Cougar Kickoff Countdown: 62 Days

Eldon Fortie played for LaVell Edwards at Granite High School and then again in his final year at BYU. Fortie played tailback, which was essentially a quarterback in the wildcat formation for BYU at the time. Fortie played his best game against George Washington when he ran for 272 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, setting a school record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game. Although Taysom Hill got close last season against Texas with 259 yards, Fortie's record still stands after 52 years.

As Fortie continued to rack up the rushing yards in '62, a Deseret News writer stated that, "He runs like a phantom." After that, Fortie was known as the Phantom. Eldon "the Phantom" Fortie set 25 school and WAC records that season and became the first All-America player from BYU. His jersey was retired at a basketball game shortly after he completed his final season.