Troy Kopp (born August 21, 1971) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

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 ...

in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played for the

Memphis Pharaohs Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memphis ...

Anaheim Piranhas The Anaheim Piranhas were a professional arena football team that played in the Arena Football League from 1994 to 1997. They played their home games at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The team was originally known as the Las Vegas Sting, ...

and

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. 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 ...

at the University of the Pacific.

Early years

Kopp attended

Mission Viejo High School Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive education, comprehensive State school, public secondary education in the United States, high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unifi ...

. As a freshman in 1985, his life was impacted after his father lost his job, forcing the family to spend their summer sleeping either in a tent or a van. Kopp lived with three different families, over the next 3 years, while attending school. As a senior, he was the top-rated

in Orange County and was named All-Southern in

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 ...

. He also selected by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

in the 58th-round as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

College career

Kopp accepted a football scholarship from the University of the Pacific. As a true freshman, he started 9 out of 11 games, registering 138-of-241 completions (57.3%) for 1,510 yards, 11 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. As a sophomore, he sprained his left shoulder in the season opening loss against 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 ...

, forcing him to miss two games. After learning he wouldn't start the fourth game against

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

over

Kris King, he quit the team and had to be persuaded to come back by head coach Walt Harris. He regained his starting job in the fifth game against the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, 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 ...

. He made 31-of-52 completions for 515 yards and 7 passing touchdowns (school record) against Cal State-Fullerton. He passed for a

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

single-game record of 564 yards against

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

, at the time it was the 10th best mark in college football history. He became the first quarterback to have back-to-back 500-yard games in the air in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

history. He ran a version of the

run and shoot The run and shoot offense (also known as Run N' Shoot) is an offensive system for American football which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments of receivers' routes in response to different defenses. It was conceived by former ...

offense known as "Air Pacific", ranking third in the nation in total offense, passing yards and passing touchdowns per game. He finished with 244-of-428 completions (57.0%) for 3,311 yards, 31 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In

, the

selected him again in the 12th round of the amateur draft. As a junior in 1991, he posted 275-of-449 completions (61.2%) for 3,767 yards, 37 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He led the NCAA in touchdown passes with 37, at the time the 18th most in NCAA history. As a senior, he sprained his ankle before the team's fifth game while playing

Wallyball Wallyball (known in some places as rebound volleyball) is a fast-paced sport that is similar to volleyball played in a racquetball court, where it is legal to hit the ball off of the walls. The word "wallyball" is a portmanteau of the words "wal ...

, a hybrid of handball and volleyball, forcing him to miss three games. He set an NCAA career mark for most scores by a tandem with

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands Sumac (band), SUMAC and Isis ...

during the season. Kopp made 141-of-256 completions (55.1%) for 1,670 yards, 8 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He finished his college career owning most of the school's passing records, including passing yards in a game (564), passing yards in a single-season (3,767), passing yards in a career (10,258), touchdown passes in a single-season (37), touchdown passes in a career (87), completion percentage in a single-season (61.2%) and completion percentage in a career (58.1%). His career touchdown total of 87 ranked 12th most in NCAA history. He also competed in

. In 2007, he was inducted into the University of the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Kopp played two seasons with the

San Jose Sabercats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

and

in the

. He set a league record with 34 completions in a single-game. In August 1998, he signed with the

of the

. Against the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

, he replaced

T. J. Rubley Theron Joseph Rubley (born November 29, 1968) is an American former professional gridiron football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), NFL Europe, World League of American Football (WLAF), and the Canadi ...

late in the third quarter and orchestrated four touchdown drives in the fourth, for a 36–35 come from behind victory. He was released in December 1999. On April 24, 2000, he was signed by the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

. He threw 5 interceptions against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. In two starts and other relief appearances, he collected 53-of-99 passes completions for 722 yards, one touchdown and 10 interceptions. He was released by the Stampeders on September 18. He later suffered life threatening injuries in a car accident on September 27, but was able to recover.

Personal life

After retiring from professional football, he became an assistant football coach at San Clemente High School. As of 2025, he no longer coaches at San Clemente High School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopp, Troy 1971 births Living people American football quarterbacks Canadian football quarterbacks Pacific Tigers football players Pacific Tigers baseball players Memphis Pharaohs players Anaheim Piranhas players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Calgary Stampeders players High school football coaches in California Mission Viejo High School alumni Players of American football from Mission Viejo, California Players of Canadian football from California

Early years

College career

Professional career

See also

Personal life

References