Boulder – Raise the issue and the first thing you likely will get is a head shake. State your case and you probably will get an argument.
Joel Klatt is one of the four greatest quarterbacks in Colorado football history. Maybe even top three. Where Klatt fits into the annals of CU history is a debate that has picked up steam as this season has worn on.
“The things that he’s accomplished, he earned them,” said Darian Hagan, whom many consider CU’s best quarterback of all time. “So in my book, he ranks up there with myself, Kordell Stewart, Koy Detmer. He belongs in the class. People look at him differently because he wasn’t a highly ranked quarterback coming out of high school.
“He did the things that were asked of him, and to his credit, he broke a lot of records. He deserves to be in the top three.”
The Joel Klatt story has been so unpredictable, so improbable, even Cinderella would have to acknowledge it is as a good fairy tale.
Kid plays in an option-heavy system in high school, is not recruited by any major Division I-A program, casts his lot in minor-league baseball, quits baseball to return to football, and after entering the program as a walk-on has played himself into the debate of where he fits among CU’s all-time greats.
“This whole thing has been a dream come true,” said Klatt, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior. “I’m a walk-on. Every time I get to step on that field, it’s really special for me because I was in the dumps at one point in my life. I got a second chance, and I’m just trying to make the most of it.”
Klatt owns 31 game, season or career passing records at CU. With four touchdown passes in the Buffs’ 44-13 win over Kansas last week, he broke the all-time touchdown record held by Detmer, who had 40. With 42, Klatt has a chance to set the bar high enough for it to last a long time. He is 174 yards behind Stewart in all-time passing yards, a mark that could go down Saturday against Kansas State. He likely will finish his career as the third-winningest quarterback in CU history.
“He (Klatt) and Hagan were the best at doing what they did in their respective offenses,” Buffs coach Gary Barnett said. “Kordell may have been the best at what he did in his offense, but I was only here for one year with Kordell. This particular offense needs a quarterback like Joel to run it. It’s a perfect match for him and us.”
Colorado coaches weren’t necessarily certain where to play Klatt when he arrived. They knew he wanted to play quarterback, but in his first game at CU, against Baylor in 2002, he was part of the punt team.
“He is a battler, a survivor,” former CU quarterback Charles Johnson said. “I think as a result he has gained not just the respect of his teammates, but certainly guys like myself and Hagan.”
Said offensive coordinator Shawn Watson: “What he’s accomplished, he’s done with more grit and passion than any player I’ve ever been around. He never ceases to amaze me with his passion for the game and for his teammates and for winning.”
There are a maximum of six games left in Klatt’s career, should CU play in the Big 12 championship game and a bowl game. Barnett said Klatt’s career should be an inspiration for young players.
“The lesson for a kid who doesn’t get recruited, Joel Klatt did all the right things,” he said. “He was not like this in high school. Never would have predicted it. He went into the right system, and he put himself under somebody that took him to another level – Shawn Watson.
“For fans, all these recruiting magazines, start a fire with them. (Success) has more to do with what you do with your opportunities than what your potential is. For coaches it’s, I think, the value of maturity and the value of responsibility. Almost every case, a guy becomes a better player when he becomes a more responsible person.”
And for those who refuse to see Klatt’s value?
“We have a tendency to make heroes out of the guys that were here, rather than the guys that are here,” Barnett said. “Two years from now, they’ll be talking about Klatt, why we don’t have a quarterback like Klatt.”
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
