Erik Ainge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Erik Ainge | |
|---|---|
 Erik Ainge |
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| Date of birth | June 12, 1986 |
| Place of birth | Portland, Oregon |
| Position(s) | QB |
| College | Tennessee |
| Team(s) | |
| 2004–present | Tennessee |
Erik Douglas Ainge (born June 12, 1986 in Portland, Oregon) is a collegiate American football player for the University of Tennessee.
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[edit] Early career
Ainge was a star athlete at Glencoe High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. As a freshman and sophomore, he played baseball and basketball in addition to football. Ainge was the starting pitcher on his baseball team and was said to throw a 90 mph fastball. He also averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, and three assists in basketball as a junior, and as a senior was a preseason honarable mention on the Street and Smith's All-American team. He was a three-year starter at quarterback on the football team, leading the Crimson Tide as deep as the Oregon state quarterfinals. As a junior he passed for 2,559 yards and 16 touchdowns. As a senior, he passed for 3,078 yards, 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Perhaps his most impressive game as a senior came against Aloha High School, when he passed for 475 yards, 5 touchdowns and no interceptions to lead the Crimson Tide to 62 points through three quarters of action. Following his senior season Ainge was named all-state, prep star all-american, and the 2003 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year. During his senior season Ainge also became one of the highest recruited quarterbacks on the west coast receiving offers from schools like Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA, and Tennessee. He eventually signed with the University of Tennessee.
[edit] Collegiate Career
As a freshman at UT in 2004, Ainge threw 17 touchdown passes in 9 games, breaking Peyton Manning's freshman TD record of 15. His 1,452 passing yards ranked second behind Manning in UT freshman history. Ainge split time for much of the year with Brent Schaeffer, who later transferred to Ole Miss. After an injury just before halftime against Notre Dame, Ainge was replaced by Rick Clausen.
In 2005, his sophomore season, he threw 5 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions. One of his most infamous moments was in a game against LSU where he was being sacked in the end zone and flung the ball up into the air just before he was ruled down for a safety. The ball was intercepted on the 2 yard line and ran back for a touchdown. Ainge's head also rammed the goalpost on the play, tweaking his neck. The injury was not serious but he was sidelined by coach Phillip Fulmer for the remainder of the game. As a result, Senior QB Rick Clausen took over as the starting QB until the final game of the season. Ainge finished his sophomore season with a strong performance and a win at Kentucky.
As a junior in 2006, Ainge was named the starter heading into spring practice, and for the first time in his career was able to take all of the first team reps throughout the preseason. Ainge also had a new postion coach and offensive coordinator when David Cutcliffe replaced Randy Sanders. He led his team to 7-1 record before being injured in the closing minutes of a game against South Carolina. He would then miss the majority of the next two losses for Tennessee before returning to lead his team to season ending wins against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. During the season Ainge would set career highs in most statistical categories and break the Tennessee single-season record for completion percentage. He now owns a 17-5 record as a starter. The 2007 Outback Bowl will be the first bowl appearance for Ainge. He missed the 2005 Cotton Bowl due to injury, and the Vols did not qualify for a bowl game following his sophomore season.
- See also: 2006 Tennessee Volunteers football team
[edit] Honors
- Rivals.com National Freshman of the Week, September 18, 2004 (vs. Florida)[1]
- 2004 Freshman All-America The Sporting News (2nd) [2]
- SEC Offensive Freshman of the Year The Sporting News [3]
- Freshman All-SEC Coaches [4]
- 2005 Academic All-SEC [5]
- USA Today National Player of the Week, September 4, 2006 (vs. California)[6]
- SEC Offensive Player of the Week, September 11, 2006 (vs. Air Force)[7]
- SEC Offensive Player of the Week, October 2, 2006 (at Memphis)[8]
- SEC Offensive Player of the Week, October 9, 2006 (at Georgia)[9]
- Cingular All-America National Player of the Week, October 9, 2006 (at Georgia)[10]
- Walter Camp Div. I-A National Offensive Player of the Week, October 9, 2006 (at Georgia)[11]
[edit] Family
Ainge comes from a strong family history of success in athletics. His Father, Doug Ainge, attended Brigham Young University on a basketball scholarship and is currently a basketball coach at Linfield College. His grandfather, Don Ainge, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball, he declined their offer. He also earned a football/basketball scholarship to the University of Oregon in 1954-55. His uncle, Danny Ainge, is a former professional basketball and baseball player who starred in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trailblazers and Phoenix Suns, and also played Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays. Danny is currently the director of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics.
