Leigh Torrence (born January 4, 1982) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who is now an assistant coach for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. He was signed by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2005. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. He has also played for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Early life

Torrence attended Marist School near

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where he played football, ran track, and won two state tennis titles. At Stanford he won two letters in track and four in football, and was named to the Academic All-Pac-10 team.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

The

signed Torrence April 29, 2005. The Packers released September 3, 2005.

Atlanta Falcons

The

claimed Torrence off waivers on September 4, 2005, and signed him to the practice squad. He was activated from the squad and promoted to the 53-man roster on October 12, 2005. Torrence was waived on September 2, 2006.

Washington Redskins

The

signed Torrence on December 27, 2006. The team released him on November 8, 2008. During his first stint with the Redskins, Torrence played in 25 games and recorded 42 tackles, one sack, and two pass breakups.

New Orleans Saints

With the Saints in 2009, Torrence was active for five of the team's first ten games, recording 10 tackles and a half sack. He injured his shoulder in the Saints' November 22 win over Tampa Bay and was placed on the injured reserve list on November 23, making room for the Saints to re-sign veteran cornerback Mike McKenzie. On March 9, 2010, Torrence signed a 1-year contract to return to the

. He was waived on September 7 but re-signed on September 14. Torrence made several key plays in a nationally televised Sunday Night Football game against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

on October 31, 2010, first tackling Antwaan Randle El just short of the goal line to prevent a Steelers touchdown in the first half, then intercepting Ben Roethlisberger's pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the Saints' 20–10 win. It was the first interception of his NFL career.Jeff Duncan
"Leigh Torrence was an unlikely hero for the New Orleans Saints against Pittsburgh"
'' Times-Picayune'', November 2, 2010. On October 26, 2011, against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, Torrence intercepted

Curtis Painter Curtis Jeffrey Painter (born June 24, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. High school caree ...

's pass and returned it 42 yards for his first NFL touchdown. Torrence has been noted for his support of the

Sojourner Truth Academy Sojourner Truth Academy is a name used by two separate, unrelated charter schools in the United States: Sojourner Truth Academy in Minneapolis, MN (1999–present) and Sojourner Truth Academy in New Orleans, LA (2008-2012). The Louisiana-based scho ...

, a New Orleans charter school high school founded by a Stanford classmate: Torrence raised $50,000 from his Saints teammates that was matched by an NFL grant and used to fund the school's football team.

Second Stint with Redskins

The

signed Torrence on April 10, 2012. The team released him on June 2, 2012.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Torrence was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on July 31, 2012, and later released on August 31.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

New Orleans Saints

Torrence was a coaching

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

for the Saints in 2016, and on March 5, 2017, it was reported that the Saints had promoted him to defensive assistant coach.

New York Jets

In February 2020, Torrence was named assistant defensive backs coach for the

References

External links

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Jacksonville Jaguars bioNew Orleans Saints bioWashington Redskins bioNew York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrence, Leigh 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Raleigh, North Carolina Players of American football from Atlanta American football cornerbacks Stanford Cardinal football players Atlanta Falcons players Washington Redskins players New Orleans Saints players Jacksonville Jaguars players Green Bay Packers players Marist School (Georgia) alumni