Robby Blake Bortles (born April 28, 1992) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at UCF, where he received AAC Offensive Player of the Year honors as a junior and was MVP of the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. Bortles was selected by the Jaguars third overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.
As the Jaguars' starting quarterback from 2014 to 2018, Bortles set franchise records for single-season passing yards and touchdowns in 2015. His most successful season was in 2017 when he helped bring the Jaguars to their first division title and AFC Championship Game appearance since 1999. However, Bortles also led the league in interceptions during 2015 and had a league-high 75 interceptions by the end of his five years with Jacksonville. After being released by the Jaguars in 2018, he spent his final three seasons as a backup for the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, and New Orleans Saints.
Early years
Bortles attended Oviedo High School in Oviedo, Florida, where he excelled in football and baseball for the Lions. As a senior, he completed 151 of 233 passes for 2,211 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He finished his high school career with a Seminole County record 5,576 career passing yards and 53 touchdowns.
Labeled a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Bortles was listed as the No. 44 pro-style quarterback in his class. Bortles chose UCF over offers from Colorado State, Purdue, Tulane, and Western Kentucky.
College career
Bortles accepted the offer from UCF, which was the first college to offer him a scholarship and was located near his home. He was redshirted as a true freshman in 2010. As a redshirt freshman in 2011, he played in 10 games, completing 75 of 110 passes for 958 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. As a sophomore in 2012, he started all 14 games at quarterback. He completed 251 of 399 passes for 3,059 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 285 yards and scored eight touchdowns. He was the MVP of the 2012 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl after completing 22 of 32 passes for 271 yards with three touchdowns and 79 rushing yards against the Ball State Cardinals.
In 2013, Bortles led the Knights to the inaugural championship of the American Athletic Conference, earning the league's automatic berth to a BCS bowl, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Passing for 301 yards and rushing for 93 yards and four touchdowns, Bortles led UCF to an upset of fifth-ranked Baylor, 52–42. Bortles was named the Offensive MVP of the game, which was UCF's first major bowl win in school history. In his final collegiate season, he was 259-of-382 for 3,581 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He added 87 rushes for 272 yards and six rushing touchdowns.
Collegiate statistics
As a starter from the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Bortles had a 22–5 () record for the Knights. As of 2016, his career passer rating of 153.9 is the highest for any UCF quarterback with at least 500 pass attempts and he was fourth in career completions, yards, and touchdowns behind Daunte Culpepper, Ryan Schneider, and Darin Hinshaw.
Professional career
On January 5, 2014, Bortles announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On May 8, 2014, at the 2014 NFL Draft, Bortles was chosen in the first round with the third overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bortles was the first of an eventual 14 quarterbacks to be drafted.
2014 season
On June 18, 2014, Bortles signed his rookie contract worth $20.6 million guaranteed for four years with the team.