A 6-foot, 2-inch quarterback, Klingler rewrote numerous college passing records for the
Houston Cougars from 1988 to 1991. On November 17, 1990, Klingler threw for an
all-Divisions record 11 touchdown passes for a single quarterback against
Eastern Washington at the
Astrodome (since equaled at the
NAIA level by Lee Kirkland of
Pikeville in 2024), and on December 2 set the
NCAA (Division I) record for most yards gained in a single game, 716 (since surpassed by
Connor Halliday in 2014 and later
Patrick Mahomes in
2016). In his four seasons at Houston, he completed 726 of 1,262 passes for 9,430 yards and 91 touchdowns, all of which were school records at the time. Klingler set the
NCAA record for touchdown passes in a season with 54 in 1990. His single-season touchdown pass record stood for 16 years until it was broken in the 2006
Hawaii Bowl by
University of Hawaii quarterback
Colt Brennan with 58, though Brennan needed three more games than Klingler to break the record. Klingler made a valiant push to win the
Heisman Trophy (following in the footsteps of fellow Cougar
Andre Ware) but was eventually beaten by
Ty Detmer of
BYU and
Raghib Ismail (runner-up) of
Notre Dame. Klingler remained a stand-out for the University of Houston and still ranks in the FBS top ten for career touchdown passes and yards.
College career ==Professional career==