Who Are These FL HS Legends in the Photo? Collinsworth, Marshall & Donnelly

[OldSchoolLion]

Pictured below is a famous coach and two of his legendary players.

 

What are their names?

At what school did they coach/play in high school?

Where did the two standing in the picture play in college?

 

 

 

[badbird]

Chris Collinsworth Wilbur Marshall Jay Donnelly  Titusville Astronaut UF

[OldSchoolLion]

1 hour ago, badbird said:

Chris Collinsworth Wilbur Marshall Jay Donnelly  Titusville Astronaut UF

You got it, badbird!

In 1972, Jay Donnelly became the first baseball and football coach of new school Astronaut in Titusville.  In his first year, he led the football team to a district title and the playoffs.  Under Donnelly’s tenure, the War Eagles swept 9 conference titles, won or shared 8 district titles, and made the state semifinals in 1976 and 1979.  His overall record was 122-36-2.  73 War Eagle players were named to an All-State team, while Cris Collinsworth and Wilber Marshall became first team Parade All-Americans.

Wilber Marshall played linebacker, running back, tight end, qb, returned punts and even kicked field goals and extra points for Coach Jay Donnelly.  Heavily recruited, Marshall committed to the then lowly Gators, coached by Charley Pell.  He started his Gator career at tight end, before switching to linebacker.  He became the core of a ferocious Florida defense in 1981, setting school records for sacks with 11 and tackles for loss with 27, and was named first team All-SEC and honorable mention All-American.  He was a consensus first team All-American and finalist for the Lombardi Award as a Junior in ’82 and a senior in ’83, when he was again a Lombardi Award finalist and also named National Defensive Player of the Year by ABC Television.  He finished his college career with 343 tackles-58 for a loss, and 23 sacks.  In 12 NFL seasons as a linebacker, Marshall had 45 sacks, 23 interceptions, and 16 fumble recoveries.  He is one of only a few players who have recorded 20 sacks and 20 interceptions in their career.  He was a 3-time All-Pro, 2-time Super Bowl champion, and NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1992.

Cris Collinsworth played qb and ran sprints at Astronaut.  He was the 3A 100-yard-dash state champion in 1976. At the University of Florida he switched to wide receiver and made the College Football All-America Team as a senior. During his career at Florida, Cris caught 120 passes for 1,977 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also scoring two rushing touchdowns and one on a kickoff return. Collinsworth was highly successful in the classroom and was named an Academic All-American. After college, Collinsworth was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2nd round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He surpassed 1,000 yards receiving four times (in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1986) and was named to the Pro Bowl 3 times. He remained with the Bengals until the 1988 season, catching three passes for 40 yards in Super Bowl XXIII, the final game of his career. He finished his eight-season career with 417 receptions for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns in 107 games. In 1990, he began what has become a successful broadcasting career as a part of the NBC network’s NFL broadcasts. 

[LakelandGator]

In the 1979 state playoffs all-everything LB Wilbur Marshall kicked the game winning FG to beat LWales 9-7. Yes, he kicked FG's as well.

LW featured 2 all-state RB's, one was named Lorenzo Hampton who would go on to star at UFlorida and the Miami Dolphins.

That '79 team was one of the best in LWales school history, but they were foolish to give up their home field advantage against Astronaut and move the game from their 4K seat stadium to 10K Denison Stadium in WHaven.

Even today, nearly 40 years later, many feel that move may have cost the Highlanders a state championship.

https://twitter.com/CountyPolk

 

 

[OldSchoolLion]

52 minutes ago, LakelandGator said:

In the 1979 state playoffs all-everything LB Wilbur Marshall kicked the game winning FG to beat LWales 9-7. Yes, he kicked FG's as well.

LW featured 2 all-state RB's, one was named Lorenzo Hampton who would go on to star at UFlorida and the Miami Dolphins.

That '79 team was one of the best in LWales school history, but they were foolish to give up their home field advantage against Astronaut and move the game from their 4K seat stadium to 10K Denison Stadium in WHaven.

Even today, nearly 40 years later, many feel that move may have cost the Highlanders a state championship.

https://twitter.com/CountyPolk

 

 

3A was such a great class back then...so many good teams stacked in one class.  

[OldSchoolLion]

In case anyone is interested, Collinsworth ran a 10.0 100-yard dash(not 100 meter like today) to win the 3A title in 1976.  That was a very respectable time for that era.  That same year, Houston McTear competed in the 2A meet for Baker High.  McTear is one of the greatest high school sprinters ever and the only Florida sprinter to ever win 4 state titles in both the 100 and 200 events. 

For those of you who think kids back then were not as fast as today...McTear ran a 9.0 100-yard dash.  That is the equivalent of a 9.8 100-meter dash.  Anthony Schwartz of American Heritage(and now Auburn) ran a 10.15 last year.    

[Dan in Daytona]

20 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

In case anyone is interested, Collinsworth ran a 10.0 100-yard dash(not 100 meter like today) to win the 3A title in 1976.  That was a very respectable time for that era.  That same year, Houston McTear competed in the 2A meet for Baker High.  McTear is one of the greatest high school sprinters ever and the only Florida sprinter to ever win 4 state titles in both the 100 and 200 events. 

For those of you who think kids back then were not as fast as today...McTear ran a 9.0 100-yard dash.  That is the equivalent of a 9.8 100-meter dash.  Anthony Schwartz of American Heritage(and now Auburn) ran a 10.15 last year.    

McTear ran the 9.0 Friday night at Showwalter Field in Winter Park. Saturday night Mainland's James Brown won the big school championship in an also blistering 9.2 seconds. James also doubled up as the long jump champ in both '74, '75. Won 100 in '74 too. Went to Ivy League (U of Pennsylvania) on basketball and track scholarship. Those 1975 100 yd times have always been a question mark. The timing equipment has drawn the most skepticism.