David Greene (born June 22, 1982 in Snellville, Georgia) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia.
Greene has also been a member of the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs.
While attending South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, Georgia, David Greene was a two-sport standout as a quarterback in football, and as a right fielder in baseball. In football, he led his team to two consecutive playoff appearances and as a senior, he completed 134 passes out of 227 pass attempts (59.0 completion percentage) for 2,102 yards, and 19 touchdowns, and earned USA Today All-USA Honorable Mention honors, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 honors, Super Southern 100 honors, Top 75 in Georgia honors, Class AAAA All-State honors, Georgia Sports Writers Association AAAA All-State honors, was named the Gwinnett County co-Offensive Player of the Year, Atlanta Touchdown Club Quarterback of the Year, Gwinnett Touchdown Club All-Star quarterback, and Atlanta Club Quarterback of the Year. After his senior season, he participated in the Georgia-Florida All-Star game.
Greene played quarterback at the University of Georgia in college. He began his career as a redshirt freshman in 2001, being named the starter before the season. His most notable freshman game occurred at #5 Tennessee, known as the "hobnail boot" game. This phrase was coined by Georgia's famous play-by-play announcer Larry Munson. After Tennessee took the lead in the fourth quarter on a successful screen pass with :44 left, Greene led the Bulldogs back down the field with an inspiring series of quick passes. The winning touchdown pass went to fullback Verron Haynes in a now famous play known as "P-44 Haynes" or the "Hobnail Boot" play with just five seconds remaining on the clock. Upon Greene's completion to Haynes in the endzone for the winning touchdown, announcer Munson made this fateful call: "We just stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose. We just crushed their face!" Greene finished his college career as the winningest quarterback in NCAA Division I history with 42 wins in four years, eclipsing the record previously held by Peyton Manning.
This play marked the beginning of Greene's record-setting career at Georgia, highlighted by guiding the team to a Sugar Bowl victory in 2002. The same season he led the Bulldogs to the SEC championship. He was named SEC Offensive Rookie of the Year after the 2001 season, and was the 2002 Offensive Player of the Year for The Southeastern Conference. Greene also led Georgia to their first win against Florida since 1997 in 2004.
At Georgia, one of Greene's roommates was friend and future Cincinnati Bengals defensive line David Pollack, who was drafted 17th in 2005. The two played football together when they were younger in Snellville, though they went to different high schools.
Greene was drafted in the third round, 85th overall, in the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent 2006 #3 on the Seahawks' depth chart, behind Matt Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace. He had been expected to compete with Seneca Wallace to be #2 on the Seahawks' depth chart for the 2007 NFL Season, but disappointed with his play during the preseason. At one point, coach Mike Holmgren expressed his dissatisfaction with Greene's progress as a quarterback. In September, 2007, Greene was released from the Seattle Seahawks.
Greene was signed to the New England Patriots' practice squad on September 19, 2007, only to be released on November 20, 2007.
Greene was then signed to the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs, and eventually promoted to the active roster on December 29, 2007. He was waived by the team on July 18, 2008.
Greene married his high school sweetheart, Veronica Clark, on July 8, 2006 at Lake Oconee, Georgia. The two are expecting their first son in November 2007. His groomsman was David Pollack, linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals, former roommate and football teammate at the University of Georgia and childhood friend.
