Hometown hero returns for honor at BYU

Clean-cut, upbeat, positive to the core, Nielsen had all the attributes that would earn him the nickname of "Mr. Clean" as an NFL player years later. He took the country by storm that fall. After five games, Nielsen had the Cougars undefeated and ranked No. 19. He'd tossed five touchdown passes in a 54-19 win over New Mexico. Life was good.

Then in Corvallis, Ore., in BYU's fourth game of the season, with fame and fortune at his doorstep and Sports Illustrated on hand to consider him for the magazine's cover, Nielsen suffered a season-ending ACL injury to his knee.

It would take every bright and shiny fiber in his body to deal with the setback. At the time, he was the leading passer in the country on the top-scoring team in the nation. Nobody else was close.

"I learned an important life lesson that day," he said. "No matter how well you are doing in life, there are always obstacles to overcome. That was a tough day. Things didn't work out the way I'd dreamed. Everything I'd worked for in the athletic world appeared over. But I had my life, I had my wife and child and I had my faith, things that were far more important to me. Being there at BYU and knowing there are other priorities for me than football carried and sustained me."

Nielsen ended up drafted by the Houston Oilers and had a six-year career in the NFL. That experience opened up doors as a sportscaster in one of the nation's largest TV markets. He is currently a popular celebrity in the Greater Houston area who is involved in the community and serves as an LDS stake president.

Nielsen said when he started out, he actually failed. He was a starting guard on BYU's basketball team, and football wasn't in the works. He played on a high school team that had won 34 straight games.

"I was a basketball player and LaVell and Scovil saw some promise in me and my abilities," he said. "I was taught at an early age to do the best I could and things would work out. That's what happened. If you'd told me in grade school I would be an All-American and NFL quarterback, I would have told you you were crazy, because I was a basketball player.

"I was just in the right place at the right time with the right people believing in me and around me, and consequently it worked out."

Nielsen, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and recipient of the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, passed for more than 5,800 yards and collected 55 touchdowns throughout his career.

Earning All-America honors in 1976, Nielsen led the NCAA in touchdown completions, ranked second in total offense and helped the Cougars to their first-ever national ranking.

Nielsen remains the last quarterback to lead the Oilers to the AFC finals. Nielsen and his wife, Wendy, are the parents of six children.

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Tomorrow: Ty Detmer

E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com