Clint Stoerner
Encyclopedia
Clinton Jacob Stoerner (born December 29, 1977 in Baytown
, Texas
) is an American football
quarterback
. He is currently a free agent
.
in Baytown, Texas
, and was an excellent student and a letterman in football
, basketball
, and baseball
. In football, as a junior, he started as a wide receiver
and as a punter. As a wide receiver, he made 50 receptions for 670 yards (13.40 yards per reception avg.) and as a punter, he was named as an All-District selection. As a senior, Stoerner started as a quarterback and was an All-District selection and an All-State Honorable Mention selection. In baseball, he was an All-District selection. Stoerner graduated in 1996.
for the University of Arkansas
Razorbacks
. It was there that he was mentored by Razorback and National Football League
legend Joe Ferguson
. Stoerner would set single game records for pass attempts (52 against Alabama in 1999), pass attempts in a season (357 in 1997), career pass attempts (1,023), career pass completions (528), passing yards in a game (387 against LSU
in 1997), passing yards in a season (2,629 in 1998), touchdown passes in a season (26 in 1998), career touchdown passes (57) and consecutive passes without an interception (134).
Stoerner is widely known for fumbling the ball in a crucial SEC
game at Tennessee
. The undefeated #10 Ranked Arkansas Razorbacks were leading top-ranked Tennessee 24-22 with 1:43 to play, the Razorbacks needed only to make a first down so they could run out the clock. Stoerner stumbled coming out from the line fumbled on a second down naked bootleg play; Tennessee's Billy Ratliff recovered, and Travis Henry
scored Tennessee's winning touchdown with 28 seconds left and preserved their national championship season with 28-24 victory. Arkansas finished the season with a record of 9-3.
Stoerner is also widely known around the state of Arkansas for his passes to Anthony Lucas. "Stoerner to Lucas" to this day is a call that is widely known and loved around the state.
Stoerner did, however, gain a measure of redemption the following year in Fayetteville
. Down 24-21 late in the 4th quarter, Stoerner completed a pass over the middle to wide receiver
Anthony Lucas in the end zone
, Arkansas' defense held, and the Stoerner-led Razorbacks upset a Top 5 ranked Tennessee team 28-24. Stoerner led Arkansas to a Cotton Bowl Classic victory over the Texas Longhorns on January 1, 2000, 27-6. Arkansas finished the season with a record of 8-4.
A number of Stoerner's passing records were later eclipsed by quarterback Ryan Mallett.
with the Dallas Cowboys
. He played in five NFL
seasons; four with the Cowboys, where he was the starter
for two games in 2001. He was on the roster for one season with the Miami Dolphins
, but did not see the field. He also played two seasons in NFL Europe, for the Scottish Claymores
in 2001 and the Amsterdam Admirals
in 2004.
for the season where he was their starting quarterback. He broke nearly every AFL rookie passing record and was named the league's rookie of the year. After being released by the Desperados, Stoerner signed with the Nashville Kats
and split starting quarterback duties with Leon Murray
. He returned to the Kats in 2007, but was released after two games. He was then signed by the Philadelphia Soul
to backup Juston Wood after starting Quarterback Tony Graziani
was injured with a separated shoulder
four games into the season.
. However, he was released from his contract (along with every other AAFL player) when the league postponed its debut season.
, Texas
and Tennessee
focusing primarily on charities providing help to children with Down Syndrome
. He also devotes time every year helping children develop their football skills at several camps including the Clint Stoerner Football Camp held every summer in Fayetteville, Arkansas
and Little Rock, Arkansas
. He has one brother, Hank Stoerner.
Stoerner has also most recently opened up an Insurance agency in Central Arkansas, called the Stoerner and Havas Insurance Agency. He is an Independent Insurance agent, focussing his efforts on Property and Casualty insurance. He is a Member of the Professional Insurance Agents Association (PIA).
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
. He is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
.
High school years
Stoerner attended Robert E. Lee High SchoolRobert E. Lee High School (Baytown, Texas)
Robert E. Lee High School is a secondary school in Baytown, Texas, that serves grades 9 through 12. Lee is one of three high schools in the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District, which serves all of Baytown and Highlands, Texas. The other two are Ross S. Sterling High School and...
in Baytown, Texas
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...
, and was an excellent student and a letterman in football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. In football, as a junior, he started as a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and as a punter. As a wide receiver, he made 50 receptions for 670 yards (13.40 yards per reception avg.) and as a punter, he was named as an All-District selection. As a senior, Stoerner started as a quarterback and was an All-District selection and an All-State Honorable Mention selection. In baseball, he was an All-District selection. Stoerner graduated in 1996.
College career
After being recruited by a number of colleges and universities, Stoerner chose to play footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
Razorbacks
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the names of college sports teams at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The term Arkansas Razorbacks properly applies to any of the sports teams at the university. The Razorbacks take their name from the feral pig of the same name...
. It was there that he was mentored by Razorback and National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
legend Joe Ferguson
Joe Ferguson
Joseph Carlton Ferguson, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the NFL. Ferguson played college football at the University of Arkansas, where he still holds the school's single game record for most completions and in that same season was named the Southwest Conference's Offensive...
. Stoerner would set single game records for pass attempts (52 against Alabama in 1999), pass attempts in a season (357 in 1997), career pass attempts (1,023), career pass completions (528), passing yards in a game (387 against LSU
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...
in 1997), passing yards in a season (2,629 in 1998), touchdown passes in a season (26 in 1998), career touchdown passes (57) and consecutive passes without an interception (134).
Stoerner is widely known for fumbling the ball in a crucial SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
game at Tennessee
Tennessee Volunteers football
The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....
. The undefeated #10 Ranked Arkansas Razorbacks were leading top-ranked Tennessee 24-22 with 1:43 to play, the Razorbacks needed only to make a first down so they could run out the clock. Stoerner stumbled coming out from the line fumbled on a second down naked bootleg play; Tennessee's Billy Ratliff recovered, and Travis Henry
Travis Henry
Travis Deion Henry is a former American football running back for the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos. He was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
scored Tennessee's winning touchdown with 28 seconds left and preserved their national championship season with 28-24 victory. Arkansas finished the season with a record of 9-3.
Stoerner is also widely known around the state of Arkansas for his passes to Anthony Lucas. "Stoerner to Lucas" to this day is a call that is widely known and loved around the state.
Stoerner did, however, gain a measure of redemption the following year in Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
. Down 24-21 late in the 4th quarter, Stoerner completed a pass over the middle to wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Anthony Lucas in the end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
, Arkansas' defense held, and the Stoerner-led Razorbacks upset a Top 5 ranked Tennessee team 28-24. Stoerner led Arkansas to a Cotton Bowl Classic victory over the Texas Longhorns on January 1, 2000, 27-6. Arkansas finished the season with a record of 8-4.
A number of Stoerner's passing records were later eclipsed by quarterback Ryan Mallett.
National Football League
Stoerner was signed as an undrafted rookie free agentUndrafted
An undrafted sportsperson or undrafted free agent is specific type of sportsperson who plays, or attempts to play, in a professional sports league without first being selected in a draft....
with the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. He played in five NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
seasons; four with the Cowboys, where he was the starter
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
for two games in 2001. He was on the roster for one season with the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, but did not see the field. He also played two seasons in NFL Europe, for the Scottish Claymores
Scottish Claymores
The Scottish Claymores were an American football team from Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh and latterly sharing home games with Hampden Park, Glasgow...
in 2001 and the Amsterdam Admirals
Amsterdam Admirals
The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team in NFL Europe based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.-History:The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to be based entirely in Europe...
in 2004.
Arena Football League
After finding limited success in the NFL, Stoerner moved to the Arena Football League. He was signed by the Dallas DesperadosDallas Desperados
The Dallas Desperados were a professional Arena Football team. The Desperados played in the Southern Division of the now-defunct Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008....
for the season where he was their starting quarterback. He broke nearly every AFL rookie passing record and was named the league's rookie of the year. After being released by the Desperados, Stoerner signed with the Nashville Kats
Nashville Kats
The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to Atlanta in 2002...
and split starting quarterback duties with Leon Murray
Leon Murray
Everett Leon Murray is an American football quarterback playing most recently for the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League, and is a college football coach. Murray attended Tennessee State University. In 2001 Murray was the backup quarterback on the Berlin Thunder team that won World...
. He returned to the Kats in 2007, but was released after two games. He was then signed by the Philadelphia Soul
Philadelphia Soul
The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...
to backup Juston Wood after starting Quarterback Tony Graziani
Tony Graziani
Anthony Robert Graziani was an American football quarterback who played for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League, and the Los Angeles Avengers and Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. Graziani played college football at the University of Oregon...
was injured with a separated shoulder
Separated shoulder
A separated shoulder , is a common injury to the acromioclavicular joint. This is not the same as a shoulder dislocation as that involves a dislocation of the glenohumeral joint...
four games into the season.
All American Football League
Stoerner was signed to Team Arkansas in the All American Football LeagueAll American Football League
The All American Football League was a proposed professional American football league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been scheduled to start in the spring of 2007, but later postponed its...
. However, he was released from his contract (along with every other AAFL player) when the league postponed its debut season.
Personal life
Stoerner is active in charity work in ArkansasArkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
focusing primarily on charities providing help to children with Down Syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
. He also devotes time every year helping children develop their football skills at several camps including the Clint Stoerner Football Camp held every summer in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
and Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
. He has one brother, Hank Stoerner.
Stoerner has also most recently opened up an Insurance agency in Central Arkansas, called the Stoerner and Havas Insurance Agency. He is an Independent Insurance agent, focussing his efforts on Property and Casualty insurance. He is a Member of the Professional Insurance Agents Association (PIA).