Flashback: Robin Earl Kent-Meridian, Class of 1973

Sport: Football

High-school rewind: Rushed for 1,067 yards as a senior and 1,909 yards in his career. Led Kent-Meridian into final Turkey Day game at Memorial Stadium as a junior in 1971. Nathan Hale won 14-7.

After high school: Played four seasons at Washington (1973-76). A 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end most of his first two seasons, he moved to fullback midway through his sophomore season. In his second game at the position, rushed for 152 yards in a 31-9 upset of UCLA. Ranks sixth on school's rushing list (2,351 yards) and is fifth in average yards per attempt (5.1).

Drafted in the third round by the Chicago Bears, was a fullback-tight end for Bears from 1977 to 1982, and ended career in 1985 with Birmingham of the United States Football League.

After athletics: Worked in insurance for 17 years in Chicago area. Now works in the produce industry, supplying food to restaurants.

Personal: Earl, 48, has been married to Susan for 21 years. He has six sons, one daughter and five grandchildren. Has lived in Lincolnshire, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, for 26 years.

Fast forward: Earl made a quick change at UW. "It was two days before our first road game against Duke, and I wasn't expecting to make the trip," Earl said. "Then the day before the game, coach Owens told me, 'You're going, and you're going to be a tight end.' I told him I had never played tight end before and he told me not to worry about it."

His first game at fullback was in a 66-0 win over Oregon. "The Ducks beat us 58-0 the year before and coach (Jim) Owens was going to keep the starters in until we got to 59. Then he scored one more for good measure."

Rushed for 382 career yards with the Bears and caught 47 passes for 446 yards. Best known for blocking for Hall of Famer Walter Payton. Was the fullback when Payton rushed for a then-record 275 yards against the Minnesota Vikings in 1977. "That was the highlight of my career, playing next to the best player there ever was," Earl said.

Earl said he never got hurt playing and works out six days a week. He says he weighs about 232 pounds, which is below his playing weight.

— Scott Hanson