"Yeah, he was also the roughest and meanest. I told him he could yell at me all he wanted to, but to never put his hands on me. So one time we were doing a field drill and he grabbed me by the hips and slung me down. Well, I just came back wide open. I had on full pads and he had on nothing. So I knocked him out. Actually, I thought I was going to be kicked off the team. And I was called in the next morning to a coaches' meeting. I walked in the room and Coach Peterson was sitting at the head of the table -- it was like a board meeting -- and Parcells got up on the other side of the room, walked over to me, stuck his hand out and said, "Whitehurst, I've got a lot of respect for you, son." That was my sophomore year, and I started for him 33 more games.

"We never had any cross words since then, and we're real close now. We talk fairly often and we're good friends. In fact, we did a little brokerage deal together a few years ago. And I went up to New York to see him and we just have a personal relationship now. He'd always tell me when I was a player that we were building relationships like soldiers in a fox hole. Back then it didn't mean anything to me, but now I realize what he was talking about."

Dan Whitehurst was a big ol' linebacker from a little South Georgia town. During the 1970 - 72 seasons, Dan brought down many opposing ball carriers with teeth-rattling tackles. But the one that older Noles remember best goes back to Thanksgiving night in 1970. FSU was playing Houston, the final game on the turkey day TV menu. The Noles had a fairly stout defense that year, but Houston took advantage of a key second half injury and...But let's allow Whitehurst himself to tell the story.

"We were ahead 26 - 12 at the half. And then Tommy Warren (QB) dislocated his shoulder and didn't tell Coach Henning (offensive coordinator Dan Henning). So he was throwing wounded ducks out in the flats, and they kept intercepting for touchdowns. And on the third one that was going for a touchdown, the guy (Nick Holm) came down our sideline and (Bill) Parcells said 'somebody oughta get him.' And I go, 'I got him, coach.' So I held onto Parcell's arm and reached out just as far as I could -- I had to lean way out there to get him with my foot to trip him. So I didn't even think, I just did it on impulse." 

Were the coaches upset?
"Well, we wound up losing the game 53 - 21, one of the worst defeats we had in ten years or so. But Coach Peterson said he felt like doing it himself. And Parcells's reaction was 'at least I know he's paying attention.' So they didn't give me a real hard time about it."

What was your most memorable game at FSU?
"I guess it would be the inaugural Fiesta Bowl. We couldn't stop Danny White and Arizona State. And Parcells was openly weeping after the game. He just couldn't get the defenses right and Danny White just picked us apart. It wasn't lack of effort, he knew it was coaching, so that's why he was so upset after the game (Note: FSU's Gary Huff threw for 347 yards and two TDs in a seesaw battle won by ASU 45 - 38)."

You played under both Bill Peterson and his successor Larry Jones. Was that a tough transition for the players?
"Jones kept the assistant coaches, so it didn't change too much except that Parcells kind of ran the show. He was a dominating kind of guy. Larry was a good coach, too, a good organizer. But he didn't have an aggressive personality like Parcells did."

What was the discipline like under Coach Peterson?
"He could make it difficult for you back then, making the practices long and hard. Probably more so than now. But he was just a prince of a guy. I mean, a great coach and a great friend. I actually handled his Gadsden County farm for him, when he came back to Tallahassee and I'd gotten into the real estate business. You know, all that stuff where people made fun of Coach Pete. He was so smart, but he had a hard time with cliches and got crossed up once in awhile. But he was a gentleman and quite a man."

Who were some of the other coaches that stick in your memory?
"Wayne McDuffie and Gene McDowell were about as hard-nosed as they come. Gene was my freshman coach. And we had like 110 players come out, and we ran 43 forty-yard sprints that first practice and seven guys quit that first day."

Talk about the intensity today compared to back then.
"Today, I think they've gotta pick the intensity level back up. I heard the off-season program got the intensity back. Kids now, they're just more talented than we were. But I don't think they'd put up with the verbal abuse we had back in those days."

Who was the player you remember best from your time?
"Rhett Dawson was the best leader we had. He was a receiver and led by performance. I don't think he really got credit for his leadership and what he did, like leading us to the Fiesta Bowl in '71. But he was my best friend then and still is."

You had offers from other schools. Why did you choose FSU?
"I'd watched the team all through the 60s. I knew Florida State was on the way up and I wanted to be part of that program. I think people have kinda forgotten about the glory days of the 60s and up through '71 when we went to that first Fiesta Bowl. But that's what put Florida State on the map. I was recruited real hard by a lot of big universities, including Alabama and Notre Dame. But I just never considered anything but Florida State."

Did you play any pro ball?
"I had a short stay with the New England Patriots in (Chuck) Fairbanks first year there -- he came from Oklahoma in '73. I was on the payroll for about a year and a half. But then I got into real estate and was making more money than I was playing football, which would hardly be the case these days. The average salary back then was a lot lower than it is now."

Any final words on your days at FSU?
"I was glad to be a part of it and still love all those guys that I played with, and am real proud to be a letterman there." (Note: Dan was instrumental in founding the Florida State Varsity Club, which has grown to be one of the largest among major universities. He's currently a member of the club's Board of Directors.)

A trip to the College World Series by the '08 Noles merits a rare baseball tribute here on G&G. We rewind to 38 years ago, back when Florida State's 1970 team came the closest ever to bringing home a national title. FSU played Southern Cal in the championship game, taking the Trojans 15 innings before Frank Alfano's bases loaded infield single broke the 1 - 1 deadlock.

Johnny Grubb was the Centerfielder on that '70 team. Grubb, who went on to play 16 years in the majors, told us it's a game he'll never forget. 

"It was a heartbreaker, because we were leading 1 - 0 and had Pat Osburn pitching for us, a real good lefthanded pitcher. We just battled all the way through, and they happened to tie the game up and brought in Jim Barr, and we had our relief pitcher, Mac Scarce -- both of whom went on to pitch in the majors. And we hooked up 1 - 1 until the 15th inning*. They made a lot of good plays and we made a lot of good plays, but they ended up beating us 2 - 1. I remember standing on the first base line receiving the awards for second place and none of us were very happy about it. I think we should have won it, but we gave it a good battle.

"We got a fantastic reception when we came back, with a police escort and everything. As a young kid it was quite impressive."

Tell us about your Coach, Jack Stallings.
"We had a real good coach in Jack. I think he had played pro baseball so he knew the game and pretty much treated us like pro ball players. He just put us out there and let us play. He was an aggressive coach and we learned a lot from him."

How about some of the key players on that 1970 team?
"We had Mac Scarce out of the bullpen. When we brought him in he was automatic. He'd just shut guys down, and he later pitched in the majors. We had an All-American second baseman, Dick Nichols. There was Ronnie Cash, Harry Saferight, and Doug Kasimier. I'm leaving out guys, but the whole team was excellent and I was real proud to be part of it." 

Several of them went on to play in the majors, but so did some of Southern Cal's players.
"Oh, yeah. They had Dave Kingman, Jim Barr and Steve Busby. I'd love to see it on tape because I thought it was one of the best (CWS) games every played."

Have you been following FSU's road to Omaha this year?
"I've been watching them on TV and pulling for them. I was real happy they advanced on to Omaha and it looks like they have a real good offensive team, and I'm impressed with some of the pitchers. Mike Martin's done a real good job with them. They look like a real good ball club. I wish them well. Hopefully they can take it all the way and win one for Florida State."

*Carl Gromek had to relieve Mac Scarce in the 15th inning because Scarce had a blister on his index finger. Had the Noles ace reliever been able to stay in the game, who knows how it might have turned out.

College Football News named him one of the 10 greatest playmakers of all-time. He set an FSU record with 21 interceptions over three years, including 12 picks in '91 when he won the Thorpe Award. And he still holds the NCAA Record for Most Career Interception Return Yards (501)

But for FSU fans in the late 80's, Terrell Buckley (1989-91) is best remembered for a single play. Fielding a punt against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, he tucked the ball under his arm and took a casual step or two towards the bench. Defenders slowed down. Obviously Buckley had signaled for a fair catch.

NOT. T-Buck suddenly burst down the middle of the field, picked up a key block and raced 69 yards to paydirt. The crafty move shocked everybody in the Dome  -- even his coaches.

"I wish I could have thought that up," chuckled Bobby Bowden, who promptly dubbed Buckley "The Foola from Pascagoula."

Here's how that unforgettable punt return sounded if you were listening to the play-by-play in October of 1989.

T-Buck's Trickery

 

1976 was FSU's season of rebirth under a new head coach. And no victory was more improbable than the game in which a bunch of Sunshine State kids beat North Texas State on a snow covered field.

Kurt Unglaub slushed 91-yards with a Jimmy Black pass for one TD. Later, it was his 2-point conversion catch -- from halfback Larry Key, no less -- with 2:13 left to seal a 21 - 20 outcome. Listen to what Kurt remembers most about that special day in our second Unglaub Audio Extra.

Kurt Unglaub Audio Extra

 

In this two minute sound clip, Kurt takes another look at Bowden's early days at FSU. While the players of that era didn't have a landmark stadium and two national championships to brag about, they did share a key ingredient missing in the seasons between Peterson and Bowden: a fierce commitment to working hard to win. And not just because the coaches pushed them to go that extra yard.

Kurt Unglaub Audio Extra

 

Unglaube is the German word for disbelief.

For Kurt Unglaub (1976 - 80) it's a fitting description of his career at FSU: an unbelievable journey from a downtrodden program to top 5 finishes and New Year's day bowl games. 

Kurt could write the book on how Bobby Bowden rebuilt FSU football. He was there from day one, overachieving as a sure-handed receiver who played far bigger than his size and speed might suggest.

In our latest Garnet & Great, Kurt talks about the plays and players that ignited a dynasty, and compares his era to the FSU teams of today.

Kurt Unglaub

 

But Mudra, who coached only two years, was one play away from possibly turning a team, a season, and a program around. In his first year, his winless Seminoles were playing Alabama off their feet in Tuscaloosa. Had 'em down 7 - 3 with about 90 seconds left in the game. Then, a fateful decision that Mudra fully admits lost it for FSU.

Had the Noles beaten the reigning national champs, who knows. A more confident team that knew it had beaten the best should have won a few more, bolstering recruiting and pulling a losing program out of the ditch. Mudra might have been given more time and resources. And Bobby Bowden may never have gotten the call in 1976.

Coach Mudra took time out from his daily fishing trip in the Gulf to recall how, despite winning only four games in two years, he breathed new life into the program, teeing it up for Bowden to take to heights that FSU fans of the early 70s never imagined.

***

"We made a terrible error at the end of the Alabama game when we took a safety. About the only way they could win was to block a punt. And we didn't take into account that if we hadn't given up that safety, they would have had to score a touchdown. And they hadn't scored a touchdown the whole game. Our punter was a senior and the reason we took the safety is we thought he'd be able to get off a good punt. And without any rush, he had his poorest kick.

"Then Alabama had good field position. They only had one play, I think, and then kicked their field goal.

"Before we took the safety, though, we made a first down and it was bedlam. And, of course, if that first down holds up, the game's over, because there was only about a minute to go. But the officials called us for a movement penalty. We looked at the film (later), and we didn't see anybody moving. That was a terrible call.

"We actually missed three field goals that day. In that first year, we didn't have time to really check out our kicker. So our kicker was a kid from Turkey, who was over here because he wanted to avoid the draft. We just made a mistake playing him. I think we found somebody else before the season was over.

"And I remember we started eight true freshmen against Alabama."

***

"We took over a program that was really in disarray. They didn't even have five pounds of weight. Our weight coach went down to Deland and picked up a bunch of Nautilus machines, and we stared a weight program.

"The other factor when I went to Florida State, the players lived in kind of a den of iniquity at Cash Hall. But we had our study table in the History Building, and our meals at the Student Union. Our players were just all over the place. So the first thing we did is we bought a motel, which was only about a block from the stadium. That got our housing problem worked out. And that first year they had a plan to build a kind of fantasy office for the athletic director. Well, we took the money that was supposed to go into that building, and we built the weight room and an off-season program area. And we used that also for our meals, as well as our study table. So we consolidated everything right there at the stadium to make it easier for the players.

"I think in our second year we lost five games by 15 points. We thought we'd probably win eight games the next year (1976). I remember Bobby Bowden in his book, he said he thought we'd have won more games than he did (in '76). He ended up with a losing season his first year.

"Later, Bobby Bowden invited my team back and he told all my players that he thought our team, the second team that we had there (in 1975), really turned the program around."

Epilogue: After being fired at FSU, Mudra didn't coach again until 1978. At Eastern Illinois University, Mudra took a program that was 1-10 in '77 to a 12-2 record in '78, and won the I-AA National Championship.

Joe's long relationship with the Cowboys covered 13 years and three Super Bowls ('92, '93 and '95). In 2002, he served as Head Coach of the Arena League's Dallas Desperados' as well as Cowboys' special teams guru. Among Joe's coaching stops at the college level were FSU in 1968, Iowa State from 1969 thru '72, and head coach at Oregon State from 1980-84.

After finishing his career with the Raiders, Joe hung up his whistle in 2006. But he never slowed down. He and his son Tony own and operate two sports bars in the Dallas area -- gruelling work as you can tell by the photo above -- and he talks Cowboys on the radio during the season. Joe recently took time out to chat with us about his playing and coaching career.

What's your best memory of FSU's breakout season of '64?
"Sure, I enjoy the memory of the wonderful '64 season. But it's the people: me and Freddy and Steve and George D'Allessandro and (Phil) Spooner and (Terry) Gavin and (Dale) MacKenzie and (Tom) West and (Jack) Edwards -- we all came in as Coach Peterson's first recruiting class. And we just had a bond as a freshmen team. We were cocky. We believed in each other, we liked each other. And we just knew we could be good. And the journey with those guys, and Coach Peterson, the coaches that we really enjoyed... Winning that Gator Bowl in '64 was the destination, but if you don't enjoy the journey then you really can't enjoy the rest of it."

How was it rooming with Steve Tensi your freshmen year?
"I moved into my room, waiting to see who my roommate would be. And it's this gangly 6 foot 5" guy from Cincinnati Elder High School, which I'd never heard of. He was an absolute Elvis Presley freak, and had every record, knew every word of Elvis's songs. Could imitate him. And I had to deal with that until finally he got married. But I loved it."

How was it rooming with Steve Tensi your freshmen year?
"I moved into my room, waiting to see who my roommate would be. And it's this gangly 6 foot 5" guy from Cincinnati Elder High School, which I'd never heard of. He was an absolute Elvis Presley freak, and had every record, knew every word of Elvis's songs. Could imitate him. And I had to deal with that until finally he got married. But I loved it."

Like other players from that era, you must have some Bill Peterson stories.
"Bill Peterson hired incredible coaches for his staff. And by good fortune we ended up with
a very good group of players that were really tight personally and physically talented to make a mark for themselves. Along the way we found we had one of the most entertaining and colorful coaches you could ever have. His misuse of the English language was classic, and we looked forward to every meeting because we never knew what we were going to hear. The great thing is you never have to exaggerate. Just tell the truth and it's automatically a good story."

Talk about Peterson the Coach.
"Coach Pete was very intense about his desire to win,
his willingness to work and to be inventive. He was totally
dedicated to the passing game and learning as much about
it and creating something that made a niche. One that
he could recruit to and attract QBs and receivers to his style
of game.

"The focus at Florida State is Bobby Bowden, but Bill Peterson is the one who put it on the map. He was an innovator in college football to throw the ball the way we did. And I think he deserves a lot of credit for what he did at that time. And you match that with the quality coaching and good caliber athletes and, shoot, we hit and just had a bunch of fun doing it."

What do you remember about Bobby Bowden as an assistant?
"I just think that Coach Bowden was another example of Bill Peterson's greatest quality, which was his ability to pick assistant coaches. Along with Don James, who's a legendary college coach, we had John Coatta who went on to be head coach at Wisconsin, and Don Powell the offensive line coach and one of the best I've ever witnessed. After I left there were Bill Parcells, Joe Gibbs and Dan Henning."

What was it like to be on the first team to beat Florida?
"An incredible experience because at that time Florida
didn't want to play Florida State. I just remember pre-game
in the locker room, Avery Sumner got up and appealed to the team that we needed to win this game because he thought he could get a grade in a certain course if we won the game and he needed the grades. He made everybody laugh and we went out and played well. That put us on the map as the real deal, and a team Florida had to pay attention to."

"But just as memorable, the Kentucky game that year. They
came to town after some big wins. And at that time we had the Magnificent Seven (defensive front) that all shaved their heads and shutout a few people. And the coaches said if they shut out Kentucky, they'd shave their heads. And by gosh, we killed 'em. We had them shut out until right at the end of the game. And our starters wanted to go back in and keep the shut out. Kentucky scored at the end, but we won decisively."

Talk about your pro career with the Boston Patriots of the old American Football League.
"It was enjoyable. Short. And it bridged the gap between college football and going into coaching. Playing with the Patriots was a thrill. We played at
Fenway Park at that time and I was a huge baseball fan. So I enjoyed that for
a couple of years. I wasn't good enough
to have a long career, but good enough
to be around for awhile.

"Then I drifted into coaching. I never intended on coaching but I must have liked it because I did it a long time."

How did special teams become your specialty?
"When I first coached in college I worked for Johnny Majors
for eleven years. He was the head coach at Iowa State, and Pittsburgh where we won a national championship, and then Tennessee. I credit Coach Majors for developing me into a well-rounded coach. He forced us to learn about every aspect of the game. So when I had the opportunity to join Jimmy Johnson with the Cowboys in 1990, I'd been an offensive line coach and offensive coordinator my whole career. But I'd always been involved in the kicking game, so I felt comfortable taking that job. And I bounced into a great situation that took us to three championships in a four year period. The first team ever to do that. And I just rode the coattails of some great players and we got three rings out of it."

Back to the college game and your days at FSU -- do you think
the game was less intense and maybe more fun back then?
"The game was simpler then, but no less intense. The athletes today are bigger, stronger, faster -- but it's all relative. But I believe we were able to have more fun and enjoy the experience a little more than today, with the scrutiny of TV and the NCAA and alumni and all the things that have built to such a high level that makes college football so fascinating. We were able to enjoy playing with each other, enjoy the experience. I couldn't have enjoyed the college experience any more than I did at Florida State."