Joliet Christ Jr.
 Photo of Joliet Christ Jr. | |||||||||||||||
| No. 7 – Retired | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | November 14, 2020 (aged 40) Vermillion, South Dakota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Username: | Aw13 | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Vermillion High School | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Iowa State | ||||||||||||||
| DSFL Draft: | 2041 / Round: 2 / Pick: 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Retired | ||||||||||||||
| Career DSFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Player stats at ISFL.net | |||||||||||||||
Joliet Christ Jr. (born November 14, 2020) was an American football quarterback for the Dallas Birddogs of the DSFL. He played college football for Iowa State (ISU).
Early years
Joliet Christ Jr. is the son of former ISFL Quarterback Joliet L. Christ and born and raised in the city of Vermillion, South Dakota, where the Christ family resided after Joliet's playing career in San Jose. Joliet Christ Jr. grew up on his family's ranch and attended multiple University of South Dakota football games where his dad Joliet L. Christ served as an assistant for many years. His father's alma mater is what got Jr. Christ interested in pursuing the game his father once loved and spoke so much about. Christ Jr. attended Vermillion High School where he played football for 4 seasons, all as their starting quarterback and led the team to 3 state titles and the most successful run of the school's long football history. Christ Jr. was a different quarterback than his father and relied more on a pure pocket passing presence and a large frame standing in at 6'7" and weighing 245 pounds. Joliet Christ Jr. was a 5 star recruit and accepted a scholarship out of state to play football in nearby Iowa for the Cyclones of Iowa State University turning down opportunities to play for his father's school at the University of South Dakota as well as other scholarship offers from other nearby big name schools.
College career
Christ Jr. accepted a scholarship to play for Iowa State University and had an immediate impact on the team on and off the field. Christ initially was listed 2nd on the team's depth chart with incumbent Senior Ryan Loeff as the quarterback for the Cyclones in Christ Jr.'s freshman season. A mid-season week 7 injury saw Christ Jr. immediately need to step in and take over the duties of signal caller early in the second quarter. With his team down 21-7, Christ Jr. orchestrated a comeback and picked up his first career win as a quarterback with a 40-31 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats in his first Big XII football action. Christ Jr. started and won his team's next two games against Oklahoma State University and Baylor University, although both teams were struggling on the year. In a small controversy, Loeff was named the starting quarterback when he came back from injury despite the success of Christ Jr. in a stretch that saw him compile 8 touchdown passes to just 1 interception in 3 wins for the Cyclones. Christ Jr. took it all in stride however and there was no infighting amongst the team and Loeff took over with the hardest games on the schedule still remaining for the team. Christ Jr.saw some 4th quarter action but that was about it as the team went on to split their last 4 games 2-2 and finished the season at 8-4 and 5-3 in the Big XII conference. The team won their Alamo Bowl game against Oregon State University to cap off their season with Christ Jr. getting no stats for the game. The next 3 seasons, Joliet Christ Jr. was the man of Ames, leading the Cyclones to 3 more seasons with winning records and 3 more bowl games including a Cotton Bowl victory over the University of Michigan in his senior season. Christ threw for 100 total touchdowns in his last 3 seasons giving him 108 on his career and number one in Iowa State football history at the QB position. He also finished with 14,944 passing yards, also an Iowa State record. Christ would go on to declare for the DSFL Draft after his senior season giving all he could for the Iowa State Cyclones.
