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2012 Stanford Hall of Fame: Ron George

Younger fans might not remember former Stanford linebacker Ron George, but he was a force to be reckoned with on the field. He was a fearsome pass-rushing linebacker, and last fall we named him to the Silver Squad, a list of the top 25 Stanford players of the past 25 years. Now he's been inducted into the Stanford University Hall of Fame. (Some would say that's an even bigger honor than the Silver Squad.)

In the insightful interview below he reflects on his time at Stanford and discusses how those four years impacted the rest of his life. Here's a hint -- it's not about football. Stanford fans will love this, especially those who remember Ron George, but this should be required viewing for every aspiring college football player. Great stuff.

Silver Squad #2: RB Toby Gerhart

I've been writing in this space for the past fifteen months, and if there's one regret I have about starting when I did it's this. I never had the chance write about Toby Gerhart (2006-09).

You remember Toby. 

Even though he had put up some astounding numbers in high school, expectations were low for him upon his arrival at the Farm. Other Pac-10 schools had recruited him, but most had seen his bruising running style and physical frame and figured he translated into a fullback at the collegiate level. Stanford offered him a chance to compete at the tailback position -- and play baseball as well -- so Toby became a Cardinal.

He played in every game as a freshman, and even started once, but his contribution was modest: 106 carries for 375 yards. Even so, he entered his sophomore campaign as one of the top backs on the squad and rushed for 140 yards on just twelve carries in the season opener against San Jose State... before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the third quarter.

Expectations are obviously reduced for any running back returning from a serious knee injury, but Gerhart had a phenomenal junior season, one of the best of any Stanford running back in history. He broke Tommy Vardell's single-season school rushing record, racking up 1,136 yards, and also ran for fifteen touchdowns. Following the season he was named second-team All-Pac-10 and seemed poised for an historic senior season.

Silver Squad #3: OT Bob Whitfield

The first time I heard about Bob Whitfield (1989-91), he was still in high school, but he was already creating a buzz. A Sports Illustrated piece speculating about the future of the NFL included a projected All-Pro team for five or ten years down the road, and Whitfield was selected as a starting offensive lineman even though he was yet to play a single down as a collegian.

The Best Big Game Ever

It's hard for me to believe that this game took place more than twenty years ago, but the 1990 Big Game simply has to be the best in the history of the rivalry. (Last year I wrote about my experience at that game; take a read if you have the time.) If you were to ask a Cal grad, of course, you'd get a different -- and obvious -- answer, but that's part of what made this game so great. The Travesty of 1982 had only happened eight years earlier and was still a tangible part of Big Game's recent history. With that defeat as subtext, the improbable victory in the 1990 game was even sweeter.

The good folks at Stanford Football have just released a video recap of the 1990 game, and it's a must-watch. Enjoy.

Silver Squad #4: FL Troy Walters

The first thought that comes to mind when I think about Troy Walters (1996-99) is his odd position listing. He was obviously a wide receiver, but for some reason he was archaically listed as a flanker, as if he were playing for Gil Thorp instead of Tyrone Willingham. My friends and I had lots of fun with this, noting that he was frequently referred to in game summaries as "Flanker Walters." We liked to wonder if there were people out there who might think that was his actual name. During his third season, we'd see phrases like "the junior flanker scored a touchdown in the third quarter." Junior Flanker -- another great name.

Silver Squad #5: RB Brad Muster

I first started hearing stories about Brad Muster (1984-87 within the first few days after my arrival on campus as a freshman in the fall of 1987. I had been a huge sports fan for all of my young life prior to then, but sadly I knew only two things about Stanford football: there was John Elway, and there was the Play. I had never heard of Brad Muster.

Silver Squad #6: LB Ron George

Sometimes it's a drag being older than the internet. After scouring the web for weeks looking for a photo that would do justice to the fierce combination of speed and strength that linebacker Ron George (1990-92) brought to the field each Saturday afternoon, the serene portrait at left was the only image I could find. It doesn't really matter. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but a mountain of statistics and school records says a lot more than that.

George's Stanford career was short, but he made the most of his three years. He led the team in sacks and tackles for loss each year, and stands atop the school list for career TFLs with sixty-one. His thirty-three career sacks are good for second in Cardinal history.

Silver Squad #7: RB Glyn Milburn

During my time at the university it was rare that a blue chip recruit chose Stanford over the traditional football factories, and Glyn Milburn (1990-92) was one of the few.

The best thing about his commitment was that it came with a great story. Apparently Milburn was enamored with Stanford as a high school senior, but his parents forced him to go to Oklahoma, a much more likely destination for one of the best high school running backs in the nation. Milburn dutifully signed with the Sooners, but as soon as he turned 21 and became his own man, he left Oklahoma for Stanford and lived happily ever after. Looking back twenty years later I can't imagine that that's completely true, but at the time I took it as gospel.

Silver Squad #8: WR Ed McCaffrey

For the past twenty years I've had a poster of Easy Ed McCaffrey (1986-87; 1989-90) hanging in my classroom. It had been the central photograph adorning the 1990 Stanford Football schedule poster, but when I started teaching I simply cut out the photo, laminated it, and slapped it on the wall. It's hung in six different classrooms, and two weeks from now Ed will be looking down at the twenty-first group of students to learn at his feet.

The photo is from the 1989 Notre Dame game at Stanford. The photographer took his image from the back corner of the south end zone. McCaffrey has just gathered in a pass, and his right toe is dragging the turf just before he will fall out of bounds. It's a touchdown. A packed Stanford Stadium stretches out behind him, and a crystal blue California sky completes the scene. The Cardinal lost that game, but twenty-two years later, it doesn't matter.

Silver Squad #10: FB Tommy Vardell

If we're to believe the mythology, then-head coach Denny Green gave Tommy Vardell (1988-1991) his nickname following the Notre Dame game in 1990. "Touchdown Tommy" had put his stamp on that game by scoring four one-yard touchdowns in the 36-31 Cardinal upset over the top-ranked Fighting Irish at South Bend. (Also, check out this great piece on the game written by Stanford play-by-play voice Bob Murphy. Great stuff.)

When the nickname came isn't so important, but it certainly stuck. When you look at Vardell's numbers, his place at #10 on this list might seem a bit high. After all, his 1,789 career rushing yards are only good enough for tenth on the all-time Stanford list behind people like Mike Mitchell, Brian Allen, Kerry Carter, and Anthony Kimble, and current back Stepfan Taylor will likely cruise past him in the third or fourth game this year.

Some running backs, though, cannot be measured simply with yards from scrimmage. Vardell was in the perfect place at the perfect time. Coach Green had shrewdly realized that size does matter when putting together an offensive line, and he took that to an extreme. Three hundred pound linemen seem to grow on trees nowadays, but in the early 1990s Stanford football was noteworthy for being one of the few offensive lines in all of football -- NFL included -- to average three hundred pounds from tackle to tackle. Who better to run behind a line like that, than a bruising fullback like Vardell?