BIOGRAPHY
Brent Qvale was born on March 11, 1991, in Williston, North Dakota. He is an offensive tackle for the New York Jets of the NFL. He was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He played college football at Nebraska.
Qvale came to Nebraska from Williston High School and was the Huskers' first signee from the North Dakota high school ranks since Darin Duin in 1988. He was the first scholarship football player from North Dakota since Darin Erstad joined the squad as a punter from the NU baseball team in 1994.
Qvale was a multi-sport standout at Williston High. As a senior, he helped Williston and Coach Todd Matthews to a 7-4 record and a trip to the second round of the state playoffs. Qvale dominated on the offensive line and was named the Gatorade North Dakota Player of the Year and was first-team all-state as an offensive tackle. The all-state honors marked the third straight year Qvale picked up first-team all-state recognition as an offensive lineman.
Qvale was a first-team all-state pick in basketball his last two years of high school. As a senior, he averaged more than 21 points and 12 rebounds per game. He also captured the state shot put title his final three years, including a toss of 57-5 as a junior. Qvale only visited Nebraska, but chose the Huskers over offers from numerous schools, including Wisconsin and Iowa. Qvale also carried a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in the classroom.
During first year of college in 2009, he redshirted as Nebraska coaches considered the possibility of Qvale bypassing a redshirt, but a shoulder injury forced him to the sideline early in the fall. On 2010, as a redshirt freshman, Qvale played in all 14 games as a redshirt freshman as a reserve guard behind Keith Williams and Ricky Henry, and also as a member of Nebraska's PAT and field goal units. Qvale helped Nebraska rank atop the Big 12 and in the top 10 nationally in rushing offense.
During sophomore season in 2011, Qvale played in every game except Penn State when he was sidelined by injury. In addition to action at guard, Qvale was a regular on NU's PAT and field-goal units. At 2012, as a junior, Qvale held down the left tackle spot and helped the Husker offense rank as one of the nation’s top units. The offensive line paved the way for junior I-back Ameer Abdullah to rush for 1,137 yards, while quarterback Taylor Martinez ran for 1,019 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Nebraska averaged better than 250 rushing yards per game, while racking up more than 430 yards in total offense 12 times in 14 games.
On the course of 2013 as a senior, Qvale played in every game in 2013, including starting the final five games at left tackle. He was part of a three-man tackle rotation for the entire season with fellow seniors Andrew Rodriguez and Jeremiah Sirles. Following injuries to several guards, Rodriguez moved inside and Sirles flipped to right tackle, leaving the left tackle spot to Qvale.
The play of the offensive line helped junior I-back Ameer Abdullah rush for 1,590 yards, the most by a Husker since 1997. Nebraska rushed for better than 250 yards in five games, and the line solidified an offense that started three different quarterbacks.
Qvale had a try-out with the New York Jets in training camp and was subsequently signed. He suffered a concussion that limited his playing time and did not make the final roster. He was added to the Jets' practice squad at the end of training camp. Qvale signed a reserve/future contract with the team on December 30, 2014.
In 2015, the Jets had Qvale try out for the team at guard. Qvale made the Jets' 53-man active roster at the start of the 2015 season.
He started two games in 2018 while also appearing on special teams. He signed a one-year deal with New York worth a base salary of $1 million.
Qvale has spent his entire professional career with the Jets. He joined the franchise as an undrafted free agent in 2014, spent that season on the practice squad then joined the roster in 2015. He has played in 60 games with 14 starts over the last four seasons.
