Mike Jay is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. Jay played his high school football in

Torrington, Wyoming Torrington is a city in, and the county seat of, Goshen County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 6,501 at the 2010 census. It is the home of Eastern Wyoming College, and is the surrounding region's center of commercial activity. With ...

, excelling in all sports winning Honorable Mention High School Football All-America in 1969. He began his college football career playing for the short-lived program of

Hiram Scott College Hiram Scott College was a private liberal arts college that operated from 1965 to 1972 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Named after Hiram Scott (1805–1828), a fur trapper with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company who was found dead in the vicinity on his re ...

Scottsbluff, Nebraska Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 14,436 at the 2020 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhandl ...

. The Scotties did not have a losing season during their brief existence (1966–71), but the program was shut down after the 1971 season when the school went bankrupt. Jay was the Scotties' starting quarterback during Hiram Scott's final season and led the team to a 6-2-1 record (including a win against

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

) running an offense patterned after

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

's. Following the season, the Scotties were selected to play in the Mineral Bowl, but were unable to accept the invitation.

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, a team that Hiram Scott had beaten that season, played in their place. Hiram Scott coach

Dick Beechner Richard Beechner is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Hiram Scott College in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He was the only head football coach in the school's history because Hiram Scott only existed from 1965 to ...

called Jay one of the best players to ever play for Hiram Scott and said, "He was a good option quarterback and when he stepped into the huddle we knew the play he called probably going to be successful. He had that leadership ability." After the Hiram Scott program was shut down, Jay found his way into the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, where he played quarterback for the 1972 Quantico Marines, an All-Marine Football program designed to showcase the USMC for recruiting. The team was eliminated following that season in the wake of defense budget cuts, as the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

War waned. Jay was recruited heavily in 1973, as he still had three remaining years of collegiate eligibility. In order to pursue his dreams to be a veterinarian, Jay transferred to

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. He led the team in passing his sophomore season with 682 yards while running

Emory Bellard Emory Dilworth Bellard (December 17, 1927 – February 10, 2011) was a college football coach. He was head coach at Texas A&M University from 1972 to 1978 and at Mississippi State University from 1979 until 1985. Bellard died on February 10, 2011 a ...

's wishbone offense and sharing starting duties with 17-year-old freshman phenom David Walker. He lost the starting job to Walker the following season only to regain it once again his senior year. He was the starting quarterback for the Aggies during his senior season in 1975 and led them to a season high national ranking of No. 2 (in the 12/1/75 AP poll), a 10-game winning streak including a 20-10 win against the rival No. 5 ranked

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

, a

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

championship and a

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

appearance against

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

in Trojan coach John McKay's last game. After the season, Jay was voted by his teammates as the winner of the Aggie Heart Award. The Aggie Heart Award is presented to a senior who has completed his eligibility and displayed intangibles such as effort, desire, determination, competitiveness, leadership and courage. The Heart Award is voted on by the entire Aggie football team and is considered the highest award that a senior athlete can receive at Texas A&M. At last look, Jay still held a little-known record from per play yards from scrimmage of more than 10+, the only aggie in history to average double digit yards every time he touched the ball. After football, Jay became a successful entrepreneur, business consultant, and author. He has two daughters Mary Alexis Jay and Skye Kathleen Jay.

References

External links

1975 AP Poll

Texas game 1975
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Mike Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American football quarterbacks Hiram Scott Scotties football players Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football players Texas A&M Aggies football players People from Torrington, Wyoming Players of American football from Wyoming