College Career
Friesz redshirted in 1985 as the Vandals won their first outright Big Sky Conference title since 1971. In 1986, under new head coach Keith Gilbertson, he served as the backup to Scott Linehan, who would go on to become head coach of the St. Louis Rams.
Friesz was the Vandals starting quarterback for three years, beginning in 1987, when he threw 28 touchdown passes as a sophomore and was named player of the year in the Big Sky and second team All-American (Division I-AA). In his junior season of 1988, he guided the Vandals to a 9-1 regular season and two playoff wins, ending the season with a road loss in the Division I-AA semi-finals. He was a consensus All-American selection at quarterback.
In his senior season in 1989, Freisz threw 31 touchdowns and for over 4,000 yards in guiding the Vandals to their third consecutive conference championship. Idaho went undefeated in conference play (8-0), the only time in school history. Friesz averaged over 360 yards per game and passed for over 300 yards in ten consecutive games. He received the Walter Payton Award as the outstanding player in the nation in Division I-AA.
Idaho Vandal fans traveling to away games would put their opponent's stadium under a Friesz Warning during his college career.
In his college career, #17 passed for over 10,000 yards and was the conference player-of-the-year for three consecutive years. The Vandals' annual MVP award has been renamed the John Friesz Award in his honor.
In August 2006 John Friesz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. His #17 was officially retired by the University of Idaho in October 2006.
Read more about this topic: John Friesz
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