- published: 05 Jan 2016
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Ty Hubert Detmer (born October 30, 1967) is a former American college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He played college football for Brigham Young University (BYU), where he won the Heisman Trophy and several other national awards. A late-round pick in the 1992 NFL Draft, he played for five NFL teams, mostly in a back-up role.
Detmer was born in San Marcos, Texas. He attended Hobby Middle School, Mount Sacred Heart Middle School, and United Middle School in Laredo, Texas, and Southwest High School in San Antonio, Texas. He earned letters in golf, football, basketball, baseball, and track. As a senior, Detmer won high school All-American honors in football and was the Texas Player of the Year. He also won all-state honors in baseball and all-district accolades in basketball.
Detmer attended Brigham Young University, where he played for the BYU Cougars football team from 1987 to 1991. In deciding which college to attend, he was in part attracted by BYU's alcohol-free environment. He redshirted for the Cougars during the 1987 season, and shared quarterback duties with Sean Covey as a redshirt freshman in 1988. Detmer started only one game that year, but he made the most of the opportunity, passing for 333 yards and five touchdowns in a 65-0 victory over New Mexico. Later, he was named Most Valuable Player of the 1988 Freedom Bowl, after entering the game as a substitute and leading BYU to a come-from-behind 20–17 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes.