Ep 104: Cyclone football great Sage Rosenfels
I gave it my best shot, even the mistakes I made,…, it was because I was doing my best.
You can always tell when a guy is the best athlete at a small Iowa high school on a football Friday night by looking at the program. The key is to start by looking for the QB. A standout athlete will also have a defensive position. But two other letters, K and P, really show a guy that does it all on the field. When you see something like QB-DB-K-P, you can assume the coach is leaning on his stud. This week’s Moonlighter takes it to a new level as a 5 sport varsity letterman at Maquoketa High School: football, basketball, tennis, track, and baseball. Sage Rosenfels’s athleticism took him from smalltown Iowa to an 11 year NFL career.
After a successful career in just about every sport Maquoketa offers, Sage took the only major football scholarship offer he received, even though he had never been on the Iowa State campus. Sage took over the starting QB role in his junior year with the Cyclones after only tallying 4 wins in his first two years in Ames. With Sage under center, Iowa State had 4 wins in the 1999 season. Sage reached legend status by leading the Clones to their first-ever bowl win in the Insight.com Bowl to cap a 9-3 season.
He drew 12 guys on the field…
Sage was drafted in the 4th round by the Washington Redskins in the 2001 draft. Coming off of two successful seasons as the starter for the Cyclones, Sage was brought in to be a back up for Jeff George. Sage had a very successful career as a back up in the NFL playing for Washington, Miami, Houston, Minnesota, and the New York Giants. He played behind some absolute greats, including Brett Favre, but Sage was a really effective QB when he had his shots. In 43 career games (12 starts), Sage threw for over 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns.
I was outdueling Payton Manning...
Sage is a great storyteller and takes Tim into the quarterback rooms and onto sidelines with incredible details from his playing days. Football took Sage from Maquoketa to Ames and across the NFL. In that time he played with and for countless household names and has stories to share about Dan McCarney, Jeff George, Marty Schottenheimer, Nick Saban, Jason Garrett, and many more. Whether you are a Cyclone fan or just a football junkie, Sage will have you drawn in with the incredible details he shares.
Sage’s career after football has been very busy. Tim and Sage talk about everything from his fulltime job as a dad to the many opportunities he has had since retiring in 2012. Sage’s resume has grown as he has written for The Athletic and theScore.com and been on the air as an ESPN radio host and commentator for college and professional football games.
Enjoy episode 104 with Cyclone great and jack of all trades, Sage Rosenfels.