Road to 1991 Perfection: Hobert Will Share Stories Of Just About Anyone Except Emtman

The former University of Washington quarterback knows not to rile his old teammate from the national championship team.

Quarterback Billy Joe Hobert was sort of a gambling, fearless University of Washington football player, someone who wasn't overly impressed by much. He often was headstrong and went his own way. He got in trouble for it, too.

Yet with Steve Emtman, the Huskies' All-American defensive tackle always had Hobert's full attention and unwavering respect. On and off the field. 

Hobert no doubt appreciated the fact that he didn't have to go up against Emtman for real outside of practice. He was intrigued enough to simply tag along with the big man and his teammates just to see the resulting show.

"Watching a man like him among men operate socially was incredibly intimidating," the quarterback said. "The dude was fricking gnarly. Even to this day, he has a 60-inch chest. I hyperbolize because I don't know if it was 60 inches, but he was a big old boy."

Asked for a more specific Emtman story, Hobert seemed to intimate there were several good ones, but he wasn't going there. He almost appeared to be looking over his shoulder. Which was somewhat odd, because Hobert was known to say just about anything at any time. But with his teammate, he knows better.

Emtman still has that sort of power over people. Nobody wants to cross him, though Emtman sort of keeps to himself and lives quietly these days in his hometown of Cheney, Washington.

"The only other guy who would intimidate me like that was Chester McGlockton of the Raiders," said Hobert, who played in the NFL. "He would just tear people up. That's the way Steve was."

This is another in a series of vignettes about the UW's 1991 national championship team, supplementing the conversation for the pandemic-delayed and -shortened season. It's a collection of memories and anecdotes. We're dealing with game 12 of this throwback series, the '92 Rose Bowl against Michigan.

Hobert talks about Emtman as if he were some Sasquatch character or other inhuman species. The quarterback made it clear they weren't close friends, yet he used to tag long whenever the All-American defensive tackle and the other Huskies went somewhere socially just to watch the proceedings.

I have a sincere admiration for what he did with the freakishness that God bestowed upon him," Billy Joe said. "He took that freakishness and said, 'OK, let's go.' "

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