Replacing a legend is never easy.
Ask the likes of Bubby Brister, who took over for John Elway. Remember the guy who replaced Michael Jordan? Didn’t think so.
Doug Nussmeier had huge shoes to fill in 1990, when we replaced John Friesz as Idaho’s starting quarterback. Friesz was a three-time Big Sky Offensive MVP and won the Walter Payton Award in 1989.
Nussmeier did just fine, thank you. In 1993, he won the Walter Payton Award, and the two remain the only men to play on the same team to capture the most prestigious award in the FCS.
The 6-foot-3, lefty from Lake Oswego, Ore., threw for 10,824 career yards and amassed 12,027 yards of total offense. He was named the Big Sky Offensive MVP in 1992. Nussmeier ranks 30th on the list of the Big Sky Conference’s “50 Greatest Male Athletes.’’
“My best Doug Nussmeier story comes from 1989,’’ said current Idaho State coach Mike Kramer, who was an assistant at Eastern Washington that season. “We were playing Idaho, and they were No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation, and we get done with warmups and we’re heading back to the locker room. Dick Zornes (EWU’s head coach), in his own way, says, ‘I don’t know how good that Friesz kid is, but that backup quarterback is going to be a great one.’ ’’
Zornes was right. As a freshman in 1990, Nussmeier played in six games. He completed 61.3 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The following year, he blossomed, throwing for 3,300 yards with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
In 1992, he guided the Vandals to a share of the Big Sky Championship, throwing for 3,028 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His senior season, he threw for 2,960 yards with 33 touchdowns and just five interceptions leading the Vandals to the national semifinals.
“He was wickedly effective as a quarterback at Idaho, and he never really played behind a dominant offensive front,’’ Kramer said. “But he played in a dynamic offense where he had some pretty good receivers, and a couple of really good running backs. He was about as effective, as accurate, as smart, as tough and as competitive as any of the great quarterbacks this league had in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.’’
On top of being one of the premier passers in league history, he also holds the distinction of being the first quarterback in league history to throw for 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in his career. There have been just two others to accomplish the feat since.
“Idaho always tried to keep their tight ends in protection, along with their running backs,’’ Kramer said. “A lot of teams would go with a three-man rush and drop guys into coverage to cover their receivers, who were all over the place. Not many teams were willing to play man-to-man at that time. Any time it was a three-man rush, Nussmeier was running the ball. It was excellent coaching. He took advantage of a great system, and he totally utilized all of his talents to come up with stratospheric numbers in terms of completions, passes, attempts, touchdowns and touchdown/interception ratio. He was one of the most effective and efficient players that I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach against.’’
Nussmeier averaged 303.38 yards of total offense per game, which was a league record when his playing days were over. He still ranks third. He still ranks fifth on the Big Sky’s all-time list in total offense, and is sixth in passing yards. During Nussmeier’s era, playoff games did not count in official statistics.
The All-American was drafted in the fourth round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played five seasons in the NFL, his final one as a backup in Indianapolis to rookie Payton Manning.
He finished his playing career in 2000 with the B.C. Lions in the CFL, and started his coaching career the following season. He returned to college football in 2006 and 2007, serving as an assistant with Michigan State. After a one-year stint with the St. Louis Rams, he was hired as Fresno State’s offensive coordinator. He served as Washington’s offensive coordinator in 2012, and is now the offensive coordinator at No. 1 ranked Alabama. No doubt, he will soon become a head coach.
“Nuss is headed for a big-time operation next year,’’ Kramer predicted. “He’s a guy that I’ve coached against and watched his career. I don’t think anyone in the Big Sky can do anything but wish him the best of luck.”
Alabama assistant coaches are prohibited from media interviews, so Nussmeier was unable to talk to the Big Sky for this story.
