Colorado University Athletics
McCartney's First Recruits Honor Buffs Coaching Legend With Legacy Brick
August 19, 2016 | Football, Alumni C Club, Neill Woelk
Members of 1983 recruiting class remember 'Where It All Began'
BOULDER — The inscription is simple, but the words speak volumes:
"Coach Bill McCartney's 1st Recruiting Class — 1983 Where It All Began."
Friday morning, nine members of that class — the first group of players signed at Colorado by CU coaching legend Bill McCartney — gathered together with McCartney to look at their Legacy Brick, placed prominently on the new Buff Walk just outside of Folsom Field.
"It's magnificent," McCartney exclaimed. "When these guys called to say they wanted me to meet them here Friday morning, they wouldn't tell me what it was for. But that (as he pointed to the brick) is outstanding. It represents a special group of young men who took it upon themselves to do something memorable, something that would withstand the test of time."
Indeed, McCartney's first class established a foundation at Colorado that helped build a program that ultimately produced eight consecutive top 20 teams, three Big Eight championships and a 1990 national title.
They did it by taking on a challenge issued by McCartney in that recruiting season.
"We brought them all together the week before signing date," McCartney remembered of a class dominated by players from Colorado. "We had them in the same room and I told them, 'We know you all have the opportunity to play somewhere else. But if you stick together, if you accept the challenge and opportunity we are presenting, you can put your this university back on the map. You can be something special.'"
They listened. Players such as Ed Reinhardt, who had an offer from Stanford, instead chose Colorado. Jon Embree, who was being courted by schools such as UCLA, decided to stay home. Lance Carl turned down overtures from Iowa to play at Colorado. Eric McCarty — who had hosted Michigan coach Bo Schembechler in his house earlier that week — still decided to cast his lot with McCartney, a former Schembechler assistant.
"I remember that," McCartney said with a chuckle when McCarty recounted the story. "A guy who gave me the opportunity was in my backyard trying to step on my throat."
All told, there were 24 members of that recruiting class and the vast majority of them redshirted in 1983 (Embree, Reinhardt and Chuck Hill played as true freshmen).
A year later — McCartney's third at CU — they took their lumps, finishing 1-10. But in 1985, the turnaround began. The Buffs finished 7-5 — CU's first winning record since 1978 — and third in the Big Eight, earning their first bowl bid since 1976.
A year later, they were 6-6 and second in the Big Eight (6-1, including a win over Nebraska), earning another bowl bid in the process. Then, in their senior year, they closed their careers with a 7-4 mark.
That was momentum that couldn't be stopped, setting the stage for more outstanding recruiting classes and what turned out to be CU's most successful stretch in its proud history to date.
"We kind of turned the whole thing around," said tackle Joe McCreary. "We got things rolling and Coach Mac just kept it going. It was a real special group."
Nearly every member of the class also bought an individual Legacy Brick to surround the brick honoring McCartney. As the former players and their coach gathered on the Buff Walk on Friday, stories of their time together were told. Players who hadn't seen each other for years reconnected. They had come to Colorado from different backgrounds, and have since gone their separate ways.
But Friday morning, it was evident that the bond forged more than three decades ago is still strong. It's a connection that can't be broken by time — and the man who made it possible was all smiles.
"The brick on the Buff Walk really symbolizes the foundation we built with that class," said Carl, now an associate athletic director at CU. "I think it shows the belief that we had in Coach McCartney, to trust him with our future. It meant a lot for us to see Coach McCartney here today."
It was a sentiment echoed by everyone in the group.
"We wanted to honor the guy who made Colorado great again," McCreary said. "It's something we all believed we needed to do."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu