Growing up, Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien loved to watch the game tape of his uncle Mark winning the Super Bowl.

Mark Rypien, of course, played for the Washington Redskins for eight years, and was the team's starting quarterback from 1988 until 1993. In Rypien's time with Washington, he was a part of two Super Bowls, earning 1992 Super Bowl MVP honors in Washington's victory over the Buffalo Bills.

Brett Rypien, however, was not born until 1996. Despite not ever being able to see his uncle play for the Redskins in person, the Redskins hold a special place in his life.

"I've always kind of had that connection with watching the Redskins," Rypien said. "Knowing that he won a Super Bowl there...that's something that will forever stand in the history of that franchise."

Though he's watched all of the game tape of his uncle growing up, Rypien does not model himself after his uncle.

"You know, it's obviously a very different game," Rypien said. "I'm not gonna be doing a whole lot of straight drop back, nine-step drops, back-pedal style drops like they were doing back in the day. But, obviously, he threw a great deep ball, so that's something I try to implement in my game.

"You know, he kind of got me into football, watching him play in the Super Bowl in '91 was a really cool thing for me," Rypien added. "[That's] something that I've always strived to do since that point, watching that."

In his time at Boise State, Rypien was among the best quarterbacks in the country. As a four-year starter, he threw for over over 3,000 yards three times, and over 2,800 yards all four years of his career.

As a true freshman, Rypien beat out Ryan Finley, another quarterback prospect in this year's draft, to win the starting job. Rypien would throw for 3,350 yards and 20 touchdowns while leading the Broncos to a 9-4 record. Rypien was also named Mountain West freshman of the year and first-team all-Mountain West.

As a sophomore, Rypien led Boise State to a 10-3 season, while throwing for 3,646 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was once again named first-team all-Mountain West. As a junior, Rypien was named second-team all-Mountain West after throwing for 2,887 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading the Broncos to a 11-3 record, winning the Mountain West.

In his senior season, Rypien had career highs in both passing yards and touchdowns. He threw for 3,705 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading Boise State to a 10-3 season. Rypien was named first-team all-Mountain West for the third time in his career, and also won the Mountain West offensive player of the year.

Rypien finished his career second all-time in both career passing yards and passing touchdowns at Boise State, getting 13,578 yards and 90 touchdowns. He also contributed three rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns across his career.