Trevor Insley poses with his wife, Nicki, son Ryder and daughter Emry at the 2014 San Clemente Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony in May. Photo: Jim Shilander
SC’s Trevor Insley’s lone NFL touchdown was thrown by new career touchdown king Peyton Manning
By Steve Breazeale
Trevor Insley remembers the play vividly.
Poised at the line of scrimmage alongside fellow Indianapolis Colts’ receiver Reggie Wayne, Insley was supposed to sell what looked like a screen pass-play to the Atlanta Falcons defense. He burst off the line, held a block on a defender for a second or two, and then dashed up field, where his All-Pro quarterback would find him.
Peyton Manning lobbed a pass in front of a wide open Insley who, after laying out to make the grab, landed safely in the end zone. The San Clemente native had his first, and only, career NFL touchdown reception.
Manning would, of course, go on to throw plenty more touchdown passes. On Sunday, Oct. 19, Manning eclipsed Brett Favre as the NFL’s all-time career passing touchdowns leader when he connected with Demaryius Thomas for an eight-yard strike. Manning would toss four touchdowns in the game, bringing his career touchdown pass total to 510.
Insley’s touchdown catch was the 108th of Manning’s long and storied career. Both are now linked to arguably the most glamorous offensive benchmark in the sport.
Insley, who holds NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision records for most receiving yards in a career (5,005) and yards in a season (2,060), still has the ball he caught that day. It sits in his office, alongside photos and other memorabilia to remind him of that special time in his life.
“All of the hard work and time and effort that I put in to making it to the NFL and then to actually score a touchdown, was kind of that moment of ‘Alright I made it. I did it’,” Insley said. “To be in that end zone, catching a pass from Peyton Manning for my first NFL touchdown—it ended up being my only career NFL touchdown—it was great. It was a really neat experience. It’s been fun this last week to kind of stir up a lot of that emotion and feelings and memories.”