- published: 29 Jul 2010
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Jerry Lee Tagge (born April 12, 1950) is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the NFL, WFL, and CFL from 1972-79. He is best known as the quarterback of the Nebraska Cornhusker teams which won national championships in 1970 and 1971.
Jerry Tagge was born at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, the third child and second son of William Robert (Billy) Tagge and Lois Jurczyk Tagge.
As a teenager in the mid-1960s in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Tagge sold concessions at Lambeau Field, the home of the Green Bay Packers, then coached by Vince Lombardi. He graduated from Green Bay West High School in 1968.
Tagge played college football at Nebraska under head coach Bob Devaney. In his sophomore year in 1969, Tagge rose to second-string quarterback. His playing time increased until midway through his junior year when he took over the starting position from Van Brownson, leading the team to a 10-0-1 season and a matchup with LSU in the 1971 Orange Bowl. Tagge scored the game-winning touchdown in a 17-12 victory over the Tigers on a quarterback sneak, earning himself Most Valuable Player honors, and the Huskers the AP national championship for 1970. Both #1 Texas and #2 Ohio State lost their bowl games on New Year's Day. (Through the 1973 season, the final UPI coaches' poll was released in December, before the bowls.)