Stefan LeFors
Encyclopedia
Stefan Wayne LeFors is a former quarterback
in American
and Canadian football
who is currently a high school coach. He was originally drafted by the Carolina Panthers
in the fourth round (121st overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft
. He played collegiately
at Louisville
.
team. In 2004, LeFors started every game that season. LeFors ranks as the 4th all time leading passer at the University of Louisville with 5,853 yards & first in pass completion percentage with 66%. In 2004, he narrowly missed breaking Daunte Culpepper
's season-record completion percentage with 73.5 to Culpepper's 73.6. He led Louisville that season to an 11-1 season in which they finished 6th in the final AP Poll
(the highest finish in school history) and won the Liberty Bowl
. Louisville was the only D-1A (now FBS) university to recruit LeFors out of high school as a quarterback. LeFors was redshirted
as a freshman in 2000 and served as a backup to Dave Ragone
in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 he took over as a starter, throwing for 3,145 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, and was named 1st team All-Conference USA
Quarterback in both 2003 and 2004. He was also named Conference Player of the Year in 2004 and named a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
as a senior. LeFors participated in the East West Shrine Game (college all-stars) and was named Offensive Player of the Game.
in the fourth round (121st overall pick) of the 2005 NFL Draft
out of the University of Louisville
. After serving one season in a backup role, he was released by the Panthers in September 2006. LeFors conducted workouts for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
, Minnesota Vikings
, Seattle Seahawks
, Buffalo Bills
, Detroit Lions
, Oakland Raiders
, and Denver Broncos
but was not offered a contract. In December 2006, LeFors was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos
of the CFL as an import player. He was the backup quarterback for the team's 2007 season, but had the opportunity to start 5 games at the end of the season because of Ricky Ray
's shoulder injury. By the end of the 2007 CFL regular season, Lefors was placed 8th in the league in passing yardage with 1193 yards, as well as 6 TDs and 8 INTs, while completing 60.8% of his passes. He was 7th in QB rushing yardage with 204 yards and 2 TDs. His best performance of the season came in week 18 against Saskatchewan. In a losing effort, he managed to complete 34/48 passes for 412 yards 3 TDs and 1 INT, while scrambling 6 times for 31 yards. According to head coach Danny Maciocia
, Lefors shares the job as 2nd string QB on the Eskimo depth chart for the 2008 campaign with Jason Maas
. He has also been given the role of field goal holder for kicker Noel Prefontaine
, as Lefors is left-handed and Prefontaine kicks with his left foot.
On January 21st, 2009, Stefan LeFors was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
for a second-round pick in the 2009 CFL draft
and a conditional selection in 2010
. Then on June 18, 2009 Stefan was named Winnipeg's starting quarterback for the start of the 2009 season. In the offseason preceding the 2010 CFL season
he was released by the Bombers.
. In May 2011, he was named as the new head coach of the high school team of the Christian Academy of Louisville
, and left the U of L athletic department effective with the 2011–12 school year.
s; both his parents, as well as his brother Eric, are deaf. Stefan is married to Joy LeFors.
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in American
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
who is currently a high school coach. He was originally drafted by the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
in the fourth round (121st overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft
2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...
. He played collegiately
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Louisville
Louisville Cardinals football
The Louisville Cardinals football team represents the University of Louisville in college football as a member of the Big East Conference. Howard Schnellenberger started the program's rise to relevancy after winning the Miami Hurricanes' first national championship...
.
College career
In 2003, LeFors became the starting quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals footballLouisville Cardinals football
The Louisville Cardinals football team represents the University of Louisville in college football as a member of the Big East Conference. Howard Schnellenberger started the program's rise to relevancy after winning the Miami Hurricanes' first national championship...
team. In 2004, LeFors started every game that season. LeFors ranks as the 4th all time leading passer at the University of Louisville with 5,853 yards & first in pass completion percentage with 66%. In 2004, he narrowly missed breaking Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Rachard Culpepper is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He last played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League . Prior to joining the UFL, Culpepper enjoyed a successful National Football League career after being drafted 11th overall in...
's season-record completion percentage with 73.5 to Culpepper's 73.6. He led Louisville that season to an 11-1 season in which they finished 6th in the final AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
(the highest finish in school history) and won the Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...
. Louisville was the only D-1A (now FBS) university to recruit LeFors out of high school as a quarterback. LeFors was redshirted
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
as a freshman in 2000 and served as a backup to Dave Ragone
Dave Ragone
David Patrick Ragone is an American football coach and former professional quarterback. He is currently the wide receivers coach for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League.-Early years:...
in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 he took over as a starter, throwing for 3,145 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, and was named 1st team All-Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
Quarterback in both 2003 and 2004. He was also named Conference Player of the Year in 2004 and named a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's outstanding senior quarterback in college football. It was established in 1987 by a foundation named for Johnny Unitas , the Hall of Fame quarterback who played his college career at the University of...
as a senior. LeFors participated in the East West Shrine Game (college all-stars) and was named Offensive Player of the Game.
Professional career
LeFors was selected by the Carolina PanthersCarolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
in the fourth round (121st overall pick) of the 2005 NFL Draft
2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...
out of the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
. After serving one season in a backup role, he was released by the Panthers in September 2006. LeFors conducted workouts for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
but was not offered a contract. In December 2006, LeFors was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
of the CFL as an import player. He was the backup quarterback for the team's 2007 season, but had the opportunity to start 5 games at the end of the season because of Ricky Ray
Ricky Ray
Ricky Ray is a Canadian and American football quarterback who has played in the Canadian Football League and af2, as well as spending time on a roster in the National Football League...
's shoulder injury. By the end of the 2007 CFL regular season, Lefors was placed 8th in the league in passing yardage with 1193 yards, as well as 6 TDs and 8 INTs, while completing 60.8% of his passes. He was 7th in QB rushing yardage with 204 yards and 2 TDs. His best performance of the season came in week 18 against Saskatchewan. In a losing effort, he managed to complete 34/48 passes for 412 yards 3 TDs and 1 INT, while scrambling 6 times for 31 yards. According to head coach Danny Maciocia
Danny Maciocia
Danny Maciocia is the head coach of the Université de Montréal Carabins football team. He is also the former general manager & director of football operations of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos and former offensive coordinator with the André-Grasset Phénix, a CEGEP team in...
, Lefors shares the job as 2nd string QB on the Eskimo depth chart for the 2008 campaign with Jason Maas
Jason Maas
Jason Maas is a former Canadian football quarterback. He is best known for his career in the Canadian Football League, which was largely spent with the Edmonton Eskimos...
. He has also been given the role of field goal holder for kicker Noel Prefontaine
Noel Prefontaine
Noel Prefontaine is a professional Canadian football punter / kicker with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.- Early years :...
, as Lefors is left-handed and Prefontaine kicks with his left foot.
On January 21st, 2009, Stefan LeFors was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
for a second-round pick in the 2009 CFL draft
2009 CFL Draft
The 2009 CFL Draft took place on May 2, 2009. 48 players were chosen from among 774 eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA...
and a conditional selection in 2010
2010 CFL Draft
The 2010 CFL Draft took place on Sunday, May 2, 2010 live at noon ET on TSN. 47 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. After a number of trades, including ones made on draft day, Toronto and BC...
. Then on June 18, 2009 Stefan was named Winnipeg's starting quarterback for the start of the 2009 season. In the offseason preceding the 2010 CFL season
2010 CFL season
The 2010 CFL season is the 57th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it is the 53rd season of the league. Edmonton is scheduled to host the 98th Grey Cup on November 28...
he was released by the Bombers.
Post-playing career
LeFors returned to Louisville after he was waived by the Bombers and took a position with the U of L athletic department, also serving as a color analyst for the U of L radio network during the 2010 football season2010 Louisville Cardinals football team
The 2010 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Cardinals were led by head coach Charlie Strong, who was in his 1st season. They played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and were members...
. In May 2011, he was named as the new head coach of the high school team of the Christian Academy of Louisville
Christian Academy of Louisville
Christian Academy of Louisville, is a member of the Christian Academy School System which holds a distinctive place among educational institutions in the Kentuckiana area by providing a high-quality, Christian education...
, and left the U of L athletic department effective with the 2011–12 school year.
Personal life
LeFors is a child of deaf adultChild of deaf adult
A child of a deaf adult, often known by the acronym "CODA", is a person who was raised by a deaf parent or guardian. Many CODAs identify with both deaf and hearing cultures...
s; both his parents, as well as his brother Eric, are deaf. Stefan is married to Joy LeFors.