Danny Kanell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Danny Kanell
Date of birth:	November 21, 1973 (1973-11-21) (age 34)
Place of birth:
Career information
Position(s):	Quarterback
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
College:	Florida State
NFL Draft:	1996 / Round: 4 / Pick: 130
Organizations
As player:
1996-1998 1999-2000 2003-2004	New York Giants Atlanta Falcons Denver Broncos
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Danny Kanell (born November 21, 1973 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a former professional American football quarterback.

[edit] College career

He attended Florida State University, where he played for four years as their quarterback. During his FSU career he played in 45 games and completed 62.2 of his 851 pass attempts. He threw for 6,372 yards, 57 Touchdowns [a school record] and 26 Interceptions over his four years as a Seminole. He also ran for 1 TD and managed to catch one pass for a loss of three yards. He played in four BCS bowls during his NCAA career; in his freshman, sophomore and senior years he played in the Orange Bowl and in his junior year he played in the Sugar Bowl. He was given an "honorable mention" in the All-American list of his senior year.

Kanell also played baseball during his freshman and sophomore years, playing in 28 games over the two seasons.

[edit] NFL career

Kanell was selected by the New York Giants in the fourth round (130 overall) in the 1996 NFL Draft. He made his debut later that season that year for the team. The next season in New York, Kanell became the starter and played the last 10 games of the 1997 season, leading the Giants to the NFC Eastern Division title. In those 10 games he threw for 1,740 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Giants played in the NFL Playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings but lost 22-23. Kanell went 16/32 with 199 yards and 1 TD in that game. The following year, Kanell started all 10 games he played in while throwing for 1,603 yards, 11 TDs and 10 INTs. With a record of 3-7 at that point, the Giants benched Kanell in favor of Kent Graham, who led the Giants to a 5-1 record down the stretch and an 8-8 finish. At the end of the season The Giants signed Kerry Collins from the New Orleans Saints and cut Kanell to make enough salary cap room to pay Collins' salary.

In the off season Kanell found a home with the Atlanta Falcons as a backup to their oft injured starting quarterback Chris Chandler. He played in Atlanta for two years, starting two games and playing in eight. As a Falcon he completed 99 of 200 attempted passes for a total of 1,117 yards, 6 TDs and 9 INTs. At the end of the 2000 season he was cut by the Falcons and didn't manage to find another team.

A year later, Kanell signed with the New York Dragons Arena Football League team for the 2002 season, his only season there. After impressing in the AFL he was signed during training camp by the Denver Broncos. He made the roster as the third QB in Denver but was let go a short time into the season. Seven games into the same season, starting quarterback Jake Plummer and backup quarterback Steve Beuerlein suffered with foot and hand injuries, respectively. Kanell was recalled to the Broncos and started two games until Beuerlein and Plummer returned. That season he threw two TDs and five INTs on 103 pass attempts. He remained with the Broncos for one more year as the backup to Plummer. He never played, as Plummer became the first Broncos QB in franchise history to take every offensive snap. After the 2004 season he was cut by the Broncos and has not since been picked up by an NFL team.

[edit] Baseball career

Kanell was drafted out of high school by the Milwaukee Brewers, and after his junior year at Florida State by the New York Yankees in the 24th round. However, he saw football as more important and signed with the Giants.

During a layoff from football in 2001, Kanell returned to baseball, playing in the minor leagues for the Atlantic League's Newark Bears. He played at first base, third base and designated hitter. Kanell said he wanted to eventually play for the Yankees, as he grew up idolizing Don Mattingly. [1]

[edit] See also

• History of the New York Giants (1994-present)