Gary Sheide: BYU's forgotten quarterback

So I found out at the last minute that I'd be covering the BYU-UCF game and had to scramble for a story idea (we had two other reporters already writing about the game). While in the press box, they announced Gary Sheide would be available for interview at halftime, so I jumped on it. I really liked writing this story, but what keeps it from being a great story is the lack of art (for some reason neither of our two photographers chose to take a picture of him) and a lack of quotes (we could hardly hear each other with the marching band playing so close).

Pop quiz: Who was LaVell Edwards’ first award-winning quarterback?

It’s not Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson or Jim McMahon.

It’s also not Virgil Carter — he played at BYU years before Edwards became head coach.

No, the correct answer is Gary Sheide.

Haven’t heard of him? You’re not alone.

Somehow, Sheide has remained largely forgotten by history, despite being Edwards’ guinea pig for a pass-oriented offense and starting a trend that earned BYU the nickname of “Quarterback U.”

On Saturday, Sheide was inducted into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame, nearly four decades after his playing days at BYU were done. Four other Cougar greats were also inducted, including former men’s volleyball coach Carl McGown, track and cross country star Courtney Pugmire Meldrum, golfer Andy Miller and women’s volleyball player Mariliisa Salmi.

In Edwards’ second season as BYU’s coach, he needed to replace the nation’s leading rusher, Pete Van Valkenburg, who ran for 1,386 yards and led the Cougars to a 7-4 record in 1972. Instead of replacing Van Valkenburg with a dominant running back, Edwards decided to build his offense around the quarterback and a drop-back passing game — something unheard of in college football at the time. His candidate for this experiment: Sheide, a quarterback from Diablo Junior College.

In 1973, Sheide completed 60 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,350 yards, 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was second in the nation in completions per game (17.7) and third in total offense (234.3 yards per game). However, BYU finished with a 5-6 record — the only losing season in Edwards’ 29-year career.

In 1974, Sheide had 2,174 yards, 23 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. More importantly, he led the Cougars to a 7-4-1 record, which was enough to win the WAC championship and give BYU its first bowl game appearance — the Fiesta Bowl, where BYU lost to Oklahoma State, 16-6.

Sheide was named the WAC MVP, was an All-American honorable mention, finished eighth in the Heisman voting and became the first of seven Cougars to win the Sammy Baugh Trophy, awarded to the nation’s best passer.

In 1975, the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Sheide in the third round with the 64th overall pick. However, a shoulder injury prevented him from ever playing a game in the NFL. Instead, he became a businessman, gym teacher, high school football assistant coach and color analyst for BYUtv, all while fading into history and becoming BYU’s forgotten quarterback.

Last year, BYU held a large quarterback reunion with Carter, Nielsen, Wilson, McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer and Steve Sarkisian. Sheide was invited, not as an honored guest, but as a paying customer. Deseret News columnist Lee Benson wrote about the snub, which Sheide believes may have been influential to him being inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame this weekend.

But why did it take nearly 40 years for Sheide to receive this honor?

Perhaps his resume was just not impressive enough. He ranks 13th on BYU’s career passing yards list (4,524), but he’s only 1,353 yards ahead of current Cougar quarterback, sophomore Jake Heaps. He has the second-most touchdown passes in a game (6), but so does six other former Cougar quarterbacks.

Maybe Sheide just got lost in the shuffle of all the other great BYU quarterbacks. He didn’t put up mind-boggling stats like Detmer, he didn’t have a Hall of Fame career in the NFL like Young and he didn’t win a bowl game with a last-second miracle like McMahon. He wasn’t a first-team All-American and he only won 12 games in two years.

Statistically, Sheide was good, but not great, which may have hurt his legacy over the past four decades. Measurable statistics and awards stand out better over time than intangible qualities like being a pioneer of a storied offense.

Over the years, there have been a few stories about Sheide being the forgotten quarterback at BYU and how he deserves to be included in every great quarterback list. But as soon as it was announced he would be inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame, the interest and attention seemed to fade.

At halftime during BYU’s 24-17 win over UCF on Friday, the media were allowed to interview Sheide, but only two reporters went down to the field to talk to him. Perhaps he was more interesting as BYU’s greatest snub and forgotten hero, and now that he is being remembered and properly honored, there’s nothing more to say.

Sheide himself didn’t have much to say — maybe because the marching band began playing its halftime show nearby, or maybe because he simply likes to deflect the attention off himself.

He showed no signs of bitterness or resentment for being forgotten for 37 years, and repeatedly emphasized his gratitude for the award and the distinction of being labeled as the first great quarterback of the LaVell Edwards era.

“It’s a real honor,” Sheide said. “This is a special treat for me.”

He also enjoyed reminiscing about big wins over Utah and then WAC-powerhouse Arizona State during his career.

“We had a great team those years with a lot of great players,” he said. “We made some memories that’ll last forever.”

So now, after remaining in obscurity for so long, Cougar fans younger than 50 may now begin to understand the impact Sheide had on BYU. Without him succeeding in Edwards’ then-revolutionary approach, greats like McMahon, Young and Detmer might never have come through BYU.

No longer the unsung hero or BYU’s biggest snub, Sheide is now properly put in the category of gone, but not forgotten. Better late than never.

There and Back Again: A Reporter's Tale

This is an awesome picture our photographer, Luke Hansen, got of Kyle Van Noy forcing the game-winning fumble. It was a great play to end a great game and even greater trip. I've already posted my three stories I wrote for The Daily Universe — this is a more detailed account of my trip as a whole.

So the genesis of this trip began a month ago. I was staying late, helping put together some Education Week stuff, when I got a call from Professor Carter, asking me if I'd be interested in going to the Ole Miss game. Later I found out I was chosen to go because the sports editor here has never really shown much passion for writing stories, and since I couldn't be the sports editor, this was kind of my consolation prize. And I'll admit, it was a pretty darn nice consolation prize, especially since this is the only away game we get to send anybody to.

The actual trip began early Friday morning. Professor Carter picked me up at 4:45 a.m. to catch our 7:05 flight to Atlanta. Along with me and Prof. Carter was his 14-year-old son, Joshua, and our photographer, Luke Hansen. They were good travel buddies.

The flight to Atlanta was smooth and quick. I got to watch some Sports Center and SpongeBob on the way. From the plane, I was amazed at how many trees there were in the South. Now I know why so many non-Utahns complain that Utah doesn't have any trees.

Atlanta was a nice airport, and I got to eat at Popeye's for the first time. It was like a casual KFC staffed with friendly, sassy black women — just like in the commercials. After that, we caught an 18-minute flight to Birmingham, Alabama.

At Birmingham, we rented a car, which was fancy hybrid. It was key-less, and we had a hard time figuring out how to start the car, so we found a worker, a black guy with shoulder-length dreadlocks. He came out and said, "Oh, that's a hai-bred" in a really sweet Southern accent. Apparently we were starting the car, it just didn't make any noise.

The drive through Alabama was nice. In Utah, if you go driving anywhere for more than an hour, you quickly run into a whole lot of nothing. But not there. Everywhere we went was decorated with large, beautiful trees and rolling, green hills. We did go past some areas that were hit with a tornado a year ago, and they were still pretty beat up.

When we crossed over into Mississippi, we began playing Elvis songs to prepare ourselves for our stay in the town of his birth, Tupelo. Strangely enough, the songs seemed to have more impact out there. I think I appreciate the King a little bit more now.

Our hotel was small, but nice. Right next door to it was an authentic Southern diner called Huddle House, where we quickly ate before heading to the fireside. I had a very messy and very tasty hamburger and the waitress was a bit surprised when none of us ordered an ice tea. In the parking lot, an old guy got a little perturbed with our New York license plate (I'm not sure why it was New York). When we told him we're not from New York, he said, "Alright, that's OK. We don't mind Yankees coming through here, but we don't want 'em to stay."

We got to the fireside a little late, but we were lucky to find a parking spot. The entire building was jam-packed. I've never seen so many people crammed into a stake center. The fireside itself was actually really good and uplifting.

When it ended, they asked everybody to help put the chairs away, so they could mingle with the football players. It was nothing less than a miracle how quickly that happened. We're Mormons, and we can move a lot of chairs in a hurry when we need to! After the mingling, I quickly interviewed Bryan Kariya before he had to board the bus, and a little girl asked me for my autograph. I declined, but I can see why she thought I was a football player. :)

After that, we went back to the hotel and I began writing my story. I wanted to use a lead about Elvis, but was worried it might be cheesy. I tested it out with my travel buddies, and they liked it, so I went for it. The next day, a communications professor I don't normally associate with, sent me an email out of the blue, telling me I had a nice lead. So I guess that means it wasn't too cheesy.

The next morning, we woke up early, had a nice breakfast in the hotel, and went to the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum. We didn't pay the $12 to go inside the museum, so we just took the free walking tour. I will be writing a full story on this later for The Daily Universe, so I'll just say that it was a relaxing and interesting way to start the day. It's fun to remember that all larger-than-life celebrities were once just ordinary people.

Driving to Oxford, we listened to the local sports radio. They picked BYU to lose, saying maybe Ty Detmer's team could have won in Ole Miss, but this one won't. At the end of his segment, he said, "Now remember, whatever happens to your team today, make sure you get up and go to church on Sunday."

We first went to Oxford, which is beautiful little town that reminded me a lot of my mission. In the town center is a large, classical courthouse with columns and everything. Around the courthouse are a lot of small shops with banners saying, "Go Rebels!" "Are you ready?!?" and "Hotty Toddy!" Playing up the Oxford angle, there is also a red double-decker bus and a red British phone booth. Everyone we met was very nice and welcoming. I can never say enough about the wonderful hospitality of Oxford.

When we got to the campus, we were completely overwhelmed. There was so many people and tents and tables and grills and TVs and satellite dishes and candlesticks and chandeliers! Luke didn't know where to start taking pictures and I didn't know who to talk to first. Luckily for me, most people would just walk right up to us and start talking. We weren't the enemy in their eyes, we were guests and they wanted to treat us right. After a while, it became perfectly natural to just walk up to somebody and start talking with them, or join someone watching the Utah State game. (Most Ole Miss fans wanted Auburn to lose, but a few didn't want the SEC to be embarrassed.) The only bad thing with talking to people was that I couldn't quote a lot of them because of their mild profanity. They never said anything offensive, it's just how they talk.

All the pictures and words in the world do not adequately describe what it was like to walk around the Grove. We wandered around for hours and still didn't see everything. The Grove is a large park at the entrance of the campus, and it serves as the heart of the tailgating party, but for every tent in the Grove, there is another one off it on some patch of grass on campus. But despite the sheer volume of people, it was very organized. There were emergency lanes running through the Grove and a few other areas that have NO TENTS sings. These few free spots were usually occupied with kids playing football.

Like I said in my story, the Grove is a major social event. Everybody wants to look their best, especially the ladies. They have to have the best spread, the best centerpieces and wear the best clothes. The only bad thing about the Grove, one fan told me, is that too many people don't want to leave it and forget about the football game. I guess that's what happens when your team only wins one conference game a year.

Some neat things I got to see include the family from the Blindside movie and the school's journalism building. The building itself was beautiful (like all the other buildings on campus). I especially liked one hall that had six TVs showing different news channels and front pages of the paper. However, I do have to say that their student newspaper is of a lot lower quality than ours. Just saying.

The highlight of the Grove was the Walk of Champions. Dedicated by the 1962 team that went 10-0 and won the national title, the Walk of Champions is a brick walkway through the middle of the Grove. A couple of hours before the game, the football team walks down it in single file, just wearing warmup gear, so you can see their faces. I've seen BYU fans get excited to see football players, but never anything like this. During the Walk of Champions, I could feel a tremendous amount of love and adoration for the players. It's really hard to describe.

The marching band was also there, but they seemed kind of sloppy to me. I guess it is the first game of the season, after all.

For lunch, Prof. Carter got us tickets to the BYU tailgating party. Apparently they had fans from 23 different states and Canada buy tickets. They also had to cap the number at 1,000, just to give you an idea of how many BYU fans were there. We had barbecue chicken sandwiches, coleslaw, pork & beans, very tasty lemonade and homemade ice cream. It was pretty nice, but I tried not to eat too much because I knew I'd be fed in the press box.

Heading up to the stadium, we met former Cougars Austin Collie and Dennis Pitta, both now in the NFL. The stadium at Ole Miss is just a little smaller than BYU's, but it's more impressive, knowing that Ole Miss the school is considerably smaller than BYU. The stadium has one huge video screen, a nice scoreboard bar running around the top (kind of like at the EnergySolutions Arena) and they even have some nice bushes and shruberies on the edge of the field. It is a very nice stadium.

The game started with clips of School of Rock and Kung Fu Panda 2 being played on the screen, followed by Jack Black appearing and saying, "Ole Miss fans, you might know me from School of Rock and Kung Fu Panda, but I have just one question for you: Are you ready?!?" This question starts the Hotty Toddy chant, which I couldn't print in the paper, but will put it here.

Hotty Toddy, gosh almighty

who the hell are we? Yeah

Flim-fam, bim-bam

Ole Miss, by damn!

Ole Miss fans yell this so loud and so fast. It really is quite powerful when the whole stadium does it. We heard it a lot in the Grove, but 55,000 people yelling it is something else. I kind of wish I wasn't in the press box so I truly could have experienced it.

Being in the press box was rather odd. I think I enjoy covering basketball games a lot more — you feel more part of the crowd. I was also expecting to have a TV in view, but I didn't. However, I was right on the 45-yard line and could see exactly how many yards were gained on each play. Sitting on my left was Dick Harmon and Jeff Call of the Deseret News, on my right was supposed to be someone from KSL.com, but they never showed up, which was great because we were rather cramped. Dinner was lasagna, which was rather nice.

At the start of the game, they reminded us that we weren't supposed to cheer in the press box. I thought this was rather odd, but sure enough, somebody started cheering when Ole Miss had a 44-yard punt return in the first quarter. He was quickly quieted and there was no further issues during the game.

The game started slow and ugly. At halftime, Jeff Call said, "We sure came a long way for one field goal." However, things did improve in the fourth quarter, and we escaped with a win. While I was getting quotes and whatnot, Prof. Carter and his son went back to the Grove, where they said one drunk fan did go after them a little, but everyone else was very nice and gracious in defeat.

We woke up early on Sunday and drove to church in Jasper, Alabama, which is just outside of Birmingham. Just like in almost every other church in the world, the walls here are covered in that scratchy brown stuff. The branch there was really small, maybe 20 or 30 people, which also reminded me of my mission. Everybody there was really happy to see us and treated us like royalty. We missed sacrament meeting, but they let the four of us take it in the branch president's office.

We then rushed to Birmingham, flew back to Atlanta, had a four-hour layover (which gave me some time to work on my stories), then had about another hour delay on the plane because the navigation computer or something was broken. So I didn't get home until midnight on Sunday, and it took a while to recover from not sleeping for so long, but it was entirely worth it. I can't wait to go back!

BYU begins independence story with win over Ole Miss

This is my story about the game that appeared in today's paper.

OXFORD, Miss. — One of the reasons the BYU football team went independent was

to gain greater exposure and tell its story to a wider audience.

On Friday, the Cougars held a fireside in a church building packed with more than

1,000 people. Several football players told stories from their full-time LDS missions

and coach Bronco Mendenhall explained that football isn’t everything for this team.

On Saturday, in front of a crowd of 55,000 (and an even larger ESPN audience), the

Cougars proved they can play as well as they can talk, by emerging with a 14-13

victory over Ole Miss.

Linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who made the game-winning fumble recovery, saw the

game as a great opportunity for BYU to spread its message.

“It’s just good to do it on national TV and tell everyone our story,” he said. “Everyone

one of us has a different story on the team, but you combine all our stories together

and it creates one big one.”

Van Noy certainly has a story to tell after Saturday’s game.

With the Cougars trailing 13-7 with a little more than five minutes left, the

Rebels found themselves pinned at their own 21-yard line, facing a third-and-27.

Quarterback Zack Stoudt dropped back to attempt a long pass, but was soon caught

by Van Noy.

“I kind of just came and chopped down at the ball,” Van Noy explained. “And it

happened to come out and bounced off his thigh.”

What went through his mind when he saw the ball rolling toward the end zone?

“Pick it up!” Van Noy laughed. “It’s not panic — it’s adrenaline to scrap for the ball. …

I just got lucky.”

Van Noy’s touchdown provided some much-needed scoring for the Cougars, who

had difficulty moving the ball at times, especially in the first half. During two

quarters of play, BYU couldn’t even put the ball in field goal range, and went into

halftime with a 3-0 deficit.

“You can’t take away what Ole Miss did defensively,” said coach Bronco

Mendenhall. “We contributed by not having as clean of play as we would have liked.

That kept some scores off the board. It shows us that our execution can and needs to

improve going into next week.”

The third quarter started a little better for BYU, until Ole Miss defensive back

Charles Sawyer intercepted the ball at the 4-yard line and returned it all the way

back for a touchdown.

“We made some mistakes,” said BYU quarterback Jake Heaps. “You look at my

turnover, my pick-six. … You can’t have those kinds of turnovers when we’re driving

down like that.”

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, after Ole Miss added another field goal, when BYU

was able to put together a successful drive. With 9:52 left in the game, Heaps found

Ross Apo for a 19-yard touchdown pass to make the score 13-7.

“We came together when it mattered at the end of the fourth quarter,” Heaps

said. “We put it together, and I’m proud of our team.”

After that, it was up to the BYU defense.

The defense not only held the Rebels to just two field goals, but also limited the

offense to 208 yards of total offense. Part of this may be attributed to the Rebels’ top

two rushers, Brandon Bolden and Enrique Davis, leaving the game with injuries, and

the question at quarterback for Ole Miss.

Barry Brunetti got the start, but only had four passing yards and 13 rushing yards

before being replaced by Zack Stoudt, who finished the game with 140 passing

yards.

Although Stoudt did play better than Brunetti, he committed the game-costing

fumble that Van Noy recovered.

“At a critical time, [Van Noy] made a critical play to help us win the football game,”

Mendenhall said. “That’s how you have consistency in terms of wins and success.”

Now BYU can focus on continuing to tell its story to a national audience. Next on the

schedule for the Cougars is a game at Texas that will be on ESPN2.

Ole Miss sets tailgating standard

This is my story about the Ole Miss tailgating party. It is currently the top story on The Daily Universe website.

OXFORD, Miss. — There’s a saying at Ole Miss to the effect of, “We might lose the

game, but we’ll never lose the party.”

Coincidentally enough, that was exactly what happened on Saturday during BYU’s

14-13 win at Ole Miss.

The tailgating party at Ole Miss is considered by many to be the finest tailgating

party in the country and has even been called “the Holy Grail of tailgating” by

Sporting News. After one visits the Grove, it becomes quite difficult to disagree with

those statements.

On the night before game day, thousands of Ole Miss fans line up and wait for

the “Mad Dash” after the Grove officially opens at 9 p.m. Some begin the partying

that night, but most simply set up their blue-and-red canopies to claim their spot.

On game day, the Grove overflows with tailgaters, covering nearly every grassy

surface of the Ole Miss campus with canopies, camping chairs, grills, tables, TVs and

chandeliers.

“We like to party with class,” said Mississippi junior Steven Harris. “It’s a tradition to

be trendy.”

Appearances are especially important at the Grove. A table isn’t complete without a

centerpiece of some kind (usually flowers in a vase, but chandeliers and candlesticks

are also common). Many tents have TVs and satellite dishes powered by generators

or onsite power plugs.

“It’s not just a tailgating party — it’s a social event,” Harris said. “Everybody wants

to look their best here.”

The men wear colored shirts (sometimes with ties), the women wear fancy cocktail

dresses and the children play football on the rare patches of grass not occupied with

tents.

Many visiting fans are overwhelmed with the endless sea of Ole Miss gear, but Rebel

fans insisted the party on Saturday was nothing special.

“This is first game, we’re still getting back in the groove,” Harris said. “You should

see it here for an SEC game. When LSU comes here, it’s eight times bigger.”

When asked to explain the phenomenon known as the Grove, most fans shrug and

simply say, “It’s the Grove.”

“Everything here is about tradition,” said Ole Miss sophomore Chase

Snyder. “Somebody just started this tradition and we keep it going.”

Many Ole Miss fans don’t even see it as tailgating, but call it “going Groving.”

The party starts early, with most fans investing the entire day to football, arriving

before 9 a.m. and returning to the Grove after the game. There is live music, plenty

of entertainment and generous amounts of hospitality.

Ole Miss fans pride themselves on their friendliness and are generally happy to see

fans from the visiting teams. They treat visitors like guests instead of enemies, and

eagerly offer water for those “not used to the humidity.” Some even jokingly offered

free beer for BYU fans.

There is also a pervading sense of football excitement resonating from the Grove

before the game.

Periodically, someone will yell out, “Are you ready?”, which will be answered by

everyone in the affirmative (with some mild profanity) and the Hotty Toddy chant.

“Hotty Toddy” is a unique Ole Miss phrase, which is generally used to mean “Go

Rebels,” but can also serve as a substitute for “welcome” and “thank you.” Most fans

are unsure of the actual meaning behind “Hotty Toddy,” but some speculate it was

based off a drink of whiskey mixed with tea, served warm.

Regardless of the meaning, the Hotty Toddy chant is constantly being shouted in the

Grove, especially before the Walk of Champions.

About two hours before the game, the Ole Miss football team walks through the

Grove along the brick path dedicated by the 1962 National Champion team. Ole Miss

fans crowd around the path to shower their team with cheers of adoration, as the

players walk by in single file with their helmets off.

With all the generosity and friendly feelings at the Grove, there are, however, just

two areas that cause contention: the black bear and LSU.

In 2003, Ole Miss decided to discontinue using the Colonel Reb mascot in all official

matters. The school went for several years without a mascot, but always kept

looking for one, even once attempting to use Star Wars character Admiral Ackbar.

In 2010, Ole Miss finally decided to use a black bear as the official mascot, but many

fans are still not sold on the idea, putting up “Bear-Free Zone” signs and even a

petition to bring back Colonel Reb.

“We don’t care about being politically correct,” said Ole Miss freshman Randy

Smith. “We just want to keep the tradition alive.”

The other topic that gets Ole Miss fans’ blood boiling is SEC rival Louisiana State

University.

“LSU fans are a bunch of jerks,” Snyder said. “They’re rude and mean.”

Many Ole Miss fans had much more to say about LSU fans, but little of what they said

is suitable for print.

Staying clear of those two topics, visiting fans will find the Grove a warm and

friendly area to enjoy a pregame party. For Ole Miss fans, the result of the football

game isn’t nearly as important as having a good time and making some new friends.

BYU fans pack church for football fireside

This is the story I wrote about the football player fireside the day before the game. I'll keep putting up more stories from my amazing trip to Mississippi.

TUPELO, Miss. — For one night, Elvis wasn’t the king of Tupelo, Miss.

On Friday night, the birthplace of Elvis Presley was taken over by the BYU football team.

While Ole Miss fans began setting up tents and barbecue grills at the Grove, BYU fans, LDS faithful and curious Mississippians packed the local stake center to be inspired by the Cougars.

In fact, there were so many people in attendance, that every available seat in the building was occupied. Beyond that, dozens of people stood in the halls, occasionally taking a quick peak inside the chapel to catch a glimpse of the football players.

All in all, approximately 1,150 people came to the fireside, according to usher Mark Westcott.

“This is the most people we’ve ever had in this building,” Westcott said. “We were expecting 600 people. We had two rooms set up for overflow, and ended up using five.”

One of the overflow rooms was the small library, which had about 20 people crowded around a small TV.

“We didn’t expect this many people,” said local resident and BYU alumna Julie Thorderson. “With all the city officials and everything, it was amazing.”

The fireside began with BYU president Cecil O. Samuelson being presented the key to the city.

“It’s nice to have other Christians come in and realize that [Mormons] aren’t always odd,” Thorderson said. “They were particularly impressed that it wasn’t all about football.”

Showing the world that the BYU football is interested in more than just football has been one of coach Bronco Mendenhall’s greatest goals since taking over the program in 2005.

“Winning games is just a side note to what we do tonight,” Mendenhall said during his fireside talk.

He explained that the football players voluntarily sign up to give the prayers, talks and provide musical numbers to share their testimonies of Jesus Christ.

“How does football blend with that?” Mendenhall asked. “I say, ‘If it doesn’t, then it should.’”

Mendenhall has taught his players the importance of using sports to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“I think that if we can be good role models as far as representing not only the Church, but the team as well, I think that can go a long way for kids who might not have their mind made up with what they want to do in life,” said senior running back Bryan Kariya. “They can have a good role model and something to aspire to.”

So far, the message seems to be carrying over well. Well enough for the Mississippi police to have to direct traffic after a football fireside, at least.