This is the sixth in a series profiling the 11 inductees into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
LITTLE ROCK — Ceremonies will be held Feb. 11 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
The night before Arkansas played Houston in 1989 at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium, Razorbacks Coach Ken Hatfield and offensive coordinator Jack Crowe called out Quinn Grovey.
“Coach Hatfield and Coach Crowe got up in front of the whole team and said, ‘Quinn, the team with the best quarterback is going to win this game,’ ” Grovey said. “That’s a challenge I was glad to accept.”
It was quite a challenge for Grovey, Arkansas’ junior quarterback, considering his Houston counterpart was Andre Ware.
Ware won the Heisman Trophy in 1989 as college football’s top player and set 26 NCAA season records while passing for 4,699 yards and 44 touchdowns, but Ware and Houston couldn’t beat Grovey and the Razorbacks on Oct. 28, 1989.
Grovey directed Arkansas to 647 yards in total offense and outdueled Ware as the No. 18 Razorbacks beat the No. 12 Cougars 45-39.
It was the signature performance in a college career that has resulted in numerous honors for Grovey, the latest being his induction into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 11.
Grovey completed 11 of 14 passes for 256 yards against Houston, including touchdowns to Derek Russell of 65 and 51 yards. He also rushed for 79 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Ware, who after the season became a first-round NFL Draft pick by the Detroit Lions, completed 34 of 46 passes for 352 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“When I look back, that is probably the one game for four quarters where everything totally clicked for us,” Grovey said. “We executed at the highest level I’ve ever been a part of in a game. And for it to be a game of that magnitude to keep us in the Cotton Bowl race, that made it even bigger.
“It’s one of those games you hear about so much that you wish you could have been in the stands to watch.”
Tim Horton, Arkansas’ running backs coach and a receiver for the Razorbacks from 1986-1989, wasn’t surprised at how Grovey responded to the challenge of going against Ware and the Cougars, who the previous week had gained an NCAA record 1,021 yards in a 95-21 victory over SMU.
“Quinn was very, very, very, very competitive,” Horton said. “It didn’t matter if it was a shuttle run, a 40-yard dash, a game of Nerf basketball or intramural basketball.
“If you beat him, you had to play him again, and if you beat him again, you had to play again until he beat you. You might be there all night long, but he was going to beat you.”
Beating Houston was a must for the Razorbacks to repeat as Southwest Conference champions in 1989 and return to the Cotton Bowl after they had lost to Texas 24-20 the previous week.
“We were a desperate, hungry team that had its back against the wall,” Horton said. “We were on the edge of the cliff, but fortunately we had Quinn Grovey on our side and he did his thing.”
Grovey said he and Ware often have talked about their 1989 matchup. Ware is now a television analyst for ESPN and Grovey works as a sideline reporter on Arkansas’ radio broadcasts, in addition to his job as a Home Depot regional manager for human resources, so they usually see each other at a couple of games each season.
“I always tell Andre, ‘You got the [Heisman] Trophy, but I got the rings,’ ” Grovey said, referring to Arkansas’ back-to-back SWC titles in 1988-1989. “I feel like I got the better end of it.”
Grovey, who redshirted as a true freshman in 1986 before becoming a three-year starter, finished his Razorbacks career with 6,242 yards in total offense and a combined 50 touchdowns as a passer and runner. He passed for 4,496 yards and 29 touchdowns and rushed for 1,756 yards and 21 touchdowns while directing Hatfield’s “Flexbone” offense.
“Quinn belongs up there with any quarterback we’ve ever had at Arkansas because of his productivity, and he won two championships,” Hatfield said. “He played in a lot of pain, too, and he never backed down.”
Grovey came to Arkansas from Duncan, Okla., and turned down scholarship offers from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. He said he never wonders what would have happened if he had played for the Sooners or Cowboys.
“That tells me I made the right decision,” Grovey said. “I’d go to Arkansas 10 more times out of 10 without hesitation.”
Grovey credited Crowe and David Lee, his quarterbacks coaches at Arkansas, for helping him develop as a passer and decision-maker.
“Coach Lee was so critical in helping me with my footwork and mechanics, about understanding the passing game and getting more comfortable with where the receivers were going to be, the whole process,” Grovey said. “Coach Crowe really was great about helping me learn how to break down a defense. He understood where the weaknesses were and how to attack them. He gave me a blueprint for winning every week, and I understood that and was able to execute it.”
Grovey, 42, lives in Fayetteville with his wife, Stacy, and stepdaughter, Kelsey. He has stayed close to the Razorbacks through his radio work the past 13 seasons.
“To be able to go out each Saturday and talk about football and get paid to do it, that’s awesome,” Grovey said. “Especially when it’s your alma mater, the school you love.
“I see it as a privilege and a blessing to help bring the Hogs to the fans every week. ”
Grovey has received several honors from his playing career, including being one of four quarterbacks on Arkansas’ All-Century Team announced in 1994 and being inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Honor in 2001. Now he’s adding a spot in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
“It’s definitely a prestigious thing when you talk about going into a state’s hall of fame,” Grovey said. “It’s great to think I was able to do things in my career thathad such a big impact on the people of Arkansas.
“All I ever wanted to do was just win. I didn’t care how we got it done.
“When Coach Hatfield was recruiting me and I told him I was signing with Arkansas, I said, ‘Coach I’m not coming to win games. I’m coming to win championships.’ ”
At a glance
NAME Quinn Grovey AGE 42 HOMETOWN Duncan, Okla.
COLLEGE Arkansas 1986-89 POSITION Quarterback NOTABLE Three-year starter who led Arkansas to back-to-back Southwest Conference titles and Cotton Bowl appearances in 1988-1989. ... Had 6,242 yards in total offense and a combined 50 touchdowns as a passer and runner in his Arkansas career. Passed for 4,496 yards and 29 touchdowns and rushed for 1,756 yards and 21 touchdowns. ... Member of Arkansas’ All-Century Team selected in 1994. ... Inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Honor in 2001.
NOW Lives in Fayetteville with his wife (Stacy) and stepdaughter (Kelsey) and works as regional manger for human resources for Home Depot. Also has worked as the sideline reporter for Arkansas’ football radio broadcasts the past 13 years.
Sports, Pages 13 on 02/07/2011