Yesterday for day 14, we called an audible from quarterback Ty Detmer of BYU to safety Kyle Hamilton of Notre Dame. Now today for day 13, we’re sticking to the game plan and going with a quarterback that dominated at Pittsburgh.
Dan Marino was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Central Catholic High School. He decided to stay home and play for the Pitt Panthers for four years from 1979 to 1982.
Marino played right off the rip as a freshman for the Panthers and had moderate success. He threw for just south of seventeen hundred yards and ten touchdowns along with nine picks.
The following season as a sophomore, Marino stayed at the helm of the Panthers offense and his play slightly progressed. He threw for sixteen hundred yards along with fifteen touchdowns and fourteen interceptions.
In 1981, Marino had his real breakout season. He passed for twenty eight hundred yards with thirty seven touchdowns and twenty three picks. His play earned him fourth place in the Heisman Trophy race in 1981.
1981 was Marinos best season as he struggled with the interception bug in 1982 as a senior. He passed for twenty four hundred yards with seventeen touchdowns and for the second season in a row, threw twenty three picks. He finished ninth in Heisman voting.
What’s amazing about Marinos college career is that he played with Hall of Fame, All Pro, and Pro Bowl offensive and defensive linemen. Rickey Jackson who’s a Hall of Famer, Hugh Green who was a Pro Bowl player, Russ Grim who’s in the Hall, and Mark May who made the Pro Bowl.
Marino was a part of a STACKED QB class in the 1983 NFL Draft. He was selected twenty seventh overall by the Dolphins where he spent the entirety of his great career.
Tomorrow for day 12, we’ll stick to quarterbacks and highlight a caveman lookalike for Stanford.