HOF8 Thursday, August 2, 2018
Wild and wonderful: A sampling of famous West Virginia athletes Randy Moss, who grew up just down the Kanawha River from Charleston in Rand, is part of an interesting and eclectic group of athletes from West Virginia. Here’s a sampling: ■ Bimbo Coles: His mama named him Vernell. He was known as Bimbo during his 14-year NBA career, three of which came with the Cavs. ■ Mike D’Antoni: The Rockets head coach was a star at Marshall University before going on to be a successful international player and an ahead-of-his-time coach in the NBA. ■ Frank Gatski: The tough-as-nails center won eight championships, including seven with the Browns. ■ Hal Greer: The Huntington native was a 10-time NBA All-Star and a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. ■ Sam Huff: He was born in a coal mining camp in Edna and his grittiness continued as a Hall of Fame linebacker for the Giants and Redskins. ■ Bob Huggins: This Ohio prep hoops legend made his name at Indian Valley South but was born in Morgantown, where he played his college basketball and now serves as WVU’s head coach. ■ Hot Rod Hundley: Long before he was the voice of the Utah Jazz, the Charleston native
Thrived during two-year stint with Thundering Herd By Josh Weir Repository sports writer
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here was no reason to get overly complicated when it came to getting the football to Randy Moss during his two-year terrorization of defenses for Marshall University. “We had a system, and it was a simple system,” said Bob Pruett, Moss’ head coach with the Thundering Herd in 1996 and ‘97. “If there was one guy on him, we checked out of whatever we were in and threw him the ball. It didn’t matter what else was going on.” It never was a bad choice to toss it at Moss, who caught 54 touchdowns and totaled 3,467 receiving yards in his two seasons in Huntington, W.Va. Moss landed there after he struck out at Notre Dame and Florida State because of off-the-field issues. He could play right away at Marshall since it was Division I-AA at the
PHOTO COURTE PHOTO COURTESY OF MARSHALL UNIVERSIT UNIVERSITY
★ Marshall University’s Randy Moss hauls in some of his school-
record 288 receiving yards during a 1996 game against Delaware.
time. The Thundering Herd went 15-0 and won the 1996 national championship in Moss’ first season. With Eric Kresser playing quarterback, Moss hauled in 28 touchdowns. His 288 receiving yards against Delaware that season remain a singlegame program record. The next season,
Marshall jumped to Division I-A. The 6-foot-4 Moss still was a force of nature. He caught 90 passes for 1,802 yards and 26 touchdowns with Chad Pennington doing the quarterbacking. Famously wearing shades during the ceremony, Moss finished
fourth in a stacked Heisman Trophy race, behind Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning and winner Charles Woodson. Moss’ time at Marshall was a win-win for player and school. Moss got on the field and showed what he could do, and Marshall got to utilize the most dangerous weapon in college football. Pruett, a West Virginia native, had gotten to know Moss when the University of Florida recruited him out of high school and Pruett was the Gators’ defensive coordinator. “It was all good,” Pruett said of coaching Moss. “We understood each other. Having the luxury of having coached some great athletes at Florida, I knew how high strung
was a scoring machine for the Mountaineers, becoming just the fourth player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points. ■ James Jett: Of course Al Davis wanted this Olympic gold medalist in the 4x100 as a Raiders wide receiver. ■ John Kruk: This beer-drinking native of Keyser was a career .300 hitter and three-time All-Star in the big leagues. ■ Mary Lou Retton: One of the United State’s most celebrated Olympians, the Fairmont native was the first American woman to win the allaround gymnastics gold. ■ O.J. Mayo: The Huntington native, who played his high school ball in Kentucky and Ohio, never quite became the next LeBron. ■ Nick Saban: College football’s preeminent head coach grew up in Monongah, a town of about 1,000, before attending Kent State and playing there for Massillon native Don James. ■ Nick Swisher: The ultimate “bro” was born in Ohio but raised in Parkersburg. ■ Rod Thorn: The long-time NBA executive was a good enough player that the West Virginia legislature declared him a “state natural resource” during his high school days so he’d play for WVU. ■ Jerry West: “Zeke from Cabin Creek” eventually became “The Logo.” ■ Jason Williams: Imagine being the only defender back on a 2-on-1 fastbreak with “White Chocolate” and Moss at DuPont High School.
they can be. “He practiced and played hard. Football meant something to him and winning meant something to him.” Pruett loved coaching Moss, whom he refers to as the best athlete he ever was around “by far.” He remembers Ole Miss putting a track-star cornerback on Moss early in the Motor City Bowl in 1997. “He creeps up on Randy, so what are we going to do?” Pruett said. “We threw it and he went 80 yards for a touchdown.” There was a game against Ball State earlier that season, which also had a respected corner. “He kept coming up and getting up on Randy, playing bump-and-run,”
JOSH WEIR
Pruett said. “Well, five touchdowns later, he backed off.” One of Moss’ most famous highlights — and the one Pruett believes put Moss in the national conscience — came at Army in Week 2 of 1997. With the New York media covering the game, Moss took a little inside screen pass and made at least five tacklers miss on his way to a 90-yard touchdown. Moss leapt over one diving tackler without even breaking stride in a breath-taking display of athleticism. “I mean, jiminy, he hurdles that guy and goes all he way,” Pruett said. “ESPN still shows that clip.” Reach Josh at 330-580-8426 or josh.weir@cantonrep.com On Twitter: @jweirREP