Utah football adding legendary figures to Ring of Honor

Alex Smith’s name in the Utah football Ring of Honor will be accompanied by two more legendary figures of the program this fall.

Former head coach Ron McBride and wide receiver Roy Jefferson are set to be inducted into Utah’s Ring of Honor during the Utes’ home opener against Cal Poly on Sept. 6, the school announced Monday.

McBride was at the helm of Utah from 1990-2002, after previously serving as the program’s offensive coordinator (1977-82) and offensive line coach (1985-86) in between short stints at Wisconsin (1983-84) and Arizona (1987-89). Upon returning to Salt Lake City for a third time prior to the 1990 season, McBride turned around a Utes program that hadn’t gone to a bowl game in 25 years and had only eight winning seasons during that stretch.

Utah’s postseason drought ended in 1992, when McBride guided the Utes to an appearance in the Cotton Bowl. The Utes made it to the Freedom Bowl in 1993 and went on to finish the 1994 campaign with their first 10-win season in program history, as they defeated No. 15 Arizona in the Freedom Bowl to finish with a top 10 national ranking at the end of the season.

Utah went to six bowl games under McBride — a noteworthy feat considering the program has been to just three bowl games in the previous 97 years of the program’s existence. Only Kyle Whittingham (17) has led the Utes to more bowl games.

McBride finished his Utah coaching career with an 88-63 record, one Western Athletic Conference championship (1995) and one Mountain West Conference championship (1999). He coached linebackers at Kentucky for two years, then came back to the region to serve as Weber State’s head coach from 2005-11. McBride was inducted into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012, the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Weber State Hall of Fame in 2021.

Jefferson, born in Texarkana, Arkansas, and raised in Southern California, was an all-conference selection in each of his three seasons with the Utes (1962-64). He led the WAC in pass receptions (29), receiving yards (435) and receiving touchdowns (four) in 1963, earning him unanimous All-WAC team honors.

Jefferson did it all for Utah as a senior in 1964. He lined up at receiver and running back on offense, plus defensive back on defense and placekicker on special teams. At the end of the season, he racked up 21 receptions, three interceptions and kicked 17 extra points, plus two field goals. Jefferson’s all-around effort earned him the WAC Player of the Year award and an honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America team.

Jefferson was selected in the second round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL and finished his playing career with 451 receptions, 7,539 yards and 52 touchdowns. Jefferson played in Super Bowls V and VII.

Along with the additions of McBride and Jefferson, Utah announced it’ll add two members to its Ring of Honor each year moving forward. Smith was the first player inducted last year.

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