Being only the fifth Cougar player to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, Rueben Meyes makes no bones about the fact that he is privileged to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. That he came from Canada to settle down in Washington, makes the challenge even tougher. It is never easy to settle down in another country. While all this takes time, playing for the state and excelling in what you do take a lot of guts.



The story of Rueben Meyes dates back the 80s, when he played for Cougars from 1982-85. His list of achievements was too impressive then to have any team ignoring him. Even if they had ignored him, they would have done it at their own peril. By the time Meyes had a look in to the State team, he had a long list of ?Been there, done that? things. One of the more memorable moments for Meyes with the Washington State was when they beat the Huskies in the Apple Cup. The Huskies then were considered to be formidable opponents and beating them was no mean achievement at all.

And not that Rueben was one who would rest on his laurels! Game after game, he tried to reinvent himself. With his skills of speed and aggression, he tried to add some deftness and dribbles. All of this combined in one classic mix that saw Meyes set the records for PAC-10, NCAA Division 1 and the State record. All these three feats were accomplished with just one act ? That is Meyes for you!

He ran 357 yards against Oregon to help the State to a touchdown. Clearly, this was no mean effort considering no one in the PAC10 or in the NCAA had ever done this before. This came on the back of an awe-inspiring 216 yards run against Stanford. The time before the game against Stanford though was a tough one for Meyes. He was recovering from an injury setback that kept him on the bench for quite a few weeks.

Against Stanford, the whole team jelled as a unit and of course, Meyes stood out. The team performance was necessary because Stanford themselves have a strong unit and beating them on the back of couple of performances would not have been easy. Against Oregon though it was a different story altogether! The pitch was wet and the State players had no other option but to run. The more they ran, the more the chances they had of winning!

They did run, with Meyes leading the way! Apart from these achievements, what will make Meyes prouder is the fact that whatever has been thrown at him, he has overcome them with his guts.