Everything You Need To Know About Vinny Testaverde

Vinny Testaverde is an American football former quarterback who played for seven NFL teams, a Heisman Trophy winner and national championship winner with the Miami Hurricanes, and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Here's Everything You Need To Know About Vinny Testaverde.

Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. was born on November 13, 1963, in Brooklyn. His childhood and adolescence was spent in various towns in the state of New York, he graduated from high school on Long Island. Vinny then spent another year at Fork Union Military School in Virginia, preparing for college. He was offered an athletic scholarship to the University of Miami.

Vinny's college career lasted a rare five years by today's standards, from 1982 to 1986. He spent his first season as a redshirt freshman, throwing just twelve assists for the year. Testaverde then sat behind Bernie Kosar for two seasons, managing to win a championship in 1983. His place in the history of the university and college football was secured by the final two seasons of his career.

In 1985, Vinny was Miami's starting quarterback and gained 3,238 yards. The following year the numbers were worse, but he went on to rank first in program history in passing touchdowns. He had a chance to bring the team another title with his own hands, but Testaverde didn't take it - in the Fiesta Bowl, Miami was favored against Penn State but lost 10-14. Vinny threw five interceptions in that game. Despite such an ignominious end to his career, he won the Heisman Trophy at the end of that season and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

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Vinny Testaverde was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the number one overall pick in the 1987 NFL draft. He was not a franchise quarterback, although he played six seasons with the Buccaneers. He is mostly remembered for his huge number of interceptions and the jeers of fans and local press over his color blindness. Some frankly thought he was an idiot. In 1993, he changed teams, signing with Cleveland. Here Testaverde again had to briefly sit behind Bernie Kosar, but he led the Browns to the playoffs in 1994. The team then left for Baltimore, and Vinny made history as the Ravens' first starting quarterback and author of the franchise's first touchdown. He signed with the Jets in 1998, joining the team he rooted for as a kid. That season was the best of his professional career: Testaverde threw 29 passing touchdowns with only 7 interceptions, the Jets won the division for the first time since the AFL-NFL merger and reached the conference finals. He managed to lead the team to the playoffs one more time in 2001.

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After leaving the Jets, the veteran's career moved smoothly to a close. The effects of a series of injuries took their toll. He spent the 2004 season in Dallas, his last regular season as a starting quarterback. After that there were backup positions with the same Jets, Patriots and Carolina Panthers. In December 2007, he played his last game in the NFL. He spent twenty-one seasons in the league, although he was never among the elite quarterbacks. Also Testaverde owns the "record" for the number of losses in the regular season - 123.

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Vinny now lives in Tampa, where he works as a quarterbacks coach at a city school. His son, Vinny Jr. also tried his hand at professional football, first with the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL and then at the Buccaneers' rookie season mini-camp.