Tom Tarver

Tom Tarver is an American teacher who was formerly an American football quarterback, playing for the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights. He was the team's starting quarterback in 1990 and 1991. After college, he became a coach at Manalapan High School.

College

A resident of Jackson Township, New Jersey, Tarver was a quarterback at Jackson Memorial High School, leading the team to a 32–7 record as a started and earning All-County and All-Shore recognition in his final two seasons.[1] He chose to attend Rutgers University.[2] During his first two years at Rutgers, he appeared in six games and was a back-up to Scott Erney.[3][4]

Tarver was named the team's starting quarterback in 1990. In the first game of the season on September 8, he completed 9 of 15 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, and Rutgers defeated Kentucky.[5] The following week, against Colgate, he threw two touchdown passes again, and Rutgers won again.[6] The Scarlet Knights then lost their third game to Penn State and eventually finished the season with a record of 3–8.[7] Tarver led the team in passing yards, with 1,348.[8]

Tarver remained the Scarlet Knights' starter as a fifth-year senior in 1991.[9] He led the team to a victory in the first game of the season against Boston College, completing 21 for 30 passes for 275 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.[10] On September 28, he had 180 passing yards, and Rutgers defeated Michigan State, 14–7. Tarver threw a two-yard touchdown pass to his roommate, Antoine Moore, with 46 seconds left to win it.[11] In 2003, Tarver said that the Michigan State game was one of his fondest memories as a Rutgers player.[2]

Rutgers defeated Maine on October 12, 1991, bringing their record to 5–1. Tarver was 15 for 24 passing with 247 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.[12] However, Rutgers then lost their next four games in a row. In the last game of the season, against Temple, Tarver had a career-high 311 passing yards and had touchdown passes of 70, 68, and 49 yards. The Scarlet Knights won, 41–0, to clinch a winning record.[9] Tarver finished the year with 1,969 passing yards to lead the team for the second straight season.[8] Over his entire Rutgers career, he completed 285 of 518 passes for 3,607 yards and had 20 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. He has the eighth-most passing yards in team history.[13]

After college

After Tarver graduated from college with a degree in special education, he became an assistant football coach at Freehold Boro High School. He was also a coach at Lakewood High School before becoming the coach at Manalapan High School in 1996.[2] Tarver was the head football coach at Donovan Catholic High School in Toms River, New Jersey.

References
  1. Badders, Bob. "Donovan Catholic Hires Former Manalapan Coach, Rutgers QB Tom Tarver as Head Coach", Shore News Network, February 24, 2016. Accessed November 8, 2017. "Tarver was a star quarterback for Jackson Memorial as a three-year starter during the 1984-1986 seasons. He went 32-7 as a starter for the Jaguars, including leading Jackson to an 8-1 record and the No. 1 ranking in the Shore Conference in 1985. He was a first-team All-Ocean County and first-team All-Shore selection in both his junior and senior seasons, and also earned second-team All-State honors in each season."
  2. "Tom Tarver: Once a Leader, Always a Leader". packers.rivals.com. October 8, 2003. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  3. "Rutgers Unknown to Cats". Daily News. September 7, 1990.
  4. Vega, Michael. "Tarver Chose Rutgers; Now They've Chosen Him". highbeam.com. October 5, 1990. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  5. Rhoden, William C. "Rutgers Wins in Coach's Debut". nytimes.com. September 9, 1990. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  6. "Duke Keeps Northwestern Losing". Gainesville Sun. September 16, 1990.
  7. Boyles, Bob and Guido, Paul (2009). USA Today College Football Encyclopedia 2009–2010. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. p. 1231.
  8. "Rutgers Football Year-by-Year Leaders" Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine. scarletknights.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  9. "Rutgers Beats Temple for a Winning Season". nytimes.com. November 17, 1991. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  10. Wallace, William N. "Rutgers on Top in Big East Kickoff". nytimes.com. September 1, 1991. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  11. "Spartan Football Reaches 1000-Game Milestone Against Rutgers". msuspartans.com. September 5, 2003. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  12. Harvin, Al. "Rutgers Routs Maine as Secondary Excels". nytimes.com. October 13, 1991. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  13. "Rutgers Football Passing Leaders" Archived 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. scarletknights.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
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