Editor’s note – this piece was written by our good friend, The Danaconda.
Get to know your starting quarterback:
James Vandenberg
After Ricky Stanzi’s injury last Saturday, it is once again time for the old Hawkeye mantra “next man in.” The Hawkeyes will be breaking in a freshman quarterback this weekend with a lot at stake – most notably, the Big Ten Championship and automatic berth to the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California. So we here at Hawkize thought we would get you ready for the big game by introducing you to your new starting quarterback. Meet James Vandenberg.
Archie?! Is that you?!
James was born and raised in Keokuk, Iowa. In his years before football, James was more commonly known for his fame in acting. In 1997 Vandenberg auditioned and won the title role of “Dawson Leery” on the hit TV show Dawson’s Creek. The series, shot in Wilmington, North Carolina, ran for six seasons and made household names of most of the cast. In 1999, he starred in the teen football comedy Varsity Blues. Vandenberg won an MTV movie award for his role.
Since then, James has appeared in many TV Shows, such as Football Wives, How I Met Your Mother, One Tree Hill and Medium.
In High School at Keokuk, James began a new role. Phenom Quarterback. Among the many honors James received were First Team Elite All State, Captain of the All State Team, Iowa Player of the Year and High School Player Most Likely To Win Multiple Heisman’s, Multiple National Championships, Multiple NFL MVP’s and Multiple Super Bowls. Vandenberg was highly touted coming out of Keokuk after setting every football record in the state. He threw for 76,443 yards his senior year and rushed for 18,546. He threw 678 Touchdowns, ran for 144 and caught another 46(All thrown by himself). He returned 112 kicks for touchdowns and recorded 210 Interceptions.
While his record breaking senior year caught the attention of Head Coaches everywhere, it was his off field accomplishments that made Captain Kirk realize he wanted Vandenberg in black and gold. On October 9, 2009 the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that James had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
In 1988, Vandenberg finished his construction of what is now known as the Hadron Collider. The 17 mile around Particle Accelerator was built with the intention of testing various predictions of high-energy physics.
Among his many accomplishments, James still has one he longs to add to the list.
“I want to go into Columbus Saturday and knock the sweater vest off his reign in the Big Ten.” Vandenberg said. “I want to bring this great University a Big Ten Championship. I want Roses.”
While we probably won’t see James passing to himself or returning any punts, we will see a team come together as one for one goal. Pasadena.
ON IOWA. GO HAWKS!
