P/QB Tom Tupa (All B1G, All-American, OSU HOF, Pro Bowl, All Pro, Super Bowl Champion)

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OSU ON SUNDAY
Punters
Thursday, October 22, 2009
By RAY STEIN
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

PHOTO (top): Tom Tupa's best punting average in 16 NFL season was 45.8 yards in 1997 while with the New England Patriots. (Associated Press file photo)

Each week, Gameday examines Ohio State's impact on professional football with a position-by-position analysis of the Buckeyes who have made a mark in the NFL.

If the punt really is the most important play in football, as has been suggested by at least one vest-wearing citizen, then it might figure that Ohio State would have produced a slew of booming booters ready to kick down the door for enshrinement in Canton. That's not quite true, but the Buckeyes have graduated a few who sent them high and deep.
The Best
Tom Tupa

College life: Recruited by Earle Bruce out of Brecksville-Broadview Heights near Cleveland, Tupa lettered four years (1984 to '87) at OSU. He was All-Big Ten and an All-American as a senior, when he averaged 47 yards. He also was the Buckeyes' starting quarterback that season, passing for 1,786 yards.

Path to the pros: Tupa was a third-round draft pick of the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988, the first punter drafted.

NFL career: Popular among moving companies and NFL coaches alike, Tupa played for the Cardinals, Colts, Browns, Patriots, Jets, Buccaneers and Redskins in a 16-year career. His career average of 43.4 yards (on 783 punts) ranks 27th in NFL history. His best years were with the Patriots in 1997, when he averaged 45.8 yards on 78 punts, and with the Jets in '99, when he averaged 45.2 yards and made All-Pro.

Little-known facts: Tupa attempted only six punts in his first five NFL seasons because the Cardinals and Colts considered him a quarterback - backup or otherwise. He then sat out the 1993 season after being cut by the Browns before returning as a full-time punter. He made 13 career starts at QB, going 4-9, and ended his career with 3,430 yards passing, 12 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. Was he destined for such a career? As a youngster, Tupa was a semifinalist three times in the NFL's Punt, Pass and Kick competition.

GameDay+

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZtkNqMKO0A]YouTube - David Brown INT, Tom Tupa TD - Michigan 1987[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiR6qVCyGMk"]YouTube - Carlos Snow 70yd TD catch - Michigan 1987[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

Brecksville's Tom Tupa weighs in on Ohio State, NCAA situation
Published: Thursday, June 23, 2011
By Cody Peck, Sun News

Tom Tupa during his playing days with the Buckeyes. Photo courtesy of the Ohio State University.

Count Tom Tupa among those who think the National Collegiate Athletic Association should consider revising its rules and regulations regarding the handling of student athletes.

Tupa, a Brecksville-Broadview Heights football legend and former Ohio State University quarterback/punter, commented on the issue earlier this week in light of the recent scandal involving the school?s football program, a controversy involving multiple player infractions that has prompted an NCAA investigation and ultimately led to the resignation of coach Jim Tressel.

The investigation began earlier this year after reports surfaced that Buckeyes players were selling off memorabilia for gain ? a clear violation of NCAA rules. Tressel later admitted that he had previous knowledge of those allegations, but failed to report them. Public scrutiny brought on by that report led to his resignation.

?It was disappointing,? said Tupa, noting Tressel was his quarterbacks coach at the school back in the 1980s.

?Good coach, good person. Obviously, it was a big mistake on his part.

?The kids put him in a bad situation. He was trying to protect the kids and the program. Obviously, he should have come forward when he found out. Those are the rules.?

Cont.

http://www.cleveland.com/brecksville/index.ssf/2011/06/brecksvilles_tom_tupa_weighs_i.html

 

[Buckskin86]

More than two points from Tupa
Time and Change: Catching up with ex-QB, whose son is headed to Miami (Ohio)
Updated: June 21, 2012
By Brad Bournival | BuckeyeNation


Time and Change is a series at BuckeyeNation where we chat with former Ohio State athletes.

Tom Tupa was an All-America punter and was the starting quarterback during his senior season in 1987, Earle Bruce's final year as head coach.

After being a backup quarterback for three seasons behind Mike Tomczak and Jim Karsatos at Ohio State, Tupa threw for 1,786 yards and 12 touchdowns his senior season. He was selected to the 1988 Hula Bowl.

Tupa, now 46, was a third-round pick in the 1988 NFL Draft, selected by the Phoenix Cardinals with the No. 68 pick. He averaged 43.4 yards per punt, which ranks 36th in NFL history, before retiring in 2006. He won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2002 season.

A 1999 All-Pro selection, he was a backup quarterback in the NFL and became known as "Two-Point Tupa" for his three two-point conversions in 1994, when the rule was added to the NFL. He scored the first two-pointer in NFL history as a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Tupa is the recreation director for the city of Brecksville, Ohio, where he led the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bees football team to a state title in 1983. He is also the offensive coordinator for the Bees' varsity squad, where his sons Tommy and Tim play. His youngest son, Tyler, will be a freshman this year, and his daughter Emma will be a seventh-grader.

His son, Tommy Tupa, committed to Miami (Ohio) in May. The RedHawks expect him to be their future quarterback.

BuckeyeNation caught up with Tupa recently and asked him about fatherhood, coaching and his time at Ohio State.

BN: Do you miss your playing days?

Tupa: I do a little bit as far as hanging out with the guys and game days and things like that. To be honest with you, though, I enjoy what I'm doing now. I'm coaching my boys and my daughter, actually. It's just a great situation to coach and watch them and be a part of what they're going through. It's been great so far.

?Obviously, making it to the first Rose Bowl my freshman year, that was a special time. Beating Michigan my senior year. It was Earle's last game up there. That was a special game for us with the circumstances surrounding that whole week.
? -- Former Ohio State quarterback and punter Tom Tupa

BN: What pieces of advice from Earle Bruce have you taken and applied to your everyday life?

Tupa:It's just to go out there and fight for what you want. To compete for the things in your life and what you believe in and not to back down when you believe in them.

BN: What is your fondest memory of Ohio State?

Tupa: To pick one is tough. I have a couple of great memories. Obviously, making it to the first Rose Bowl my freshman year, that was a special time. Beating Michigan my senior year. It was Earle's last game up there. That was a special game for us with the circumstances surrounding that whole week [Bruce was fired early in the week]. There are a lot of moments and games and what not, but those are the ones that stand out.

cont...

http://espn.go.com/colleges/osu/sto...e-catching-former-quarterback-punter-tom-tupa

 

[Buckskin86]

Tom Tupa, former Brecksville High, OSU and Browns player, wins workers comp case for career-ending injury
Published: Thursday, August 23, 2012
Plain Dealer staff and wire reports

David I. Andersen, The Plain Dealer
Tom Tupa punting for the Browns in a 1994 game.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Longtime NFL punter Tom Tupa is eligible for workers compensation for a career-ending back injury he suffered while warming up for a preseason game in 2005 at FedEx Field while playing for the Washington Redskins, Maryland's highest court ruled on Wednesday. The court rejected the idea that football injuries should not be considered accidental because of the rough nature of the sport.

Tupa's injury happened "out of and in the course of (his) employment," the Maryland Court of Appeals said in its 16-page opinion.

"He was warming up for a game when he landed awkwardly and thereafter sought immediate medical treatment," Judge John Eldridge wrote in the opinion. "Ample evidence was presented to show that Tupa suffered a compensable accidental injury during the course of his employment."

The team and insurers argued that Tupa's injury was not an accidental personal injury within the meaning of Maryland's workers' compensation law.

The court rejected that argument.

"I don't think that clubs are now able to argue that, since football is a hazardous employment, players don't get workers' compensation benefits," said Benjamin Boscolo, Tupa's attorney.

The 46-year-old Tupa played 16 seasons in the NFL for seven teams from 1988 to 2004, before his injury in 2005. He never played again after the injury, which happened in Landover, Md.

Tupa was a football, baseball and basketball star at Brecksville- Broadview Heights High School. He was a standout punter at Ohio State, earning All-American honors as a senior, a season in which he was also the Buckeyes' starting quarterback.

Tupa played for the Browns in 1994 and 1995, averaging 41.7 yards a punt. His career average of 43.4 yards a punt ranks 36th in NFL history. Tupa made first-team all-pro with the New York Jets in 1999 and was the punter for the 2002 season Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tupa also threw 504 passes as an NFL quarterback, most of them for the Phoenix Cardinals in 1989 and 1991. He completed 51.4 percent.

cont..

http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2012/08/tom_tupa_former_brecksville_hi.html

 

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