Collected Wisdom: Lee Corso

Before he gained national notoriety as the free-wheeling, opinionated counterpart to Kirk Herbstreit on ESPN's College GameDay, Lee Corso made his mark as a college football player and coach.

Lee Corso played at Florida State with Burt Reynolds before joining the coaching ranks. PROVIDED by ESPN

In 1970, the former Florida State tailback — and roommate of actor Burt Reynolds — led Louisville to its second-ever bowl appearance. Corso went on to coach at Indiana University and in the USFL before joining ESPN in 1987.

When he's not moonlighting as a mascot-head-stealing analyst, Corso serves as director of business development at No. 2 pencil manufacturer Dixon Ticonderoga.

Never prostitute your integrity to get a job or to keep one.

I played tight end on the Northside Red Devils. It was a 12-and-under team. I played the whole year — we had eight games — and I never touched the football. We had a lot of good athletes in Miami.

I always wanted to be a football coach. I just felt that I could make a difference in young men's lives. I always wanted to be a head football coach, and I was fortunate to be a head football coach.

Burt (Reynolds) was so good-looking, I used to send him out for bait. He would come back with two great girls. One was beautiful and one was ugly. He always took the good-looking one and gave me the ugly one.

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next