Nico Kaufman
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No. 1 Free Agent | |||||||||||
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| Quarterback | |||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
| Date of birth: September 12, 1998 (age 24) | |||||||||||
| Place of birth: Grand Junction, CO | |||||||||||
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Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: Grand Junction High School (Grand Junction, CO) | |||||||||||
| College: Air Force | |||||||||||
| NFL Draft: 2022 / Round: 6 / Pick: 181 | |||||||||||
| Debuted in 2022 for the Philadelphia Eagles | |||||||||||
Career history
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| Roster status: Active | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2022 | |||||||||||
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Nico Kaufman is a football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Air Force, and was drafted in the 6th round of the 2021 NFLHC Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Contents
High school career
Kaufman attended Grand Junction High School in Grand Junction Colorado where he played football.
Recruitment
Both Air Force and Boise State offered Nico Kaufman scholarships, and in the end he committed to play football beginning for the 2016 CFBHC season for The United States Air Force Academy.
College Career
2016 Season
Kaufman was given a redshirt in the 2016 season to give him additional time to develop and adjust to coach DescretoBurritos system.
2017 Season
He saw his first playing time in the 2017 MWC Championship game against Fresno State. He was 2 of 3 for 12 yards passing, and gained 31 yards and one TD in 6 carries on the ground after Senior QB Alejandro Silva was pulled late in the third quarter with the Falcons up by 35.
2018 Season
Kaufman assumed the role of starting QB at the beginning of the season. The Falcons played to a 7-6 record, including a win over Toledo in the Poinsettia Bowl, the first bowl win in team history. Kaufman became the first Air Force quarterback to pass for more than 2,000 yards in a season.
2019 Season
2019 began with Kaufman leading Air Force to a win over rival Navy, the programs first since 2014. Air Force would also beat Army to claim the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, bringing the trophy back to The Academy for the first time since 2014. Air Force would go onto sweep the Mountain West Conference, beating then #5 Nevada in the conference championship game. Air Force would end the season with a 2-1 record vs playoff teams, but lost in disappointing fashion to Cal in the Las Vegas Bowl. He became the first Air Force quarterback to pass for more than 3.000 yards in a season.
2020 Season
Nico was selected to the MWC's Preseason Second Team by the conferences coaches. He quickly established himself as the early Heisman favorite, winning SageBows National Offensive Player of the Week for weeks 2 (Mississippi State) and 6 (Boise State). He was nominated for the award in 5 of his first six games of the season (all but the Utah State game). He won Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week for each of his first five games. Through six games was was averaging 81.8% passing completion, a 208.8 QBR, and 11.4 yards per carry on the ground.
Kaufman graduated with a degree in Management.
Collegiate Statistics
| Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rating | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2016 | Air Force | REDSHIRT | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | Air Force | 1 | 0 | 100.3 | 2 | 3 | 66.7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 31 | 5.2 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Force | 13 | 13 | 129.0 | 229 | 369 | 62.1 | 2331 | 21 | 9 | 79 | 429 | 5.4 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Air Force | 14 | 14 | 152.5 | 255 | 378 | 67.5 | 3349 | 17 | 8 | 81 | 567 | 7.1 | 7 | |
| 2020 | Air Force | 6 | 6 | 208.8 | 121 | 148 | 81.8 | 1728 | 13 | 0 | 46 | 524 | 11.4 | 8 | |
| Totals | 34 | 33 | 152.5 | 607 | 895 | 67.8 | 7420 | 51 | 17 | 212 | 1551 | 7.3 | 18 | ||
Professional Career
Draft
Kaufman entered the 2021 NFLHC Draft, but did not expect to be drafted.
Philadelphia Eagles (2021)
After en electric collegiate career in which he dominated both in the air and on the ground, a few teams had high interest in the dual-threat. With Allan Taylor entrenched as the starter, a mutual liking between the Eagles and Kaufman drew the rookie to learn under AT's guidance. The Eagles selected Kaufman in the 6th round of the 2021 NFLHC Draft, 181st overall, ensuring they had their AT understudy.
Kaufman was waived following the 2022 pre-season.
Arizona Cardinals (2022)
After clearing waivers, the Cardinals signed him to their practice squad, replacing rookie quarterback Adrian Rupp. Kaufman was later joined by fellow 2021 draft class quarterback and 6th round pick Matteo Rook on the Cardinals practice squad.
Following Week 13 of 2022, Kaufman was cut from the Cardinals practice squad.
Professional Statistics
Year Team Sheets Passing Rushing Rating Comp Att Pct Yds YPA TD Int Att Yds Avg TD 2021 PHI 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 2022 AZ 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 Career 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00
