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Road to 1991 Perfection: Emtman Made It a Point to Amaze Jones, Others

Physical feats pulled off by the defensive tackle astounded all of the University of Washington players and coaches.
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Outside linebacker Donald Jones and his University of Washington football teammates reported for 1991 fall camp and then the fun began. 

To check the players' fitness, the Husky coaches made everyone run a mile in a prescribed time, adjusted by position. It was as true indicator for them. 

Except that Steve Emtman didn't need any built-in help. He always set his own parameters. He made little exercises like this a personal challenge, a time to shock everyone else.

Mission accomplished. 

"He ran something like around a five-minute mile," Jones said, still amazed at this three decades later. "At 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, running a mile in five minutes — that's crazy."

It was inhuman for a player his size lumbering around the track unabated.

"In order for him to do that, just imagine the work he had to put in to get in that type of shape, that type of condition," Jones added.

This is another in series of vignettes about the UW's 1991 national championship team, supplementing the conversation for the pandemic delayed and shortened season. We're in week 11 of this throwback series, Apple Cup week. The Huskies leveled Washington State in the rivalry game 56-21.

Emtman regularly entertained his Husky teammates away from the field by dunking basketballs and doing back flips. Not bad for a defensive tackle. 

"He set the tone for us," Jones said. "His leadership off the field translated to that dominant play we all saw on Saturday."

For 12 games in 1991, Emtman had the upper hand on everyone he went against with the exception of one guy — he acknowledged that California center Eric Mahlum gave him all he could handle in the Huskies' 24-17 victory, but the Golden Bears player was the only one.

Emtman was at his best against the Cougars, too, in his final Husky home game. WSU and the UW were the only Division 1 schools who offered him scholarships. The lack of interest by other schools was another one of those things that seemed drive him to be the best.

Emtman and Jones both ended up in the NFL before injuries cut their pro careers short. The outside linebacker figures a broken body was the only thing that could derail Emtman on a football field. 

"I really appreciated how hard he worked," Jones said. "It was an honor to play with him. He was definitely one of the greatest players of all time. At the end, he got hurt. If he hadn't got hurt, he'd probably be in the hall of fame."

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