These survivors have almost gone the way of dinosaurs.
We're talking about former Ricks College football players who found Division I football rosters and are now finishing their eligibility.
"They're the last of the Mohicans," said former Ricks Coach Ron Haun.
BYU has five of those Ricks players. The list includes defensive captain Cameron Jensen, 2005 leading receiver Nate Meikle (gray-shirted at Ricks), all-conference tight end candidate Jonny Harline, linebacker Dan Bates and offensive lineman Erik Freeman. Spencer Franz of Rexburg is listed on Idaho State University's roster and 2001 punter Kip Facer is at UNLV.
Back in Rexburg, a year after the LDS Church phased out intercollegiate sports at Ricks as part of a transition to BYU-Idaho, LaNae H. Poulter wrote a 2002 retrospective piece on Ricks athletics that included this script: "Viking Stadium and the Hart Gymnasium lie in quiet repose like ships that have completed a grand, adventurous journey and await new assignments."
Well, so did players and coaches.
"Ricks was a great stepping stone for me," said Jensen, a Cougar senior and the glue that has held BYU's defense together through a five-game win streak. "Just playing there my first year of college, we had a great coaching staff, it was a great atmosphere, it was a feeding ground for BYU. We miss Ricks."
At the end of the 2002 school year, Ricks abandoned a national power junior college football program, and its orphans were scattered in the wind. There were 268 varsity athletes (all sports) at Ricks in 2001-02; in 20 years, 25 played on NFL or CFL, including Mountain View's Ben Cahoon ('93-94), who caught 99 passes this year for Montreal and is headed for the CFL Hall of Fame.
Former Ricks All-Americans made impact careers in the NFL including Jason Buck (Outland Trophy and two Super Bowl rings), Ravens lineman Ed Mulitalo, David Dixon (Vikings) and Greg Clark (49ers).
On Jensen's Ricks team, quarterback Robbie Hoff went to Western Michigan and tight end John Clark ended up at Utah, as did Spencer Toone.
Head football coach Haun migrated to Weber State to work with Ron McBride before taking the head coaching job at Dixie State College, where former Cougar defensive coordinator Ken Schmidt — another former Ricks College head football coach — is now his D-coordinator.
Basketball coach Clyde Nelson remained on faculty as a physical education instructor at BYU-Hawaii, sharpened up his golf game and is now teased by friends as the man in charge of the largest intramural sports program in the country.
When Ricks football died, it impacted BYU-Provo football recruiting. Just how big of an impact is a matter of debate. One person who calls the impact huge is a former member of Ricks football staff, current BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae.
"No question, it's had an impact on BYU football, a direct impact," Anae said. " It was an excellent training ground in two ways and purposes. First, it was a training ground for kids to learn and understand the Honor Code and to understand standards and how important lifestyle off the field was in college. Second, academics were also important.
"But that mesh between faith and academics on a junior college level was exhibited there at Ricks just as it is here on a four-year level. To get the kids we did there at Ricks, who were non-LDS, turned out to be almost a proving ground for them. BYU would be interested to see if they could fit in here, and it was an easy transition for many of those kids.
Anae said BYU placed recruits at Ricks. "Some were not academically qualified for a four-year school, and others were either overlooked or late bloomers. For me, who has been on both sides of it, there is no question in my mind it (the end of football at Ricks) has had a negative impact on BYU football."
Declared Anae: "There is nothing out there to replace it. There is not a faith-based institution like Ricks on the junior college level."
Cahoon, who hopes to lead Montreal to the Grey Cup next week, said Ricks football gave him a chance to prove himself.
"I think for a lot of people, me included, it gave us a chance to keep playing football, to keep the dream alive. We ran a very similar offense to BYU's offense and were very well-coached up there. I'm a little sad to think they don't have collegiate sports up there, because it was such a big part of the social life."
Predictions for this weekend:
AIR FORCE 24, ARMY 21: The Falcon loss to the Cougars took its toll on AFA, with four to five players injured, leaving the field either on crutches or gurney. Look for the Falcons to bounce back against their long-time foe.
TCU 42, UNLV 10: The Frogs are healthy and rolling after poking the Cowboys real good in Fort Worth. If the Frog staff can keep their players off the Strip and focused on the task at hand, this will be an easy stroll.
WYOMING 32, SAN DIEGO STATE 17: This is not the place for the Aztecs to heal up after the embarrassing loss to Cal-Poly last week. Cowboys will take out their boots and put their heels on throats.
BYU 42, COLORADO STATE 14: With no running game, the Rams will throw it at will at Bronco Mendenhall's defense and see what sticks. Look for the Cougar ball control offense to determine the point spread.
RECORDS: Last week — 2-3; overall — 33-15 (.687)
A few BYU names from Ricks College
Jason Buck, defensive line
Rex Burningham, offensive line
Royce Bybee, quarterback
Ben Cahoon, receiver
Jamie Cook, safety
John Denney, defensive line
Kent Griffith, offensive line
Matt Johnson, offensive line
Fotu Katoa, tight end
Ryan Keele, offensive line
Ed Lamb, linebacker
Dave Lauder, kicker
Jared Lee, safety
Travis McBeth, tight end
Spencer Nead, tight end
John and Stan Raass, defensive linemen
Chad Robinson, linebacker
Aaron Roderick, wide receiver
Marty Van Roosendaal, offensive line
David Vimahi, offensive line
Gary Webster, kicker
Teag Whiting, offensive line
Rick Wilson, defensive line
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com