Drew Brees - Bio
Drew Christopher Brees was born January 15, 1979 in Dallas, Texas. He comes from an athletic family and learned to love sports at an early age from his father, Chip, who played freshman basketball at Texas A&M, younger brother Reid, who graduated from Baylor University and started in left field in the 2005 College World Series and grandfather, Ray Akins, who is fifth winningest high school football coach in Texas history.
Drew and his brother Reid were raised by their father in Austin, Texas. He attended Westlake High School where he posted a 28-0-1 record as a two-year starter while lettering in basketball and baseball. Drew was the Texas Class 5A Most Valuable Player in 1996 and led his high school to a 16-0 record and a State Championship as a senior.
Drew attended Purdue University where he not only met his wife, Brittany, during his sophomore year but was an Industrial Management/Manufacturing major earning numerous academic honors while maintaining a 3.41 GPA, except in the spring 2000 semester when he achieved a 4.0 GPA. He was the leader of Purdue's Gentle Giants program for 3 years where he and his teammates worked with elementary school youngsters in the classroom each week. Drew also did public service announcements for the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, the March of Dimes and Boy Scouts of America. It was in his senior season that he led the Boilermakers to a Big Ten Championship and their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1967. Brees was the tough mobile leader who took complete command of the game and blew away virtually every school and Big Ten Passing record. At Purdue he became the only player in Big Ten Conference history to throw for over 500 yards in a game twice in his career and throw 6 TD passes in a game twice in his career. He also captured conference career records in pass completions, touchdown passes and Player of the Week honors just to name a few. He also holds 2 NCAA records for completions and attempts in a game, going 55 or 83 for 494 yards and 2 touchdowns against Wisconsin in 1998. He also finished his college career in 2000 as the 4th all-time-leading passer in NCAA history.
Drafted to the San Diego Chargers in 2001, Brees was the first pick in the 2nd round. After a five year stint with the Chargers he completed 1,125 of 1,809 passes for 12,348 yards with 80 touchdowns, was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2004 after leading the Chargers to a 12-4 record and tossing 27 touchdowns with only seven interceptions and posted a season passer rating of 104.8. He was honored as the 2004 Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year and to date Brees is the most accurate passer in San Diego Chargers history.
Drew chose the New Orleans Saints when he became an unrestricted free agent in March 2006. He and his wife Brittany have made New Olreans their home and will continue the tradition of community service that they established during their years in San Diego.
Drew Brees is a man the Saints can be proud of on and off the field. He is a leader in any situation he finds himself - a genuinely nice guy who broke all the rules by finishing first.
Drew's accomplishments rank him right up there among the best players in the game:
| 1998 & 2000 | Big Ten Conference Player of the Year |
| 1999 | First recipient of the Socrates Award recognizing the nation's finest athlete in terms of academics, athletics and community service |
| 1999 & 2000 | Heisman Trophy Finalist |
| 1999 & 2000 | Purdue's Male Athlete of the Year |
| 2000 | 1st Team All-American |
| 2000 | Maxwell Award as nation's most outstanding player |
| 2000 | Academic All-American of the year |
| 2000 | Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor |
| 2004 & 2006 | Pro Bowl Selection |
| 2004 | AP Comeback Player of the Year |
| 2005 | Pro Bowl 1st Alternate |
| 2006 | Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year |
| 2006 | 1st Team All Pro |
| 2006 | NFL MVP Runner-Up |
| 2006 | FedEx Air Player of the Year |
| 2006 | Amtrak / Westwood One Player of the Year |
