Hoag receives Lowsman

Richard Dunn

Cast among stars from the world of sports and surrounded by USC

pageantry, the usual pomp of Mr. Irrelevant’s center stage walked to

the beat of a different drum Thursday night at the

Heisman-meets-Lowsman banquet at the Anaheim Marriott.

In the headline event of Irrelevant Week XXVIII, Ryan Hoag, the

former NCAA Division III wide receiver, was presented the annual

Lowsman Trophy from Irrelevant Week founder Paul Salata, who served

as master of ceremonies and chief host of the madcap roast and toast

to celebrate the dead-last pick in the NFL draft in front of a record

crowd of more than 1,200.

Hoag, selected No. 262 by the Oakland Raiders, was honored along

with Orange Countian Carson Palmer, the former USC quarterback and

last season’s Heisman Trophy winner. It was the first time in

Irrelevant Week history that the Heisman and Lowsman trophy winners

were featured in the same room.

The banquet was attended by several former USC quarterbacks seated

at the head table and featured the Lowsman Trophy staging with Hoag.

The Lowsman Trophy, created in 1979 specifically to be awarded to

the honoree of the nationally famous Irrelevant Week, is a bronze

sculpture that depicts a football player dropping a ball.

Each year at the banquet, Mr. Irrelevant receives a replica of the

original, which is on display at the University Athletic Club in

Newport Beach. The Heisman Trophy is awarded in December to college

football’s top player. Hoag, a former football and track and field

standout at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., is excited

about the opportunity of cracking the Oakland roster this year and

perhaps working his way into starting role. He also returns kickoffs

and punts.

He said it’s a great situation to be in with future Hall of Famers

Jerry Rice and Tim Brown to help groom him.

“There are no expectations of starting and I’ve got two of the

best wide receivers to learn from,” Hoag said. “I had a good

experience at mini-camp (with the Raiders). I never learned so much

in such a short period of time. It was physically demanding, too.”

Hoag, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, played only one year of high school

football and that was as a JV quarterback. He grew up in Minneapolis,

then spent one year at Wake Forest as a walk-on soccer player. He

returned to his roots and enrolled at Gustavus Adolphus, where he was

an All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference performer three

times.