Catching up with ... Ray Wallace

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Offense, defense. It didn’t matter where Ray Wallace played. He excelled.

The burly Wallace matriculated to Purdue in 1982 from Indianapolis' North Central High, where he earned Parade All-American honors. Wallace had his choice of colleges but opted for Purdue, where he was part of one of the most memorable teams in Boilermaker annals in 1984. That year, Purdue became the first program ever to beat Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan in the same season on the way to the Peach Bowl. Purdue wouldn’t go to another bowl until 1997.

The 6-0, 224-pound Wallace left Purdue with a degree in Industrial Technology. In his career, he rushed for 1,109 yards with eight touchdowns and caught 60 passes for 679 yard and seven scores. Wallace had 587 yards rushing with six TDs in Purdue's 7-5 Peach Bowl season of 1984 to go along with 17 grabs. He had 522 yards rushing in 1985 with 43 receptions for 514 yards and seven TDs.

He was a sixth-round pick of the Houston Oilers in 1986, where he played two seasons. He also played with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1989. In 1988, Wallace was on injured reserve with the Oilers. He ran 76 times for 330 yards (4.3 ypc) and four touchdowns in his NFL career to go along with 24 receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns.

GoldandBlack.com spoke with Wallace, 56, recently.

GoldandBlack.com: How did you come to choose Purdue?

Wallace: I had narrowed it down between Notre Dame, Purdue and Ohio State. Back then, you could take six visits, so I also had Stanford, UCLA and Arizona State. Anyone could call you, and it got so hectic. So, I narrowed it down to Purdue and Notre Dame. Notre Dame at that time was like Alabama is today in terms of talent. And I actually committed to Notre Dame. But I went home and talked to my parents and switched at the last minute to Purdue. Purdue had what I wanted to major in. It was close to home. It was important for me to have my parents and family see me play. And Purdue is a special place, as we know.

GoldandBlack.com: You began your Purdue career on defense, right?

Wallace: I went in, and they had a slew of running backs, Mel Gray, Rodney Carter, Bruce King, Eric Jordan … there were quite a few. They needed help on defense and asked me to move over there. I had played defense in high school, too. So, I moved to free safety and really enjoyed it. My sophomore year, Coach (Leon) Burtnett came up to me and said he had this young kid from Fort Wayne coming in named Rod Woodson. And he didn’t want to throw him in at cornerback right away, so they asked me to move to corner so Rod could play free safety. They thought I was a better athlete than him. Well, he ended up being one of the best defensive backs in NFL history. Playing corner was a lot different than playing safety. I played all right. But I knew if I wanted a chance to go pro, it wasn’t gonna be as a 6-0, 225-pound cornerback. So, I switched over to offense. That got things started as a junior.

GoldandBlack.com: The most successful season during your tenure was 1984. What do you recall about that season?

Wallace: It was a special year, and it (beating Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame in the same year) never had been done before. I still remember the Notre Dame game (23-21 win vs. the No. 7 Irish). It was the first game ever at the Hoosier Dome. That was the loudest game I ever played in. We gained some confidence after that. Ohio State was No. 2 when they came to our place and we played toe-to-toe with them (28-23 win). I never have forgotten that year, going to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Even though we didn’t win (27-24 loss to a team quarterbacked by Don Majkowski), it was still a great opportunity. (In 1984, Purdue also played host to defending national champion Miami, Fla., led by first-year coach Jimmy Johnson, and lost 28-17 to the No. 5-ranked Hurricanes.)

GoldandBlack.com: Your senior season began with a lot of hype. Talk about the disappointing opener at Pitt.

Wallace: That was a tough game. Went down to the last minutes. I scored a TD late, and we went for a two-point conversion to win the game and came up short. We had a lot of disappointing losses. We had a lot of talent, Kevin Sumlin, Fred Strickland, Steve Griffin, Mark Jackson, Rod Woodson, Rodney Carter, Jim Everett. It was a tough pill to swallow to not meet our expectations. We thought we were gonna win the Big Ten championship.

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GoldandBlack.com: Who influenced you the most at Purdue?

Wallace: I had two. I was very close to Leon Burtnett. He was very influential. And my running backs coach, Ray Sherman, is still coaching and he was the one who convinced to switch to fullback if I wanted to go professional. I took his advice and everything worked out. We are still friends today. I talk to him about once a quarter. I still talk with Leon Burtnett, one of the best coaches to go through Purdue.

GoldandBlack: What was NFL draft day like?

Wallace: On draft day, my parents came up. We were barbecuing. I wasn’t sure when I was gonna get picked. My agent said maybe the second or third round. As rounds went by, I worried. I finally left and went on a walk. I came back, and I got a call from Jerry Glanville, who asked if I wanted to be a Houston Oiler. I said, “yes.” He said he’d call back soon. That was longest two minutes of my life as I waited. He called back, and it was official. I didn’t know where Houston was, so I had to look it up in the encyclopedia. Jim Everett was the third pick in the draft (going to Houston), so that helped in my transition. We even drove down together. But he got traded to the Rams soon after that.

GoldandBlack.com: What was the highlight of your NFL career?

Wallace: I was on Monday Night Football highlights after a big game in 1986. We had played the Browns. It probably was the best game I had (74 yards rushing on 10 carries; 5 catches for 48 yards and a TD). We had a Christmas party that Monday evening after the game. We are all watching, and all of a sudden I hear Howard Cosell saying my name on the highlights saying ‘Ray Wallace out of Purdue.’

GoldandBlack.com: What are you doing now?

Wallace: I have lived in Mount Juliet, Tenn. (Nashville area), since 2004. I own a property management business (Compass Property Management). We manage multi-family and single-family housing and small commercial properties throughout middle Tennessee. I am married with two kids. My son (Vaughn) is 26 and my daughter (Payton) is 16, and I have a granddaughter who is 6 (Sophia).

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