ESPN flashes back to the inimitable Gordie Lockbaum
A period of uninventive specialization seized college football in the mid ’80s. Even the premier athletes, such as future multisport icon Bo Jackson, stuck to a single position come Saturday afternoon.
Gordie Lockbaum starred in that era for Holy Cross, but was anything but a product of it. He was special, not just in ability but in his unfathomable versatility, particularly in the 1986 and ’87 seasons, when he became a national phenomenon and a back-to-back finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
No, Lockbaum was not specialized. To call him a two-way player would be to undersell his duties. He was your standard running back/receiver/cornerback/strong safety/free safety/outside linebacker/return man.
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