Q&A with Doug Flutie

Doug Flutie, the former Boston College quarterback most remembered for his game-winning Hail Mary touchdown pass against Miami in 1984, was one of 12 players to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this week alongside Joe Paterno. We traveled to New York on Tuesday for induction day, which included a morning press conference and black-tie dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. After the press conference, Flutie, now an analyst for ABC/ESPN, discussed Paterno, Penn State and the pressure he felt toward the end of his Heisman Trophy year.

Earlier in the press conference you said that being inducted validated to you, that you've "thrown more than one pass." Does hearing that ever get annoying?

"It's not. I say that it's better that people have something to remember you by because 98 percent of us get forgotten anyway."

When Joe walked into the press conference a little late, I saw you just smiling in his direction. What were you thinking?

"You know what I pictured? I pictured Joe running off at halftime. I forget the game. It was a year ago and chasing down a referee in the end zone, giving him an earful, ranting and raving coming off the field. And my buddy in studio making a comment about his fiery attitude. How old is he now, 78? (80) 80 years old. Just awesome. I love it. I picture the years that I played against him and competed against Joe."

What do you remember from games against Penn State?

"Throwing for a lot of yards (laughs). We got them once. We beat them once. Two things I remember (1) my very first opportunity to really play was at Penn State. I went in, played well. We were getting blown out. The other is I threw 520 yards in three quarters at home, sophomore year, the very next year, and we lost. I came out of the game in the fourth quarter because that game was out of hand. We got blown out 52-17. We, as a team, threw for over 600 yards, and just couldn't beat them. They were always more physical, stronger and we were a finesse team."

Do you envision anyone else coaching in college as long as Joe?

"I can't imagine it. I know how hard that job is. I know the hours that are involved, the recruiting, the travel, the hours you spend with your team. The way things have gotten now, the offseason programs. I don't know how you keep the energy level up for that long. I came out, I played 21 years, and I didn't want to get into coaching because of that. I know the job. I know the hours and I can't imagine working that hard for that long."

Did you know you won the Heisman after you threw the Hail Mary pass?

"I was kind of nervous going into that week because I thought and I knew the entire nation was saying I was the front runner and I was the guy. I didn't think about it all year long, I just played football, and finally the last few weeks there before that. ... It hit me, I had heard three different sources in about a half hour, one from a radio, newspaper,...before the Miami game....There was no doubt I was going to win it. That's when I got nervous. Oh my god, I'm supposed to win this now. What if I don't? And then Brent Musburger made a great statement to me after the Miami game. He said, 'Well Doug, this didn't win the Heisman for you but it makes anyone who didn't vote for you look stupid.' "

What does the trophy mean to you?

"Very similar to this [induction into Hall of Fame]. It becomes your legacy and signifies your excellence in college football. To me, it's more representative of what we accomplished as a team in those years. I was the guy pulling the trigger but it was great era for Boston College. We had a group of guys that were overachievers, under recruited, I-AA, Ivy league type kids who came in with a lot of character and we just fought our ass off and won football games. It was a really unique situation with the coaching change on all that. Our senior class was all kids that were recruited by Ivy League schools and were going to be Ivy. Jack Bicknell came in and had no body signed went around and was scrapping, just get athletes. The two quarterbacks that were offered, one went to Syracuse one went to Holy Cross. They wanted to bring in a quarterback and they offered me late. I was going to go Harvard as or UNH [New Hampshire], those were my only Division I offers.

Where do you keep the trophy?
"In a formal living room area. It's in a room we never go in. So I don't see it very often."

Hope you enjoyed it,
-- Corey

PHOTO: Samantha Shal/Daily Collegian