The Harris poll, which was designated to replace the Associated Press poll in the BCS ratings, asked Sam Huff to serve on its panel of experts to rank college football teams, but the Hall-of-Famer politely declined.

“If I didn’t vote West Virginia high, all my friends in the state would have given me so much hell that I would have been miserable,” said Huff, whose No. 75 was retired this past fall in halftime ceremonies at a Mountaineer game.

Huff then admitted that if he had agreed to serve on the voting panel, he would have voted his conscience. Now into thoroughbred horse racing and broadcasting which includes serving as a color analyst with Sonny Jurgenson for the Washington Redskins Radio Network, Huff is plain spoken. That is not to be confused with being outspoken. He has no interest in being controversial. But telling it like it is comes natural for him, a native West Virginian who has pride in his home state and a high regard for the spirit of competition.

When his jersey was retired, he apologized to the fans for the performance of the team against Georgia Tech in the 1954 Sugar Bowl when Tech pounded the Mountaineers, 42-19.

He later became friends with Tech quarterback, Pepper Rodgers, when the latter worked for the Redskins. However, Sam laughingly noted that he “got mad as hell for years when I sat down to eat and somebody would say, ‘Pass the Pepper.’

“Pepper never threw a pass that wasn’t a dying duck, but our team just didn’t take the game seriously. We didn’t realize the importance of the game,” he said.

The conversation about that past Sugar Bowl game keenly reflects the make-up of Sam Huff. Bitter about his team’s ill preparation and performance but reluctant to denigrate the victor. “Georgia Tech was good, they played well and I tip my hat to them, but I would like for our team to have realized the importance of the game. I became good friends with Pepper Rodgers. He has a terrific football mind.”

When the New York Giants lost to Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts in the 1958 NFL title game — often referred to as the greatest pro football game ever played—Huff and his New York Giant teammates filed into the locker room with their heads high. “We left it all on the field. We played our hearts out. We just got beat. They were the better team that day. Those Colt teams of ’58 and ’59 were great teams.”

Huff’s honesty is a hallmark of his life and career. He is not jealous of current NFL players pulling down huge salaries. He finds no fault in players, with the advent of free agency, moving from team to team for more money. “Ownership has no loyalty so why should the players?” he asks.

Drafted No. 3 when he finished at West Virginia, he learned the news via a letter from owner Wellington Mara. It read, “Congratulations you have been drafted in the 3rd round by the New York Giants.”

For the next eight years, it would be an extraordinary ride for Huff and the Giants. New York in the Fifties was exciting, energetic and electric. Few pro football teams except, perhaps, Green Bay has ever had a more devoted public. The Giants played for the league title six times in eight years from 1956 to 1964.