Johnson: That’s hard to say … Greg Craighead might have been unsung, he was a real good player on the defensive line. On offense, Kenny Grandberry was a really good running back. We had Charlie Peck and Ty Paine at quarterback. Tom Wickert, an offensive lineman, played for the Miami Dolphins for a year. Offensive linemen are usually unsung.
Poe: Greg Craighead who played nose tackle. He was only about 220 pounds but was very tough and a very good football player. All the linebackers — Clyde Warehime, me and Gary Larsen — got press. Secondary got press. But I also have to mention Bill Moos. He helped recruit me and did a lot for me. And they weren’t on the team but we had two of the best ballboys in the nation. We had Coach Sweeney’s son Kevin who went on to be a real good player at Fresno State as a quarterback. And our running back coach was Jack Elway, so his son John was a ballboy. And of course John had an incredible career.
Ostermann: A lot of players we had were not unsung. Gary Larsen, Tom Poe, they were not unsung. Clyde Warehime was not unsung. Joe Danelo got his props … Harold “Ducky” Bradford comes to mind — a true Cougar despite severe injuries and now a renowned artist.
Moos: We had some real heroes on that team. Ty Paine was not unsung because he was our leader. He and I were the co-captains. Ty played hurt, he was tough. But he was established. Our offensive line coached by Joe Tiller featured five guys at new positions. I was the only senior but by the time the five of us were done, there were six first-team All-Pac-8 selections. Numerous all-star games, two drafted into the NFL. Joe Tiller was maybe the unsung hero.
Paine: Donnie Transeth was a wide receiver who ran the plays in and out. He didn’t get a lot of credit. The unsung heroes were the scout squad, the freshman team. Without them, we wouldn’t have had good looks. Here’s an unsung hero: Greg Craighead.
Transeth: To me, it seemed like a bunch of hard-working, undersized, overachieving players that came together at a moment in time. Eric Johnson had three interceptions in that Apple Cup. Those were huge turnovers in a game like that. You run off the field and you feel like, game-changer. Sixkiller was a really good quarterback and as a receiver I remember watching him throw the ball and it was a perfect spiral every time.
Brayton: There were tons of people. Defensively, we were pretty well packed in there. I was thinking about that the other night. Gary Larsen was coming into his own, Tom Poe, Steve Roberts. We had Rod Anderson. He would’ve swore like heck he was 230 pounds but he was probably around 208 pounds. He wasn’t that big, but boy was he tough and ornery. We always had the best guys in the best positions when the time came. It was a group thing. No one wants to wheel around the end and see Clyde Warehime. Steve Ostermann was tough, Geoff Reece, you couldn’t find a better center. These guys were players.
