In 1990 BYU quarterback Ty Detmer had a year most college football players dream of. By the end of his senior year in 1991, he had numbers big enough to do even his home state of Texas proud.

As a junior in 1990, the 6-foot, 175-pound San Marcos, Texas, native finished the season with 5,188 yards passing and 41 touchdowns. This offensive onslaught earned Detmer the coveted Heisman Trophy, given to the top collegiate football player in the country. He was the first and only BYU player to win the award and was also the first recipient from the Intermountain West.

By the end of his collegiate career, Detmer had broken 59 NCAA records and tied three others. He finished his career with an NCAA-record 15,031 yards passing. He also had 14,665 career yards in total offense, another NCAA best. The Cougars were invited to four bowl games and compiled a record of 37-13-2 during the Detmer years, including a 28-21 victory over top-ranked Miami(Florida) on September 8, 1990 in Provo, one of the biggest wins in BYU history. During the nationally televised victory over the Hurricanes, Detmer threw for 406 yards and earned National Player-of-the-Week honors.

As a freshman, Ty came off the bench to lead the Cougars to a 20-17 Freedom Bowl victory against the Colorado Buffaloes, and a star was born.

He was the first BYU football player to be voted a captian as a sophomore. Detmer set the NCAA record for passing by a sophomore with 4,560 yards and nearly broke the NCAA record for pass efficiency in a season.

Detmer has seen more action in a Cougar uniform than any other player. He still holds the school record for most plays (1,795), most pass attempts (1,530), and most pass completions (958) in his career.

After finishing his record-setting career at BYU and earning a bachelor's degree in recreation administration, Detmer was selected in the 1992 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was the top backup behind All-Pro quarterback Brett Favre before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. He finished the 1996 season with 2,911 yards passing and 15 touchdowns. His quarterback rating was 80.8, fourth best in the NFC that season.

In 1998 he signed with the San Francisco 49ers, joining fellow Cougar quarterback Steve Young. Detmer started one game and completed the season with 312 yards passing, four touchdowns, and a 63.2 completion percentage.

In 1999 he was acquired by the expansion Cleveland Browns, where he started two games and saw action in three others for the new team. He finished the season with 548 yards passing. He missed the entire 2000 season because of an Achilles tendon tear. Ty is married to the former Kim Herbert.