Erik Douglas Ainge (born June 12, 1986) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

. He was selected by the Jets in the fifth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. He currently hosts a daily sports talk show in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, on Sports Radio WNML 990 AM and 99.1 FM from 9a-12n EST. He is the nephew of former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

, who is currently an executive with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

Early life

Ainge was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He was raised just outside Portland in

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...

, where he was a star athlete at Glencoe High School. As a freshman and sophomore, he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and basketball in addition to

. Ainge was the starting

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

on his baseball team and was said to throw a 90 mph

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

. He also averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in basketball as a junior, and as a senior was a preseason honorable mention on the

Street & Smith Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc., was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp magazine, pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting year ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

team. Ainge was a two-year starter at quarterback on the

team, leading the Glencoe 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 eight interceptions. Perhaps his most impressive game as a senior came against Aloha High School, when he passed for 475 yards, five touchdowns, and no

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

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 Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

Player of the Year. During his senior season, Ainge also became one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks on the west coast receiving offers from schools like

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, Arizona State,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, and Tennessee. He eventually signed with the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

to play college football under head coach

Phillip Fulmer Phillip Edward Fulmer Sr. (born September 1, 1950) is a former American football player, coach, and athletic director at the University of Tennessee. He served as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1992 to 2008, compiling ...

College career

2004 season

As a freshman at Tennessee in 2004, Ainge completed 109-of-198 passes for 1,452 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.Tennessee Career Football Statistics
, UTSports.com. Retrieved: September 23, 2013. His 17 touchdowns broke

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

's freshman touchdown record of 15, and his 1,452 passing yards ranked second behind Casey Clausen's freshman record of 1,473. On September 5, he made his collegiate debut in the season opener against

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

. In the 42–17 victory, he had 118 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. In the

Volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

' 30–28 win over

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Ainge led a fourth quarter touchdown drive that pulled the Vols' to within a point, and then engineered a short drive in the closing seconds to set up James Wilhoit's game-winning 50-yard field goal. 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 former Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen's brother

Rick Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

2005 season

During his sophomore season in 2005, Ainge completed 66-of-145 passes for 737 yards, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions, in just eight games. One of his most infamous moments came in the Vols' game against

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. To avoid getting sacked in the end zone by safety LaRon Landry, Ainge flung the ball up into the air just before he was ruled down for a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. Ainge's head also hit the

goalpost In sport, a goal may refer to either an instance of scoring, or to the physical structure or area where an attacking team must send the ball or puck in order to score points. The structure of a goal varies from sport to sport, and one is pl ...

on the play, tweaking his neck. As a result, Clausen again took over. Ainge finished his sophomore season with a strong performance and a 27–8 win at

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

as the Vols finished with a 5–6 record.

2006 season

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 position coach when David Cutcliffe replaced Randy Sanders as Tennessee's

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

. In the season opener against #9

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, he had 291 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and one interception in the 35–18 victory. In the Vols' 31–30 win over

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

, he completed 15 consecutive passes, the second-most in school history ( Tee Martin completed 24 consecutive passes in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

). He finished the day with 333 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and one interception. After the Air Force game, he had 183 passing yards and two interceptions in a narrow 21–20 loss to the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. On September 30, against Memphis, he had 324 passing yards and four passing touchdowns in the 41–7 victory. He led his team to a 7–1 record before being injured in the closing minutes of the game against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. His 84-yard pass to wide receiver Robert Meachem in Tennessee's win over Memphis is tied for the fifth-longest pass play in school history. Ainge missed the majority of Tennessee's two losses following the

game before returning to lead his team to season-ending wins against Vanderbilt and

. During the season, Ainge set career highs in most statistical categories and break the Tennessee single-season record for completion percentage. The 2007 Outback Bowl was the first bowl appearance for Ainge, as he had missed the 2005

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

due to injury, and the Vols did not qualify for a bowl game following his sophomore season. In the game, the Vols fell to

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. For the year, Ainge completed 233 of 348 passes for 2,989 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

2007 season

In March 2007, Ainge underwent surgery for a torn meniscus. He stated that the injury occurred during

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

exercises. However, he was able to recover in time for the 2007 season. As a senior in 2007, Ainge completed 325-of-519 passes for 3,522 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Despite 519 pass attempts, he was only sacked three times. He completed 62.6% of his passes and had a 135.48 QB rating. Ainge was able to achieve this success despite nagging injuries which hampered him all season, including a broken pinky finger on his throwing hand and a shoulder injury on his throwing arm. In the season opener against the #12

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

, he had 271 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in the 45–31 defeat. On September 22, against Arkansas State, he had 334 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and one interception in the 48–27 victory to pull Tennessee to a 2–2 record. In the next game, a 35–14 victory over #12

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, he was 17-of-22 for 165 passing yards. Over the course of the season, Ainge helped lead the Vols to an 8–3 record going into the regular season finale. The strongest statistical game for Ainge was a 52–50 triple-overtime win over

in which he threw for 397 yards and an SEC-record seven touchdowns. The Vols finished with a 9–3 record and won the SEC East to earn an appearance in the SEC Championship Game. In the 21–14 loss to

, he had 249 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and two interceptions, including a pick-six in the fourth quarter. Despite the loss, the Vols qualified for the

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it ...

. In the Vols' win over

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in the 2008 Outback Bowl, Ainge threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns, and was named the game's MVP. During his four years at Tennessee, Ainge completed 733-of-1,210 passes for 8,700 yards, 72 touchdowns, and 35 interceptions. His seven touchdown passes against Kentucky in 2007 remains an SEC single-game record. His 325 completions in 2007 remains a school single-season record, and his total yardage in 2007 trails only Manning's

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

tally of 3,789 yards for the school single-season record. His total career yardage is the third-most in school history only behind Manning (11,020) and Casey Clausen (9,577).Total Offense
, Individual Career Records, UTSports.com, 2012, pp. 329–332. Retrieved: September 23, 2013.

College statistics

Awards and honors

* Rivals.com National Freshman of the Week, September 18, 2004 (vs. Florida) * 2004 Freshman All-America

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

(2nd) * SEC Offensive Freshman of the Year ''

'' * Freshman All-SEC Coaches * 2005 Academic All-SEC * USA Today National Player of the Week, September 4, 2006 (vs.

) * SEC Offensive Player of the Week, September 11, 2006 (vs. Air Force) * SEC Offensive Player of the Week, October 2, 2006 (at Memphis) * SEC Offensive Player of the Week, October 9, 2006 (at Georgia) * Cingular All-America Player of the Week, October 9, 2006 (at Georgia) * Walter Camp Div. I-A National Offensive Player of the Week, October 9, 2006 (at Georgia) * 2008 Outback Bowl MVP * 2008 Senior Bowl Selection

Professional career

Ainge was selected in the fifth round of the

by the

with the 162nd overall pick. In May 2008, Ainge underwent surgery on the little finger on his throwing hand. On July 16, he signed a four-year, $1.87 million contract with a $165,000 signing bonus. On November 21, 2008, Ainge was suspended four games by the NFL for violating the league's policy on steroids and related substances. Ainge, already on injured reserve and out for the season with a foot injury, was not allowed to be with the team or visit the team facility during the suspension. He was able to rejoin the team on December 15, 2008, following the New York Jets' game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. Ainge was expected to compete with

Kellen Clemens Kellen Vincent Clemens (born June 7, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks and was selected by the New ...

and Kevin O'Connell for the final quarterback roster spot on the team in 2010. It was later announced that Ainge had entered "a drug treatment/rehab facility for 'recreational issues'," marking the second time he had violated the NFL's substance abuse policy. Ainge made an announcement to

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

on June 23, 2011, stating that he would retire from the NFL due to injuries sustained to his throwing shoulder and right foot. The Jets officially released Ainge on July 29, 2011.

Radio

On January 3, 2017, The Erik Ainge Show debuted on FM 99.1 Sports Radio WNML in Knoxville, TN. Ainge is joined every morning by Brian Rice at 9:00 AM EST.

Personal life

In a first person account written for ESPN.com in March 2011, Ainge admitted that he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse from the time he was twelve years old, and by his senior year at Tennessee he had become addicted to pain killers. Ainge continued to struggle with these issues in the NFL before seeking help. He also suffers from rapid cycling

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, for which he has been treated in addition to his drug and alcohol treatment.

References

External links

College statistics
at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

The Erik Ainge Show
– Tennessee Sports Radio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainge, Erik 1986 births Living people American football quarterbacks New York Jets players Sportspeople from Hillsboro, Oregon People with bipolar disorder Players of American football from Washington County, Oregon Players of American football from Knoxville, Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers football players American sports radio personalities Glencoe High School alumni