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C-USA Player Spotlight: Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne
Junior signal-caller ready to help Tulsa rebound in 2010

	G.J. Kinne

July 20, 2010

This is part of a series spotlighting the players attending C-USA Football Media Day, July 25 in Memphis. Press conferences from the event will be streamed live on ConferenceUSA.com.

After the highest back-to-back win totals in school history and four consecutive bowl appearances, 2009 was a tough campaign for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. But, with nine returning offensive starters, five defensive returnees and some of the top special teams play in C-USA, Tulsa appears to ready to return to its winning ways this fall. Junior QB G.J. Kinne is the leader of the offense that hopes to get back to the firepower that it displayed during the 2007 and 2008 campaigns.

G.J. KINNE, TULSA
Junior
QB
6-2
215
Gilmer, Texas/Gilmer

Overall: A returning letterwinner and starter . . . transferred to Tulsa from the University of Texas prior to the 2008 season . . . was named to the C-USA Academic Honor Roll in 2008 and 2009. An extremely accurate passer on intermediate routes and down field . . . a dual-threat type of quarterback . . . elusive in the pocket . . . throws on the run extremely well . . . completed 11-of-23 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the spring game . . . had TD passes of 28 and 31 yards in the spring game, while running for one touchdown as well.

2009: Started all 12 games . . . completed 61-percent of his passes for 2,732 yards, 22 TDs and a 227.7 average per game . . . his passing yardage total ranks as the seventh-best single-season mark . . . also rushed for a team-high 393 yards for 3,125 total yards . . . was named to the Manning Award Watch List . . . had three 300+ passing games . . . ranked third in C-USA for passing average (227.7), fourth for total offense (260.4) and pass efficiency (142.6) . . . had a career-high 396 passing yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 88 yards and one TD against Southern Miss . . . had a streak of 95 passes attempted before throwing an interception against SMU . . . became the first quarterback in school history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game when he threw for 334 yards and rushed for 100 yards against #13 Houston . . . completed 15-of-20 passes for 211 yards and one TD, and rushed for 77 yards and one TD in his first collegiate game against Tulane in the season opener . . . threw for 310 yards and a season-best four TDs, and rushed for 47 yards vs. New Mexico . . . completed 12-of-15 passes for 264 yards, while tying his season-high of 4 touchdown passes against Sam Houston State . . . totaled 268 yards and three TDs in the season finale against Memphis, while running for a team-high 57 yards . . .

2008: Sat out the season due to transfer rules after transferring from Texas.

Previous College -- Red-shirted at Texas in the 2007 campaign.

High School: Played his senior season at Gilmer High School and his first three years at Canton High School . . . led his high school teams to an overall 38-9 record . . . was a prep All-American quarterback at Gilmer (Texas) High School and a two-time Class 3A Offensive Player of the Year as a senior . . . finished his prep career ranked third in Texas high school history in passing yards (11,695) and second in touchdown passes (130) . . . also rushed for 3,327 yards and 48 TDs in four seasons . . . played in the 2007 East Meets West All-American game after his senior season . . . was a four-year starter at quarterback and also started as a free safety his first three years . . . accounted for touchdowns in six different ways (pass, rush, receiving, KR, PR and INT return) in high school . . . threw for 3,216 yards and 47 TDs with only one interception, while rushing for 400 yards and 11 TDs as a senior . . . earned Class 3A Offensive Player of the Year honors from the Associated Press and the Texas Sports Writers Association as a senior . . . was also named the district 15-3A MVP as he led Gilmer to a 10-1 record and a No. 11 ranking in the Texas Football Top-25 his senior season . . . finished his career by throwing 217 consecutive passes without an interception, while also completing at least four TD passes in eight of 11 games.

Personal: Favorite movie is Varsity Blues . . . his favorite TV show is "Lost" . . . the Philadelphia Eagles is his favorite NFL team . . . Brett Favre is his favorite NFL player . . . Alex Rodriguez is his favorite pro athlete . . . favorite beverage is lemonade, while his favorite food is steak . . . his favorite sport to watch besides football is baseball . . . lists former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy as the most impressive person that he has ever met . . . a member of the Fellow Ship of Christian Athletes . . . has three younger siblings . . . full name is Gary Joe Kinne . . . parents are Gary Kinne and Jocelyne Carter . . . majoring in business . . . born December 1, 1988.