"I was thinking about this the other day. We became close friends that year and it's continued ever since," said Edwards, who recommended Kragthorpe, then at South Dakota State, to Tommy Hudsbeth in 1970 when the Cougars were looking for a line coach.

Kragthorpe coached the Cougar O-line before the Roger French era and one of his early recruits included current Cougar assistant head coach Lance Reynolds.

Today, Kragthorpe is still a consultant to USU football and flies to Louisville to volunteer his expertise to his son, Steve, head coach of the Cardinals after leaving Tulsa in 2007.

Another son, Kurt, has chiseled out a respected career as a sportswriter in Utah with stops at the Provo Daily Herald, Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune.

Dave Kragthorpe's impact on USU athletics has been long and consistent. He's worked with the USU alumni association and is a member of the Old Main Society, Alumni Sustaining Membership Program, Big Blue Club and Emerti Association and currently resides in Logan.

A year after Kragthorpe led OSU to that win over Washington, Bronco Mendenhall arrived to play for the Beavers and Kragthorpe as a Snow College transfer. He would end up becoming an OSU defensive line coach, and later secondary coach and defensive coordinator.

Kragtorpe's contribution to amateur football in Utah?

His perch is right at the top of the list.

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com