Tony Romo
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| Tony Romo | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | April 21, 1980 (age 26) |
| Place of birth |  San Diego, California |
| College | Eastern Illinois |
| Pro Bowls | 2007 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2003-present | Dallas Cowboys |
Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo (born April 21, 1980, in San Diego) is a professional football player. He is currently the starting quarterback for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe in Week 7 of the 2006 season.
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[edit] College career
Tony Romo attended college at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, where he was a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity. In 1999, Romo appeared in three games, completing 24-of-49 passes for 396 yards and three touchdowns, as a redshirt freshman. As a sophomore in 2000, Romo ranked second in Division I-AA in passing efficiency, completing 164-of-278 passes for 2,583 yards and 27 touchdowns. After the season, he was honored as an All-America honorable mention, an All-Ohio Valley Conference member, and the OVC Player of the Year. As a junior, he led Division I-AA in passing efficiency, completing 138-of-207 passes for 2,068 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was selected to the AP All-America third team, All-Ohio Valley Conference first team and the OVC Player of the Year.
On December 19, 2002, Tony Romo was the first player in Eastern Illinois and Ohio Valley Conference history to win the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the nation's top player at the NCAA Division I-AA level. He finished his career holding school and conference records with 85 touchdown passes. He was second in school and third in conference history with 8,212 passing yards. He was also second in school history with 584 completions and 941 attempts. As a senior, he set school and conference records for completions with 258 in 407 attempts for 3,418 yards, ranked him second in conference and third in school history for a season. He threw for 34 touchdowns and scored one rushing touchdown. Romo's 3,149 yards in total offense as a senior ranked third in school and conference history. Along with the Walter Payton Award, Romo earned consensus All-America honors. He was also selected All-Ohio Valley Conference and was named OVC Player of the Year for the third straight year.
[edit] NFL career
In 2003, Tony Romo was signed by the Dallas Cowboys under the advice of Sean Payton, the Cowboys' assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach (now head coach of the New Orleans Saints). Romo attended the 2003 NFL Scouting Combine, but, despite intriguing some scouts, went undrafted during the 2003 NFL draft. Throughout the draft, Romo was assured by Sean Payton of the Cowboys' interest, and shortly afterwards was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent. Romo entered the 2003 training camp third on the Cowboys' depth chart behind Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson. In 2004, the Cowboys released quarterback Chad Hutchinson and signed veteran quarterback Vinny Testaverde and traded a 3rd round draft pick to the Houston Texans for quarterback Drew Henson. Romo faced being cut from the roster until Quincy Carter was released following allegations of substance abuse. After Vinny Testaverde's tenure in Dallas ended in 2005, the Cowboys signed veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the 8th starting quarterback of the Cowboys since 2000.
Romo had strong showings in the 2005 and 2006 pre-seasons. In the 2006 off-season, Sean Payton (now head coach of the New Orleans Saints), offered a third round draft pick for Romo, but Jerry Jones refused, asking for no less than a second round draft pick. Romo eventually took over the starting quarterback role during the 2006 season after half time against the New York Giants during Monday Night Football on October 23.
[edit] 2006 season
Romo's first NFL pass resulted in a 33 yard completion to Sam Hurd vs. the Houston Texans on October 15, 2006. During the same game, Romo threw his first NFL touchdown pass to Terrell Owens. The following week, Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe for the start of the second half on October 23, 2006 on Monday Night Football. His first pass was a tipped pass intercepted by the New York Giants. His game stats in only his second NFL appearance were: 14 completions on 25 attempts for 227 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Two days later, on October 25, Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells announced that Romo would be the starting quarterback for their October 29 game against the Carolina Panthers on NBC Sunday Night Football. Romo led the Cowboys to victory in his first game as a starter, 35-14. In that game, Romo was Sunday Night Football's "Rock Star of the Game."
On November 19, 2006 Tony Romo led the Cowboys past the Indianapolis Colts, the NFL's last unbeaten team. Romo completed 19 of 23 passes as the Cowboys topped the Colts 21-14. Four days later, Romo helped the Cowboys win in a Thanksgiving Day NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by the score of 38-10. Romo went 22-29 with 306 yards and five touchdown passes without an interception, becoming the highest rated quarterback in the league. He tied a franchise record for touchdown passes in a game set by several others, most recently Troy Aikman. For his performance, he was awarded FOX's Galloping Gobbler award as the Thanksgiving Day MVP.
Romo has also helped the Cowboys clinch a playoff berth, the second since Bill Parcells became the coach in 2003. He concluded the 2006 regular reason with 220 completions on 337 pass attempts for 2,903 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, with a passer rating of 95.1.
[edit] Personal life
Romo is a third-generation Mexican American on his father's side. His grandfather, Ramiro Romo Sr., emigrated from Múzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico to San Antonio, Texas as an adolescent. The elder Romo cites Tony's success as an example of the possibilities afforded to immigrants in the United States: "I've always said this is a country of opportunities. If you don't get a job or an education, it's because you don't want to." [1] Romo's mother is of Polish-German descent.
Romo was born in San Diego, where his father was serving in the military, but his family returned to their home in Burlington, Wisconsin when he was 2 years old. Playing quarterback for the Burlington Demons his junior and senior year of High School, he was unable to lead the team to a winning record, though he did make the All-Racine County football team and was honorable mention all-state in basketball.
He is an avid amateur golfer, and attempted to qualify for the 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship and the 2005 U.S. Open, but missed the cut. During the offseason, when not training, he is known to play golf around Dallas.
Romo is also a frequent guest on local sports radio programs. Beginning in 2006, he has been the co-host of "Inside The Huddle", a one-hour player commentary show that airs on ESPN Radio on KESN-FM in Dallas along with linebacker Bradie James.
He is beloved by his alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, where he was also a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity. The university has had few professional athletes in its history. Mike Shanahan, coach of the Denver Broncos, also played quarterback for Eastern Illinois University. In addition to Shanahan, NFL coaches Sean Payton and Brad Childress have played for the university.
[edit] References
- ^ David Flores. "Romo's grandparents revel in his first game as Cowboys' starting QB", San Antonio Express-News, 2006-11-02. Retrieved on November 29, 2006.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Drew Bledsoe |
Dallas Cowboys starting quarterbacks 2006- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Brian Westbrook |
Walter Payton Award winner 2002 |
Succeeded by Jamaal Branch |
