The names of former Utes head coach Ron McBride and wide receiver Roy Jefferson will soon be etched into the west side of Rice-Eccles Stadium forever.
McBride and Jefferson are this year’s choices for the Utah football Ring of Honor, which celebrates some of the most impactful players and coaches ever to don the red and white.
They will be honored in a halftime ceremony during Utah’s home opener against Cal Poly on Sept. 6.
The Ring of Honor was started last year, with quarterback Alex Smith — who led the Utes to an undefeated 2004 season and Fiesta Bowl win, and was the No. 1 selection in the 2005 NFL draft — the first inductee.
Now McBride and Jefferson will join Smith.
McBride coached Utah from 1990-2002, laying the foundation of the program for Urban Meyer and later Kyle Whittingham to take the Utes to new heights.
“He was instrumental in the University of Utah getting into the Pac-12 with the work he did and the groundwork he laid,” Whittingham said in 2011.
McBride helped slow the bleeding in the rivalry game against BYU (the Cougars had won 13 of the last 14 before the Utes won four of five from 1993-97), coached the Utes to a share of their first conference championship since 1964 in 1995, and won a share of the inaugural Mountain West Conference championship in 1999.
He also put an emphasis on recruiting Polynesian players, something continued by Meyer and Whittingham.
Under McBride, the Utes sent 16 players to the NFL, including Steve Smith Sr., and Luther Elliss, and his former recruit Alex Smith would go on to star for the Utes. He also hired Whittingham as a defensive line coach in 1994.
The 1994 season was Utah’s return to national prominence, the Utes appeared in the AP poll that year for the first time since 1947. Utah finished the season ranked No. 10 and capped off a 10-2 season with a 16-13…
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Publish date : 2025-06-30 22:15:00
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