You know you're getting old when younger people try to describe events to you that you lived through and remember vividly.
One of the engagement accounts on the web site formerly known as Twitter posted this gem recently. For a so-called history account, the owner either doesn't follow sports too closely or is a youthful enthusiast of events which happened in the ancient era of...the 2000s.
Throwback to when the Jets had to play their punter Tom Tupa at quarterback and he did this pic.twitter.com/ZW892mKewa
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) August 4, 2024
Nothing untrue about that blurb, except it might lead one to believe Tupa was under center as a novelty - the Jets' punter was also a journeyman backup quarterback. He threw for 3,430 yards and 12 touchdowns over his 18-year career (!) which isn't bad for a Pro Bowl punter.
The former Punt, Pass & Kick Champion (and two-time semi-finalist!) appeared in 220 NFL games, good for 166th all-time. And he appeared in 45 games in college at Ohio State, which means he played in every single game while he was on campus.
After backing up Jim Karsatos and Mike Tomczak, Tupa started every game for Earle Bruce's final season in Columbus. Which means this is how his Ohio State career ended:
He led one of the most exhilarating and improbable wins in rivalry history.
Tupa finished his Buckeye career with 196 punts for 9,564 yards (no.2 all-time) and 168 completions for 2,252 yards (no.24 all-time). He and Chris Spielman were 1st team All America in 1987, and he was 1st team All-Big Ten in three of his four college seasons.
Ohio State's two best punting seasons both came off of Tupa's leg, and if you say wow I can't believe Jim Tressel wasn't involved in those seasons well actually, Tress was on the staff that recruited him to Ohio State.
So while some social media accounts can't quite wrap their heads around the idea of a punter doing a serviceable job at quarterback, Buckeye fans of a certain age can tell you all about a guy who had field-flipping locked down for four seasons.
And he wasn't too shabby throwing the ball around, either.
