Road to 1991 Perfection: Hobert Confident as UW QB? Not Really
Mark Brunell tore up his knee in spring practice, leaving the University of Washington football team without its starting quarterback who had guided the Huskies to a No. 2 ranking, 10-2 season and a Rose Bowl victory,
It left a huge pall over the team. In considerable despair, too.
Billy Joe Hobert was now the No. 1 quarterback, a scenario that didn't make everyone on the team feel ultra confident about the coming season.
"We thought we were going to be lucky to go 4-7 with that jackass at quarterback," starting center Ed Cunningham said.
Hobert didn't blame them one bit for the cool reception.
He was as country in his approach as much as Brunell was a buttoned-down leader. He also had wanted out as a quarterback.
Thinking he would play behind Brunell for three seasons, Hobert had bulked up from weight lifting and prepared to make the move to tight end or linebacker.
"I was trying to transition out of quarterback just to get on the field," he said. "I didn't care what position I played. Mark was the guy. I was going to be eating dust if I didn't change positions."
Hobert was a risk-taker, too, always taking chances, often goofing around, once even sending a punt through Don James' coaching tower — with the legendary coach in it.
"I forgot to yell, 'Fore!'" he said. "He was not happy about that, for sure."
Hobert admits now to just winging it as he accepted greater responsibility for a team expected to do superlative things. He was far from a cocky leader who was full of himself. He was the opposite.
"I was fricking faking it every day," Hobert said. "I just went out and competed as hard as I could, and worked as hard as I could. I tried to protect the ball because I knew we had a savage defense."
Everything worked out well in the end, though, as the Huskies went 12-0, Hobert matched Brunell as a Rose Bowl MVP selection and everyone shared in an unblemished national championship.
"I get all of these accolades and all of this notoriety as this undefeated quarterback and national championship quarterback," he pointed out. "The truth of it was I was freaking linebacker faking being a quarterback. My only job was to not screw it up."
This is another in a series of articles and videos that will replay the UW's 1991 national championship season, which is the apex of Husky football. We don't have a 2020 season, so we'll use '91 as a conversation piece.
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