| No. 14 –St. Louis Battlehawks | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (2001-03-12)March 12, 2001 (age 24) Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight: | 207 lb (94 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Lewis Central(Council Bluffs) |
| College: | TCU (2019–2022) |
| NFL draft: | 2023: 7th round, 239th pick |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
Maxwell Duggan (born March 12, 2001) is an American professionalfootballquarterback for theSt. Louis Battlehawks of theUnited Football League (UFL). He playedcollege football for theTCU Horned Frogs, winning several national awards after being part of the team that made it to the2023 College Football Playoff National Championship game. He was selected by theLos Angeles Chargers in the seventh round of the2023 NFL draft.
Duggan was born on March 12, 2001, inCouncil Bluffs, Iowa.[1][2] His two older siblings, Sam and Megan, were both adopted fromSouth Korea.[3]
AtLewis Central High School, Duggan played football, baseball, basketball and ran track. On the football field, he was coached by his father and was four-year starter at quarterback.[2] As a senior, he passed for 2,130 yards and 24 touchdowns while adding another 1,223 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground on his way to being named the 2018 Iowa Gatorade High School Player of the Year.[4]
Rated as a 4-star prospect, Duggan was ranked as the top recruit in Iowa for the Class of 2019.[5] Despite scholarship offers from regional programsNebraska,Iowa andIowa State, national powers likeGeorgia,Ohio State andPenn State[5] as well as his favorite team from childhood,Notre Dame,[6] Duggan chose to play hiscollege football atTexas Christian University inFort Worth, Texas, announcing his commitment to theHorned Frogs viaTwitter.[7] He graduated from Lewis Central a semester early in order to enroll at TCU in January 2019.[8]
Duggan's collegiate debut came in the Frogs'2019 season opener, a 39–7 home victory over theArkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions when he came on in relief of starterAlex Delton late in the first quarter, scoring his first career rushing touchdown on his first possession. His first career touchdown pass came in the second half on a 37-yard strike toJalen Reagor.[9] He made his first career start three weeks later in a game against theSMU Mustangs, becoming just the second true freshman to start at quarterback under longtime TCU coachGary Patterson.[10] In late October, he scored the game-winning touchdown on an 11-yard run with less than two minutes remaining as TCU upset the 15th-rankedTexas Longhorns, 37–27.[11] He ended his first season having thrown for a school freshman record 2,077 yards and 15 touchdowns as the Horned Frogs finished with a 5–7 record.[12][13]
Prior to Duggan's sophomore season in 2020, a medical screening that was part of enhanced safety protocols associated with theCOVID-19 pandemic revealed that he had been born withWolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a condition that affects theelectrical system of theheart.[14] Two days after undergoing a nine-hour surgery to fix the issue, he returned to the hospital with ablood clot and underwent an additional, emergency surgery.[15] Despite these medical ordeals, he was ready to play in the Frogs'2020 season opener, throwing for 241 yards and three touchdowns against theIowa State Cyclones.[16] A week later in a road game against the 9th-rankedTexas Longhorns, Duggan once again sealed an upset win over the Longhorns with his legs as he scored from 26 yards out late in the fourth quarter in the 33–31 TCU victory.[17] Beginning with a road win over theBaylor Bears on Halloween, Duggan led the Frogs to wins in five of their last six contests – highlighted by his 369 yards of total offense (265 passing, 104 rushing) in a 29–22 home victory over the 15th-rankedOklahoma State Cowboys.[18] TCU finished with a 6–4 record and accepted an invitation to play theArkansas Razorbacks in theTexas Bowl, but the game was canceled as part of the second wave of the pandemic.[19][20] Duggan ended the 10-game, shortened season with 1,795 yards and 10 touchdowns passing – and with 526 yards on the ground and 10 rushing touchdowns, became the first TCU quarterback to lead the team in rushing sinceGil Bartosh in1950.[16]
Duggan's junior campaign was a frustrating time for the TCU program and him personally. He did throw for a career-best 346 yards and four touchdowns against the 4th-rankedOklahoma Sooners,[21] but he was hampered by injuries for much of the season as he played through a broken bone and torn tendons in one of his feet.[14] In a late October road loss against theKansas State Wildcats that dropped the Frogs' record to 3–5, Duggan was benched when his injuries severely limited his productivity. The next day, Patterson's tenure at TCU came to an abrupt halt and interim coachJerry Kill took over for the remainder of the season.[22] While Duggan was out, backupChandler Morris threw for 461 yards in leading TCU to a 30–28 upset victory over the 12th-rankedBaylor Bears.[23] After TCU hiredSonny Dykes as their new head coach in November, speculation that Morris' performance against Baylor could signal the end of Duggan's time as the Frogs' starting quarterback increased when Dykes told reporters that there would be open competition for the job going into 2022.[24]
In August, the quarterback competition that lasted throughout the spring and summer ended when Dykes and offensive coordinatorGarrett Riley informed Duggan that Morris would be the starter. Rather than entering thetransfer portal to find a new program, Duggan elected to remain at TCU and told Dykes that he intended to be the best backup quarterback in the country and that he'd do anything to help Morris succeed.[14] With the Frogs leading 17–6 in the 3rd quarter of the season-opener at theColorado Buffaloes, Morris injured his knee. Duggan came on in relief, leading the Frogs on two touchdown drives to pull away, 38–13.[25]
After throwing for a career-high 390 yards in a win over theTarleton State Texans and going on the road to reclaim theIron Skillet from crosstown rivals, theSMU Mustangs, to finish the non-conference schedule 3–0, Duggan and the Frogs made a statement with a resounding 55–24 victory over the 18th-rankedOklahoma Sooners.[26][27] With 302 yards and three touchdowns passing and 116 yards and two touchdowns rushing, Duggan earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.[28][29] In each of the next three weeks, Duggan led the Frogs to come-from-behind victories – first on the road at the 19th-rankedKansas Jayhawks with a last-minute, game-winning 24-yard touchdown pass toQuentin Johnston[30] and then overcoming double-digit deficits at home against both the 8th-rankedOklahoma State Cowboys[31] in double overtime and the 17th-rankedKansas State Wildcats[32] to reach 7–0.
In November, Duggan and TCU defeated their in-state rivals, theTexas Tech Red Raiders, the 18th-rankedTexas Longhorns and theBaylor Bears in consecutive weeks to reach 11–0. In the game against Baylor, the Frogs trailed by eight late in the fourth quarter. After a touchdown to pull within two and a quick stop by the TCU defense to get the ball back with 1:30 on the clock and no timeouts, Duggan led a 54-yard drive to get into field goal range – setting up a dramatic final sequence in which the TCU field goal unit ran onto the field with the clock running before kicker Griffin Kell connected on a game-winning 40-yard field goal that left theMcLane Stadium crowd stunned; the TCU fans in attendance cheered in excitement after the field goal was good.[33]
After a home win over theIowa State Cyclones that made Duggan the first quarterback to lead TCU to a perfect 12–0 regular season sinceAndy Dalton in2010, the Frogs were set for a rematch with Kansas State in the2022 Big 12 Championship Game. Down by 11 in the 4th quarter, Duggan led TCU on yet another comeback, scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:51 remaining to put him over 100 rushing yards for the game and connected with tight endJared Wiley on the 2-point conversion to force overtime. The Wildcats prevailed in OT[34] – but the next day, 12–1 TCU became the first team from the state of Texas to be selected to play in theCollege Football Playoff.[35]
Duggan's accolades for the season include becoming the first Horned Frog to be namedBig 12 Offensive Player of the Year[36] sinceTrevone Boykin in2014 and the first TCU player to win theDavey O'Brien Award[37] (named after former TCU quarterbackDavey O'Brien) and theJohnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.[38] On December 6, he became the first TCU player sinceLaDainian Tomlinson in2000 to be named a finalist for theHeisman Trophy.[39] He would finish second in the Heisman voting, behindCaleb Williams from theUSC Trojans.
On December 18, 2022, Duggan announced he would forego his remaining college eligibility and declare for the2023 NFL draft, though he stated that he would still start for the Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff.[40]
In the College Football Playoff, they beat the heavy favoritesMichigan Wolverines51–45 in theFiesta Bowl.[41] He went 14 of 29, threw for 225 yards, and 2 touchdowns and two interceptions.[42] TCU lost to theGeorgia Bulldogs in the2023 College Football Playoff National Championship 65–7. Duggan passed for 152 yards, throwing no touchdowns, 2 interceptions and rushing for the only TCU touchdown.[43]
After the end of the 2022–23 school year, Duggan was named the men's recipient of two Big 12 all-sports awards. First, on July 12, 2023, he andIowa State women's basketball starAshley Joens were announced as the inaugural recipients of the Bob Bowlsby Award, honoring on- and off-field leadership and excellence and described by the Big 12 as "the Conference's most prestigious individual accolade".[44] Then, on July 31, Duggan andTexas women's track starJulien Alfred were named as Big 12 Athletes of the Year across all sports.[45]
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| TCU Horned Frogs | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 12 | 10 | 3–7 | 181 | 339 | 53.4 | 2,077 | 6.1 | 15 | 10 | 113.6 | 130 | 555 | 4.3 | 6 | |
| 2020 | 10 | 9 | 6–3 | 146 | 240 | 60.8 | 1,795 | 7.5 | 10 | 4 | 134.1 | 116 | 526 | 4.5 | 10 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 10 | 4–6 | 145 | 227 | 63.9 | 2,048 | 9.0 | 16 | 6 | 157.6 | 105 | 352 | 3.4 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 15 | 14 | 12–2 | 267 | 419 | 63.7 | 3,698 | 8.8 | 32 | 8 | 159.2 | 137 | 423 | 3.1 | 9 | |
| Career | 47 | 43 | 25–18 | 739 | 1,225 | 60.3 | 9,618 | 7.9 | 73 | 28 | 141.4 | 488 | 1,856 | 3.8 | 28 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+1⁄2 in (1.87 m) | 207 lb (94 kg) | 30+3⁄8 in (0.77 m) | 9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | 4.52 s | 1.55 s | 2.64 s | 4.45 s | 7.26 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) | 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[46][47] | ||||||||||||
Duggan was selected by theLos Angeles Chargers in the seventh round with the 239th overall pick in the2023 NFL draft.[48] He was waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to thepractice squad.[49][50] On December 12, Duggan was signed to the active roster following a season-ending injury to starterJustin Herbert.[51] He was waived on December 18, and re-signed to the practice squad.[52] On December 22, Duggan was signed to the active roster.[53] On December 25, Duggan was waived and re-signed to the practice squad two days later.[54][55] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 11, 2024.[56] On August 19, he was released by the Chargers.[57]
On December 19, 2024, Duggan signed with theSt. Louis Battlehawks of theUnited Football League (UFL).[58] Battlehawks coachAnthony Becht had sought a quarterback with NFL practice squad experience after deciding not to retain the rights to incumbentA. J. McCarron.[59]