Jim Plunkett & Doug Flutie
Flutie Photo Source: http://recruiterpoet.com
Who would you rather have as your college quarterback: Jim Plunkett or Doug Flutie?
James William "Jim" Plunkett was born December 5, 1947 to Mexican-American parents in Santa Clara, California. Jim went to James Lick High School and is on the Hall of Fame wall in the James Lick gymnasium. He was recruited by John Ralston who would leave Stanford after Jim’s senior season to go and coach in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.
Jim’s teams went 22-8-2 while he was at Stanford. His most memorable victory was his last game vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 1971 Rose Bowl, in which Stanford upset Ohio State 27 to 17, destroying OSU’s hopes for a National Championship. (Ohio State would have to wait 31 years for a National Championship.)
Plunkett's arrival ushered in an era of wide-open passing and pro-style offenses in the Pac-8, a trend that has continued to the present. During his time at Stanford he would crush the total yards passing record in the Pac-8. (His complete stats are below.) His height, 6’ 3”, was also a big asset.
In Jim’s senior season he had 18 passing TDs and three rushing TDs, as well as 2,715 yards passing. Because of this, he was awarded the 1970 Heisman Trophy. He beat out Joe Theisman (Notre Dame) and Archie Manning (Ole Miss) for this award. His senior year he also was a consensus All-American, won the Maxwell Award, and was the Walter Camp Player of the Year.
| Jim Plunkett's College Stats |
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing |
|
| Comp | Att | Yards | Comp% | TD | INT | Carries | Yards | Td |
| 1968 | 10 | 142 | 268 | 2156 | 53.0% | 14 | 14 | 80 | 47 | 6 |
| 1969 | 10 | 197 | 336 | 2673 | 58.6% | 20 | 15 | 53 | 113 | 1 |
| 1970 | 12 | 211 | 388 | 2980 | 54.4% | 19 | 19 | 87 | 209 | 3 |
| Total | 32 | 550 | 992 | 7809 | 55.4% | 53 | 48 | 220 | 369 | 10 |
Douglas Richard Flutie was born October 23, 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland. His family lived in Florida for while, but then they moved up north to Natick, Massachusetts. Flutie graduated from Natick High School, where he played for the "Redmen". He was an All-League performer in football, basketball, and baseball. Flutie played for Boston College and his coach was Jack Bicknell; it was the only Division 1 school that gave him an offer, his height (5’ 9”) being a concern.
Doug’s teams went 31-14-1 while he was at Boston College. His most memorable game was a high scoring give and take game vs. the Bernie Kosar and the Miami Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were up 45 -41 with 28 seconds to go. After two passes moved the ball another 30 yards, only six seconds remained. On the last play of the game, Flutie scrambled away from the defense and threw a "Hail Mary pass" that was caught in the end zone by Gerard Phelan, giving BC a 47-45 win. This play would ultimately lead to Flutie winning the Heisman trophy a week later.
Flutie became the NCAA’s all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards. (His complete stats are below.) In his senior year he was a consensus All American, won the Heisman, the Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.
| Doug Flutie's College Stats |
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing |
|
| Comp | Att | Yards | Comp% | TD | INT | Carries | Yards | Td |
| 1981 | 11 | 105 | 192 | 1652 | 54.7% | 10 | 8 | 67 | 79 | 2 |
| 1982 | 12 | 165 | 348 | 2749 | 47.4% | 13 | 20 | 90 | 270 | 2 |
| 1983 | 11 | 177 | 345 | 2724 | 51.3% | 17 | 15 | 68 | 241 | 0 |
| 1984 | 12 | 246 | 423 | 3636 | 58.2% | 30 | 13 | 66 | 379 | 3 |
| Total | 46 | 693 | 1,308 | 10,761 | 53.0% | 70 | 56 | 291 | 969 | 7 |
So there you have it. Two legendary quarterbacks, their stats, a brief synopsis of their college careers. Which quarterback do you take, based on his college career, to lead your college team? Please comment by clicking the button below. However, before you do that, watch the videos of the two players:
Plukett Video ---> follow this link to video
Flutie Video ---> follow this link to video