A contender for Ohio’s “Mr. Football” award as a senior at Dublin Coffman, dual-threat quarterback Jack Rafferty accounted for over 4,500 yards and 47 touchdowns during his outstanding senior year of high school. He originally signed a Division I scholarship to play at Western Kentucky, spending two years as a backup QB and holder on special teams.

Rafferty decided to move back home and later opted for the Division III path, transferring into an Otterbein program working to reach the next level under head coach (and dedicated alum) Joe Loth. The Cardinals were off to a difficult 1-3 start in his first season, with Jack in a rotating quarterback platoon, as the offense failed to surpass 14 points in three of those contests.

Jack soon earned his first college start midway through the 2007 schedule and led Otterbein to a 4-2 record down the back half, with the team averaging 33 points per game in the span. The Cards settled for a .500 record after a triple-overtime loss at John Carroll in the finale, but the wheels had been greased for (what is arguably) the best season in program history.

Transitioning to a graduate student, Rafferty spearheaded the memorable 2008 campaign that saw Otterbein go 9-2 overall, achieve a new program record for single-season victories and make its only appearance ever in the NCAA Playoffs. The Cardinals reached as high as No. 7 in the national rankings behind their veteran signal caller, guiding an offense that asserted itself among the country’s best at 39 points per outing.

Otterbein began the season 8-0 and was beating opponents by more than four touchdowns per game, setting the stage for an undefeated Top-10 showdown against top-ranked Mount Union. Although the Cardinals dropped that competitive clash, they rebounded the next week for a gritty (and revenge) overtime win at John Carroll to secure an at-large bid to the NCAAs.

The Cardinals were selected to host Franklin College (Ind.) to begin the national 32-team bracket and battled admirably before a wild 62-45 loss ended the storybook season. Jack, doing everything he could, threw for a career-high 336 yards and accounted for six touchdowns. He was later named one of 10 finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, recognizing the top all-around player in NCAA Division III, and ranked Top-15 nationally for passing efficiency.

A two-time All-OAC pick, Rafferty made national headlines in 2009 by announcing that he would return for a final college season – all while getting engaged to be married, finishing his MBA and working a full-time job. Otterbein’s do-it-all star unfortunately suffered a broken finger on his throwing hand (in the second game) that would end his career, but still rested with 4,424 yards of total offense in just 23 games behind center. The program went 14-4 in games he started.

Jack and his wife, Katie, now share four children together. He went on to a successful career in software sales and enjoys coaching his sons’ football teams, passing down valuable knowledge and experiences to the next generation of players.