I know this is going to come as a shock to many of our fans, but Utah football didn’t start in 2003.
In 1964, Utah went to the Liberty Bowl and beat West Virginia. (Side Note, West Virginia fans referred to people from Utah as essentially white trash hillbillies). That Utah team was led by a Split End named…
Roy Jefferson.
Here is a quick bio:
"Roy Jefferson, Utah-Split End-1964 First Team All-American who led Utes to Liberty Bowl win…Two-time First Team All-WAC performer, leading team to 1964 conference title…Twice led team in receiving and led WAC in receptions (29) and receiving yards (435) in 1963."
And here is his Wikipedia link.
As you can see, Roy had a hell of a career, and if you follow his Wikipedia link you can see he had a heck of a career and a very nice NFL career as well.
Utah has never even had a player nominated for the College Hall of Fame, let alone be a member. It’s a shame it’s taken so long but at least it’s happened. Let’s hope Luther Elliss doesn’t have to wait this long
A year ago, I wrote this article urging Ute fans to get after the athletic department for promoting Luther for the college hall of fame. His contemporary, Greg Meyers from Colorado St. made it and Luther was a better player.
So congratulations to Roy Jefferson. It’s long over due and lets hope Luther follows soon.