6. Dan Fouts: Changing the Game

It’s hard to believe that one of football’s all-time great quarterbacks was overlooked in high school. But Dan Fouts, who had been around the game his whole life, took advantage of his only scholarship offer and transformed himself into a Duck great. Fouts’ experience before his playing career was one that many looked upon with envy and awe, having dinner with NFL greats and being on the sidelines with some of the world’s best athletes. But that experience provided him with a perspective that many people don’t get to experience. That perspective helped Fouts to a Hall of Fame career in college and in the NFL, where he transformed the game of football through the air with legendary coach Don Coryell with the San Diego Chargers. He would have a 15-year NFL career, entirely in San Diego. Fouts threw for 43,040 yards, and was the first quarterback to throw for over 4,800 yards in a season. He also became the first player in NFL history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards in three straight seasons, doing so from 1979 to 1981. To Fouts, however, those numbers were never a priority. He always just wanted a shot to win every week he put on a uniform. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.