Leigh Torrence

Leigh Torrence (born January 4, 1982) is a former American football cornerback who is now an assistant coach for the New York Jets. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Stanford.

Leigh Torrence

Personal information
Born:	(1982-01-04) January 4, 1982 (age 43) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	179 lb (81 kg)
Career information
High school:	Marist (GA)
College:	Stanford
Undrafted:	2005
Career history
As a player:
Green Bay Packers (2005)* Atlanta Falcons (2005) Washington Redskins (2006–2008) New Orleans Saints (2008–2011) Washington Redskins (2012)* Jacksonville Jaguars (2012)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
New Orleans Saints (2018–2019) Defensive assistant New York Jets (2020) Assistant defensive backs coach
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (XLIV)
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles: 134 Sacks: 3.5 Pass deflections: 9 Interceptions: 2 Defensive touchdowns: 1 Stats at Pro Football Reference

He was also a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

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.^[1]

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers signed Torrence April 29, 2005.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5] It was the first interception of his NFL career.^[6]

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.^[6]

Second Stint with Redskins

The Washington Redskins signed Torrence on April 10, 2012.^[7] The team released him on June 2, 2012.^[8]

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.^[9]

New York Jets

In February 2020, Torrence was named assistant defensive backs coach for the New York Jets.^[10]