Ratcliffe: Torchia savors second chance with Redskins

ASHBURN — Joe Torchia probably never figured his second chance would come in the NFL.

One of the top tight end prospects in the country coming out of Queen of Peace High School in Cold Spring, N.Y., he was the next in line for stardom at Al Groh’s “Tight End U,” a moniker the former Virginia head coach adopted after producing a succession of standouts at the position all drafted into The League.

Torchia patiently bided his time behind guys like Jon Stupar, Tom Santi and John Phillips, learning the tight end trade, just as they had learned from Heath Miller. 2009 and 2010 were supposed to be his years to shine but fate had other plans.

Those final two years were filled with disappointment for the 6-foot-6, 250-pound playmaker. He played in every game in ’09 but he played hurt. Last season, he managed only four games, sidelined by injury, but averaged 12.6 yards per catch when he was healthy.

Some might have given up on dreams of a pro football career at that point, figuring it just wasn’t in the cards. Not Torchia.

While the NFL took the spring and much of the summer to iron out its labor issues, Torchia was hard at work. He trained six days a week, running and lifting at Joe DeFranco’s gym in Wyckoff, N.J., waiting for his shot.

That call came last Saturday afternoon when he was home in New York. The Washington Redskins were interested.

“They called me up and asked if I had signed with anybody yet,” Torchia said this week after a practice at Redskins Park. “They told me to come on down and that they wanted to offer me a contract.

“I was very excited, my parents were excited,” the tight end said. “It’s a big step to get your foot in the door, but you have to really work to get a spot on this team. I knew I would be ready if I got the call. If it didn’t, then I knew I had put my best effort forward.”

The weekend was a whirlwind, a 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning flight to Dulles, reporting to training camp, getting his physicals, signing a contract, getting the playbook After all that, it was up to him.

“I was a little nervous at the first workout, but ultimately I was extremely excited to be here,” Torchia said. “I worked hard to take in as much information as quickly as possible.”

Because his first practice was Monday, he was already behind the other five tight ends in camp that he is competing with for a spot on the Redskins’ roster, including veterans Fred Davis and Chris Cooley. The number of tight ends that stick will be up to Washington head coach Mike Shanahan.

While those guys are competing for a roster spot, they were happy to embrace the newcomer and help him any way they could.

Learning the Redskins’ playbook has been a task. Torchia thought Virginia’s playbook was extensive until he got a look at Washington’s. The big difference is that UVa’s offense was installed over a longer span of time, while the rookie has had to cram to learn the Skins’ system quickly.

His position coach, Sean McVay, was impressed with the way the former UVa player picked things up.

“The thing that has stood out about Joe so far is that with the limited amount of opportunity he’s gotten on the field, he has prepared himself so well in the classroom,” McVay said. “He’s really attentive in meetings. He’s done a great job of being up to speed with his assignments and really gotten caught up with the amount if instillation we’ve had in the first few days.

“That’s the thing that gives you a chance to compete, is knowing how to prepare from adjusting from the collegiate level to the professional level,” McVay said.

The fact that Torchia came out of “Tight End U,” didn’t hurt. Virginia has a good reputation among NFL coaches for producing talent, especially at tight end.

“Joe’s one of those guys that has a chance to succeed at the next level,” McVay said. “So far in practice, he’s looked like he belongs.”

Torchia said that while he was the understudy to some of UVa’s best tight ends during his time in Charlottesville, he also was grateful for what he learned from former Cavaliers’ tight ends coach Bob Price and present line coach Scott Wachenheim, who coached Virginia’s tight ends last season and formerly coached tight ends for the Redskins.

Now, he’s learning from McVay.

“[McVay] knows the playbook inside and out,” Torchia said. “In fact, it’s almost unsettling how much he knows about the offense. But it’s good to have a coach like that. He has really imparted a lot of knowledge in just a few days to help me pick up the playbook.”

His focus this first week of practice is to learn the playbook and to be as involved as much as possible, including special teams and long-snapping, anything that can turn the coaching staff’s collective heads.

“You have to stand out to the coaches and you have to show them that you can make the team better,” Torchia said. “If you can’t, someone else will. Coach Shanahan talked to us about dedication and overachieving, so you have to make every rep count, especially as an undrafted free agent. You have to work your butt off to impress the coaches.”

Meanwhile, he is trying to not be overwhelmed by the totality of it all, living his dream, just like former UVa teammate Marc Verica, who is also in camp as an undrafted free agent fighting for notice at quarterback.

“Well, I grew up watching these guys play on TV on Sunday’s and so it’s easy to kind of be in awe of them,” Torchia said. “But once you get here, you have to have the mindset to be THAT guy that people are in awe.”