Clinton Jacob Stoerner (born December 29, 1977 in Baytown, Texas) is an American football quarterback for Team Arkansas in the All American Football League.
High school years
Stoerner attended
Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown, Texas and was an excellent student and a
letterman in
football,
basketball, and
baseball. In football, as a junior, he started as a
wide receiver and as a
punter. As a wide receiver, he made 50 receptions for 670 yards(13.40 yards per reception avg.) and as a punter, he was named as an All-District selection. As a senior, he started as a quarterback and was an All-District selection and an All-State Honorable Mention selection. In baseball, he was an All-District selection. Clint Stoerner graduated from Robert Edward Lee High School in 1996.
College years
After being
recruited by a number of colleges and universities, Stoerner chose to play
football for the
University of Arkansas Razorbacks. It was there that he was mentored by Razorback and
National Football League legend
Joe Ferguson. Stoerner would set single game records for pass attempts (52 against
Alabama in 1999), pass attempts in a season (357 in 1997), career pass attempts (1,023), career pass completions (528), passing yards in a game (387 against
LSU in 1997), passing yards in a season (2,629 in 1998), touchdown passes in a season (26 in 1998), career touchdown passes (57) and consecutive passes without an inerception (134). He is widely known for fumbling the ball in a crucial
SEC game at
Tennessee. Leading #1 Tennessee 24-22 with 1:43 to play, all the Razorbacks needed to do was run 3 plays and run out the clock. Stoerner fumbled the ball on 2nd down, which Tennessee recovered, went on to score and preserve their national championship season with 28-24 victory. Arkansas would finish the year with a record of 9-3. Stoerner did however, gain a measure of redemption the following year in
Fayetteville. Down 24-21 late in the 4th quarter, Stoerner completed a pass over the middle to
wide receiver Anthony Lucas in the
end zone, Arkansas' defense held, and the Stoerner led Razorbacks upset a Top 5 ranked Tennessee team 28-24, which was the exact same score as the year before. Stoerner would go on to lead Arkansas to a
Cotton Bowl victory over the hated
Texas Longhorns on January 1, 2000, 27-6. Arkansas finished the season with a record of 8-4.
Pro career
NFL
Stoerner was signed as an
undrafted rookie free agent with the
Dallas Cowboys. He played in 5
NFL seasons; 4 with the Cowboys (2000-2003), where he was the
starter for two games in 2001. He was on the roster for one season with the
Miami Dolphins (2004), but did not see the field. He also played two seasons in
NFL Europa, for the
Scottish Claymores in 2001 and the
Amsterdam Admirals in 2004.
AFL
Dallas Desperados
After finding limited success in the NFL, he moved to the
Arena Football League. He was signed by the
Dallas Desperados for the
2005 AFL season where he was their starting quarterback. He broke nearly every AFL rookie passing record and was named the league's rookie of the year.
Nashville Kats
After the Desperados released him, he signed with the
Nashville Kats and split starting quarterback duties with
Leon Murray. He returned to the Kats in 2007, but was released after two games.
Philadelphia Soul
The
Philadelphia Soul signed him to backup Juston Wood after starting QB
Tony Graziani was injured with a
separated shoulder four games into the season.
AAFL
In the spring of 2008, Stoerner will play Team Arkansas in the All American Football League.
Personal life
Stoerner is active in charity work in
Arkansas,
Texas and
Tennessee focusing primarily on charities providing help to children with
Down Syndrome. He also devotes time every year helping children develop their football skills at several camps including the Clint Stoerner Football Camp held every summer in
Fayetteville, Arkansas and
Little Rock, Arkansas. Has one brother, Hank Stoerner.
References