Former Texas A&M linebacker Quentin Coryatt was a bad, bad man. At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds of pure muscle, he was the centerpiece for the Aggies' "Wrecking Crew" defense back in the early 1990s and known for delivering punishing hits. There is one in particular that made him a household name in college football and a legend forever.
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Throughout the 1992 season, Texas A&M football proved to be one of the best teams in the nation under third-year head coach R.C. Slocum. The Aggies punished teams in the Southwest Conference and climbed all the way up to No. 9 in the Associated Press poll.
A November 7, 1991 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth kept their perfect SWC record alive. It also provided one of the biggest and most vicious hits that you will ever see on a football field.
Quentin Coryatt Delivers "The Hit"
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Quentin Coryatt arrived on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station in the late 1980s, but was forced to sit out for two seasons for academic reasons. When he was finally able to play, he wreaked havoc on opposing teams in a big-time way alongside his roommate, Derrick Frazier.
Coryatt was named SWC Newcomer of the Year in 1990 and won the SWC Defensive Player of the Year in 1991. He was a two-time All-SWC First Team member, second-team All-American, and Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame inductee who always made his presence felt at Kyle Field and on the road.
Nobody understands that more than former TCU wide receiver Kyle McPherson.
In a 44-7 victory, Coryatt solidified his place in Texas A&M Aggies history with a play simply known as "The Hit." As he was going over the middle, Coryatt blasted him so hard that McPherson's feet came off the ground and he landed on his back.
As a result, McPherson suffered a broken jaw in two places and had his jaw wired shut for two months, according to 247Sports. ESPN even named it the "Hit of the Year."
"We were going to play not only for everybody in that locker room, (but also) for our coaching staff and for the #12thMan. It was that simple."
Quentin Coryatt is the @CottonBowlGame's newest legend. pic.twitter.com/yEhMRCOOfM
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) May 8, 2018
A St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, native who finished high school in Texas, Coryatt was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft. He played in 82 career games for the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys.
Coryatt is now 51 and is enjoying retirement.
"I'm taking it easy in life after football," Coryatt told TexAgs.com before being inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2018. "I'm raising my nephew and my son. I'm enjoying life."
Coryatt is one of the top draft picks in school history and made some plays in the NFL. None, however, are as iconic as his big hit against TCU receiver Kyle McPherson back in 1991.
This post was originally published on April 29, 2020.
