in the season finale against the New York Giants. On December 26, Foles was placed on injured reserve.