I think it all started years ago in Lubbock one night after 1 a.m. I was having drinks with Mike Leach and asked for something that was right in his wheelhouse (i.e. something that is extremely hypothetical and not related to injuries or personnel).
If every head coach in college football had a fight, who do you think would be the last man standing?
I think we discussed the subject for 20 or 30 minutes. Let the record show his fear for Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, former star linebacker of BYU and WAC Defensive Player of the Year, is nothing new.
So now that Leach reintroduced this topic to the semi-mainstream this week, I contacted over 30 coaches to find out who they thought would be the last man standing if there was some sort of 130-man brawl in an octagon somewhere. Some coaches mentioned several people in their answers. (Note: If it were just all FBS coaches and assistants, my answer would be BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki, who went 5-1 during her professional MMA career.)
The winner of the vote was a surprise. I thought it was someone who would get a few votes, but wouldn’t be the top seed with 10 votes. It was Seth Littrell from North Texas.
“I think he won four state high school wrestling titles in Oklahoma, which is a big wrestling state,” said a Big 12 assistant. (Actually, they were two state high school wrestling titles.) ‘State.)
“I played and wrestled with him,” one offensive coordinator said. “Man, he’s got a strong dick!! State champion wrestler. Fullback at OU. He’d kick their ass. I’d bet on it.
“Seth is scary,” said a D-line coach. “He hurt people in football and wrestling.”
“I could rely on the relentless passion, Youngstown genetics and fighter mentality in Mark Stoops,” one former head coach wrote. “He may not be the biggest guy in the ‘cage match,’ but he might be the last man standing. Now if it’s a one-on-one single elimination, I’m picking Littrell. Young, fit and fiery. Grown-ups can’t survive a break! »
Another head coach just answered “Seth Littrell” to my question. I then asked if his answer was based on Littrell’s wrestling background? He said, “Yeah, that and he’s just tough and mean.” »
I sent this to Littrell.
“No, I’m kind and gentle.”
Oregon’s Mario Cristobal, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound former Miami offensive lineman who spent 20 years training in MMA and started in judo classes in kindergarten, received the second highest number of votes with seven. “Mario would F@#$ all these guys,” says one ACC coach. “He would remove limbs and then drink protein shakes while waiting for the next one to come.”
“When he was in Miami and those teams were full of tough guys, him and his brother (Luis) were the guys no one wanted to play with,” one veteran offensive coach said.
“I worked with Mario,” says another former SEC assistant. “I watched him do his jiu-jitsu live and in person. It’s certainly at the top of the list.
LSUEd Orgeron of , third with six votes. He also received some of the most interesting responses.
“I love the old arcade game ‘Street Fighter,'” says FBS head coach. “I bet Orgeron fights like Blanka from the game, a pretty dangerous opponent. Bryan Harsin (Ken) is still a solid, but beatable opponent. Cristobal fights like Guile, with soft, long levers. Ryu is Jim Harbaugh, with the same skills as Ken. Taking all of this into account, I’d say Orgeron and his Blanka skills would be the hardest to overcome.
Orgeron is also the oldest of our top voters at 57 years old. But that didn’t deter many coaches from choosing him.
“Big, tough, grown men are afraid of him,” says one SEC coach. “Here’s the thing: Normal people don’t want to fight crazy people.”
“(Orgeron) probably killed a bear with his hands,” says an SEC aide.
“Eddy O might just bite your face and spit the skin back,” says a former head coach.
Cincinnati Head coach Luke Fickell, an undefeated guy as a three-time Ohio State wrestling champion in the early 1990s, received the fourth most votes (five). This quote from an old The History of Cleveland.com worth including here: “As a senior, Fickell was untouchable. At 6-4 and 235 pounds, he has pinned most of his 39 opponents. A handful of wrestlers were so afraid of him that they withdrew.
“Luke is the perfect choice here,” says a veteran ACC assistant. “I take him to my foxhole every day. (I saw some guys) try to fight him. They didn’t last long.
To complete our top five: North West Pat Fitzgerald (four votes).
“He was a great college linebacker. He’s tough as fuck. Super nice guy but don’t let that fool you. It’s a bit crazy there too. I say this in a good way. I think he’s a bad guy.
No. 6 (tie) Scott Frost of Nebraska, Kalani Sitake of BYU and Kyle Whittingham of Utah.
No. 9. Charlie Strong of USF, Will Muschamp of South Carolina, Tom Allen of Indiana and Boston CollegeIt’s Steve Addazio.
At first, a few coaches misunderstood my question: “Who is the last football player you want to fight?” »
My favorite response to this: “Bill Snyder and David Cutcliffe, because if you fight either one, you’re an asshole!” » said a head coach.
Another quote to conclude. Leach also received a vote:
“It reminds me of ‘Mankind,’ the WWE wrestler,” says an SEC aide. “You never know what he might do.”
(Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
