Chris Dieker (born July 22, 1987) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Southern Illinois Salukis.
Early life Born in Topeka, Kansas, the son of Charles and Susan Dieker, Chris attended Topeka's Hayden High School.
College career Dieker continued his football career at Southern Illinois. Dieker was a 4-year starter for the Salukis, going 20-9 during that time. He helped the Salukis to two conference championships, and was the 3rd quarterback in school history to pass the 5,000-yard mark for his career.
Professional career Dieker was rated the 30th best quarterback in the 2011 NFL draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
After going undrafted in 2011, Dieker signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on July 27. He was released by the Steelers on August 4, 2011.
He played for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2012.
Dieker signed with the AFL's Cleveland Gladiators for 2013. Dieker was serving as the backup to starter Brian Zbydniewski, when Zbydniewski went down with injury, Dieker became the starter for the Gladiators. With the team's playoff hopes dwindling, Dieker delivered a big win for the Gladiators, scoring 8 touchdowns in a win over the Pittsburgh Power, helping keep the Gladiators' playoff hopes alive. He became the starting quarterback in 2016 after the departure of Shane Austin. Dieker was injured in the first game of the 2016 season. On June 10, 2016, Dieker was placed on reassignment.
On June 24, 2016, Dieker was assigned to the Philadelphia Soul of the AFL.
Dieker was selected by the Beijing Lions in the 2016 CAFL draft and was the backup to Luke Collis during the 2016 season. On November 6, 2016, during the first China Bowl, Dieker played wide receiver due to an injury to James Romain. Dieker caught 9 passes for 107 yards and one touchdown as the Lions beat the Qingdao Clipper by a score of 35–34. He also scored a rushing touchdown during the game.
Dieker was selected by the Shenyang Black Rhinos with the first overall pick in the 2017 CAFL draft.
Career statistics AFL Year Team Passing Rushing 2012 Iowa 18 39 46.2 246 4 2 71.10 5 17 02013 Cleveland 225 354 63.6 2,442 43 11 101.21 67 272 172014 Cleveland 38 64 59.4 428 7 4 80.73 23 79 52015 Cleveland 9 13 69.2 68 1 0 100.80 4 10 02016 Cleveland 19 35 54.3 196 2 4 45.36 3 26 1 Career 309 505 61.2 3,380 57 21 91.85 102 404 23
College Year Team Passing Rushing 2007 Southern Illinois 1 2 50.0 12 6.0 0 0 100.4 4 30 7.5 0 2008 Southern Illinois 186 326 57.1 2,083 6.4 16 10 120.8 74 119 1.6 3 2009 Southern Illinois 101 173 58.4 1,326 7.7 10 5 136.1 38 77 2.0 3 2010 Southern Illinois 158 256 61.7 1,816 7.1 15 11 132.0 96 272 2.8 6 Career 446 757 58.9 5,237 6.9 41 26 128.8 212 498 2.3 12
References
External links
Southern Illinois bio