By Jack Houvouras
HQ 36 | AUTUMN 1999
If there was ever a person who deserved all the “media hype” that often surrounds sports figures, it would have to be Chad Pennington. Put simply, the Marshall University senior quarterback and standout student-athlete is the real deal.
On the field, he is the Thundering Herd’s most prolific passer in history, a legitimate contender for the Heisman Trophy and a highly-regarded NFL prospect who many claim will go in the first round of the draft.
In the classroom, he is equally accomplished carrying a 3.75 grade point average (4.0 in his major) where his journalism studies have him calling games on the radio and writing articles for the student newspaper.
In the community, he frequently volunteers his time to appear at civic functions, speak to school children and work with the area’s underprivileged. “He probably needs a full-time secretary,” notes assistant coach Mark Gale, who coordinates public appearances and sees first-hand the deluge of requests for the star quarterback.
But perhaps Pennington’s most impressive quality of all is one that isn’t easily defined. If you have ever met Chad or shaken his hand, you probably know what I mean. There is a genuineness to him that is rare these days. He looks you directly in the eye, grasps firmly, and, while often smiling, says, “Nice to meet you Mr. Smith.” He never seems bothered or hurried, and actually appears to enjoy meeting people. At a recent fund raiser for the School of Journalism, Pennington limped among a crowd of fans, his leg bandaged from a cheap shot taken in the Bowling Green game, signing autographs (including articles in Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Playboy), smiling, talking football, fishing and anything else the group was interested in discussing. He didn’t have to be there that Friday afternoon standing on a bum leg for an hour. Rumor was he hadn’t practiced all week because of the injury and was questionable for the upcoming Temple game. But he did it anyway and went on to play the next day, passing for 406 yards and three touchdowns. Tough, smart, athletic, generous, real. Those are the qualities that earn a young man a place on the cover of a magazine.
