Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was affectionately known as “Big Ben” throughout his tenure in the NFL, but he revealed the nickname had nothing to do with his 6-foot-5, 240-pound stature. Roethlisberger revealed on episode 36 of his Footbahlin’ podcast that the nickname came from the name of a play he threw a game-winning Hail Mary on during his college days at Miami (Ohio).
“In college, my sophomore year, I was tall but I was pretty skinny, my sophomore year we were playing Akron at home. It was the last play of the game, we had the ball on our own 25-yard yard line, I threw a Hail Mary and we caught it and won it,” Roethlisberger said. “So the play that we scored on, our coordinator put the play in, it was called Big Ben. Had nothing to do with me, it was just his play he brought with him from where he was before, like everyone goes deep. So we scored on it, so it was Big Ben strikes, like the play was called Big Ben, that’s how we’d call in. So we scored on it, and it was like ‘Big Ben strikes,’ meaning like the play Big Ben, but then people ran with it.”
You can watch the play below, courtesy of the Miami RedHawks Football Facebook account.
It wasn’t a great throw by Roethlisberger, tipped and into the hands of wide receiver Eddie Tillitz, but it secured a 30-27 win for Miami over its conference rival. While Roethlisberger remembered the play as happening in his sophomore year, it actually game during his freshman season. The origins of the Big Ben nickname had never really been revealed, but it’s a cool insight into the play call and how the nickname originated. Shane Montgomery was the offensive coordinator who called the play, one that Roethlisberger said he brought over from his time as an assistant at Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Obviously, the famous London clock is named Big Ben, which makes for an easy nickname, and that’s seemingly where the play call name came from. The play was likely designed to be an explosive big-hitter, hence the “Big Ben strikes” headline that Roethlisberger said helped the nickname become history.
While Roethlisberger is more remembered for his heroics with Pittsburgh, it was his impressive career at Miami that helped him rise from mid-major standout to NFL superstar with his selection in the first round of the NFL draft. During that Big Ben play that led Miami to a win, Roethlisberger threw for 399 yards and a touchdown in just the sixth game of his collegiate career. He was prolific at Miami, finishing ninth in Heisman voting during his junior season, which also ended up being his last year at the school.
In total, Roethlisberger threw for 10,829 yards and 84 touchdowns during his time with the RedHawks, which led to the Steelers drafting him 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. Roethlisberger led Miami to a 27-11 record during his three years as its starting quarterback and parlayed that success into becoming a two-time Super Bowl champion in the NFL.
It’s fun to ponder whether Roethlisberger would’ve gotten the nickname had that play failed, which it seemed like it would’ve if not for a favorable tip right into the hands of Tillitz. Either way though, Roethlisberger would still hold a favorable place in the hearts of many Steelers fans, returning the organization to prominence after two decades without a Super Bowl win.
You can watch the full episode of Footbahlin, with guest Jerome Bettis, below.
