Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 1-0
1982Fiesta BowlW 32-21Stats
Big games
Pick a job to see its years on their own.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
1-3 against his rivals at Fresno State. Just 1-3 against Don Coryell.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
Winless in 3 tries against Mike White.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
1-3 against his rivals at Michigan State. Winless in 4 tries against Dan Devine.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
2-3 against his rivals at Arizona State. Winless in 4 tries against Terry Donahue.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
4-9 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against Dan Devine.
Building the roster
Three numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Followed him here
Fresno State→
San José State1973San José State→
Michigan State1976Michigan State→
Arizona State1980Players who transferred from his old program to his new one through the portal in the same year he made the move. Name-matching across data sources misses some, so every count is a floor, not an exact number.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1980-1984) predates 2021, when transfer-portal tracking begins in this database. Portal usage cannot be measured for this tenure at all -- this is not the same as '0% portal'.
“His own” means the player arrived while he was head coach; “inherited” means a predecessor brought him in.
The NFL pipeline
The NFL pipeline
players drafted into the NFL off his teams here (a floor — see the note below). None can be traced to who brought them in — there’s no roster record for these players here. 2 went in the first round.
At least 20 — his 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 seasons predate the modern 7-round draft, so this table’s pre-1994 pick counts are a floor, not a full count, for those seasons.
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | R4.10 | Doug Allen | Wide Receiver |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1985 | R5.13 | Brian Noble | Linebacker |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1984 | R6.10 | Don Kern | Tight End |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1983 | R1.23 | Jim Jeffcoat | Defensive End |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1983 | R2.01 | Vernon Maxwell | Linebacker |  Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1983 | R2.05 | Mike Richardson | Defensive Back |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1983 | R2.13 | Ron Brown | Wide Receiver |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1983 | R3.21 | Bryan Caldwell | Defensive End | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | R4.08 | Ron Wetzel | Tight End |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1983 | R7.01 | Alvin Moore | Running Back | Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1983 | R7.13 | Mike Black | Punter |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1982 | R1.09 | Gerald Riggs | Running Back |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1982 | R2.13 | Robert Weathers | Running Back |  New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1982 | R2.16 | John Meyer | Offensive Tackle |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1982 | R3.19 | Jerry Bell | Tight End |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1982 | R4.01 | Mike Pagel | Quarterback | Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1982 | R5.28 | Newton Williams | Running Back |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1981 | R3.03 | John Mistler | Wide Receiver |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1981 | R4.14 | Ron Washington | Wide Receiver | Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1981 | R6.07 | Mel Hoover | Wide Receiver | New York Giants | Estimated |
A pick counts toward his tenure when the player’s final college season was one he coached, a checkable rule rather than a claim about who developed the player. A blank note means the player is on a verified roster and arrived on his watch. “Estimated” means no roster record, so the final season is assumed to be the year before the draft.
Career
Coaching career
The arc of his career is on Now.
Builder meaningfully raised a program that wasn't one · Inheritor inherited a power and neither built it higher nor let it collapse · Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
3rd-best Arizona State tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Followed Frank Kush (1958–1979) · succeeded by John Cooper (1985–1987).
| Season | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||
| Record | 7-4 | 9-2 | 10-2 | 6-4-1 | 5-6 | |
| Postseason | — | — | W bowl | — | — | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||
| Offense | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Defense | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||||
| 1st-down pass% | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Red-zone pass% | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | — | — | — | — | — | |
5th-best Michigan State tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Dennis Stolz (1973–1975) · succeeded by Frank Waters (1980–1982).
10 NFL Draft picks: Mike Cobb (1977), Tom Hannon (1977), Larry Bethea (1978), Al Pitts (1978), James Earley (1978), Mel Land (1979), Kirk Gibson (1979), Angelo Fields (1980) + 2 more
7th-best San José State tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Followed DeWayne King (1970–1972) · succeeded by Lynn Stiles (1976–1978).
4 NFL Draft picks: Louis Wright (1975), Dave Wasick (1975), Kim Bokamper (1976), Carl Ekern (1976)
9th-best Fresno State tenure of 12 by the numbers.
Succeeded by J.R. Boone (1973–1975).
3 NFL Draft picks: Ervin Hunt (1970), Dwayne Crump (1973), Gary Weaver (1973)
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+12.4 pts at San José State · #163 of 1290 · top quarter