Post by elp525 on Oct 1, 2011 4:54:43 GMT -5
09/30/2011
Frank Giardina
WVU Sports
This weekend is a special weekend for former WVU quarterbacks. Many past greats will be honored before and during the game with Bowling Green.
Among the names that are expected back for the weekend are Fred Wyant from the 50's, Mike Sherwood from the 60's, Bernie Galiffa from the 70's, Oliver Luck from the 80's and more recent names such as Major Harris, Pat White and Rasheed Marshall.
All are great names in Mountaineer history and all have a special place in the hearts of many fans.
But, to me the most underrated and sometimes forgotten about quarterback in WVU history is Jeff Hostetler. Maybe it is because he only played two seasons, but Hostetler is more important that most fans realize.
He transferred to WVU from Penn State and played in the 1982 and 1983 seasons. His first game turned out to be one of the most significant games in Mountaineer history. In the opening game of that season, Hostetler led the Mountaineers into Norman, Oklahoma to play the Barry Switzer-led Sooners. No one nationally and no one locally expected WVU to win.
Hostetler put on a show that day and he lit up the scoreboard for 41 points as West Virginia won by two touchdowns. It was a stunning defeat for Switzer and the Sooners.
Since that game, WVU football has never been the same. It was that day, more than any other, that WVU stood up and said to the college football world...."Hey look at us. We are now a big boy too."
Hostetler played two successful seasons in Morgantown at a time when eastern football was at its best. Penn State won a national title in 1982. Pitt, with Jackie Sherrill and Dan Marino, was also a top 5 program.
After his college career, Hostetler went into the NFL and he did what no other WVU quarterback has done. He won a Super Bowl. He led the New York Giants to a win over the Buffalo Bills at the end of the 1991 season in Tampa in one of the best Super Bowls ever played.
Pat White was an incredible player at WVU. So was Major Harris. But neither carried the WVU banner into the NFL. Jeff Hostetler did. He did it with class and grace.
As we look back on quarterbacks in WVU history, I am not sure anyone was more important than Jeff Hostetler.
Frank Giardina
WVU Sports
This weekend is a special weekend for former WVU quarterbacks. Many past greats will be honored before and during the game with Bowling Green.
Among the names that are expected back for the weekend are Fred Wyant from the 50's, Mike Sherwood from the 60's, Bernie Galiffa from the 70's, Oliver Luck from the 80's and more recent names such as Major Harris, Pat White and Rasheed Marshall.
All are great names in Mountaineer history and all have a special place in the hearts of many fans.
But, to me the most underrated and sometimes forgotten about quarterback in WVU history is Jeff Hostetler. Maybe it is because he only played two seasons, but Hostetler is more important that most fans realize.
He transferred to WVU from Penn State and played in the 1982 and 1983 seasons. His first game turned out to be one of the most significant games in Mountaineer history. In the opening game of that season, Hostetler led the Mountaineers into Norman, Oklahoma to play the Barry Switzer-led Sooners. No one nationally and no one locally expected WVU to win.
Hostetler put on a show that day and he lit up the scoreboard for 41 points as West Virginia won by two touchdowns. It was a stunning defeat for Switzer and the Sooners.
Since that game, WVU football has never been the same. It was that day, more than any other, that WVU stood up and said to the college football world...."Hey look at us. We are now a big boy too."
Hostetler played two successful seasons in Morgantown at a time when eastern football was at its best. Penn State won a national title in 1982. Pitt, with Jackie Sherrill and Dan Marino, was also a top 5 program.
After his college career, Hostetler went into the NFL and he did what no other WVU quarterback has done. He won a Super Bowl. He led the New York Giants to a win over the Buffalo Bills at the end of the 1991 season in Tampa in one of the best Super Bowls ever played.
Pat White was an incredible player at WVU. So was Major Harris. But neither carried the WVU banner into the NFL. Jeff Hostetler did. He did it with class and grace.
As we look back on quarterbacks in WVU history, I am not sure anyone was more important than Jeff Hostetler.
