Tarvaris DeAndre Jackson (born April 21, 1983 in Montgomery, Alabama) is an American football quarterback who is currently a member of the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama State.

The Vikings scouting and personnel had reportedly been watching him closely in secret over his senior season, particularly liking his performance in the East-West Shrine Game. They were also impressed by his workout at the scouting combine (among the top-5 quarterbacks in ball speed and 40 yard dash). Several NFL teams including the Vikings had arranged secret workouts with him too. Jackson was selected with the last pick in the 2nd round (64th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft, while he was projected to go much later in the 4th-7th rounds. The Vikings traded two 3rd round picks to get the 2nd round pick with which they drafted Jackson, fearing he may get picked sooner than anticipated. Jackson's early selection caused some surprise as he was the 5th quarterback taken and the 1st Division I-AA player selected (the last I-AA quarterback drafted was Spergon Wynn in 2000). He was also the first quarterback from Alabama State to be drafted into the NFL since Ricky Jones in 1992. Even Jackson was surprised by the pick saying, "I was more focused on [getting drafted in] the third round and even that was stretching it". Most pre-draft publications did not even have him listed as one of the top 10 eligible quarterbacks, while he was the 5th selected. On 26 July 2006, Jackson signed a four year deal with Minnesota, including a $1 million signing bonus.

Sidney R. Rice (born September 1, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played collegiately for the University of South Carolina.

Rice was born to Ida Coleman in Gaffney, South Carolina. Rice has two older brothers, Jarvis Rice and Tremell Austin. Rice grew up in Gaffney, where he played both football and basketball for the Gaffney Indians. Rice, who graduated from Gaffney High School in 2004 was named All-State in both sports, leading the hoops team to consecutive state titles and the football team to a state championship as well. He had 38 catches for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns his junior campaign. Rice was regarded as the best receiver in the state of South Carolina during his senior year.^{[citation needed]} He was named to the High School Sports Report Statewide All-State team and selected Offensive Player of the Year. In 2003, Rice caught 77 passes for 1,414 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior. Rice ended his high school career with 167 receptions for 3,044 yards and 31 touchdowns. Rice also excelled in basketball, earning 2002 - 2003 Class 4A Basketball Player of the Year after helping Gaffney to the state championship. That season, he averaged 18 points and seven rebounds per game, as the Indians finished the basketball season 28-0

Peter Clay "Pete" Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is the head coach and executive Vice-President of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the University of Southern California Trojans football team.

Carroll was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Rita C. (née Bann) and James Edward "Jim" Carroll. Two of his paternal great-grandparents were Irish immigrants, and his maternal grandparents immigrated from Austria. Carroll attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, California. After being an athlete in childhood, his lack of physical growth as a teenager caused him frustration in high school sports; weighing 110 pounds as an incoming freshman, he was required to bring a special doctor's clearance in order to go out for football. He tried hard to prove himself, a trait that carried on throughout his later life. As a result, he was a three-sport standout in football (playing quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back), basketball and baseball, earning the school's Athlete of the Year award as a senior in 1969; forty years later he was inducted into the charter class of the Redwood High School Athletic Hall of Fame in April 2009.

Vincent Paul Young, Jr. (born May 18, 1983), nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He played college football at The University of Texas. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Titans. In his rookie season, Young was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and earned a roster spot on the AFC Pro Bowl team. In 2009, Young earned his second Pro Bowl Selection and was named Sporting News NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011.

As a junior in college, Young finished second behind Reggie Bush in the voting for the Heisman Trophy (though Bush later vacated the award). He won the Davey O'Brien Award which is given annually to the best collegiate quarterback in the nation. Following the Heisman voting, Young led his team to a BCS National Championship against the defending BCS national champion, University of Southern California, in the 2006 Rose Bowl. The game was called one of the most-anticipated games in the history of college football. Texas retired Young's jersey on August 30, 2008.

Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985), nicknamed "A. D." (for "All Day"), "A. P." and "Purple Jesus", is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). Peterson was selected by the Vikings with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma.

While at Oklahoma, Peterson set the NCAA freshman rushing record with 1,925 yards as a true freshman during the 2004 season. As a First-team All-American, he became the first freshman to finish as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Peterson finished his college football career as the Sooners' third all-time leading rusher.

Following his stellar first pro season in which he set an NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game (296), Peterson was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was then awarded the MVP award for his performance in the Pro Bowl and became only the fifth player in NFL history to have more than 3,000 yards through his first two seasons. In 2010, he became the fifth fastest player to run for 5,000 yards, doing so in his 51st game. Currently, Peterson has the fourth highest average rushing yards per game total in NFL history (min. 50 games) with an average of 92.5, trailing Jim Brown (104.3), Barry Sanders (99.8) and Terrell Davis (97.5).