Seneca Isayha Wallace

Seneca Isayha Wallace (born August 6, 1980 in Sacramento, California) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa State.




Early years

Wallace attended Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova, California, and was a letterman in football and basketball. In basketball, he won All-Sierra Conference honors and All-Sacramento honorable mention honors.



College career

Wallace attended Sacramento City College in order to stay close to home at his mother's request. He transferred to Iowa State University for his junior and senior year.

Wallace received widespread notice in 2002 while with the Iowa State Cyclones in a play known affectionately to some as "The Run," in which he ran for a 12-yard touchdown versus Texas Tech. However, his actual amount of running in this play was estimated at over 120 yards (some sources claim it was actually 130 or more), as he dodged tackles and ran parallel to the end zone while receiving numerous blocks from his offense. While quarterbacking the Cyclones in 2001 and 2002, he threw 26 touchdowns and 27 interceptions.

 Professional career

 Seattle Seahawks

He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft out of Iowa State University. It is widely thought his draft value dropped because of his insistence that he play quarterback for the team, rather than Antwaan Randle El-type wide receiver. Intrigued by his athleticism, the Seahawks gave him that chance. Wallace made his mark in the 2005 NFL Playoffs when he caught an acrobatic 28 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck in the NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers' Ken Lucas.



In 2006, Wallace started in four games as quarterback after an injury to Hasselbeck's right knee. Under his leadership, the team won two games and lost two. His passer rating was 76.2 for the 2006 season, passing just under 1000 yards, throwing 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.



In 2007, Mike Holmgren began using Wallace as a wide receiver in limited formations. By week seven Wallace had caught two passes, run two end arounds, and thrown an incomplete pass on an end around option pass.



In 2008, Wallace started two pre-season games at quarterback and had good statistics against Minnesota and Oakland. After injuries at wide receiver hurt the Seahawks, Wallace was moved to that position, but strained a calf in his first game.



After the injury of Matt Hasselbeck, he returned as a starter in week seven of the season at Tampa Bay, where the team lost 20-10. The next week, he led his team to a 34-13 win over San Francisco. In week 9, Wallace threw for the longest touchdown pass in Seahawks franchise history with a 90-yard completion to Koren Robinson in the Seahawks' first play from scrimmage. However, the Seahawks lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-7. Wallace played again in the 21-19 road loss to the Miami Dolphins in week ten. Hasselbeck was cleared by team doctors to play and was the starter again for week 11. Because of another injury to Hasselbeck, Wallace started in week 14 against the New England Patriots, where he threw 20 completions in 28 attempts for 212 yards and three touchdowns. His passer rating for the game was 128.9. He also ran for 47 yards on three carries. However, a lost fumble by Wallace late in the fourth quarter led to a 24-21 Seahawks loss. The following week, he captured his second win as a starter as the Seahawks beat the Rams 23-20 at the Edward Jones Dome. Hasselbeck returned from injury, but Wallace remained the starter for the rest of the season. Wallace had another good performance in a victory against the New York Jets in week 16, but lost to the eventual NFC champion Arizona Cardinals in week 17.

 Cleveland Browns

On March 8, 2010 Wallace was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. With this trade, Wallace is reunited with his former Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, who is now the president of the Browns