Who is JT O’Sullivan?

by: Eric Galko

I don’t think anyone knows much about JT O’Sullivan. Not management, not Mike Nolan, and definitely not the fans. But, they will get to know him very well, at least starting with week 1. Although he will take over an inconsistent offense line, injury-prone running backs, and no number 1 receivers, it should be still fun to see what this sleeper quarterback has in store in San Fran.

I would first like to state that I think Mike Shanahan and Mike Martz must be arch-nemesis. Mike Shanahan hasn’t had a great QB since John Elway, and only now with jay Cutler are they getting much production, but the Broncos have found a way to make average joes into average joes with an 1,000 season.But, not to be outdone, Mike Martz goes the other route. He steers away from the stupid and unnecessary running game, and airs it out. But, he has had much success there. Former AFL quarterbacks, 6th rounds picks, washed up back-ups, all turned into fantasy football monsters.If these guys ever combined their system, they would have a greater system than the New England Patriots ALLOWED to cheat.

But, back to the main point, who is JT O’Sullivan? Is he a legit starting quarterback? Is he part of a side bet for Mike Martz? Well, I can’t answer either of those questions yet, but we can take a look at how JT O’Sullivan went from College quarterback to San Francisco’s starting QB.

It all started back at UC Davis, where O’Sullivan played his college ball. He was very successful in college, and still holds the Division 2 record for most touchdown passed in a playoff game, with 6. He was drafted by the Saints in the 6th round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He was a 3rd stringer for 2 years, until in 2003, he was traded, along with a 2nd round pick, to the Packers for cornerback Mike McKenzie. In Green Bay, he made his coveted debut. He came into his first regular season game ever, and made a name for himself. He played the final 2 plays of the game. Both kneels. Not what he was hoping for, but hey, they could have asked the kicker, right?

After the 2004 season, he was cut by the Packers, and then scooped up by the Minnesota Vikings. He played most of the year there, and was cut once again. On the day after Christmas, he received a late present, and was signed by the Panthers. But, once again, in February, he was cut once again, being left out on the street again. He signed with the Bears, but was shipped off to NFL Europe. He had a great season there, and earned NFL Europa Offensive MVP. But, on July 7th, 2007, the after the downfall of NFL Europa, he was cut by the Bears. All seemed over with for O’Sullivan.

But, a few days later, Mike Martz asked O’Sullivan to play with the Lions as a 3rd stringer. JT happily said yes, and went up to Detroit, where the real turning point in his career came. With Jon Kitna and Dan Orlovsky down with injuries, JT O’Sullivan played the final 2 preseason games alone. Then, with the 1st and 2nd string QBs still out, JT started his first 2 career NFL games. On September 16th, 2007, his mother must have been balling her eyes out as JT threw his first ever touchdown pass, a 7 yard strike to Calvin Johnson. He played the rest of the year as the 2nd or 3rd stringer (neither him or Orlovsky got a shot to play), but was released by the team at years end to make room for 2nd year quarterback Drew Stanton.

After he was cut, he was once again called by Mike Martz, this time to join him in San Francisco. Now with a few games under his belt, he felt he had a shot to really play. He couldn’t have found a better place to go, as he had to beat out 1st round bust Alex Smith and career backup Shaun Hill for the starting gig. The race as tight all off-season long, and on August 12th, 2008, Mike Nolan gave JT a boost of confidence in saying he was the front runner for the job. Finally on August 22nd, just 10 days later, Mike Nolan announced that JT O’Sullivan would be the starting QB for the 49ers.

Now I hope to god people don’t think he will be the next Joe Montana, Steve Young, or even Jeff Garcia. But, he should put up some big numbers thanks to Mike Martz making any quarterback into a legit quarterback. But hey, in early 1999, if you said Kurt Warner was an MVP candidate, you would have been stupidest fantasy football player ever. After the 2002 season, you didn’t hear one ESPN talk person say “watch for Marc Bulger”. But, I will break this trend, and tell everyone, hey, this JT O’Sullivan guys is not bad….I think.