Joe Flacco was the 18th-overall selection (1st round) of the 2008 NFL Draft
“He’s big, which is important,” said director of college scouting Eric DeCosta. “He’s played in some bad weather, which we like. He’s got a rocket arm and he’s highly accurate. We love the kid and he’s very smart. He took Delaware to the national championship game and played in the Senior Bowl. He did well. He passed every test. Joe was the guy that separated himself from the other guys.”
Flacco is just the 2nd quarterback tabbed in the 1st round in Ravens history
Became just the 2nd NCAA Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) QB ever selected in the 1st round and the 1st since retired Ravens QB Steve McNair was the 3rd-overall pick out of Alcorn State by Tennessee in 1995
Joe Flacco was selected by the Ravens in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft
2008: Game 3 at Pit. (9/29) Posted career highs in QB rating (81.7), passing yards (192) and thew his 1st career TD pass on 16 of 31 passing against the Steelers
Game 2 vs. Cle. (9/21) - Started and completed a career-high 68.4% of his passes (13 of 19) for 129 yards and 2 INTs
Led the Ravens to 21 1st downs and held the ball for 37:48 in the 28-10 win against the BrownsGame 1 vs. Cin. (9/7) - Started his 1st-career NFL game and led the Ravens to a 17-10 win by completing 15 of 29 attempts for 129 yards
Flacco also rushed 4 times for 37 yards, including his 1st-career rushing TD on a career-long 38-yard run against the Bengals
The run was the longest in NFL history by a QB making his debut
Earned 1st-team All-American honors from The NFL Draft Report and Pro Football Weekly as a senior
Started all 26 games in which he played at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh
In just 2 seasons, Flacco set 20 University of Delaware records, including career records for completions (595), attempts (938) and season records for completions (331), attempts (521) and yards (4,263)
He also holds Delaware career marks for yards passing per game (284.2), 200-yard passing games (13), 300-yard passing games (7), total plays (585), total offense (4,285), and total offense per game (285.7)
Flacco holds game records for completions (40) and attempts (51), consecutive pass attempts without an INT (212), yards passing per game (271.0), 200-yard passing games (21), consecutive 200-yard passing games (15), 300-yard passing games (11), pass completion pct. (.634), and total offense per game (273.9)
He finished his career ranked No. 2 all time at Delaware in career passing yards (7,046)
He also tossed 41 TDs against just 15 INTs and rushed for 76 yards and 9 TDs for the Blue Hens
Is 1 of 3 QBs in Atlantic Ten Conference/CAA history to throw for at least 4,000 yards in a single season
Majored in Accounting
Flacco became the 4th Delaware QB and the school’s highest NFL draft pick ever
2007: (Delaware) Earned 1st-team All-American honors from The NFL Draft Report and Pro Football Weekly and was a 3rd-team honoree from The Sports Network
Named ECAC All-East Player of the Year and CAA co-Offensive Player of the Year
Was also an All-Eastern College Athletic Conference and All-Colonial Athletic Association 1st-team pick after leading his team to a 11-4 record and a berth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision national championship game before falling to 3-time national champion Appalachian State
The Blue Hens defeated Delaware State, top-ranked and undefeated Northern Iowa, and No. 3 seed Southern Illinois in postseason to advance
Team finished season ranked No. 2 in the final The Sports Network, College Sporting News, and AFCA Coaches Top 25 polls
Started all 15 games and connected on 331 of 521 passes (63.5%) for a school-record 4,263 yards, 23 TDs and just 5 INTs
Posted 2 400-yard performances as a senior
Set school records for completions (331), attempts (521), yards (4,263), passing yards per game (284.2), 200-yard passing games (13), 300-yard passing games (7), total plays (585), total offense (4,285), and total offense per game (285.7)
Went a school-record 212 straight passes without an INT to close out his career
Also picked up 22 yards and scored 3 TDs on the ground
Threw for a career-high 434 yards and 4 TDs on 30 of 41 passing against Navy
2006: (Delaware) Earned the starting job at QB and started all 11 games, throwing for 2,783 yards and 18 TDs on 264-of-417 passing after transferring from Pittsburgh
Set then-school records for passes completed in a season (264), pass attempts in a game – 51 vs. Towson, 300-yard passing games in a season (4), and total offense per game (257.9)
Led an offense that averaged 253 passing yards per game (2nd in A-10; 9th in NCAA), 26.3 points per game (4th in the A-10) and 356.6 total yards per game (5th in the A-10, 30th in NCAA)
The 253 passing yardage average was the 3rd-highest in school history
Threw for over 300 yards 4 times
Posted the 2nd-best all-time totals for completions in a game (32 vs. Towson) and pass attempts in a season (417)
2005: (Delaware) Participated in fall drills after transferring from Pittsburgh in August, but did not see game action
2004: (Pittsburgh) Saw action in 3 games as a backup QB and completed 1 of 4 passes for 11 yards for the Panthers
Also punted 1 time for 25 yards
Saw action vs. Ohio and Nebraska but did not throw a pass
Played in the 4th quarter against South Florida, completing 1 of 4 passes for 11 yards
2003: (Pittsburgh) Redshirted as a freshman at Pittsburgh
Prepped at Audubon (NJ) HS and was a 2-time New Jersey All-Group II, All-South Jersey and All-Colonial Conference 1st-team honoree
Named the Colonial Conference Athlete of the Year and South Jersey Touchdown Club Offensive Back of the Year as a senior
Was a 3-year starter at QB, throwing for 5,137 yards (4th-most in South Jersey history)
Threw for 2,020 yards as a senior, including a single-game South Jersey record 471 as a senior
Was a South Jersey Touchdown Club 1st-team All-Academic honoree, and the Courier Post Scholar Athlete of the Year
Also played basketball and baseball, leading his team to the state baseball title
Flacco’s father, Stephen, played football and baseball at the University of Pennsylvania (1979-83)
