![]() It was Warren who jumpstarted BYU’s love affair with the passing game and star QBs. Warren was nicknamed the Swamp Rat after his career as Tennessee’s quarterback and a stint with the Cincinnati Bengals. Typical Edwards finesse of a situation.Įdwards hired Dewey Warren to coach his quarterbacks. Whittingham had a more aggressive personality and pressed for more control of the defense. Edwards solved that by elevating Felt to assistant head coach and secondary coach, and made Whittingham the defensive coordinator. Both were knowledgable, experienced and sorely needed to bring expertise to the program. Right out of the chute, Edwards had a challenge with Felt as defensive coordinator and Whittingham, who coached linebackers. Kicker John Monahan made field goals of 27 and 45 yards.Įdwards had hired outstanding assistant coaches including O-line coach Dave Kragthorpe and three defensive experts in former NFL players Dick Felt, Fred Whittingham and Jim Criner, who was later the head coach at Boise State (1976-1982) and Iowa State (1983-1986). Terry completed 15 of 23 passes for 149 yards. Terry ran for a pair of touchdowns and Van Valkenburg ran for another. One of the offensive linemen on that squad was Paul Gustavson, who later became an accomplished organizational behavior scientist who helped both Tom Holmoe and former BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall with leadership principles. Gustavson wrote a book with Mendenhall entitled “Running into the Wind.” The receivers included Logan Hunter, Mike Pistorius and Dennis Doman. The quarterback was Dave Terry from Newport, California, and he handed off the ball to Van Valkenburg, Dan Taylor, Steve Stratton, and the late Wayne Bower, father of former BYU basketball player Danny Bower, a junior college All-American at Ricks College. Dave Atkinson later set a school record for interceptions in a season, and he had one that day. One of the defensive backs was former Provo High star Dave Atkinson, son of former BYU head football coach Chick Atkinson (1949-55). 16, 1972, the Cougars fielded a team comprised of a few legends, including running back Pete Van Valkenburg. Van Valkenburg would later lead the NCAA in rushing, ultimately winning the nation’s rushing title. He tried to hire the best coaches he could get to come to Provo, then he got out of their way and let them do their job.” He just had that way about him and his leadership style never changed from the beginning until the end. “He was the same that day as he was 10 years later,” said Olson. “Everyone loved him. A few of my first questions were how Edwards approached that game, what he was like, what did he do and how did he evolve into what we know as one of the winningest college coaches of all time. I saw Olson the other day in the Student Athlete Building and chatted with him about that first game, the beginning of the Edwards era. Back in those days schools could field a freshman team and play a schedule on their own. Star Valley, Wyoming, native Mel Olson, a former offensive lineman with previous BYU head coach Tommy Hudspeth, was a freshman coach on Edwards’ staff that first season. The Baylor win was his 50th as head coach, 50 years after Edwards’ first win. 9-ranked Baylor last Saturday in the stadium named after his mentor. Sitake, who fashions his coaching style after Edwards’, is fresh off a victory over then-No. He went to the Fiesta Bowl in his third year.Īfter that first game, Edwards was headed for the College Football Hall of Fame, establishing a brand that includes the rise of the current program under the direction of one of his former players from the ’90s, Kalani Sitake, now the head coach of the No. He then won 256 more over 29 seasons, including 19 league titles with 22 bowl appearances at a school that had never been to a bowl game. It turned out to be a 32-9 win over Kansas State from the Big Eight Conference. It’s been half a century this week.įifty years ago this Friday, LaVell Edwards walked onto the field for pregame warmups for his first game as a Division I head football coach.
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