He also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Washington Redskins.
Tupa played mostly quarterback at Brecksville–Broadview Heights High School; he led his team to the state championship while also lettering in basketball (where he averaged 20.8 points per game) and baseball (where he was a pitcher and shortstop).
After sitting three seasons behind Mike Tomczak and Jim Karsatos, Tupa took over the starting quarterback job at Ohio State University in 1987, throwing for 2,252 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
[7] After spending the entire 1990 season as strictly a holder on kicks, he was the primary quarterback for the Cardinals the following year, playing in 11 games and throwing six touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
1992 also marked the last time Tupa was used regularly as a quarterback; after that he almost exclusively punted, with only emergency occasions or trick plays making use of his throwing skills.
2002 saw Tupa sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was their punter on their road to Super Bowl XXXVII, where they defeated the Oakland Raiders.
The final pass of Tupa's career was thrown in an overtime loss in the 2002 season-opener against the New Orleans Saints during a punt attempt from the Buccaneers' five-yard line.
[18][19] His son Tom Tupa III (high school class of 2013) was a quarterback for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
[20] His son Tim Tupa (high school class of 2014) played wide receiver for the Bowling Green State University.