View source for Neil Lomax

{{Short description|American football player (born 1959)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
 | image = 
 | number = 15
 | position = [[Quarterback]]
 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|2|17}}
 | birth_place = [[Portland, Oregon]], U.S.
 | death_date = 
 | height_ft = 6
 | height_in = 3
 | weight_lbs = 215
 | draftyear = 1981
 | draftround = 2
 | draftpick = 33
 | high_school = [[Lake Oswego High School|Lake Oswego]] {{nowrap|([[Lake Oswego, Oregon]])}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Neil Lomax (1996) - Hall of Fame|url=https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=1975|access-date=2020-10-01|website=National Football Foundation|language=en}}</ref>
 | college = [[Portland State Vikings football|Portland State]]
 | teams = 
* [[Arizona Cardinals|St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals]] ([[1981 NFL season|1981]]–[[1988 NFL season|1989]])
 | pastcoaching = 
* [[Lake Oswego High School|Lake Oswego HS (OR)]] (1998–2005)<br/>Assistant coach
* [[Tigard High School|Tigard HS (OR)]] (2006)<br/>Offensive coordinator
* [[Roosevelt High School (Oregon)|Roosevelt HS (OR)]] (2008–2014)<br/>Assistant head coach & offensive coordinator
* [[Century High School (Oregon)|Century HS (OR)]] (2017)<br/>Assistant coach
* [[Fort Vancouver High School|Fort Vancouver HS (WA)]] (2018–2020)<br/>Head coach
* [[Cleveland High School (Portland, Oregon)|Cleveland HS (OR)]] (2021)<br/>Assistant coach
* [[George Fox Bruins football|George Fox]] (2021–2024)<br/>Quarterbacks coach
 | statlabel1 = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
 | statvalue1 = 136–90
 | statlabel2 = Passing yards
 | statvalue2 = 22,771
 | statlabel3 = [[Passer rating]]
 | statvalue3 = 82.7
 | highlights = 
* 2× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1985 Pro Bowl|1984]], [[1988 Pro Bowl|1987]])
* [[List of National Football League season passing yards leaders|NFL passing yards leader]] (1987)
* [[Pro Football Writers of America NFL All-Rookie Team|PFWA All-Rookie Team]] ([[Pro Football Writers of America NFL All-Rookie Team#1981|1981]])
* First-team [[Division I-AA|I-AA]] [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] (1980)
* [[Portland State Vikings football#Retired numbers|Portland State Vikings No. 11]] retired
 | CollegeHOF = 1975
 | pfr = LomaNe00
}}
'''Neil Vincent Lomax''' (born February 17, 1959) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[quarterback]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL), playing his entire career for the [[Arizona Cardinals|St. Louis / Phoenix Cardinals]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Portland State Vikings football|Portland State Vikings]], setting numerous [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA) passing records running head coach [[Mouse Davis]]'s [[run and shoot offense]]. Lomax was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1996.

==College career==
From [[Lake Oswego, Oregon]], a suburb south of [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], Lomax was a standout [[College football]] player at [[Portland State University]], going from fifth-string freshman quarterback in 1977 on a partial scholarship to emergency starter to [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] legend in the [[run and shoot offense]] of head coach [[Mouse Davis]].<ref name=wnlox>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YK1fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0DIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4249%2C4501744 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=Idaho |agency=Associated Press |title=Who's Neil Lomax? |date=November 11, 1980 |page=4C}}</ref> By the end of his college career in 1980, he held 90 NCAA records, including <!--one game where he threw for--> seven [[touchdown]] passes in the first quarter against [[Delaware State Hornets football|Delaware State]], which ended in a [[1980 Delaware State vs. Portland State football game|105–0 shutout]] for the [[1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season|Division I-AA]] Vikings.<ref name=wnlox/><ref name=lclamk>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2_hVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9uEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6760%2C2832573 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=wire service reports |title=Lomax collars a mark, so do Vikings 105-0|date=November 9, 1980 |page=8B}}</ref>
Two weeks earlier, independent Portland State crushed [[1980 NCAA Division II football season|Division II]] [[1980 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team|Cal Poly Pomona]] 93–7.<ref name=rlup93>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r-9VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8eEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6863%2C8157940 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=wire service reports |title=Portland State rolls up 93 points, QBs 603 yards |date=October 26, 1980 |page=8C}}</ref> In his final collegiate game, Lomax threw for 474 yards with five touchdown passes as PSU waxed [[Weber State Wildcats football|Weber State]] 75–0 to finish at 8–3; he ended his college career  with more than {{convert|13200|yd|mi|abbr=off}} passing and over a hundred touchdown passes.<ref name=fvtdfy>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5vhVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9uEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3992%2C7108324 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=wire service reports |title=Lomax gets 5 TDs. 474 yards |date=November 23, 1980 |page=8C}}</ref>

Lomax also had a game at Division II [[Northern Colorado Bears football|Northern Colorado]] in 1979 where he was 44/77 for 499 yards passing.<ref name=getrec>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1ABWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1286%2C3427772|work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=wire service reports |title=Lomax gets records, UNC gets win |date=October 21, 1979 |page=8B}}</ref> As of 2012, that game ranks fourth all-time at Portland State for yards thrown in a game.  
He graduated with a <!--Bachelor of Science-->degree in communications in 1981. He was inducted into the [[Portland State University|Portland State]] Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and had his #11 retired by the university.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://goviks.com/honors/portland-state-athletics-hall-of-fame/neil-lomax/34|work=Portland State University|title=Neil Lomax (1997) - Portland State Athletics Hall of Fame|access-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref>

=== College statistics ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Season
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="7"| Passing
|-
! {{abbr|Cmp|Passes completed}} !! {{abbr|Att|Passes attempted}} !! {{abbr|Pct|Completion percentage}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Passing yards}} !! {{abbr|Y/A|Yards per passing attempt}} !! {{abbr|TD|Passing touchdowns}} !! {{abbr|Int|Interceptions}}
|-
! [[1977 NCAA Division II football season|1977]] || Portland State
| 102 || 181 || 56.4 || 1,670 || '''9.2''' || 18 || '''5'''
|-
! [[1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season|1978]] || [[1978 Portland State Vikings football team|Portland State]]
| 241 || 436 || 55.3 || 3,506 || 8.0 || 26 || 22
|-
! [[1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season|1979]] || [[1979 Portland State Vikings football team|Portland State]]
| '''299''' || '''516''' || 58.0 || 3,950 || 7.7 || 26 || 16
|-
! [[1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season|1980]] || [[1980 Portland State Vikings football team|Portland State]]
| 296 || 473 || '''62.6''' || '''4,094''' || 8.7 || '''37''' || 12 
|-
! colspan="2"| Career || 938 || 1,606 || 58.4 || 13,220 || 8.2 || 107 || 55
|}

==Professional career==
Lomax was selected by the [[1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|St. Louis Cardinals]] in the [[1981 NFL draft#Round two|second round]] of the [[1981 NFL draft]], the 33rd overall pick. Despite his college heroics, he had an up-and-down nine-year career for some very mediocre Cardinals teams, displaying brilliance in his two Pro Bowl years (1984 and 1987), but also occasionally playing poorly enough to be benched.

In Lomax' first season in [[1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|1981]], he played in 14 games while starting seven of them (with 15-year veteran [[Jim Hart (American football)|Jim Hart]] starting the other nine), going 4–3 while throwing four touchdowns and ten interceptions while passing for 1,575 yards on a 50.4 completion percentage. In the strike-shortened nine-game season of 1982, Lomax started every game, passing for 1,367 yards for five touchdowns and six interceptions while having a 53.2 completion percentage. Lomax started the playoff game that the Cardinals had against the [[Green Bay Packers]], throwing 32-of-51 for 385 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, but the Cardinals lost 41–16. It was his only playoff appearance.

Lomax started 13 games the following year while Hart started the other three. He went 7–5–1 while throwing for 2,636 yards with 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for a 59.0% completion percentage, but the team failed to return to the postseason, finishing 8–7–1 after starting the season 1–5.

On January 3, 1984, the Cardinals released Jim Hart and Lomax became the permanent starter, starting in every game, and he had his best season yet, throwing for 4,614 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions on a 61.6% completion percentage, all career highs. His passing yards rank 20th all-time for a season. He was named to the Pro Bowl that year. Although the Cardinals finished 9–7, the head-to-head record with the [[New York Giants]] and the [[Dallas Cowboys]] (for which the Cardinals went a combined 2–2, along with losing the season finale against the [[Washington Redskins]]) meant that St. Louis lost out on a playoff spot. Lomax started in each game again in 1985, but the team went 5–11, as he threw for 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 3,214 yards and a 56.3% completion percentage. For 1986, Lomax started 14 games while [[Cliff Stoudt]] started the other two, with the former going 4–9–1 over the latter's 0–2 record. He threw for 2,583 yards while having 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on a 57.0% completion percentage. The following season was both Lomax's penultimate year as a Cardinal and the final one for the team in St. Louis. He started in 12 games, with [[Shawn Halloran]] (who started two games and went 1–1) and [[Sammy Garza]] (who started one game, losing it) doing the others; Lomax went 6-6 while throwing for 3,387 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a 59.4% completion percentage. He was named to the Pro Bowl that year. In his final year in 1988, the Cardinals' first in Arizona, Lomax started 14 games (while [[Cliff Stoudt]] started two others) and went 7–7, throwing for 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for 3,395 yards and a 57.6 completion percentage.

Lomax was forced to retire before the 1990 season (after missing all of 1989) due to a severely [[arthritis|arthritic]] hip. In 1991, he underwent [[hip replacement surgery]]. Lomax finished with a career record of 47–52–2, 136 touchdowns, and over 22,000 yards passing, with those categories (along with completions and attempts) being second most as a Cardinal, after Hart.

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#ff0; width:3em;"|
| [[Pro Bowl]] appearance
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

=== Regular season ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="3"| Games
! colspan="9"| Passing
! colspan="5"| Rushing
|-
! GP !! GS !! Record !! Cmp !! Att !! Pct !! Yds !! Avg !! TD !! Int !! Lng !! Rtg !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! [[1981 NFL season|1981]] !! [[1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 14 || 7 || 4−3 || 119 || 236 || 50.4 || 1,575 || 6.7 || 4 || 10 || 75 || 59.9 || 19 || 104 || '''5.5''' || 22 || 2
|-
! [[1982 NFL season|1982]] !! [[1982 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 9 || 9 || 5−4 || 109 || 205 || 53.2 || 1,367 || 6.7 || 5 || 6 || 42 || 70.1 || 28 || 119 || 4.3 || 19 || 1
|-
! [[1983 NFL season|1983]] !! [[1983 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 13 || 13 || 7−5–1 || 209 || 354 || 59.0 || 2,636 || 7.4 || 24 || 11 || 71 || 92.0 || 27 || 127 || 4.7 || '''35''' || 2
|-
! style="background:#ffff00"|[[1984 NFL season|1984]] !! [[1984 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || '''9−7''' || '''345''' || '''560''' || '''61.6''' || '''4,614''' || '''8.2''' || '''28''' || '''16''' || 83 || '''92.5''' || '''35''' || '''184''' || 5.3 || 20 || '''3'''
|-
! [[1985 NFL season|1985]] !! [[1985 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 5−11 || 265 || 471 || 56.3 || 3,214 || 6.8 || 18 || 12 || 47 || 79.5 || 32 || 125 || 3.9 || 23 || 0
|-
! [[1986 NFL season|1986]] !! [[1986 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 14 || 14 || 4–9–1 || 240 || 421 || 57.0 || 2,583 || 6.1 || 13 || 12 || 48 || 73.6 || '''35''' || 148 || 4.2 || 18 || 1
|-
! style="background:#ffff00;"|[[1987 NFL season|1987]] !! [[1987 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 12 || 12 || 6−6 || style="background:#cfecec;"|275 || style="background:#cfecec;"|463 || 59.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"|3,387 || 7.3 || 24 || 12 || 57 || 88.5 || 29 || 107 || 3.7 || 19 || 0
|-
! [[1988 NFL season|1988]] !! [[1988 Phoenix Cardinals season|PHX]]
| 14 || 14 || 7−7 || 255 || 443 || 57.6 || 3,395 || 7.7 || 20 || 11 || '''93''' || 86.7 || 17 || 55 || 3.2 || 13 || 1
|-
! [[1989 NFL season|1989]] !! [[1989 Phoenix Cardinals season|PHX]]
| colspan="17"| ''Did not play due to injury''
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 108 !! 101 !! 47−52–2 !! 1,817 !! 3,153 !! 57.6 !! 22,771 !! 7.2 !! 136 !! 90 !! 93 !! 82.7 !! 222 !! 969 !! 4.4 !! 35 !! 10
|}

=== Playoffs ===
{| class="wikitable " style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="3"| Games
! colspan="9"| Passing
! colspan="5"| Rushing
|-
! GP !! GS !! Record !! Cmp !! Att !! Pct !! Yds !! Avg !! TD !! Int !! Lng !! Rtg !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! [[1982–83 NFL playoffs|1982]] !! [[1982 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 1 || 1 || 0−1 || 32 || 51 || 62.7 || 385 || 7.5 || 2 || 2 || 36 || 82.6 || 4 || 9 || 2.3 || 6 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 1 !! 1 !! 0−1 !! 32 !! 51 !! 62.7 !! 385 !! 7.5 !! 2 !! 2 !! 36 !! 82.6 !! 4 !! 9 !! 2.3 !! 6 !! 0
|}

==After football==
Lomax was the head coach for [[Fort Vancouver High School]] in [[Vancouver, Washington]] for two seasons before resigning in January 2020. He resigned as his commute from [[Wilsonville, Oregon]] was too much.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Valencia|first=Paul|date=January 6, 2020|title=Neil Lomax gives advice as he exits Fort Vancouver football {{!}} ClarkCountyToday.com|url=https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/sports/neil-lomax-gives-advice-as-he-exits-fort-vancouver-football/|access-date=October 1, 2020}}</ref>  He was the quarterbacks coach at George Fox University from 2021 to 2024.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{College Football HoF|1975}}
* {{Oregon Encyclopedia|lomax_neil_1959_}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=neil-lomax |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=L/LomaNe00 |rotoworld= }}
* [https://athletics.georgefox.edu/staff-directory/neil-lomax/225 George Fox profile]

{{Portland State Vikings quarterback navbox}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals 1981 draft navbox}}
{{Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback navbox}}
{{NFL passing yardage leaders}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lomax, Neil}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:George Fox Bruins football coaches]]
[[Category:Phoenix Cardinals players]]
[[Category:Portland State Vikings football players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals (football) players]]
[[Category:High school football coaches in Oregon]]
[[Category:High school football coaches in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:Lake Oswego High School alumni]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Lake Oswego, Oregon]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Portland, Oregon]]