Utah Football Legend Lee Grosscup Passes Away

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah mourns the passing of first-team All-America quarterback Lee Grosscup, who passed away on June 1 at the age of 83. Grosscup is known for his proficiency with the shovel pass, which has also been referred to as the 'Utah pass.'

"The Utah football family was saddened to hear of the passing of legendary University of Utah football player Lee Grosscup," head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Lee was a first-team All-American quarterback for the Utes in 1957 and the originator of the famed 'Utah shovel pass.' Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."

Grosscup, who played at Utah from 1957-58, was named a first-team All-American in 1957 by the Football Writers Association of America, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, Look Magazine, the Williamson National Football Rating and the Today show. He finished 10th in the balloting for the 1957 Heisman Trophy. He set a collegiate record during his junior season with a 68.6 completion percentage (94-of-136), which stood as a school record until broken by Tyler Huntley in 2019. He led the nation in passing yards that season, throwing for 1,398 yards with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions (the latter of which led the nation). His 1,274 yards of total offense ranked sixth in the nation.

Grosscup was a two-time first-team all-Skyline Conference selection, despite struggling with a shoulder injury towards the end of his senior season. He also punted for the Utes.

Grosscup was a first-round selection in the 1959 NFL Draft, going as the 10th overall pick to the New York Giants. He played for both the NFL's New York Giants (1960-61) and the American Football League's New York Titans (1962) in addition to spending time with the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders (1963), Oakland Raiders practice squad (1964) and the Hartford Charter Oaks (1965-66) of the Continental Football League.

Grosscup began a career in broadcasting in 1966, including working as a college football analyst for ABC for 20 seasons. He recently spent 34 years as a member of the Cal football broadcast team, continuing to be a frequent contributor through last season despite officially retiring in 2018.