As many BYU fans know, Ty Detmer was born and reared in a football family in Texas. His father, Sonny, is a high school coaching legend in the Lone Star State. Many credit his father as a major reason for Ty’s vast football knowledge.
Ty Detmer eventually became a multisport star at Southwest High School in San Antonio, lettering three times each in football, basketball, baseball and golf, plus an additional letter in track before enrolling at BYU and becoming one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in Provo.
After a redshirt season in 1987, Detmer played in 10 games during the 1988 season. His first career start, however, didn’t come until Oct. 29, 1988, against New Mexico. He completed 24 of 35 passes for 333 yards and five touchdowns, with no interceptions en route to a 65-0 win. He got more game action as a backup that season.
The Cougars finished the season 8-4 and earned an invite to play in the Freedom Bowl against Colorado. Detmer entered the game in the second half, throwing for 129 yards and a touchdown in the come-from-behind win, earning him MVP honors.
As a sophomore, Detmer had earned the starting job and showed flashes of his potential. One of his best games of the season came against Oregon in Provo, where he threw for 470 yards and three touchdowns in the 45-41 Cougar win. Many BYU fans who are over the age of 30 also remember the rivalry game that year, in which Detmer helped the Cougars get revenge against Utah after a 57-28 loss the year prior. The Cougars beat the Utes 70-31, and Detmer led the Cougars to 49 unanswered points in the first half. He finished with 358 yards passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
That season, the Cougars won their first outright WAC Championship since 1984 and earned another bowl game invite. They played in the Holiday Bowl against Penn State, and even though BYU lost that matchup, Detmer had another fantastic game, setting a bowl record with 596 yards of total offense. He finished his sophomore season with 4,560 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and his name on 11 NCAA records.
Most college football fans are aware of BYU’s 1990 season. After a road win against UTEP to open the season, Detmer had a primetime audience on ESPN against the No. 1-ranked Miami Hurricanes. He completed 38 of 54 passes (70 percent) for 406 yards and three touchdowns in the 28-21 upset win. Detmer emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate and his campaign even included a rap song.
BYU climbed into the top five in the rankings and were 10-1 heading into December and a matchup against Hawaii. On Dec. 1, 1990, Detmer found out that he had become the first WAC player to win the Heisman Trophy. He also won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback. Detmer finished the season 5,188 yards passing, 41 touchdowns and an astonishing 31 additional NCAA records. Last month, at the Heisman Trophy presentation, Detmer was honored on the 25th anniversary of his winning the award.
In 1991, Detmer’s senior season, he was part of one of the biggest games in WAC history as BYU and San Diego State tied 52-52 on Nov. 16. He again won the Davey O’Brien Award and also finished third in the Heisman voting. He was named a consensus All-American for the second consecutive season, earned another WAC Championship and finished his career with more than 15,000 yards passing and 121 touchdowns. BYU won 37 games that Detmer played in, including 29 wins as the starter.
He then embarked on a 14-year career in the NFL where he played for six different teams. During his time in Green Bay, Detmer famously taught Brett Favre what a nickel defense was. It was also said of him that, because of his football knowledge, he spent as much time as an additional coach instead of a backup quarterback while in the NFL.
Five years after retiring from the NFL, Detmer was named the head coach at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin in 2009. During his six seasons there, the Crusaders have steadily improved. Last season, Detmer’s team finished 8-1 and averaged more than 43 points per game.
Detmer was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and was also honored in April 2015 as an inductee to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Shortly before he was hired as the new offensive coordinator at BYU, NFL Films released a short documentary on the Detmer family that has fired up many of the BYU faithful.
Even Tuesday, at his introductory press availability, Detmer was his normal, humble self. He probably won over even more fans, who will no doubt hope for many more great memories. The only difference is that he will be calling the plays instead of throwing the touchdown passes.
Landon Walters studied history and political science at Salt Lake Community College. He is an avid sports fan and loves writing. Email: mavericksoccer_22@hotmail.com