(Article from the Columbus Telegram. Alan Pogue was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2005)
COLUMBUS – Leo McKillip was the best thing that happened to Alan Pogue on the football field.
McKillip became the coach of Dana College in 1985 and installed a passing offense that helped turn a 3-6 record in 1984 to an 8-3 mark by 1987 when it first appeared in the NAIA playoffs.
Along the way, Pogue received his share of awards and became one of the best NAIA quarterbacks ever. He received another honor last week as he was selected for induction into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
“I was pretty humbled,” Pogue said. “I was kind of shocked. I didn’t know that I was being considered.”
Pogue, a 1984 Stromsburg High School graduate, will be one of three players inducted from the state college/university division. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be on Sept. 2 in Lincoln and the honorees will be recognized the following day on Tom Osborne Field prior to the Nebraska-Maine football game.
During his playing days, Pogue thrived in McKillip’s pass-happy offense.
Before his sophomore year, Pogue never had the opportunity to show off his throwing arm. In high school he operated a run-oriented attack.
Alton “Mook” Wilhelms, who is a member of the Hall of Fame board of directors and oversees the selection of state college players, said Pogue deserves the nomination as a two-time Little All-American honorable mention selection and a two-time national player of the week.
Wilhelms got to see Pogue’s brilliance up close as his son Greg played with Pogue at Stromsburg High. Even though Pogue is a Stromsburg native, Wilhelms said there was no hometown factor in the decision to nominate him.
“The stats he put up speak for themselves,” Wilhelms said. “He had to work for those Little All-American awards.”
Pogue amassed 8,303 total yards in his career at Dana with 7,505 yards and 53 touchdowns coming through the air. Pogue said he may have eclipsed 10,000 yards, but a midseason injury during his senior year caused him to miss one game and hindered him the rest of the season. During his junior year, Pogue threw for 2,627 yards, which was the second best effort in the nation.
Pogue said he always had a good throwing arm, but never had the offense to use it prior to McKillip’s arrival.
“In high school, we ran the ball and hardly threw it, and my first year (at Dana) we ran a veer offense,” he said. “Before Coach McKillip had come around, the program was in trouble. He allowed me to be mobile and scramble around. He also recruited some great talent.”
But Wilhelms believes it wasn’t just McKillip’s scheme that enabled Pogue to put up some of his gaudy statistics.
“I’m of the opinion that he’s a very good football player regardless of what school he went to,” Wilhelms said. “He threw a good ball with his left hand and was very accomplished.”
Pogue still holds all-time records or is among the top five in 16 categories at Dana. The Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald also named him the state college offensive player of the year twice.
Pogue is currently a home inspector and lives in Papillion with his wife Janet. They have three children: Briana, 9, Brennan, 8 and Brayden, 3. Pogue said he is looking forward to the pre-game ceremony at UNL because it will also coincide with his children’s first visit to Memorial Stadium for a Nebraska game.
“It is an absolute honor,” Pogue said. “I’m very thankful to be in the Nebraska Hall of Fame with the greatest players in the state.”
Dana Football 