Nate Costa

Nate Costa

Oregon Ducks — No. 7
Quarterback	2011
Major: Sociology
Date of birth: (1988-05-15) May 15, 1988
Place of birth: Turlock, California
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career history
High school: Hilmar High School
College(s): Oregon (2008–2010)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at ESPN.com

Nathaniel William "Nate" Costa (born May 15, 1988) is a former American football player. He played quarterback at the University of Oregon from 2006 to 2010 and was a team captain of the 2010 Oregon Ducks football team.

Early years

Born in 1988 in Turlock, California just south of Modesto, Costa grew up in nearby Hilmar, California. He attended Hilmar High School, where he played quarterback for the football team. As a junior, he gained 2,200 yards and 24 touchdowns through the air while rushing for 700 yards and six touchdowns.^[1] In his senior year, Costa threw for 2,252 yards and 15 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,709 yards and 18 touchdowns, for a total of 33 touchdowns and 3,961 yards of total offense. He received all-state honors for three consecutive years, and as a senior was selected as the Central Valley player of the year.^[2]

Costa was rated by rivals.com as the No. 19 dual-threat quarterback in the country in the recruiting class of 2006.^[3] He received scholarship offers from the University of Oregon, University of Utah, and Boise State University.^[1] He was also recruited by, and made campus visits to, the University of Iowa and Northwestern University.^[4][5] Costa gave his oral commitment to Oregon in August 2005, before the start of his senior season.^[6]

University of Oregon

Costa enrolled at the University of Oregon in 2006 and played for the Oregon Ducks football team from 2006 to 2010. As a true freshman in 2006, he appeared in games against Portland State and USC. He completed all three of his pass attempts against Portland State for 51 yards. Against USC, he completed two passes in two attempts for 22 yards and also rushed for 39 yards on seven carries.^[2]

As a sophomore in 2007, Costa suffered a tear to knee ligaments and did not see action as a redshirt. In 2008, Costa was named the Ducks' starting quarterback in the preseason. However, he sustained torn knee ligaments two weeks before the season opener. He underwent the second knee surgery of his college career in the fall of 2008.^[2][7][8]

Costa returned from the injuries and became a key player on Oregon's 2009 and 2010 Pac-10 Conference championship teams.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]} He also played a pivotal role in helping the Oregon Ducks reach the Rose Bowl in 2010. During his time at Oregon, he suffered multiple knee injuries which hindered his development as a player. He is well known by the national media as a player who refused to give up on his dream and battled back from injury multiple times.^{[19][20][21][22]} In 2009 and 2010, he was elected to the Pac-10 All-Academic team. In 2010 he was chosen as a recipient for the Wil Gonyea Award for the Most Inspirational Player on the team.^{[2][10][23][24]}

Costa's playing career came to an end in November 2010 when he suffered a knee injury upon being tackled in the third quarter of a 53–16 home win over Washington.^{[25][26][27][28][29]} Despite the injury, Costa suited up for and hoped to play in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.^[30][31][32] Prior to the game, Oregon coach Chip Kelly noted:

"Nate was one of the real leaders of our football team ... He has been rehabbing just like he has done everything in his life, full speed. He is just a great role model for all of our players. ... To have three (ACL injuries), I don't know who would bounce back from that. ... He is a great person where I can point to some young people in our teams that may be down in the dumps or have a sniffle and say, hey, look at him, look how he approaches life. He has been fantastic. We are here because of our leadership, and Nate's one of our best leaders."^[30]

When Costa took the field in practice prior to the national championship game, his appearance resulted in the first loud ovation from Oregon fans. Although he did not play in the game, Costa said, "Just having the opportunity to be with those guys one last time made everything worth it. It's so tough saying goodbye for the last time. I shed a couple tears, not for me, but because this is the last time that I'll be around these guys."^[33] The Portland Tribune called Costa "the heart and soul" of the 2010 team that advanced to the national championship game.^[34]

Later years

Costa currently works as a television sports analyst for Comcast SportsNet Northwest in Portland, Oregon.^[23] In July 2011, he joined the police department in Springfield, Oregon.^[35][36] After two months, knee injuries forced Costa to retire from the police force in September 2011.^[23][37]

References

^{[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]}

v t e Oregon Ducks starting quarterbacks Van Brocklin Shaw T. Crabtree J. Crabtree Grosz Berry Trovato Brundage Olson Blanchard Fouts Turner Henderson Kennedy Durando Ogburn Lusk Jorgensen Miller Musgrave Nelson O'Neil Graziani Maas Smith Feeley Harrington Fife Clemens Dixon Kempt Roper Masoli Costa Thomas Mariota

Persondata
Name	Costa, Nate
Alternative names
Short description	American college football player
Date of birth	May 15, 1988
Place of birth	Turlock, California
Date of death
Place of death