Gino Torretta

Last updated

Gino Torretta
Gino.torretta.jpg
Torretta in 1993
No. 13
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1970-08-10) August 10, 1970 (age 53)
Pinole, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school: Pinole Valley
College: Miami (FL) (1989–1992)
NFL draft: 1993  / Round: 7 / Pick: 192
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:16
Passing completions:5
Completion percentage:31.3%
TDINT:1–1
Passing yards:41
Passer rating:35.4
Player stats at PFR

Gino Louis Torretta (born August 10, 1970) is an American former football player who was a quarterback for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1992 and was a member of the national championship teams of 1989 and 1991. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 1993 NFL Draft and was a member of several NFL teams, but never became a regular starter as a pro. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. [1]

Contents

Early life

Torretta was born in Pinole, California. He graduated from Pinole Valley High School, where he was a standout high school football quarterback for the Pinole Spartans.

College career

Torretta accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Miami, where he played for the Miami Hurricanes football team from 1989 to 1992.

1989 and 1990 seasons

As a quarterback for the Hurricanes, Torretta spent his first two seasons mostly on the bench behind then starting quarterback Craig Erickson, with his only significant playing time coming with three starts in 1989 after Erickson injured his throwing hand. During that span, however, the then-unknown Torretta lit up San Diego State for 485 yards, setting a school record for most passing yards in a game that was only broken on September 29, 2012 by Stephen Morris.

Sebastian the Ibis incident

Prior to an October 28, 1989 game against long-standing rival Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, University of Miami mascot Sebastian the Ibis was tackled by a group of police officers for attempting to put out Osceola and Renegade's flaming spear. Sebastian was wearing a fireman’s helmet and yellow raincoat and holding a fire extinguisher. When a police officer attempted to grab the fire extinguisher, the officer was sprayed in the chest. Sebastian was handcuffed by four officers and detained but ultimately released. Torretta, who started that game for Miami, later told ESPN, "Even if we weren't bad boys, it added to the mystique that, 'Man, look, even their mascot's getting arrested.'" [2]

1991 season

In his first year as a starter, Torretta garnered further attention by stealing the show in a nationally televised 1991 game versus the Houston Cougars and their Heisman-frontrunning quarterback, David Klingler. As Miami's defense stymied Houston's run-and-shoot offense with relentless blitzing, Torretta put on the performance that many expected out of Klingler en route to a 40–10 victory; Klingler's lone touchdown pass in the game came with three seconds left in the fourth quarter against Miami's third-string defense, long after the game was decided. Torretta went on to lead Miami to a fourth-quarter comeback win on the road versus #1 Florida State and ultimately to an undefeated season and a co-national championship.

1992 season

Torretta passed for more than 3,000 yards his senior year in 1992 on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy and the Davey O'Brien Award that season. He also won the Walter Camp Award, the Maxwell Award, the Johnny Unitas Trophy, and the Chic Harley Award. One of the key games of the season came against West Virginia when he threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns in the 35–23 victory. His career as quarterback at Miami was hugely successful, with Torretta leading the team to 26 wins and only one loss, which came in the 1993 Sugar Bowl where the Hurricanes were dominated by the Alabama Crimson Tide's defense. Torretta was flummoxed by Alabama's 11-man fronts, and threw three interceptions after only throwing four all season. Alabama won the game, 34–13, and the national championship.

College statistics

SeasonTeamCmpAttPctYdsTDInt
1989 Miami 10117757.11,32588
1990 Miami 214151.221001
1991 Miami 20537155.33,095208
1992 Miami 22840256.73,060197

Professional career

1993–1994

Despite his collegiate-level success, Torretta was not regarded as a high-level NFL prospect; his NFL career was fairly unremarkable. He was not selected until the Minnesota Vikings took him in the seventh round in the 1993 NFL Draft and then did not play him at all that year. [3] In 1994, Torretta was on the Vikings' roster, and then was picked up by the Detroit Lions. As was the case in 1993, he failed to play at all in 1994, serving the entire season in a backup role with the Lions.

1995–1999

In 1995, Torretta moved to NFL Europe and was also on the roster for the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions but was again relegated to backup roles. He was cut by the 49ers in 1996 and subsequently picked up by the Seattle Seahawks. His only chance to play in an NFL game came in the 1996 season finale when he came off the bench for the Seahawks against the Oakland Raiders. He immediately threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway that put Seattle ahead, leading the team to victory.

In 1997, Torretta was on the roster for Seattle and later the Indianapolis Colts but again did not play. After a brief stint with Kansas City in 1999, he retired from the NFL.

Post-football career

Torretta followed his NFL career with a position at Wachovia Securities as a senior financial advisor. He is chairman and CEO of Touchdown Radio, broadcasting an NCAA game of the week on national radio. He is also an NCAA football expert on Sirius XM channel 91, College Sports Nation.

Torretta is vice president for GAMCO Asset Management, working with institutional clients nationwide and working out of the firm's Palm Beach office.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinny Testaverde</span> American football player (born 1963)

Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami, where he earned consensus All-American and won the Heisman Trophy in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernie Kosar</span> American football player (born 1963)

Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, leading the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993, the Dallas Cowboys in 1993, and Miami Dolphins from 1994 to 1996. He was the backup quarterback on the 1993 Cowboys team that won Super Bowl XXVIII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Dorsey</span> American football player and coach (born 1981)

Kenneth Simon Dorsey is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he won the national championship and the Maxwell Award in 2001. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft, later playing for the Cleveland Browns and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), before retiring in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Hurricanes football</span> University of Miami American football team

The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of collegiate football in the nation. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the five Power Five conferences in college football. The program began in 1926. Since then, it has since won five AP national championships in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Wright (American football)</span> American football player (born 1984)

Kyle Wright is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and was also a member of the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at the University of Miami.

John Jenkins is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach the University of Houston from 1990 to 1992, compiling a record of 18–15. A proponent of the run and shoot offense, Jenkins also coached professional football in the United States Football League (USFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL). He served as the head coach of the CFL's Ottawa Renegades in 2006, the FXFL's Blacktips in 2014 and the Hudson Valley Fort for part of 2015. During his career as a coach, Jenkins has mentored a number of notable quarterbacks such as Andre Ware, David Klingler, Jim Kelly, Eric Crouch, Kliff Kingsbury, Anthony Calvillo and Doug Flutie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarvaris Jackson</span> American football player (1983–2020)

Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Alabama State Hornets. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft.

David Ryan Klingler is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six years in the National Football League (NFL) and current Associate Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary. He played college football for the Houston Cougars, earning third-team All-American honors in 1990. Klingler was selected in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, but his career was cut short by an elbow injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 Miami Hurricanes football team</span> American college football season

The 1989 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 64th season of football. The Hurricanes were led by first-year head coach Dennis Erickson and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 11–1 overall. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl where they defeated Alabama, 33–25, to win the school's third national championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Bradford</span> American football player (born 1987)

Samuel Jacob Bradford is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, and Arizona Cardinals.

Frank Costa is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes from 1991 to 1994.

The 1994 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 29th season of existence and 25th in the National Football League (NFL). On March 23, the NFL approved the transfer of majority interest in the team from the Robbie family to Wayne Huizenga. The team's playoff win on New Year's Eve 1994 vs. Kansas City is now famous as the last NFL game that Joe Montana ever played, as the superstar QB retired in the off-season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State–Miami football rivalry</span> American college football rivalry

The Florida State–Miami football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Florida State Seminoles football team of Florida State University and Miami Hurricanes football team of the University of Miami. Since the late 1980s, one or both squads have been highly ranked entering the game, adding national championship implications to an already heated rivalry. Field goal and PAT kicks have played an important role in the series with many wide right, wide left, blocks and other mistakes occurring with the game in the balance. Miami leads the series 35–33 through the 2023 season.

The 1993 Sugar Bowl took place on January 1, 1993, in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the final game of the 1992 college football season and served as the first National Championship game selected by the Bowl Coalition, predecessor to the Bowl Alliance, BCS, and later the College Football Playoff. The game featured two unbeaten teams in the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Miami Hurricanes. Alabama would get the win over Miami, 34–13, to finish the season 13-0 and lay claim to the 12th national championship in program history. It was Alabama’s first national championship since 1979.

The 1989 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the 44th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by third-year head coach Jack Pardee. Serving as offensive coordinator was John Jenkins, who succeeded Pardee as head coach following the season. The team played its games off-campus at the Astrodome, which had recently received upgrades to seat 62,439 spectators. These Cougars boasted the first squad to have a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher, and 1,000-yard receiver in FBS history, finishing the season ranked as No. 14 by the AP Poll. Junior quarterback Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy and Davey O'Brien Award following the conclusion of the season. Under probation by the NCAA from rules violated in prior seasons, Houston was ineligible for participation in a bowl game and could not be listed in the Coaches Poll. The Cougars were also barred from live television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Miami Hurricanes football team</span> American college football season

The 1992 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 67th season of football and second as a member of the Big East Conference. The Hurricanes were led by fourth-year head coach Dennis Erickson and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 11–1 overall and 4–0 in the Big East while playing a partial conference schedule. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl, which served as the Bowl Coalition National Championship Game, where they lost to Alabama, 34–13.

A system quarterback is an American football quarterback who flourishes under a particular offensive system, specifically one that focuses on passing. The term is often seen as a pejorative, for it implicitly downplays a quarterback's talent or skill by implying that a successful offense is due to a particular scheme or that a quarterback is successful due to his employment under specific circumstances. Russ Lande of Sporting News traced the term's etymology, or at least currency, to the early 1990s, when two University of Houston quarterbacks failed to carry college success into their professional careers. First, Andre Ware, in head coach Jack Pardee and offensive coordinator John Jenkins's run and shoot offense, had a record-setting 1989 season that culminated in a Heisman Trophy. He was the seventh overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, but did not have success in either the National Football League or the Canadian Football League. David Klingler took over for Ware at UH and was the sixth overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft. He too, failed to find exceptional success in the NFL.

Wide Right II is a colloquial name for the 1992 college football game between the Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles. The game is notable in the Florida State–Miami football rivalry and derives its name from the colloquial name Wide Right I, played during the immediately preceding season. Like its predecessor, the game had decisive national championship implications and ended with a Florida State kicker missing a game-altering field goal in the waning seconds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Browning</span> American football player (born 1996)

Jacob Christopher Browning is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Young</span> American football player (born 2001)

Bryce Young is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, setting the school record for most passing yards in a single game (559) and winning several player of the year awards in 2021, including the Heisman Trophy. Young was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2023 NFL draft.

References

  1. "Brown, Torretta in new Hall class". ESPN.com. April 30, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  2. "The true story of Sebastian the Ibis, a fire extinguisher and a near arrest". October 30, 2019.
  3. "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.