Joseph David Urso (born March 1, 1979) 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 ...

. He played professional

arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, an ...

/ indoor football in three leagues, as well as brief stints in 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) 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 ...

and

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 ...

after coming out of college as an undrafted free agent. 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 ...

Lycoming College Lycoming College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1812, Lycoming College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church but operates as an ind ...

, and then transferred to

Wilkes University Wilkes University is a private university in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students (both full and part-time). Wilkes was founded in 1933 as a satellite campus of Bucknell University, and bec ...

High school years

Urso attended

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (B-CC) is a State school, public Secondary school, high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, Maryland, Bethesda. Part of the Montgomery County Public Schools ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. He was the

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

on the varsity team from his sophomore season on. Urso lettered 3 years in

, and also excelled in other sports, lettering 3 years in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and 1 season of

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 ...

. His senior season, he was also

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of both the football and basketball teams. In the 1995 season, Urso led B-CC to their first ever 10–0 regular season record as a junior. The team won their first ever road playoff game, defeating

Milford Mill Academy Milford Mill Academy (MMA) is a four-year public high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is located on the west side of the county close to the Baltimore border just outside the Baltimore Beltway. About the school Milford M ...

, of Baltimore County, 29–14; pushing their record to 11–0. Urso led the way passing for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns of 82 and 78 yards, respectively. The following week Bethesda Chevy-Chase hosted the first ever home playoff game in the football program's 60-year history, but fell to eventual State Champion

Linganore High School Linganore High School is an American high school in Frederick County, Maryland. It serves the eastern portion of Frederick County. The school's mascot is the Lancer and its colors are red and black. History Linganore High School Junior-Senior H ...

24–6. In 1996 Urso finished his high school career with 3,969 yards passing, 51 touchdowns, and the Maryland Public Schools State passing record for both completions in a career and attempts in a career, while finishing second all-time (as of 1996) in passing yards and touchdowns in a career. Following his senior season Urso was named 1st team All-County, All-Gazette, All-league, and also named to the All-State and ''

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'' All-Metropolitan teams. He was also invited to play in the

Chesapeake Classic Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

All-Star game (Maryland high school all-stars vs. Virginia high school all-stars).

College years

In the spring of 1997 Urso signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to attend

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,754. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...

, to play football. After his freshman season, he transferred to

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It ...

. By the conclusion of his college career he had compiled 5,423 yards passing and 73 touchdowns.

Professional career

Out of college, Urso was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

. During the preseason he was released and then signed a week later by the

. He was then released before the beginning of the 2001 season. Urso was the starting quarterback for the 2007 inaugural season of the expansion

Baltimore Blackbirds The Baltimore Blackbirds were an indoor football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They played the 2007 season as an expansion member of the American Indoor Football Association, at the 1st Mariner Arena. History The team was originally going ...

of the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

(AIFA) coached by Head Coach Chris Simpson. Urso threw the first touchdown in team history, on the road at the

Reading Express The Reading Express were a professional indoor football team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were most recently a member of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Express began play in 2006, as an expansion team of t ...

. It was a 15-yard strike to WR Kevin Dixon. In the team's first home game at 1st Mariner Arena versus the

Carolina Speed The Carolina Speed were a professional indoor football team that operated from 2007 to 2011 in Concord and Charlotte, North Carolina, at Bojangles' Coliseum in 2009 and 2011. From 2007 to 2009, the Speed were members of the American Indoor Footb ...

, Urso accounted for every touchdown his team scored with the exception of 1 (an interception return for a touchdown by DB Milton Harris), passing for 3 touchdowns and rushing for 1 more. At the conclusion of the 2007 season the Blackbirds organization folded and the team was dissolved, making Urso a free agent. In 2008, he signed with the Chesapeake Tide of the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor American football, indoor American football, football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as ...

(CIFL). Coached by Head Coach Matt Steeple, and Offensive Coordinator Chris Armstrong, he went on to lead the team in passing and rushing for the season—112–191 (58.6%), 1206 yards, and 26 touchdowns passing and rushing for 226 yards and 6 touchdowns. Other statistical leaders on the team include (WR/RB) Darryl Overton Jr., (WR) Joe Able, (WR) Ray McCarter Jr., and (DB) Jeff Overton. In the Tide's final game of the 2008 season, Urso had a career game in defeating the

New Jersey Revolution The New Jersey Revolution were members of the American Indoor Football Association based in Morristown, New Jersey, with home games at the George Mennen arena. The Revolution name referred to New Jersey's nickname, The Crossroads of the Revolutio ...

, 55–47. On the day Urso went 20–24, with 276 yards passing and a team record 7 touchdown passes (3 to Darryl Overton Jr., 2 to Ray McCarter Jr., 1 to Daryl Disbrow Jr., and 1 to Sean Lipscomb). In the offseason following the 2008 season, the Chesapeake Tide organization moved to the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

( IFL) for the 2009 season, under the name Maryland Maniacs. Urso then signed with the Maniacs for the 2009 season.

References

*http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/hssports/longterm/allmets/football_96.htm
HighBeamThe Baltimore Sun
*http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3603422 *http://www.chesapeaketide.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=184&Itemid=28

*http://www.nj.com/morristown/jasonlockhart/index.ssf/2008/06/chesapeake_tide_erupts_revolut.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Urso, Joe 1979 births Living people American football quarterbacks Lycoming Warriors football players Wilkes Colonels football players Players of American football from Bethesda, Maryland Players of American football from Silver Spring, Maryland Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni New York Giants players Seattle Seahawks players Baltimore Blackbirds players Continental Indoor Football League players Maryland Maniacs players