Steve Sarkisian
Quarterback #12
Ht/Wt
6'
2"
|
210 lbs.
Class
Senior
Hometown
Torrance, 
California
Last School
El Camino Junior College
Roster Years
1995-1996


Career Summary

Steve Sarkisian transferred to BYU from El Camino College after setting a national junior college season record in passing percentage (.724) and pass efficiency (203.8). The Mission Conference Offensive Player of the Year and State of California Offensive Player of the Year went on to be named to the All-America Second Team by Football News while at BYU. Sarkisian won the Sammy Baugh Trophy from the Columbus Ohio Downtown Athletic Club. He was the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a senior and earned All-WAC First Team honors. Sarkisian finished No. 1 nationally in pass efficiency at 173.56 and passed Steve Young's previous career pass completion percentage of .652 with his own record-setting career pass completion percentage of .672. His final 61 pass attempts of the season were without an interception.

Personal

  • Born in Torrance, California
  • Parents are Seb and Sally
  • Older brother Dave was a three-time All-American in soccer at Cal-State Dominguez Hills
  • Recruited by San Diego State, Washington State, Illinois, Kansas State, Fresno State and Baylor 
  • Half-Armenian, half-Irish
  • Likes to collect baseball caps
  • Married Stephanie Yamamoto
  • Majoring in sociology

Before BYU

West Torrance High School

  • Lettered twice in football and twice in baseball
  • All-CIF in baseball with an 8-0 record as a pitcher with a 1.32 ERA
  • Batted .446 with 37 RBI and four homers
  • Broke nine records in football as a senior
  • Team MVP in football, All-CIF and All-Daily Breeze
  • Team won Pioneer League Championship

El Camino College

  • Set the school record for 4,232 yards total offense and 4,297 passing yards, 41 touchdown passes in the 1994 season
  • Set school records for 645 yards passing in one game and 7,274 career passing yards (occurred in a 59-48 loss vs. College of the Desert in the 1994 Southern California Bowl)
  • Completed 42-of-67 with two interceptions and four TD passes in the bowl game
  • Completed 228-of-315 with eight interceptions in 1994
  • Team finished in a three-way tie for the Mission Conference title
  • Set a national junior college season record in passing percentage (.724) and pass efficiency (203.8)
  • Selected as Mission Conference Offensive Player of the Year and all-conference
  • State of California Offensive Player of the Year
  • First-team All-America by J.C. Gridwire Magazine and the J.C. Athletic Bureau
  • Two-time team MVP
  • Team finished with a 9-2 record

Stats

Year     Gms   Cmp   Att   Int   Pct.   Lng   Yds   TD   YPG
1995     11    250   385    14   .649   45   3437   20 312.5
1996     14    278   404    12   .688   87td 4027   33 287.6
BYU Hall of Fame

Freshman Year

Sophmore Year

Junior Year 1995

  • Honorable mention All-America by UPI, second team All-WAC, WAC Offensive Player of the Week vs. Fresno State
  • Passing percentage of .912 at Fresno State broke the NCAA record for the highest percentage with a minimum of 30 attempts
  • Had a season pass efficiency of 149.8 which was ninth in the NCAA
  • Third in the NCAA in total offense
  • Selected coaches' back of the game vs. AFA, SDSU, Hawai`i and New Mexico
  • Visa Player of the Game vs. San Diego State for 405 yards passing, completing 14 consecutive and 18 of 19 in second half
  • Three TD passes at Colorado State and vs. Hawai`i
  • One TD rushing and one TD passing vs. Tulsa
  • Two TD passes vs. Utah
  • Completed 31 of 34 (21 consecutive in the second half) for 399 yards and three TDs passing and one rushing TD at Fresno State
Senior Year 1996

  • Second Team All-America, Football News
  • Sammy Baugh Trophy winner (Columbus Ohio Downtown Athletic Club) and finished third in the Davey O'Brien Trophy balloting and was one of seven finalist for the Johnny Unitas Award
  • Played in the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine Game
  • WAC Offensive Player of the Year (Coaches), MVP Offense in WAC Championships, WAC Player of the Year, Football News and Houston Chronicle (Coordinators)
  • All-WAC First Team (Coaches), Football News and Houston Chronicle (Coordinators)
  • ABC Genuine Cheverolet Player of the Game (Texas A&M) where he completed 17 consecutive passes and had 536 yards and six TDs passing
  • WAC Offensive Player of the Week (UNLV)
  • AT&T Long Distance Award (Rice) for an 87-yarder to Dustin Johnson
  • Deseret News Athlete of the Year
  • Team Co-Captain
  • Finished No. 1 in the NCAA in pass efficiency at 173.56
  • Finished in seventh position on the BYU career passing charts
  • Set a BYU school record for career pass completion percentage at .672 (the old record was .652 by Steve Young)
  • The 46-yard fourth-quarter TD catch by K.O. Kealaluhi from Sarkisian against Texas A & M was selected by the BYU coaches as the play of the year
  • His last 61 pass attempts of the regular season were without an interception
  • Tied an NCAA record with 12 consecutive games of 200 yards passing
  • Set an NCAA record for most yards total offense in two seasons at 6,996, surpassing Doug Gaynor of Long Beach State
  • Engineered two fourth-quarter drives against Kansas State in the 1997 Cotton Bowl capped by TD passes of 32 yards to James Dye and Kealaluhi
  • Consequently he was named the offensive co-MVP, completing 21 passes to tie a Cotton Bowl record held by Roger Staubach of Navy
  • Signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL
Graduate Year

Redshirt Year

Medical Redshirt Year



  • Football | Sep, 22

    Celebrating 20th anniversary of 1997 Cotton Bowl