So I don't know why, but I just happened to remember Wally Richardson today, which made me curious about what he did in the NFL.
Oddly enough he finished his career with 1 passing yard. I know a lot of guys finished with 0, but he may be the only QB with 1.
I happen to know Wally. Wally is a really good person. He is a gracious person who is easy to like. He is the Director of the Lettermen's Club, and the Lettermen I know think highly of him. They recently had their most successful annual Golf Outing ever, under Wally's direction. Wally also has a Master's degree, and is another great example of The Grand Experiment. As long-time PSU fans, we should feel proud of him and happy for his post-playing successes.
I don't understand why people like to make digs at past PSU players who were important parts of highly successful teams. (Not directed at the OP here). Remembering Wally for bad passes rather than his overall record and his steady hand at crucial times during games is strange, imo.
As a reminder for those who may care:
Wally came to PSU from South Carolina. He started as a true freshman in the 1992 season-opener on the road at Cincinnati (in their then brand-new stadium) and brought the team from behind to win 24-20. He backed up John Sacca and later Kerry Collins that season. He redshirted in '93, backed up Collins in '94. He started in '95 and '96, and was a Captain in '96. Those teams were 20-5 overall, including two big bowl wins over Auburn and Texas. He led the last-minute comebacks vs. Texas Tech at home to open the '95 season and at Michigan State in '95, hitting Bobby Engram with a TD pass in the final couple of seconds to win 24-20. The '96 team lost just 2 games, getting beaten badly at Ohio State and then losing by one point in an upset to Iowa at home.
His PSU stats: Wally had over 4400 yards passing and 27 TDs in 2+ seasons. Pretty good; not an All-American or an all-time 'greatest of the great' PSU QBs, but a very good college QB who also was (and is) a very good leader.
Wally was drafted by the Ravens in a late round in 1996, so he wasn't a sure thing to make the team. But he stayed for 2 or 3 seasons as a backup QB. It takes more hard work and talent than most of us can imagine to get there and to stay for
any length of time. The fact that his stats are what they are is not the point - the point is, he got to the NFL and stayed for 2 or 3 seasons. I bet lots of ex-college players would take that.