Then & Now: John Welsh ready to fight fire

It should come as no surprise to those who remember John Welsh’s playing days at the University of Idaho that he briefly came out of retirement a year ago to quarterback a Chicago-based arena football team.

Some friends mentioned the new team was holding a tryout. Welsh made the squad and was a starter a couple of weeks later.

Nor should it be a surprise that Welsh hopes to land a job with the Chicago fire department. He was one of 20,000 who began taking a series of tests two years ago.

“I got No. 350 out of 20,000,” he said. “That’s pretty unheard of.”

Why firefighting?

“I’ve just heard from some of the guys that it’s probably the next closest thing to being on a team,” Welsh said, “which I’m pretty used to.”

Welsh was a member of four of them at Idaho, including one magical crew that made prognosticators look silly in 1998. There is no logical explanation for what the Vandals accomplished that season, their third in NCAA Division I.

Picked to finish last in the Big West and ranked last among 112 D-I teams by one national magazine, Idaho pieced together talent, chemistry and a flare for the dramatic en route to a 9-3 season, capped by a 42-35 victory over 16.5-point favorite Southern Mississippi in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Idaho held a reunion for the team in Moscow on Friday, in conjunction with the spring game, and about 20 players returned, including Welsh, who, as a freshman, took over as the starter midway through the season. The Vandals had a hiccup in their title run, a 58-23 home loss to Nevada, but recovered to win at North Texas the next week. A win over New Mexico State followed as Welsh fired a pass to Ryan Prestimonico, who broke two tackles and scored the winning touchdown in a 36-32 thriller.

That set up a showdown with rival Boise State at Bronco Stadium. Idaho scored in overtime to pull within 35-34 and set up for the point-after. Boise State called timeout to ice the kicker. The Vandals used the timeout to dial up a two-point conversion that would become known as “The Call.” Idaho surprised the Broncos by sending the offense on the field with sixth-year running back Joel Thomas lined up in the flat behind a trio of teammates. Welsh tossed the ball to Thomas, who plowed into the end zone for a 36-35 victory.

Afterward, then-BSU coach Dirk Koetter went into the interview room while Vandals coach Chris Tormey was finishing up and congratulated Tormey for the play call.

“Coach Tormey asked Joel, ‘We’re going to ride you, do you want to do this or go to another overtime?’ ” Welsh said. “Joel said, ‘Let’s do this thing now.’ “

Welsh’s job was easy: Take one step back and flip the ball to Thomas.

“If you ever look at that play, as soon as I released the ball I got sacked,” he said. “If it had taken a split-second longer, I wouldn’t have got it off. It was just one of those things.”

“Those things” kept happening in the bowl game. Tied at 35 midway through the fourth quarter, Idaho marched 68 yards with a Welsh-to- Prestimonico pass covering the last 28 yards for the winner. Welsh was voted the game’s most valuable player.

“I think probably the main thing with that team was the leadership – Joel, (Ryan) Skinner,” Welsh said. “They brought us together. That was their last shot.”

Many of those players met up in Moscow during the weekend, including Skinner, Prestimonico, Rick DeMulling, Mike Roberg, Chris Nofoaiga, Dennis Gibbs and Jeremy Wallace. Thomas, an assistant coach at Purdue, couldn’t attend because the Boilermakers’ spring game was the same day.

“He called every night when we were down there,” Welsh said. “Everybody came back wearing their rings and talking about the good old days. I haven’t seen some of those guys in 8-10 years, but as soon as you see them it’s like old times and you jump right back into giving each other grief, just like we used to.”

DeMulling, who has purchased a home in Spokane, was with the Washington Redskins last year and hopes to continue his NFL career. Nofoaiga, who became an All-Big West linebacker, is a high school coach in Washington. Gibbs (salesman) and Prestimonico (Charles Schwab) are in California. Ed Dean, who opened the season as the starting quarterback while Welsh was third on the depth chart, is a Border Patrol agent.

After the HumBowl season, Welsh quarterbacked three more years, injuries interrupting two of them.

Idaho had shots at Big West titles in 1999 and 2000, but lost to Boise State. Idaho was 1-10 – 0-8 at one time despite averaging 41 points per game – and played in the Sun Belt Conference in Welsh’s senior year. He had a couple of NFL tryouts, including one with his younger brother, Jeff, with the Bears. Neither made the cut. Welsh played for a couple of arena football teams before entering the 9-to-5 work force.

“You have to get on with your career,” said Welsh, who is in the top 10 in numerous UI career passing categories.

Prior to the weekend, Welsh had returned to Moscow just one other time, for a game against Hawaii a few years ago. He was stunned by the number of well-wishers and the warm welcome for the ex-players. By Monday he was back at work in Chicago, where he’s been an electrician for five years.

“My friends from Chicago called and asked me where I was,” Welsh said. “I told them, ‘I’m home.’ They were like, ‘Chicago?’ I said, ‘No, Idaho.’ It’s like home for me.”