Vinny Perretta (born October 14, 1985) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

. He was signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009. He retired from the NFL in April 2010.

Early life

Perretta is a 2004 graduate of La Costa Canyon High School in Encinitas, CA where he was a two-time First-team All-Avocado League selection. He earned offensive team MVP honors and was on all-academic team. He gained over 1,000 yards in total offense as a senior with 12 touchdowns, including two on kickoff returns. He lettered in football three times and track and field once.

College career

Perretta is best known for throwing the touchdown pass in overtime to Derek Schouman in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl to help Boise State beat Oklahoma 43–42 in what many consider to be the best college football game ever played. In 2008, as a senior, Perretta caught 36 passes for 578 yards and 2 touchdowns and helped Boise State post an undefeated 12–0 regular season mark. In 2007, he played in four games before being sidelined with shoulder injury. He made nine catches for 120 yards and five rushes for 30 yards and a touchdown. In 2006, he played wide receiver and running back and finished third on team in rushing with 316 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries while finishing fifth on in receiving with 17 catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns and was named to the All-WAC academic team. In 2005, he was part of Boise State's wide receiver rotation and played in all 13 games, catching 12 passes for 169 yards. In 2004, he was named offensive scout team player of the year and he red-shirted after walking on prior to the 2004 season.

Professional career

On May 8, 2009, the

signed Perretta and

teammate Ian Johnson. Perretta was re-signed on April 15, 2010. However, he decided to retire shortly after.

Post-career life

Perretta is now a sales representative in Boise, Idaho. He is married with two children. Peretta enjoys

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

as a hobby.

References

External links

Minnesota Vikings bioBoise State Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perretta, Vinny American football wide receivers Boise State Broncos football players Living people Players of American football from San Diego Minnesota Vikings players 1985 births La Costa Canyon High School alumni Sportspeople from Carlsbad, California