Leigh Torrence

Leigh Torrence (born January 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal.

He was also a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, and Jacksonville Jaguars. After his playing career, he was an assistant coach for the Saints and New York Jets.

Early life Torrence attended Marist School near Atlanta, where he played football, ran track, and won two state tennis titles. At Stanford he won two letters in track and four in football, and was named to the Academic All-Pac-10 team.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers signed Torrence April 29, 2005. The Packers released September 3, 2005.

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons claimed Torrence off waivers on September 4, 2005, and signed him to the practice squad. He was activated from the squad and promoted to the 53-man roster on October 12, 2005.

Torrence was waived on September 2, 2006.

Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins signed Torrence on December 27, 2006. The team released him on November 8, 2008. During his first stint with the Redskins, Torrence played in 25 games and recorded 42 tackles, one sack, and two pass breakups.

New Orleans Saints With the Saints in 2009, Torrence was active for five of the team's first ten games, recording 10 tackles and a half sack. He injured his shoulder in the Saints' November 22 win over Tampa Bay and was placed on the injured reserve list on November 23, making room for the Saints to re-sign veteran cornerback Mike McKenzie.

On March 9, 2010, Torrence signed a 1-year contract to return to the New Orleans Saints. He was waived on September 7 but re-signed on September 14. Torrence made several key plays in a nationally televised Sunday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 31, 2010, first tackling Antwaan Randle El just short of the goal line to prevent a Steelers touchdown in the first half, then intercepting Ben Roethlisberger's pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the Saints' 20–10 win. It was the first interception of his NFL career.

On October 26, 2011, against the Indianapolis Colts, Torrence intercepted Curtis Painter's pass and returned it 42 yards for his first NFL touchdown.

Torrence has been noted for his support of the Sojourner Truth Academy, a New Orleans charter school high school founded by a Stanford classmate: Torrence raised $50,000 from his Saints teammates that was matched by an NFL grant and used to fund the school's football team. The team released him on June 2, 2012.

Jacksonville Jaguars Torrence was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on July 31, 2012, and later released on August 31.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD 2005 ATL 10 0 8 7 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2007 WAS 16 1 43 34 9 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2008 MIN 9 0 16 11 5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 NOR 7 0 9 7 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2009 NOR 5 0 10 9 1 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2010 NOR 13 0 28 27 1 1.0 2 1 21 0 21 2 0 0 0 0 2011 NOR 13 0 20 17 3 1.0 1 1 42 1 42 3 0 0 0 0 73 1 134 112 22 3.5 4 2 63 1 42 9 0 0 0 0

Playoffs Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD 2007 WAS 1 1 3 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2010 NOR 1 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 4 4 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Coaching career New Orleans Saints Torrence was a coaching intern for the Saints in 2016, and on March 5, 2017, it was reported that the Saints had promoted him to defensive assistant coach.

New York Jets In February 2020, Torrence was named assistant defensive backs coach for the New York Jets.