Now that senior Novich Hunter is done with football and now one of Larry Eustachy's roundballers, the Rest of the Story can be told.
Hunter came to USU as a JC transfer with pal Covington Cormier. He walked onto Eustachy's team, then walked on in football, got a scholarship and became a fixture on the banged-up '94 and '95 offensive lines.The always-cheerful Hunter was often lauded on radio and TV as a pulling tackle in front of Abu Wilson as coaches found ways to make up for size (6-foot-2, 263-pound) with basketball feet.
Coach John L. Smith delights now in telling how Hunter held his own, literally, against bigger players.
"Novich will hold you every play," Smith bellows, laughing. "He's the best cheater I've ever known.
"He talks to the officials," Smith reveals. "He talks them out of it. You go back and look at the films, and you say, `How did he end up with only one holding call?' He got one of his (at UNLV) given to Robert (Holmes)!" Smith marvels.
"Between the call and them getting to the sideline to report it, Novich talked the officials out of it. He said, `Tell coach Smith it was 61.' I swear!" Smith says, appreciating such devious skill.
ANCHORS AWEIGH: Eustachy hates flying and rarely travels with his team or family so as to not make them nervous. He frequently drives as the others fly. Saturday he said he would leave Monday for Hawaii and the Big Island tourney that starts Friday. The rest of the group was to leave Wednesday.
Asked if he was driving to Hawaii, the coach said he was going "by boat."
When wife Stacy was told he'd said he'd leave Monday, she said, "Maybe he's driving. Or going by boat." She knows him well enough that she was serious.
FINALS: Big West final football stats show USU owning only one team category, penalties, at 102.8 yards/game, nearly as much as Pacific (51.6) and Arkansas State (54.4) combined.
Junior Micah Knorr was the only individual leader with 1.1 field goals per game. Knorr's 56-yarder was the BWC's longest. Junior Jason Bandy had the best punt return (79 yards). Senior Abu Wilson tied for the league-high in single-game rushing (251).
Senior Kevin Alexander was second in the Big West, and second in the NCAA, at 8.4 catches per game (1,400 yards, 15.2 per grab). Alexander was sixth/BWC (142.2 ypg) in all-purpose yardage while Wilson was second/BWC, fifth/NCAA at 182.2 ypg. Wilson (1,476) missed the BWC rushing title by 64 yards but had the same per-carry (5.4) as leader Charles Talley of Northern Illinois.
Wilson was No. 2/BWC in scoring (8.18 ppg) and 10th/BWC total offense (134.2), while QB Patrick Mullins was fourth/BWC, 19th/NCAA (243.5). Freshman Craig Miller and junior Spencer Waggoner tied for fourth/BWC in interceptions (four), and junior Nate Morreale was the BWC's No. 3 punter (39.9).