G. J. Kinne

G. J. Kinne
No. 15 Saskatchewan Roughriders
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1988-12-01) December 1, 1988
Place of birth: Mesquite, Texas
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school: Gilmer (TX)
College: Tulsa
Undrafted: 2012
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
CFL status: International
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Gary Joe "G.J." Kinne III (born December 1, 1988) is an American football quarterback who is currently signed to the roster of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football at Tulsa. Kinne converted from quarterback to wide receiver in 2015 in hopes of making the Philadelphia Eagles roster. He was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL in 2016, and later signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in June, 2016.

Early years

Kinne was born in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb just east of Dallas, to Gary Joe Kinne and Jocelyne Carter. His father was a former standout linebacker at Baylor University and later an assistant coach at Allen High School, Kaufman High School, and was the defensive coordinator at Mesquite High School. In 2003 his father accepted the head coaching job at Canton High School in East Texas, a town about 70 miles east of Dallas. Kinne became the starting quarterback of the Eagle varsity football team as a freshman. In his first game against rival Grand Saline High School, Kinne played well and exhibited a strong arm and good accuracy despite a 20–13 loss. It would be a rare loss as he led Canton High to its first playoff victory since 1964 and finished the year as Class AAA area finalists with an 8–4 record. He was named All East Texas and was named The Tyler Morning Telegraph's East Texas Newcomer of the year. As a sophomore he led CHS to another good season with an 8–2 record but narrowly missed the playoffs.

Attempted murder of father

In the spring of 2005, Kinne's father, who was also his coach at Canton High, was shot in the chest by the disgruntled parent of one of the players he coached. According to police reports, Jeffery Doyle Robertson, the father of a player who had often complained to coaches and administrators regarding the way his son was treated, walked into the Canton Fieldhouse and shot Coach Kinne at point blank range. Robertson then fled in his pickup truck and headed east towards Tyler, Texas. Kinne, Sr. was on the phone with another coach who was at another school when he was shot. Kinne, Jr. was taken by police into protective custody, and then told that his father had died when in fact he had survived despite being given only a 10% chance to live.[1][2] Robertson was later apprehended in an area north of Tyler near Interstate 20 where he had slashed his wrists in an apparent suicide attempt. Robertson was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.[3]

Senior year

After the shooting, Kinne stayed one more year at Canton High, leading the team to its best season in school history with a 12–2 record, losing to Tatum High School, the eventual state champion. After the 2005 season, Kinne's father, who had recovered from his wounds, was offered a job at Baylor University, which he accepted. Kinne then decided to move to Gilmer, Texas about 70 miles to the east of Canton, to live with his mother and step-father. The decision to move was controversial as many speculated that Kinne moved for athletic reasons, which is prohibited by the UIL, the governing body of Texas High school athletics. Kinne enrolled at Gilmer High School and became the starting quarterback, leading the Buckeyes to a 10-0 record, but was upset in the first round of the playoffs by Liberty-Eylau High School. He finished his career with 11,695 passing yards and 130 touchdown passes. He also rushed 3,327 yards with 48 touchdowns.

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
G.J. Kinne
QB		 Gilmer, Texas Gilmer High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 4.6 Dec 28, 2006 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 38 (QB)   Rivals: 15 (QB), 58 (TX)  ESPN: 25 (QB)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Kinne committed to Texas on December 28, 2006.[4] Kinne also received football scholarships from Baylor, Florida, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Tennessee.[5]

College career

Kinne attended the University of Texas at Austin as a redshirt freshman in 2007, but was buried in the depth chart and decided to transfer. On May 7, 2008 he announced that he would transfer to the University of Tulsa.[6] After sitting out 2008 due to transfer rules, Kinne became the starting quarterback for the Golden Hurricane in 2009 and remained the starter throughout his career. He finished his career with 9,472 yards and 81 touchdowns, and was named most valuable player in the 2012 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Professional career

New York Jets

Kinne signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2012.[7] He was waived on June 28.[8]

Omaha Nighthawks

Kinne joined the roster of the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League for their 2012 season. The United Football League folded later that year.[9]

San Antonio Talons

Kinne signed with the San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League in December 2012.[10]

Philadelphia Eagles

On February 28, 2013, Kinne signed with the Philadelphia Eagles,[11] and he was released on August 30, 2013. On October 22, 2013 Kinne was re-signed to the Eagles practice squad because of injuries to both of its top quarterbacks, Michael Vick and Nick Foles.[12][13] Kinne was signed to a futures contract with the Eagles in January 2014. He was released on August 30, but signed to the practice squad the next day. Kinne signed a futures contract with the Eagles on December 30, 2014.[14] He converted to wide receiver in May 2015.[15] On Sunday August 30, 2015, Kinne was again waived by the Eagles.

New York Giants

On September 9, 2015, Kinne was signed by the New York Giants and was placed on the practice squad.[16] On September 16, 2015, he was released by the Giants.[17] On September 30, 2015, he was re-signed to the Giants' practice squad.[18] On January 4, 2016, Kinne signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants.[19] On May 5, 2016, the Giants waived Kinne.[20]

Calgary Stampeders

Kinne signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on June 13, 2016.[21] Less than a week later, on June 19, 2016, Kinne was released by the Stamps.[22]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL) on June 24, 2016.[23] Kinne made his CFL debut in the final game of the 2016 CFL season completing 4 of 11 pass attempts for 24 yards.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Eric Bailey (August 5, 2009). "Shot of reality: Attack on father makes TU QB mentally tough". Tulsa World.
  2. ↑ Dan Hanzus (May 1, 2012). "G.J. Kinne comes to Jets with incredible backstory". www.nfl.com. NFL.
  3. ↑ Ed Thomas, Iowa Aplington-Parkersburg high school football coach, is shot to death - ESPN
  4. ↑ "G.J. Kinne". www.rivals.com. Yahoo!. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  5. ↑ "G.J. Kinne Profile". www.scout.com. MSN. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Down on depth chart, Texas QB Kinne to transfer to Tulsa". www.espn.go.com. ESPN.
  7. ↑ Jets Media Relations Department (30 April 2012). "10 Undrafted FAs, 23 Tryouts Announced". New York Jets. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  8. ↑ Vrentas, Jenny (28 June 2012). "Jets waive G.J. Kinne and Ray Willis". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "5 former Huskers on Omaha Nighthawks roster". www.omaha.com. Omaha World Herald. September 20, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  10. ↑ Richard Oliver (December 20, 2012). "Talons sign former Tulsa QB Kinne". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Report: Eagles to sign QB Kinne". Yahoo! Sports. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  12. ↑ "Source: Eagles to add QB Kinne to prax squad", Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, October 21, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Eagles sign G.J. Kinne to practice squad", NJ.com, October 22, 2013.
  14. ↑ "G.J. Kinne". kffl.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  15. ↑ Dutton, Neil (May 28, 2015). "EAGLES QB G.J. KINNE MAKES SWITCH TO WR". fantasypros.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  16. ↑ Eisen, Michael (September 9, 2015). "Giants sign LB Jasper Brinkley, add 2 to practice squad". Giants.com. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  17. ↑ Eisen, Michael (September 16, 2015). "Giants add three players to practice squad". Giants.com. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  18. ↑ Eisen, Michael (September 30, 2015). "Giants add WR Tavarres King, QB G.J. Kinne to practice squad". Giants.com. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  19. ↑ Raanan, Jordan (January 4, 2016). "Giants sign 6 players to reserve/future contracts". NJ.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  20. ↑ Eisen, Michael (May 5, 2016). "Giants waive TE Jerome Cunningham, safety G.J. Kinne". Giants.com. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Stampeders make roster moves". Calgary Stampeders. 2016-06-13. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  22. ↑ "Calgary Stampeders' head coach Dave Dickenson explains final roster moves". Calgary Herald. 2016-06-21. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  23. ↑ "Roughriders add 2 more quarterbacks to roster". CBC News. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  24. ↑ "G.J. Kinne is ready to make his Saskatchewan Roughriders debut". Regina Leader-Post. 2016-11-03. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
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