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Mike Kafka

Northwestern Wildcats – No. 13
Position	Quarterback
Class	Senior
Major	Communication studies
Personal information
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career history
College	Northwestern (2005–present)
Bowl games	2008 Alamo Bowl – Mizz 30, NU 23 2005 Sun Bowl – UCLA 50, NU 38
High school	St. Rita of Cascia High School, Chicago, Illinois
Career highlights and awards
School record for consecutive completions in a game (16, 2009) Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list (2009) Northwestern’s Offensive Big Playmaker (2008 vs. Ohio State) Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week (2008 win at Minnesota) Northwestern’s Offensive Player of the Week (2008 win at Minnesota) School and Big Ten record for rushing yards by a QB (217 yards, 2008) SuperPrep All-Midwest Region (2004) Rivals.com Top 25 dual-threat quarterback (2004) All-area selection by Tom Lemming’s Prep Football Report (2004) St. Rita of Cascia High School Offensive MVP (2004) Catholic Metro Blue Offensive MVP (2004) Academic All-State (2004)
Stats at ESPN

Michael John "Mike" Kafka (born July 25, 1987) is an American football quarterback who plays college football for the Northwestern Wildcats.

Kafka attended St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois where he played both football and baseball. Kafka lead St. Rita Cascia to three conference championships. He ended his high school football career with 1,816 total yards and 16 touchdowns. After his senior season, he moved onto Northwestern University where he redshirted in 2005. In his first collegiate appearance, Kafka threw a 19 yard touchdown pass against Miami. Against Bowling Green, Kafka suffered a hamstring injury which kept him out until the Ohio State game. In 2007, Kafka was the backup to C. J. Bachér and played in only two games. Despite being the backup quarterback again in 2008, Kafka threw for 330 yards and finished second on the team in rushing yards with 321. Following Bachér's graduation after the 2008 season, Kafka became the starter for 2009. Before the season he was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list. Against Syracuse he set the school record for most pass completions in a row with 16. In the same game, he became the first Big Ten Conference player to score a passing, receiving and rushing touchdown since Zack Mills from Penn State in 2004.

Early years

Kafka was born on July 25, 1987 to Michael and Sandra Kafka. He attended St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois where he played football (coached by Todd Kuska) and baseball. He was the team captain for both teams. In football, he led the Mustangs to three conference championships and had a career record of 35–8. As a senior in 2004, Kafka threw 129 passes and completed 75 of them. Against Mt. Carmel High School, he ran for 164 yards and passed for 126 yards. Kafka passed for 1,004 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2004. He ran for 806 yards with a 5.6 yards per carry average, and five touchdowns on 144 carries. His career stats at St. Rita was 1,816 total offensive yards and 16 touchdowns.

He made the school's Silver Honor Roll all four years of high school and was an Academic All-State. He was an All-area selection by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report and was an honorable mention all-state selection. SuperPrep named him All-Midwest Region and Rivals.com placed him on the Top 25 dual-threat quarterbacks list. SuperPrep ranked him 25th among players from Illinois at all positions and 50th nationally among quarterbacks. He was ranked 20th in Illinois by Rivals.com and 25th nationally among dual-threat quarterbacks. Kafka was named Team Offensive MVP and Catholic Metro Blue Offensive MVP. He was an honorable mention all-area honree by Chicago Sun-Times and Daily Southtown.

College career

2005 season

During the 2005 season, his first year, Kafka redshirted in order for him to learn Northwestern Wildcats' offensive system.

2006 season

In his Northwestern career debut on September 1 versus Miami University, Kafka threw for 106 yards and one touchdown on 13 completions out of 17 attempts. His first touchdown was a 19-yard pass to running back Tyrell Sutton. He led all players with 89 yards rushing on 17 rushing attempts. His passer rating for that game was 148.26 as Northwestern went on to win 21–3.

Against New Hampshire on September 9, Kafka went 19–32 and threw for 173 yards along with one interception and a fumble. He rushed for 42 yards. The Wildcats ended up losing the game, 34–17.

He played the first half of the game against Eastern Michigan and rushed for 33 yards with a 6.6 yards per run average, along with his first career rushing touchdown, a 6-yard run. He passed for 76 yards and completed 10 out of 18 passes with an interception.

Days before Northwestern faced Nevada, coach Pat Fitzgerald confirmed that Kafka would remain the starter despite his prior performanaces. In the game, Kafka ran for a career-high 111 yards, which included a 13-yard touchdown rush, and averaged 9.2 yards per rush. He passed for 122 yards, completing 9 out of 21 passes and three interceptions. His 111 yards rushing were the most by a Northwestern quarterback since Zak Kustok ran for 111 yards in a November 21, 2001 game versus Bowling Green. Kafka suffered a hamstring injury during the game, which kept him out of the next three games of the season.

Kafka made his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury against Ohio State, in which he passed for 17 yards and completed 4 out of 8 passes. He averaged −4.0 yards per carry.

2007 season

In 2007, Kafka was a backup and only played in two games, where he passed for 11 yards on two completions and rushed for eight yards.

2008 season

Kafka entered the 2008 season as a backup quarterback behind C. J. Bachér. Against Syracuse, Kafka entered the game in the fourth quarter and rushed twice for 18 yards, which included an 11-yard run. Against Southern Illinois, he threw two passes and completed one for one yard and rushed for three yards. He played in the final series at Indiana and completed a pass, which went for nine yards.

Starting in place of the injured Bachér for the game against Minnesota, Kafka ran for 217 yards on 27 attempts, which included a 53-yard run, and passed for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 12 completions out of 16 throws. His 217 rushing yards set a school and Big Ten Conference record for quarterback rushing yards in a game. He began the game by completing his first eight throws, which included a 36-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Ebert. He was named the team's offensive player of the week after that game, along with being named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Kafka earned an ESPN College Gameday Helmet Sticker and was named an AT&T All-America Plauer of the Week candidate.

The next week, Kafka started in his second straight game against Ohio State, and passed for 177 yards while completing 18 out of 27 throws. He ran for 83 yards and a touchdown on 29 attempts. He ran for 300 yards in his two starts against Ohio State, which is the most by a Northwestern quarterback in successive contests. He was named the team's offensive big playmaker for the game.

Against Michigan, he entered the game in Northwestern's second series on offense and rushed for 20 yards on three carries before he was forced to leave the game after suffering a concussion. He ran for one yard on three carries against Illinois.

Kafka passed for 330 yards during the season along with two touchdowns on 32 completions and 46 total attempts. He finished second on the team in rushing with 321 yards.

2009 season

Kafka entered his senior season as Northwestern's starting quarterback after C. J. Bachér graduated. He has been named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list, along with 19 other players nationally, with two others in the Big Ten Conference.

At home against Towson on September 5 to start the 2009 season, Kafka threw for 192 yards on 15 completions of 20 attempts. He ran for six yards on six carries. Against Eastern Michigan at home on September 12, he threw for 158 yards and one interception on 14 completions out of 24 attempts. He ran for 21 yards on five runs. During the Syracuse game, Kafka set a school record for consecutive completions in a game with 16, breaking the 47-year-old record set by Tom Myers in 1962. He set a career-high in passing yards in a game by passing for 390 yards. His previous career-high was 192 yards in a game against Towson in the 2009 season opener. Kafka also ran for a three-yard touchdown and threw three touchdown passes along with an interception. He caught a receiving touchdown when he tossed a lateral to Andrew Brewer who threw it back to Kafka for a 24-yard touchdown. Kafka became the first Big Ten Conference player to score at least one passing, receiving and rushing touchdown in a game since Zack Mills from Penn State accomplished it on September 4, 2004 against Akron. Kafka finished the game with 35 completions on 42 attempts. Kafka passed for 309 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against Minnesota. He took four sacks and during a desperation drive to win the game, fumbled the football, which helped end the game. In the Purdue game, Kafka went 28-of-44 and threw for 224 yards. He rushed for a season-high 39 yards on 18 carries and ran for the game-winning two-yard touchdown. After leading after the touchdown 25–21, Kafka threw a successful two-point conversion pass to Drake Dunsmore to increase the lead by six to win the game after Purdue failed to score on the final drive of the game. Kafka went 15 completions of 31 attempts for 191 yards and one interception to lead Northwestern to a 16–6 win over Miami (OH). He was the leading rusher for Northwestern, rushing for 53 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. In the 24–14 loss at Michigan State on October 17, Kafka went 34-for-47 and threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns. He was the leading rusher for the second straight week for Northwestern, rushing for 42 yards on 18 carries. In a come-from-behind win against Indiana, the Wildcats trailed 28–3 during the second quarter before Kafka ran for a one-yard touchdown and later passed for two touchdowns to lead Northwestern to a 29–28 win. The Wildcats overcame a 25-point deficit, which was the biggest comeback in school history. He went 26-of-46 and passed for 312 yards, along with two touchdowns and a career-tying three interceptions. He rushed for 65 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown. Kafka totaled 377 yards of total offense, which is second-best in his career. Against 12th ranked Penn State, Kafka went 14-for-18 and passed for 128 yards, along with rushing for 42 yards on eight carries and a touchdown before leaving the game with a leg injury during the second quarter. He was replaced by Dan Persa. Kafka shared time at quarterback with Persa due to his strained hamstring on November 7 against the 4th-ranked, and previously undefeated, Iowa Hawkeyes. Northwestern coming into the game was a 16-point underdog, but still beat Iowa 17–10 in Northwestern’s first win over a nationally-ranked top-ten team since they won against Ohio State in 2004. Persa had to leave the game early to receive X-rays for a hand injury, which forced Kafka to play more than original planned. He finished as Northwestern’s leading passer with 72 yards on ten completions. Against Illinois on November 14, Kafka threw for 305 yards and went 23-of-37, along with a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zeke Markshausen. He rushed seven times for 12 yards and a one-yard touchdown to beat the Fighting Illini 21–16. Kafka threw for 300 or more yards for the fourth time this season.

Kafka is ranked third in the Big Ten Conference in passing yards with 233.8 passing yards per game and he is ranked second in total offense. As of week 7, he is second in the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns with four. As of week 10, his 66.2 completion percentage for 2009 ranks first in the Big Ten and, as of week 7, seventh nationally. As of week 7, his 255 pass attempts this season ranks seventh among all quarterbacks nationally. As of week 8, he leads the Big Ten in completions per game with 22.3. Kafka ranks 14th on Northwestern's single-season passing yardage list with 2,067 yards. As of week 8, Kafka leads Northwestern in rushing with 248 yards, 27.6 yards per game and six touchdowns.

Statistics

As of week 11 of the 2009 season, Kafka's statistics are as follows:

Kafka has posted a 122.2 passer rating, which would rank first all-time at Northwestern. His win/loss ratio for his career as the starting quarterback for Northwestern is 10–7.

Playing style

Kafka is a dual-threat quarterback, known mostly for his strong arm and solid running skills. He leads Northwestern in both passing and rushing for 2009, with 2,572 yards passing and 123 yards rushing. Northwestern’s offensive system is sometimes referred to as a "dink-and-dunk offense", as it mainly consists of short passing patterns.

Personal

Kafka's major at Northwestern University is communication studies. Mike's brother, Jason, is a redshirt freshman quarterback at San Jose State, who attended St. Rita of Cascia High School. Both Kafkas were recruited by Ken Margerum, who is now an assistant at San Jose State.

References

1. ^ "#13 Mike Kafka". Northwestern University. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
2. "Northwestern 21, Miami (OH) 3". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
3. Lamberton, Roy (2009-09-01). "Cats, Fitz give Red Hawks Fits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
4. ^ "Once clueless, NU's Kafka looking forward to Miami". Daily Herald. October 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
5. "Northwestern stunned in home opener by I-AA New Hampshire". Associated Press. ESPN.com. September 9, 2006. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
6. "New Hampshire 34, Northwestern 17". ESPN.com. September 9, 2006. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
7. Macrae, Darcy (September 21, 2006). "Game of the day: Northwestern at Nevada". Covers.com. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
8. Rittenberg, Adam (September 19, 2006). "NU still adjusting on offense". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
9. "Northwestern 21, Nevada 31". ESPN.com. September 22, 2006. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
10. "Ohio State 54, Northwestern 10". ESPN.com. November 11, 2006. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
11. "Northeastern 0, Northwestern 27". ESPN.com. September 1, 2007. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
12. "Northwestern 7, Ohio State 58". ESPN.com. September 22, 2007. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
13. "Syracuse 10, Northwestern 30". ESPN.com. August 30, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
14. "Southern Illinois 7, Northwestern 33". ESPN.com. September 13, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
15. "Northwestern 19, Indiana 21". ESPN.com. October 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
16. ^ "Northwestern upsets Minnesota with late pick for touchdown". Associated Press. ESPN.com. November 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
17. "Northwestern 24, Minnesota 17". ESPN.com. November 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
18. "1st Qtr Play-by-Play". ESPN.com. November 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
19. "Ohio State 45, Northwestern 10". ESPN.com. November 8, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
20. "Northwestern 21, Michigan 14". ESPN.com. November 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
21. "Northwestern's Kafka leaves game vs. Michigan with concussion". Associated Press. ESPN.com. November 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
22. "Illinois 10, Northwestern 27". ESPN.com. November 22, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
23. "Towson 14, Northwestern 47". ESPN.com. September 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
24. "Mike Kafka". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
25. "Mike Kafka Sets School Records in 37–34 Defeat at Syracuse". Northwestern University. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
26. "Northwestern blows lead in 4th quarter, loses 35–24 to Minnesota". Chicago Tribune. September 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
27. ^ "Running magic so far MIA for Wildcats QB Kafka". Chicago Sun-Times. October 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
28. "Northwestern 27, Purdue 21". ESPN.com. October 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
29. "Northwestern 2-minute drill". Chicago Tribune. October 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
30. "Miami (OH) 6, Northwestern 16". ESPN.com. October 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
31. "Northwestern 14, Michigan State 24". ESPN.com. October 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
32. ^ "Northwestern game notes". Big Ten Network. October 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
33. "Indiana 28, Northwestern 29". ESPN.com. October 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
34. "(12) Penn State 34, Northwestern 13". ESPN.com. October 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
35. "Persa replaces injured Kafka at QB". ESPN.com. October 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
36. Morrissey, Rick (November 8, 2009). "Northwestern in state of euphoria, Notre Dame in state of dismay". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-11-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
37. "Northwestern topples No. 8 Iowa to gain an opportunity at a quality bowl". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-11-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
38. "Northwestern 17, (4) Iowa 10". ESPN.com. November 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
39. "Northwestern 21, Illinois 16". ESPN.com. November 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
40. Worgull, Benjamin (Nov 19, 2009). "Preview: Trying to End the Drought". Scout.com. Retrieved 2009-11-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
41. Rittenberg, Adam (October 20, 2009). "Midseason review: Northwestern". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
42. "Illinois coach OK with last Ohio State touchdown". Chicago Tribune. September 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
43. ^ O'Donnell, Jim (November 14, 2009). "NU taking high road quite often". SouthtownStar. Retrieved 2009-11-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
44. Decker, John (Oct. 19, 2009). "N'WESTERN: Five Days and Counting". Scout.com. Retrieved 2009-10-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
45. ^ Greenstein, Teddy (November 6, 2009). "Northwestern's Mike Kafka off injury report". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-11-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
46. "Mike Kafka #13 QB". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
47. Chappatta, Brian (November 16, 2009). "Chappatta: Did the dink-and-dunk die Saturday?". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2009-11-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

• Northwestern Wildcats football bio

Template:Persondata

Template:Big Ten football quarterbacks

• 1987 births
• Living people
• Players of American football from Illinois
• American football quarterbacks
• Northwestern Wildcats football players