Stanford & Boise State Pro Days Are Final Farewells To Program Legends

So often are people or happenings in the sports world labeled as The Greatest, the concept loses meaning for those truly warranting it.

The 24/7/365 sports media cycle is a funny thing. That ESPN was considered a risky venture, eliciting a Mr. Hand-like response in 1979 — You want to air nothing but sports? What, are you people on dope? — is laughable in retrospect. So lucrative a market is the 24-hour a day sports industry, ESPN now has multiple properties. One can’t pass an AM radio dial without landing on a handful of sports-dedicated talk stations. And the internet is the industry’s proverbial Santa Monica Pier, inhabited by a seemingly endless army of panhandlers begging for your clicks.

Standing out in such a crowded room requires shouting. This is no place for subtlety or thoughtfulness, scream like a maniac and you’ll be handsomely rewarded. The spectrum is Greatest Or Worst and the only middle ground is Boobies.

With careful consideration of history and a balanced weighing of their contributions to the programs, I can write that the athletes appearing at today’s Stanford and Boise State Pro Days are contributors to the greatest eras for either university. No soliciting phone callers from contrarian hyperbole. No Woody Paige going into convulsions. However, I may post a WAGs gallery. Read on to find out.

As is often the case, quarterbacks are the headliners. We all know about Andrew Luck’s status as the most surefire draft prospect since another Stanford QB, John Elway. And Kellen Moore’s career wins mark became a mantra repeated ad nauseum through 2011. Hopefully this can interrupt some of the white noise.

When Luck became the Cardinal’s starter in 2009, Stanford had not had a winning season since 2001. Stanford’s five wins the season prior tied the high in that time frame. It took a season-and-a-half with Luck as starting quarterback to surpass the cumulative win total of every campaign from 2002 through 2006, and two full seasons to match the ’02-’07 mark.

The three straight winning seasons struck Luck guided Stanford was the program’s most successful run since the mid-1970s, and just the fourth such streak in program history. Two of those runs came in the 1940s.

As much as media folk tend to credit one guy a little too much *cough*Tebow*cough*, Stanford needed more than just Luck for its fortune. Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro protected Luck to give him the necessary breathing room to rack up . The impressive recruiting class David Shaw signed to Stanford last month has the program looking a bit like O-Line U. Martin and DeCastro are founding members.

BSU’s Moore similarly has an outstanding line to thank for his success. Nate Potter was an All-American, and anchor of a line that allowed Moore to be sacked just 13 times all of 2011 — fewest in the nation. In fact, the Broncos were a top 10 pass protection bunch every one of Moore’s four seasons as starter. All told, the BSU QB was sacked just barely more times (54) than games he won (50).

That allowed him to connect, effortlessly at times, with outstanding receivers. Tyler Shoemaker is trying to woo NFL scouts today. Should he join the professional ranks next fall (SPOILER: he will), he’ll be the third NFL receiver from BSU in the past two years. Austin Pettis and Titus Young are already plying their trade for cash money.

Moore assumed starting duties as a freshman, like Luck. Unlike Luck, he wasn’t entrusted with establishing a program. BSU was two years removed from a season that could not be topped — which, in fairness, Moore didn’t necessarily do. It’s impossible to beat undefeated. However, 2006 could have been the pinnacle of BSU football. Moore ensured that would not be the case.

Moore was handed a torch burning strong and actually strengthened it. His tenure emphatically stated that BSU football was no flash in the pan, but a bonafide national powerhouse. His legacy will endure there for as long as the Smurf Turf is blue.

There may be others joining the departing classes atop the pinnacle, but no one surpasses them.

If you’ve made this far, I apologize for the lack of WAGs.