Friday, December 4, 2015

1976 Profile: Jim LaRue

Receivers Coach
"A college football coach for 26 years, Jim makes his bow in the professional ranks this fall. The native of Clinton, Oklahoma, where he played four sports and was an All-State halfback, was associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Wake Forest a year ago. LaRue masterminded the Demon Deacons' defense in 1974.
The new Buffalo assistant is a former head coach at the University of Arizona, where he led the Wildcats to a won-lost record of 41-37-2 from 1959-66. His 1961 Arizona team was 8-1-1, the best single season record in the history of the school, and ranked second nationally in both passing and receiving. Over one span, LaRue's Wildcats rolled up three straight victories over arch-rival Arizona State. Three of his Arizona products were picked in the first three rounds of the NFL draft.
After leaving Tucson following the 1966 season, LaRue went to the University of Utah where he was defensive coordinator and top assistant for seven years (1967-73). He also served on the coaching staffs of the University of Maryland (1950), Kansas State (1951, 1954), the University of Houston (1955-56) and Southern Methodist (1957-58). For two seasons (1952-53), Jim was athletic director and head coach of one of the nation's top service teams at the Bainbridge, Maryland Naval Training Center. Ten of his former quarterbacks are coaching in college, junior college or high school ball. Ex-Cowboy great Don Meredith was a LaRue pupil at SMU.
A two-way halfback in college, LaRue played at Carson-Newman, Duke and Maryland while working on a Master's degree. He appeared in three Bowl games, including the 1945 Duke-Alabama Sugar Bowl classic. Drafted twice, he passed up a professional career to teach and coach."

-Buffalo Bills 1976 Yearbook

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