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With the Eighteenth Pick of the draft, SmithFire13 selects...
arguably the most athletically gifted Mountaineer of all time, #21 Ira Errett Rodgers.
For the young guns out there, Rodgers was Collin Klein before Calvin Klein decided the clothing business might be a lucrative business venture. Also, that's if Collin Klein could kick field goals. Rodgers started his freshman year at quarterback in 1915 before then HC Sol Metzger thought that this guy is such a badass, we need to put him at fullback and give him the ball more. In his 1919 senior season, Rodgers set a record of 147 points that was just only broken by Stedman's 150 in 2012. This outstanding season placed him as West Virginia's first consensus All-American.
Today, Ira Errett Rodgers is still painted all over the record books. His career point total of 304 (God damn right) places him 6th all time in school history and the only field player above him is Steve Slaton. Rodgers is tied at 5th with Stedman for all-time career touchdowns (41) and in 2nd with a few others for most single-game touchdowns (5, Slaton bested him again here with the 05 Louisville game). His career achievements earned him a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1953. Needless to say, there is a reason that his #21 is one of only two numbers retired by the Mountaineer football program.
As I mentioned before, Ira Errett Rodgers may be the most athletically gifted human this school has ever seen. Rodgers also excelled at baseball to the point where the majors were calling his name, but decided to come back to Morgantown and coach the baseball team for 23 years. WVUSports.com encapsulated his raw physical talent with this nugget:
Able to excel in just about anything, Rodgers won the West Virginia Amateur golf tournament at White Sulphur Springs only one year after he was persuaded to take up the game.
Not bad. That being said, I'm not picking him for his golfing ability. I'm picking him because he has a nose for pay dirt and can chuck it around the yard a little too. It'll be good for those Option Passes that will be in abundance in my playbook.