Torretta Headed For College Hall

Former UM great leads a star-studded 2009 class into the College Hall of Fame

By TODD WRIGHT

Updated 6:00 AM EST, Fri, May 1, 2009

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Gina Torretta wanted to follow in the footsteps of John Elway and play for Stanford.

The Cardinal said he wasn't good enough. 'Canes fans have been thanking them ever since.

Torretta, who won a Heisman Trophy, led the Hurricanes to the 1991 national title and almost captured a second as a starter, was selected for the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday.

Granted, Torretta was lousy as a pro, bouncing around the league as a journeyman back-up from 1993 to 1997. But, by then, he had already cemented his legacy in Hurricane fans' eyes.

University Of MIAMI QB Gino Torretta in 1992.

And to think Torretta was told he might not see the field at Quarterback U. His big brother, Geoff, sat the pine behind Vinny Testaverde, the school's first Heisman winner.

But when he did see the field, Torretta shredded defense with precision passes and bombs that seemed to never come down from the heavens.

In relief of Craig Erickson in 1989, Torretta torched San Diego State for 486 yards - a school record that has yet to be broken. UM won the national title that year.

Torretta took over the helm in 1991 and went 26-2 in two seasons as the team's signal caller. Miami went to the national championship game in 1992 only to lose to Alabama in a game probably best remembered for Torretta's bomb to Lamar Thomas and the subsequent fumble that turned the game.

"Unfortunately, (Stanford) said I wasn't good enough -- or fortunately," Torretta said.