Mike Stephans was an American football player for the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights. He was the team's starting quarterback in 1996.
College
Stephans was from Morristown, New Jersey.[1] He played both baseball and football.[2] As a football player, he was a quarterback and played 3rd baseman on the baseball diamond.[3]
He started the season as the third-string quarterback behind Corey Valentine and Ralph Sacca.[4] During the first Rutgers game, a win over Villanova, Stephans played in the second half and completed two of four passes for 29 yards. He also had one rushing touchdown.[1] The following week against Navy, he again received some playing time in the second half; he was 2 for 6 passing for 29 yards, and the Scarlet Knights lost.[4]
Before the third game against #10 ranked Miami, Rutgers coach Terry Shea announced that Stephans would be the starter.[3][4] "Mike has a strong arm and is just what the team needs to have," said Shea. "He's probably the most gifted of our three passers, but he's had no chance."[4] It was Stephans' first collegiate start, and he completed 12 of 20 passes with two interceptions in a 33–0 loss.[3][5]
Stephans continued to see action during the next few games. On October 12, he was 16 for 24 passing with 246 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Army.[6] However, in a game against Boston College, Stephans broke his left thumb and missed some time the rest of the year because of that.[7][8]
Overall, Stephans finished the 1996 season with 1981 passing yards and 8 touchdowns.[6] He led the Scarlet Knights in both passing yards and total offense. In all, Stephans played three seasons with the Scarlet Knights after transferring from the University of Tennessee.[9]