College football players come and go but coaches like Penn State’s Joe Paterno and Florida State’s Bobby Bowden can stay at schools practically an entire lifetime. But even as coaches receive an unprecedented amount of attention – mostly in the form of criticism – little is known about their lives before taking over their current program.
So we dug deep to find details on the college playing careers of every single BCS coach, and just-so-happened to find some priceless photos along the way.
First up, the SEC:
.
Alabama: Nick Saban (Kent State, 1969-72)
He grew up pumping gas at his father’s station and dreamt of playing for West Virginia, but was deemed too small at 5-9 by the Mountaineer brass. He instead went to play for Don James – a.k.a. the “Dawgfather” – at Kent State and was on campus for the tragic 1970 campus shootings. After switching from quarterback, Saban started for three years as a DB.
Florida: Urban Meyer (Cincinnati, 1984)
Yes, Meyer was a Bearcat. After tendonitis ended his minor league baseball career, Meyer returned home to Ohio to walk-on as a defensive back. But he bolted after his first year – a 2-9 debacle that included a 48-17 beatdown in The Swamp – to accept an internship at local high school powerhouse St. Xavier.
Tennessee: Lane Kiffin (Fresno State, 1994-96)
Kiffin had some unfortunate timing. The QB never took a snap while sitting behind future NFL player Billy Volek – also his roommate. Fortunately his offensive coordinator at the time, Cal’s Jeff Tedford, asked him to become a graduate assistant instead of riding the pine as a senior.
LSU: Les Miles (Michigan, 1972-75)
Miles played guard for Bo Schembechler and his smashmouth offense. Considered undersized at just 6-1, Miles started two years. UM went 18-3-2 in that time and played in the ‘76 Orange Bowl.
Ole Miss: Houston Nutt (Arkansas/Oklahoma State, 1976-80)
Nutt bolted Fayetteville once as a coach and once as a player. The drop-back passer started four games for the Hogs as a freshman but transferred after Lou Holtz got the job and instilled the option. He headed to Stillwater where he remained a backup the rest of his career.
South Carolina: Steve Spurrier (Florida, 1963-66)
His college career was the stuff of legends, shattering the UF record books on his way to the 1966 Heisman. Always a brash personality, Spurrier is best remembered for waving off the starting kicker to boot a 40-yard winning FG as a senior vs. Auburn.
Georgia: Mark Richt (Miami, 1978-81)
Richt grew up dreaming of winning the Heisman for The U but wound up behind a guy named Jim Kelly. Richt actually got a chance to start in 1981 after an injury to Kelly. But he wound up suspended because of “self centered decisions that I had made.”
Arkansas: Bobby Petrino (Carroll College, 1979-82)
Petrino played for his father, Bob Sr., at Carroll College (NAIA) located in Helena, MT. Junior was quite the quarterback, winning league MVP honors in 1981 and ‘82 and leading the Fighting Saints to three straight conference crowns.
Auburn: Gene Chizik (Florida, 1981)
The son of a World War II hero Marine, Chizik played inside linebacker at Florida for just one season as a walk-on.
Kentucky: Rich Brooks (Oregon State, 1959-62)
We had to go way back in the archives for Brooks, who starred as a defensive back for the Beavers a half-century ago. He led Oregon State in picks as a senior (5) and to the Liberty Bowl; he also served as a reserve quarterback.
Mississippi State: Dan Mullen (Ursinus, 1990-93)
Mullen was a two-year starting TE at this tiny DIII school in eastern Pennsylvania and a first-team all-Centennial Conference selection as a senior.
Vanderbilt: Bobby Johnson (Clemson, 1969-72)
The two-way star played both WR and CB for the Tigers, leading the team in picks in ‘71 and ‘72. Johnson has been known to jump into practice and cover Vandy’s wideouts himself to show how things should be done – insert Vanderbilt offense joke here.
.
Got a question or comment? E-mail us here
Liked this story? Click here for Lost Lettermen’s RSS feed and receive all our great content
A special thanks to all the athletic departments for the photos to make this feature possible
Click here to sign up for a Lost Lettermen account and contribute to our wiki database of over 150K former college football and basketball players: Lost Lettermen sign-up
