While everyone in the nation goes about their regularly scheduled lives today, the state of Utah takes a break to celebrate Pioneer Day. In Utah, July 24 of every year is set apart to remember the sacrifices made by the early settlers in order to establish the state.

 

Because of this holiday, I have the day off from work and school, and a lot of time to do very little.

 

So, in an effort to be somewhat productive, and to maintain the spirit of the holiday, I decided to put together a list of some pioneers of college football.

 

 

LaVell Edwards

 

A man who has celebrated many pioneer days himself, Edwards was the long time coach of the BYU Cougars and his name now adorns the stadium in Provo.

 

Edwards was one of the first to utilize the spread offense, deploying as many as five receivers at a time while most of the nation relied heavily on the running game. His system produced great quarterbacks like Jim McMahon, Steve Young, and Heisman winner Ty Detmer.

 

Not to mention a 1984 national championship.

 

Today, it is getting harder and harder to find a team that does not employ some variation of the spread offense.

 

 

Joseph Reeves

 

Not wanting to miss out on the rivalry game against Army, the Navy Cadet Reeves was the first player to don a leather helmet to prevent another injury to the

head—another injury which, according to doctors, could end his life.

 

Thanks to Reeves’ passion, the helmet was introduced and has evolved into a high-tech device allowing players to play more fearlessly and longer than ever before.

 

 

Red Blaik

 

It’s hard to believe that until the post-war era, most players played on both sides of the ball. Army coach Red Blaik was the first to institute the platoon system, saving his best players for one position.

 

Of course, when you have Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside (offensive backs Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis), you really don’t need anybody else on offense.

 

 

Ray Graves

 

While not officially the inventor, Florida coach Ray Graves started the idea that would eventually lead to the formulation of Gatorade.

 

This not only helped fight dehydration for football players and other athletes across the nation, but became the basis for one of the greatest traditions of college football: the coach’s unavoidable Gatorade bath after a victory.

 

 

Clark Shaughnessy

 

The Chicago coach was known for redefining the T formation and having the quarterback, rather than the tailback, receive the ball from the center. Thus, Shaughnessy created the quarterback position which is so important in today’s game.

 

 

Emory Bellard

 

The Texas offensive coordinator during the 1960’s, Bellard is responsible for creating the wishbone formation. The wishbone then became responsible for 30 wins in a row for the Longhorns at the end of the decade.

 

While all but extinct today, the wishbone caused headaches for defensive coordinators for decades.

 

 

Eddie Cochems

 

In the early 1900’s, football was quickly gaining a reputation for being nothing but violence, and it had the casualties to prove it. President Theodore Roosevelt demanded the game be made safer or he would place a ban on it.

 

One of the solutions was to create the forward pass. Coach Cochems of St. Louis University was the first to take advantage of this newly legalized play, when his star player Bradbury Robinson completed the first forward pass in football history in 1905.

 

The following year, Cochems had developed the forward pass until it was termed a “perfect exhibition” by sports writers.

 

 

Walter Camp

 

There is not much that needs to be said about the father of American football.

 

He introduced the system of downs, standardized the scoring, and created the standard defensive formations and the snap-back from the center to the back.

 

Camp is the mastermind behind the game we all know and love today.

 

Football has evolved dramatically since the Princeton-Rutgers game of 1869, and we owe much to these pioneers who were not afraid to think outside the box and improve the greatest game on earth.

 

This is not a comprehensive list, and I invite all of you to add those who you think played an important role in developing the game.