Highlighting Dick Jauron

Dick Jauron will be honored between the first and second quarters Saturday to celebrate his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Here's a look at a story Chris Hunn did on Jauron at the announcement of his induction: 

Carm Cozza told the story about 20 people in a telephone booth unable to get a hand on Jauron again on Tuesday. He called Jauron magical, saying he was the most agile back he had seen and a coach as a player. Cozza added it was an honor to coach Jauron in the East-West Shrine Game, and how impressed he was with Jauron rushing for 125 yards in that game.

When I went to look up information on Jauron to expand on Cozza's quotes, Chris' story popped up. Felt it was better to share his story again.

Enjoy: 

To paint a picture of just how elusive Dick Jauron was, legendary Yale coach Carm Cozza always tells people they could spend 20 minutes in a phone booth with him and never touch him.

The Bulldogs running back weaved his way through opposing defenses for 2,947 yards over three seasons, a school record at the time. He earned All-Ivy and All-American honors each year and the 1972 Ivy League Player of the Year award along the way.

On Friday, the College Football Hall of Fame announced Jauron will be among this year’s class of inductees.

Jauron will officially be inducted on Dec. 8 in New York. Others highlighting this year’s group include Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth, Texas running back Ricky Williams and former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.

“I am extremely honored to represent my family, my teammates, my coaches and Yale University in the College Hall of Fame Class of 2015,” said Jauron in an email on Friday.

The 6-foot, 190-pounder averaged an impressive 5.7 yards per carry for the Bulldogs. Jauron was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1973 and played in the NFL for nine seasons. Along with the Lions, he also played for the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. Jauron was selected to play in the 1975 Pro Bowl as a kick returner.

Jauron also served as a coach in the NFL for 24 seasons. He spent five seasons as head coach of the Chicago Bears (1999-2003) and earned AP NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2001. He also spent four seasons as head coach of the Buffalo Bills (2006-09).

Paul Sortal, who spent time as a blocking back for Jauron while at Yale, also spoke about his innate athletic ability. He told a story about how Boston Celtics great John Havlicek once said Jauron was the best high school basketball player he ever saw and talked about his exceptional ability on the baseball field as well. The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Jauron, a shortstop, in the 25th round of the 1973 MLB Draft.

“He had an uncanny ability to accelerate to a point, cut back a run and leave people flailing,” Sortal said. “He was an unbelievable football player. He did it without any sense of an ego. He was a one-of-a-kind person. He was amazingly humble and has a big heart.”

And if Jauron didn’t need time to catch his breath after running for touchdowns, he might have been the place-kicker as well.

“If he wasn’t busy winning games with 87-yard insane runs, I would have been backing him up,” former Yale record-holding kicker Brian Clarke said. “I was the second-best kicker on the field during practice. He was that good. There’s no question about it.”