Former USF quarterback Matt Grothe, the Big East's all-time leader in total offense, signed with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League this past weekend.
"Matt Grothe is a tough kid, a great leader and a winner," Tuskers Head Coach Jay Gruden said. "He led the Bulls to many huge wins over nationally ranked teams and certainly deserves a ton of credit for helping build that program into a nationally ranked power. I certainly look forward to working with him in 2010."
Grothe’s was instrumental in putting the Bulls on the national map during his four years of play before suffering an ACL injury to his left knee just three games in that ended his final season in 2009. At the time of his injury against Charleston Southern, Grothe had thrown for 512 yards and five touchdowns and completed 72% of his passes in the first three games.
Grothe finished at USF as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in Big East Conference history, and was the Big East's all-time leader in total offense with 10,875 yards. Grothe finished with 8,669 passing yards and 52 career touchdowns, completing 717 of 1048 passes (68.4%).
As a junior, Grothe reached career highs in completions (240), yards (2,911) and touchdowns (18) and also led the Bulls in rushing with 591 yards and four touchdowns. He led the Big East in total offense with 269.4 yards per game and was named MVP of the St. Petersburg Bowl.
As a sophomore, Grothe threw for 2,670 yards and 14 touchdowns in leading the Bulls to a 9-4 mark, including upset wins over #18 Auburn (26-23) and #5 West Virginia (21-13).
Grothe exploded onto the scene as a freshman after replacing an injured Pat Julmiste and was named the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2006, after passing for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Grothe prepped at Lake Gibson High School, where he was named a two-time Lakeland Ledger High School Player of the Year, after he passed for 2,700 yards and ran for 1,250 yards with 48 touchdowns as a senior.
Grothe joins Jason Pierre-Paul (NY Giants), Nate Allen (Philadelphia Eagles), Jerome Murphy (St. Louis Rams), Carlton Mitchell (Cleveland Browns), George Selvie (St. Louis Rams), Kion Wilson (San Diego Chargers) and Chris Robinson (Canadian Football League) as 2009 players that have been signed or drafted by professional teams.