The Atlanta Falcons simply didn’t have a choice. Cooper Rush left them no options.
Jack Strand is in the football game playing QB for the Falcons against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 at home.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium crowd had been chanting, “We want Strand.” And when Rush threw another interception in the third quarter, Kevin Stefanski made the call.
Michael Penix Jr. is out injured. Tua Tagovailoa is out injured. And now Rush has been benched.
Bring on Strand, with one of the coolest QB stories in the NFL.
He was a Division II quarterback who wants to work for NASA.
Now, he’s all the Falcons have left.
Who Is Jack Strand?
Strand is a 22-year old quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons who is now in the game for Cooper Rush in Week 2.
He looks like a first-string QB, standing 6-foot-5 and 243 pounds with notable muscles and a clearly athletic physique.
Strand grew up in the state of Wisconsin and ended up heading to play college football at a Division II school: Minnesota State-Moorhead, known as the Dragons. He had been an option quarterback in high school, which limited his recruiting exposure.
Strand broke into the starting lineup for the Dragons midway through his freshman season and began to work his way toward a record-setting career that never went above the Division II level.
In his sophomore year, he threw for 36 touchdowns and broke the school’s single-season marks for attempts, completions, yards (3,914) and TDs. Then as a junior, Strand threw for another 3,421 yards and 32 touchdowns — ho-hum at that point.
Strand saved his best for last, when he was a Division II First-Team All-American. His senior year included 3,546 passing yards and 42 touchdowns. He had a single game in which he threw seven touchdowns, and he placed fourth in voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy (the D-II Heisman equivalent).
Strand ranks top-10 all-time in Division II in passing yards, attempts and completions.
At his Pro Day, he ran a 4.78-second 40-yard dash. The Falcons brought him aboard as an undrafted free agent, and he looked awesome in training camp and the preseason — going 24-for-36 for 305 yards and a score while also running for 29 yards and two more TDs in the exhibition games before the year.
Why Is Jack Strand Playing?
Strand is playing because Rush was benched.
Penix is still out with a knee injury recovery from his 2025 season-ending ailment.
Tagovailoa is out with an oblique injury from Week 1’s practice.
So this is it. Strand is here. Let’s see what he can do.
Meet Jack Strand, Falcons’ QB Replacement for Cooper Rush With D-II Background