The Tulsa Golden Hurricane may have a new head coach but they have a quarterback, G.J. Kinne, returning for his senior season to take one last shot at a Conference USA championship.
Kinne was a highly touted recruit out of high school passing for 11,695 yards and 130 career touchdowns between his one year at Gilmer High School and three years at Canton High School. His career numbers placed him second in Texas high school history.
Kinne would commit to the University of Texas out of high school but quickly realized he was going to be sitting a long way down on the depth chart behind starter Colt McCoy and backups John Chiles and Sherrod Harris. The young quarterback decided the best thing to do was to transfer away from the Longhorns to a place where he could get immediate playing time. So, in May of 2008, Kinne decided he was
going to transfer to the University of Tulsa.
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| Chris Graythen/Getty Images |
In 2009, his first season as a starter, Kinne threw for 2,732 yards and 22 touchdowns, 10 of those coming in the first five games of the season. Unfortunately for the young quarterback, and Tulsa themselves, the team would drop six of their final seven games to finish at a disappointing 5-7 record.
Last season would be a totally different story.
After a 3-3 start to their first six games, Kinne had 13 touchdown passes but also had six interceptions to go along with it. Unlike the 2009 season, the Tulsa quarterback would lead his team to seven straight wins to close out the season including a 62-35 win over Hawaii in the 2010 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.
At 6-foot-2 at 215 pounds, Kinne is a threat with his arm as well as his legs. Not only did he throw for almost 4,000 yards and 31 touchdowns last season (3,650) but also added 561 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
While he could have turned pro after his junior season, Kinne decided to return for one final season to try for a higher goal both with his team as well as for himself.
He may be one of the more underrated quarterbacks in Conference USA as most seem to center their focus on Houston Cougars' golden armed quarterback, Case Keenum. But make no mistake about it, Kinne is no slouch and he is a guy who can throw on just about any defense he faces.
Kinne will get a chance to show himself off on a national stage right off the bat when the 2011 season gets underway. The Golden Hurricane will face Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State in three of their first four weeks of the season.
If their senior quarterback wanted a challenge, I think he'll get exactly what he asked for.
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