COLUMBIA A young Jim Sterk pulled on his football pads and helmet for the first time at Western Washington University in August 1974.
Sterk, a farm boy from Nooksack, Wash., would set a Vikings record with 164 tackles as a senior linebacker in 1977 — a record that stands today — but he started his career as a wide-eyed cornerback.
And he’ll never forget the rude introduction, a sort of welcome-to-college-football moment, from Western Washington linebacker Gary Gilmore.
“He was a Vietnam vet, like 26 (years old), and I was barely 18,” Sterk said. “He hit me harder than I’ve ever been hit in my life.