For a quarterback recruited only by Oregon, he wrote an impressive football story. He may best be remembered at Oregon for throwing the winning pass in what many consider the most exciting football game in school history, a three-touchdown rally at UCLA in 1970.

He established 19 school records while at Oregon, including those for career passing yardage (5,995) and total offense (5,871) which stood for 14 years and the one-game passing mark that only was broken in 1989. He joined the San Diego Chargers in 1972 and completed a 15-year career with more than 43,000 yards passing and as one of only three NFL quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 yards in multiple seasons.