Erik Douglas Ainge (born June 12, 1986) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Tennessee. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He currently hosts a daily sports talk show in Knoxville, TN on Sports Radio WNML 990 AM and 99.1 FM from 9a-12n EST. He is the nephew of former NBA and MLB player Danny Ainge, who is currently an executive with the Utah Jazz. Early years Ainge was born in Portland, Oregon. He was raised just outside Portland in Hillsboro, Oregon, where he was a star athlete at Glencoe High School. As a freshman and sophomore, he played baseball and basketball in addition to football. Ainge was the starting pitcher on his baseball team and was said to throw a 90 mph fastball. He also averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in basketball as a junior, and as a senior was a preseason honorable mention on the Street & Smith's All-American team. Ainge was a two-year starter at quarterback on the football team, leading the Glencoe Crimson Tide as deep as the Oregon state quarterfinals. As a junior, he passed for 2,559 yards and 16 touchdowns. As a senior, he passed for 3,078 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Perhaps his most impressive game as a senior came against Aloha High School, when he passed for 475 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions to lead the Crimson Tide to 62 points through three quarters of action. Following his senior season, Ainge was named all-state, prep star all-American, and the 2003 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year. During his senior season, Ainge also became one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks on the west coast receiving offers from schools like Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA, and Tennessee. He eventually signed with the University of Tennessee to play college football under head coach Phillip Fulmer. College career 2004 season As a freshman at Tennessee in 2004, Ainge completed 109-of-198 passes for 1,452 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. His 17 touchdowns broke Peyton Manning's freshman touchdown record of 15, and his 1,452 passing yards ranked second behind Casey Clausen's freshman record of 1,473. On September 5, he made his collegiate debut in the season opener against UNLV. In the 42–17 victory, he had 118 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. In Tennessee's 30–28 win over