James Joseph Sorgi Jr. (born December 3, 1980) is an American former professional

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player who was a

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in the

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(NFL). He played

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for the

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and was selected by 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL draft. Sorgi served as the backup to

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 ...

for several years, and won a ring when the Colts won

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts season, Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2006 Chicago Bears season, Chicag ...

. Once he was released by the Colts, he signed with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

as the backup to

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...

, but was injured in a preseason game, and was placed on IR.

Early life

Sorgi attended Fraser High School in

Fraser, Michigan Fraser is a city in Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Fraser is located roughly northeast of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

and was a letterwinner in football,

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, and

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 ...

. In football, he was the two-time Team Most Valuable Player, and as a senior, he garnered All-League honors, All-County honors, and All-State honors, and was a ''

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'' Honorable Mention All-USA selection. In baseball, he posted a batting average of .450 as a senior.

College career

Sorgi played

for the

. Sorgi was Wisconsin's career pass efficiency leader (141.2), co-holder of most passing touchdowns in one game (five) and sixth in career passing yards in Wisconsin history. In an incident on October 11, 2003, referred to as the Reynolds–Sorgi incident, Ohio State linebacker Robert Reynolds intentionally choked Sorgi, injuring Sorgi's trachea, after the play had been whistled dead. Sorgi was unable to play for the remainder of the game, struggling to breathe and unable to speak. On October 28, 2011, Reynolds made a public apology for the incident, citing his wife and four children as the reason he wanted to clear his reputation and be accountable for his actions. Reynolds also stated that he and Sorgi had made amends years prior to the interview. *2000: 45/67 for 592 yards with 6 touchdowns vs 1 interception. *2001: 64/132 for 1,096 yards with 9 touchdowns vs 8 interception. 30 carries for 34 yards and 2 touchdowns. *2002: 38/70 for 536 yards with 1 touchdown vs 2 interception. *2003: 140/248 for 2,251 yards with 17 touchdown vs 9 interception.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Sorgi was selected in the sixth round in the 2004 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts. While there, Sorgi proved to be an adequate back-up to starting quarterback

. In his first season, Sorgi played against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, throwing for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns. That was his only appearance that season. In the 2005 NFL season, he gained slightly more playing time, and completed 42 of 61 attempts for 444 yards. The bulk of his playing time in 2005 came against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

at the end of the regular season. In the 2008 season, he did not take the field until the final regular season game. He had a majority of the playing time in the 2008 preseason, as Manning was recovering from knee surgery. As of the end of the 2008 regular season, he had six career touchdown passes and one interception. On December 9, 2009, Sorgi was placed on injured reserve due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Sorgi was released by Indianapolis on March 5, 2010.

New York Giants

Sorgi signed with the

on March 9, 2010. Entering camp, Sorgi was expected to back up starting quarterback

, but in a preseason game against 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 ...

, Sorgi tore the capsule in his right shoulder, and was later placed on season-ending Injured Reserve. Following the season, he became an unrestricted free agent.

Personal life

Sorgi currently resides in Pittsboro, Indiana with his wife Lana and sons, Jimmy III, Jackson and Jace. He is the co owner of Pro Team Tactical Performance.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorgi, Jim 1980 births Living people American football quarterbacks Indianapolis Colts announcers Indianapolis Colts players NFL announcers New York Giants players Wisconsin Badgers football players High school football announcers in the United States People from Avon, Indiana Sportspeople from Hendricks County, Indiana People from Danville, Indiana People from Fraser, Michigan Players of American football from Macomb County, Michigan