Tony Pike Anthony Steven " Tony " Pike ( born March 10 , 1986 in Cincinnati , Ohio ) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers . He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft . He played college football at Cincinnati . Early years . Born to Steve and Cheri Pike , Tony attended to Reading High School where he was named Cincinnati Division II - III Player of the Year as a senior at football . Pike also played basketball , helping the team to win a state title as a junior and the regional finals as a senior . College career . Tony Pike is considered by many to be one of the greatest Bearcat quarterbacks of all time . Pike enrolled at University of Cincinnati in January 2005 . He was redshirted for the 2005 season . In 2007 , he made his collegiate debut against Southeast Missouri State , Pike finished the night 6 - of - 9 for 57 yards and a touchdown . In 2008 college football season Dustin Grutza was the team starter who was named the team ' s starter at that position following Ben Mauk ' s failure to gain a 6th year of eligibility from the NCAA . In a 52 – 26 loss to Oklahoma Sooners , a team that would play for the national championship that season , Grutza broke his ankle and was replaced by Pike . The Bearcats traveled to Akron , Ohio to play the Akron Zips . Against the Zips , Pike broke his arm and was replaced by redshirt freshman Chazz Anderson , who was also injured during the game . Fellow redshirt freshman Zach Collaros then entered the game and led the Bearcats to a 17 – 15 victory . In the game against UConn Huskies 40 – 16 , Pike returned and had the Bearcats leading at halftime , but he left the game at the half when numbness in his non - throwing arm prevented him from being able to take the snap . In the two weeks that followed the loss to the Huskies , Cincinnati recovered to beat two top - 25 opponents : No . 23 South Florida Bulls and No . 20 West Virginia Mountaineers . Against the Syracuse Orange , Cincinnati was assured at least a share of the Big East Championship , but a 30 – 10 win over Syracuse gave the Bearcats sole possession of the championship , the first Big East title in school history . After clinching the Big East Championship and a bid to a BCS bowl , on December 7 , 2008 , the Bearcats were selected to participate in the 2009 Orange Bowl . He finished the regular season 183 - 291 for 2 , 168 yards and 18 touchdowns . He completed 63 percent of his passes and finished second in the Big East passing efficiency list with 141 . 07 . Pike was named to the 2008 All - Mayday Team by ESPN college football analyst Mark May . He also was named to the Second - Team All - Big East Team . Professional career . Carolina Panthers . He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 6th round , ( # 204 overall ) of the 2010 NFL Draft . He will compete with fellow rookie Jimmy Clausen for playing time behind incumbent Matt Moore . In week 9 of his rookie season against the New Orleans Saints , Pike made his NFL debut after Jimmy Clausen ( who had replaced an injured Matt Moore earlier in the game ) was benched . He was 6 - 12 for 47 yards and was sacked once . The Panthers lost 34 - 3 and fell to 1 - 7 . Pike was waived / injured on August 30 , 2011 , and was given an injury settlement .