![]() | |||||||||||
No. 8 | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Lakeland, Florida, U.S. | September 8, 1986||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Lake Gibson (Lakeland, Florida) | ||||||||||
College: | South Florida (2005–2009) | ||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2010 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
Career Arena statistics | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Player stats at ArenaFan.com |
Matt Grothe (born September 8, 1986) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at South Florida.
Grothe attended Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland, Florida and was a letterman in football. In football, he was a two-time first team Class 4A All-State selection, was named the Lakeland Ledger Player of the Year twice, and as a senior, he was named to the Super Southern 100 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was named the Class 4A Player of the Year, finished 2nd by the closest margin ever for Mr. Football in the state of Florida, and was named the Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year. Grothe led his team to the state championship football game against Armwood High School. Grothe passed for 2,700 yards and ran for 1,250 yards as a senior. He passed for 33 touchdowns and rushed for 15 touchdowns. After his senior season, he was named the 21st best prospect in Florida by the Tampa Tribune, named the 23rd best prospect in Florida by the Orlando Sentinel, and Rivals.com ranked him as the 24th best dual-threat quarterback in the country and 93rd best overall prospect in the state of Florida. Grothe graduated from Lake Gibson High School in 2005 with a 4.0 grade point average. He also began studying karate as a child and eventually obtained a 2nd degree black belt.
Grothe spent the 2005 campaign as a redshirt behind then-quarterback Pat Julmiste.
The 2006 season marked Grothe's first action on the football team after redshirting all of USF's 2005 bowl season. He won the starting quarterback spot over senior Pat Julmiste in the first game of 2006 against McNeese State. The national buzz continued for Grothe, the 2006 Big East Conference Rookie of the Year, after he led his team to an upset of No. 7 West Virginia on the road in Morgantown, West Virginia. In his first post-season appearance, he led USF to the 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl against East Carolina. Although Grothe missed the entire second half of the game with a shin injury (after being up 24–7), the Bulls claimed their first-ever bowl victory by a score of 24–7.
Sports television channel ESPN named Grothe the "biggest surprise" in all of the Big East for the 2006 football season. In total offensive yards, Grothe accumulated an average of 246 yards per game, second to only Louisville's Brian Brohm in 2006 Big East play. Nationally, he ranked seventeenth in total offense for 2006 and was the 2nd ranked freshman in the country in that category. [1]
Grothe was named to the Maxwell Award watch list, the first USF player ever named to the list. Grothe was also named to the Manning Award watch list, given to college football's top quarterback. Grothe led the Bulls to a 9–4 record in the 2007 season, including a 26–23 victory over No. 18 Auburn in Alabama on September 8, 2007(also his 21st birthday) and a 21–13 victory over No. 5 West Virginia at home on September 29, 2007. On October 14, 2007, Grothe was at the helm as the Bulls rose to a No. 2 BCS ranking in the nation, the highest school ranking in history. [2] The team ended the 2007 regular season ranked 21st in the BCS.
Grothe broke his own record for passing yards in a game with 382 in a 38–33 loss to Cincinnati, and had a career-long 80-yard touchdown run against Pittsburgh on November 24, 2007. He finished the 2007 regular season with 22 all-purpose touchdowns against only 14 interceptions.
Grothe and the Bulls accepted an invitation to the Brut Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas where they lost to the Oregon on December 31, 2007.
Entering 2008, Grothe was named to both the Maxwell Award preseason watch list and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award watch list. He finished the season with career highs in touchdown passes (18), passing yards (2,911), completions (240), and passing yards per game (223.9). He also led the team with 591 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns. Grothe led the Big East in total offense (269.4 yards per game), and ranked 21st nationally in that category.
Grothe started the 2009 season with wins against Wofford and Western Kentucky. However, on September 19, 2009, during a game against Charleston Southern University, Grothe injured his left knee just before halftime. The next day, it was announced Grothe would miss the remainder of the 2009 season due to a torn ACL.
Season | Team | GP | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | TD | |||
2006 | South Florida | 13 | 202 | 317 | 63.7 | 2,576 | 15 | 14 | 138.8 | 178 | 622 | 9 |
2007 | South Florida | 13 | 232 | 392 | 59.2 | 2,670 | 14 | 14 | 121.0 | 198 | 872 | 10 |
2008 | South Florida | 13 | 240 | 380 | 63.2 | 2,911 | 18 | 14 | 135.8 | 146 | 591 | 4 |
2009 | South Florida | 3 | 43 | 59 | 72.9 | 512 | 5 | 2 | 167.0 | 23 | 121 | 0 |
Career | 42 | 717 | 1,148 | 62.4 | 8,669 | 52 | 44 | 140.7 | 545 | 2,206 | 23 |
At South Florida, Grothe surpassed 3,000 yards of total offense in his first full season and passed for more than 2,400, breaking both school records formerly held by Marquel Blackwell. On December 1, 2006, the Sporting News magazine named Grothe the 2006 Big East Freshman of the Year, as well as naming him to the Big East All-Freshman team. The Tampa Tribune also named Grothe the Big East Rookie of the Year.
After going undrafted in the 2010 NFL draft, Grothe signed with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League on June 4, 2010. He was released by the Tuskers on September 6, 2010. [3]
On October 6, 2010, Grothe signed a practice roster agreement with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He was released by the Argonauts on November 4, 2010. As of December 8, Grothe was put back on the Argos 2011 roster. [4] On May 27, 2011, Grothe was released once more by the Argonauts.
Grothe made his Arena Football League debut on July 16, 2011. He took over in the third quarter against the Georgia Force and went on to throw 5 touchdown passes. On his first pass attempt, he connected for a 40-yard score. Former South Florida teammate Amarri Jackson caught three of Grothe's five touchdown passes. In his 2 appearances with the Storm, Grothe completed 38 passes of 67 attempts for 440 yards with 10 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
He signed with the Predators on June 6, 2012.
The 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 32 post-season games played in December 2004 and January 2005 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 14, 2004, and concluded on January 29, 2005, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.
The 2005–06 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 28 post-season games that was played in December 2005 and January 2006 for Division I-A football teams and all-stars from Divisions I-AA, II, and III, as well as from the NAIA. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 20, 2005, and concluded with the Senior Bowl, played on January 28, 2006.
Andrew Skillern Weatherford is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Florida State University from 2004 to 2008.
Patrick Christian White is an American former football quarterback. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft.
Daniel "Colt" McCoy is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, winning several awards and honors as a senior in 2009 and ranking second all-time in games won by an FBS quarterback. McCoy was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft and has also been a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, and Arizona Cardinals, primarily being used as a backup.
The South Florida Bulls football team represents the University of South Florida (USF). The Bulls began playing in 1997 and compete in the American Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Starting in 2027, the Bulls will host home games at a new $340 million on-campus stadium.
Paris Jazz Warren is a former American football wide receiver. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football at Utah.
The 2006 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, led by Bobby Petrino in his fourth year at the school, played their home games in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Playing in their second year in the Big East Conference, the team finished the regular season with eleven wins and one loss and were conference champions. They represented the Big East in the 2007 Orange Bowl and with the win ended the season with a 12–1 record. The team ended the season ranked sixth in the nation.
Eric Wicks is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at West Virginia.
The 2007 Florida Atlantic University Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Owls entered their second season as full members of the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2005 West Virginia Mountaineers football team completed the season with an 11–1 record. The Mountaineers won their third consecutive Big East title with a conference record of 7–0. They ended the season with a 38–35 Sugar Bowl win over Georgia.
The 2007 South Florida Bulls football team represented the University of South Florida (USF) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was Jim Leavitt; they played all of their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The 2007 college football season was the 11th season overall for the Bulls and their third season in the Big East Conference.
The 2007 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Head coach Tommy Tuberville returned for his ninth season at Auburn, the third longest tenure among SEC head coaches in 2007. He was joined by returning offensive coordinator Al Borges and returning defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Auburn played its eight-game home schedule at Jordan–Hare Stadium, the ninth largest on-campus stadium in the NCAA in 2007, seating 87,451. Conference foe Vanderbilt returned to the schedule while non-conference opponents South Florida and Tennessee Tech played the Tigers for the first time. The Tigers finished the season ranked #14 in the Coaches Poll and #15 in the AP Poll.
The 2007 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his fourth season with the school. The season was highlighted by the completion of their new on-campus stadium. The Knights moved out of the aging Citrus Bowl in downtown Orlando, and began playing their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium, located on the main campus of UCF in east Orlando, Florida. In addition, the team changed its nickname from "Golden Knights" back to simply "Knights." From its inception in 1979 to 1992, the football team had been known as the Knights, then used the name "Golden Knights" from 1993 until 2006.
The 2007 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was coached by Randy Edsall and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. This year the Huskies, for the first time, ended the season on the BCS rankings top 25 at #25, and at the height of their year were ranked #13, the highest at any point in their history.
Amarri Nathaniel Jackson is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent.
Anthony Steven Pike is a former American football quarterback who played for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati and was drafted by the Panthers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft.
The 2010 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was coached by Randy Edsall and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. The Huskies finished 8–5, 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference title with Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Due to victories over both schools, the Huskies earned the Big East's automatic bid to a BCS game, and were invited to the Fiesta Bowl where they were defeated by Big 12 champion Oklahoma 48–20. It was the first major-bowl appearance in the program's 115-year history.
The South Florida–UCF football rivalry, better known as the War on I-4, is an American college football rivalry between the South Florida Bulls football team of the University of South Florida and UCF Knights football team of the University of Central Florida. As of the 2022 meeting, the Knights hold a 8–6 lead in the series.
Byrum Brown is an American football quarterback who plays for the South Florida Bulls.