David Carr is a former professional football player who was a quarterback in the NFL for 11 seasons. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football at Fresno State. Carr also played professionally for the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He received a Super Bowl ring as a backup for the Giants after their victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. In 2016, he joined the NFL Network as an analyst.
Nick Jonas
Career Highlights: Singer, songwriter, and actor Nick Jonas is best recognized as part of the Jonas Brothers band with his older brothers, Kevin and Joe. Their debut album “It’s About Time” was released in 2006, followed by their self-titled second album a year later. The Jonas Brothers became prominent figures on the Disney Channel which led to several musical television films including “Camp Rock” and its sequel “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.” Their popularity grew with two of their own television series, “Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream” and “Jonas.” Two more albums followed including “A Little Big Longer” in 2008 and “Lines, Vines and Trying Times” (2009). The band took a hiatus and Jonas took to acting including the television series “Smash” and some Broadway roles. Jonas went on to produce four solo albums: “Nicholas Jonas,” (2005), “Nick Jonas,” (2014), “Last Year Was Complicated” (2016), and “Spaceman” (2021) – and he reunited for a fifth Jonas Brothers album in 2019 titled “Happiness Begins.” A coach on “The Voice” for two seasons, Jonas had prominent acting roles in the hit movies “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Jumanji: The Next Level,” and “Midway,” in addition to numerous other film, television, and Broadway roles.
Robert Griffin III
Career Highlights: Robert Griffin III is a Heisman Trophy winner and former Pro Bowl quarterback, who currently is an ESPN college football and NFL analyst. Griffin III had an illustrious collegiate career at Baylor where he set or tied 54 school records from 2008 to 2011. He threw for 10,366 yards and 78 touchdowns while rushing for 2,254 yards and 33 touchdowns during his three years as a starter. His best season was 2011 when he won the Heisman Trophy, the Davey O’Brien and Manning Awards, along with other National Player of the Year honors. Griffin III was the selected second overall in the 2012 NFL Draft and played eight seasons in the NFL with Washington (2012-15), Cleveland (2016) and Baltimore (2018-20). He threw for 9,271 yards and 43 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,809 yards and 10 scores. His best pro season was his rookie year when he threw for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns with 815 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. For his efforts he was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and a 2013 Pro Bowl selection.
Jayson Werth
Career Highlights: All-Star outfielder Jayson Werth is a former 15-year major league veteran who played for the Toronto Blue Jays (2002-03), Los Angeles Dodgers (2004-05), Philadelphia Phillies (2007-10), and Washington Nationals (2001-17). Werth enjoyed some of his best seasons with the Phillies including their 2008 World Series title where in the regular season he batted .273 with 24 homeruns and 67 RBI in 134 games. In their World Series title games against Tampa Bay, he batted .444 in five games including a two-run home run to help the Phillies win their first title in 28 years. In 2009, Werth was named to his first All-Star game, and played in his second consecutive World Series against the New York Yankees, setting a franchise postseason record with nine home runs in one postseason run. In 2013 with the Nationals, Werth had a tremendous season where he had .318 batting average with 25 homeruns and 82 RBIs. Werth battled many injuries in the final years of his career, finishing with career statistics of 1,583 games, .267 batting average, 1,465 hits, 229 homeruns, and 799 RBIs.
Adam Napier
Career Highlights: Captain Adam Napier is the 2021 Warrior Open Champion Cup golf champion, a tournament that recognizes the resilience and leadership of our wounded veterans. Captain Napier joined the Army in 2005 and worked his way up to serve as an Infantry Platoon Leader, where he was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2006 to 2008. An Improvised Explosive Device wounded Napier on three different missions. Despite his injuries, Napier deployed many more times to multiple posts to prepare, advise, and train teams within the U.S. Military Service and Iraqi Army to combat the Global War on Terror. He was also deployed to Operations Enduring Freedom as an advisor to the Afghan National Police and to the Operations Coordination Center Province-Parwan. After his deployment, Napier served as an Operations Officer for an Infantry as they completed their Combat Training Rotation and prepared for deployment to Afghanistan and other NATO missions. Since leaving the military in 2016, Napier has worked with numerous veteran organizations including being a proud member of President George W. Bush’s Team 43 and also various groups getting veterans involved in the game of golf.
Jon Lester
Career Highlights: A three-time World Series champion and five-time All-Star pitcher, Jon Lester recently retired after an illustrious 16-year major league career. Lester owns a 200-117 record with a 3.66 ERA in 452 career games with Boston (2006-14), Oakland (2014), Chicago Cubs (2015-20) and Washington/St. Louis (2021). Known for his durability, Lester reached 31 starts in 13 of 16 seasons, and surpassed the 200-inning mark in eight of those seasons. Lester pitched a non-hitter against Kansas City in 2008, finished second in the 2016 National League Cy Young vote, was named the NLCS MVP, and was the NL 2018 wins leader with 18. Lester won the 2007 and 2013 World Series with Boston, and the 2016 Fall Classic with the Cubs. His six playoff wins with Boston, are tied for the most in Red Sox history (with Pedro Martinez), and his 1,385 strikeouts with Boston are the most in club history by a left-hander and fourth-most overall on the franchise list. Lester earned the Red Sox Pitcher of the Year honors four times, and also received the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award for overcoming adversity after recovering from lymphoma.
Dwight Freeney
Career Highlights: Former All-Pro defensive end and outside linebacker Dwight Freeney enjoyed an illustrious 16-year NFL career, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts. Drafted in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft out of Syracuse, Freeney’s impressive career included 10 seasons with the Colts including winning a Super Bowl title over the Chicago Bears in 2006. A seven-time Pro Bowler, Freeney also was named First-Team All-Pro three times (2004, 2005, 2009) and Second-Team All-Pro in 2003. He was the NFL Sacks leader in 2004, the NFL Forced Fumbles co-leader in 2002, and was named to the NFL 2000’s All-Decade Team. Freeney also played for five other teams in his career including the San Diego Chargers (2013-2014), Arizona Cardinals (2015) Atlanta Falcons (2016) and the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions both in 2017. He finished his career playing in 218 games with 300 total tackles, 125.5 sacks and 47 forced fumbles. In college at Syracuse, Freeney was a unanimous All-American in 2001 and a two-time First-Team All-Big East honoree. He set a school record with 17.5 sacks his senior season and his 34 career sacks ranks second in school history.
Colin Jost
Career Highlights: Comedian, actor, and writer Colin Jost has been a writer for NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” since 2005 and the co-anchor of “Weekend Update” since 2014. Jost served as one of the show’s co-head writers from 2012 to 2015 and came back as one of the show’s head writers in 2017. A graduate of Harvard in 2004, Jost started as a reporter/copy editor for his hometown Staten Island Advance, and then became a writer for the short-lived Nickelodeon animated show “Kappa Mikey.” In 2005, he got the writing position with “Saturday Night Live.” In October 2021, Jost broke Seth Meyer’s record for being the longest “Weekend Update” anchor. Jost has also worked in other comedy roles as he has performed as a stand-up comedian, and appeared on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” TBS, and HBO, and has also appeared at numerous comedy festivals. He has written screenplays and has written for numerous publications including The New York Times Magazine, The Huffington Post, The New Yorker and Radar. Jost also released a memoir in 2020 titled, “A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir,” which received strong reviews and was on the New York Times Bestseller List.
The Miz
Career Highlights: “The Miz” is a professional wrestler, actor and television personality who was first recognized as a participant on MTV’s reality show “The Real World: Back to New York.” With given name Michael Mizanin, he went on to participate on its spinoff “Real World/Road Rules Challenge.” Mizanin parlayed his reality television fame into a legitimate WWE career under the ring name “The Miz.” Mizanin found tag team success alongside John Morrison early in his career, he then broke out to win the “Money in the Ladder Match” in 2010. He defeated Randy Orton four months later to become WWE Champion. Mizanin has won the WWE Championship twice, the Intercontinental Championship eight times, the United States Championship twice, in addition to eight tag team titles. In addition to his pro wrestling career, Mizanin has starred in numerous films and television shows on both the big and small screens including “The Campaign,” “The Marine 3: Homefront,” “The Marine 5: Battleground,” “The Marine 6: Close Quarters,” “Santa’s Little Helper,” “Fear Factor,” “Fighting with My Family,” to name a few. He has also starred in his own primetime reality show, “Miz and Mrs.,” alongside his wife Maryse and two daughters.
Jason Scheff
Career Highlights: Singer, songwriter and bassist Jason Scheff is best known for his more than 30 years with the rock band Chicago. Scheff joined the band when singer Peter Cetera left in 1985. Scheff’s first album was “Chicago 18” and the single “Will You Still Love Me?” (he sang the lead) did very well, cementing his belonging with the band. Scheff also contributed as a bass player and composer including such songs as “What Kind of Man Would I Be?” and “If It Were You.” Scheff officially left Chicago in 2016. In 2019, he joined a trove of artists making up a super group under the “It was 50 Years Ago Today” branding. That tour saw Scheff, Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Joey Molland of Badfinger, and Denny Laine of Wings and The Moody Blues, and The Monkee’s Mickey Dolenz in celebration of the Beatles “White Album.”
Scheff joined another band of legends in 2020: “Generation Radio” with Dean Castronovo, former lead singer/drummer of Journey, Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, Steve Ferrone, drummer of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and Chris Rodriguez and Tom Yankton to bring 80’s rock and classic music back to life with hits from their former bands.