Team Spirit Moves Mountains
New US Quarterback (Joe Walland) of the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
Kiel Newspaper: Mr. Walland, what was your greatest achievement?
Joe Walland: The Harvard-Yale game was definitely the highlight of my career. Before the game
I was in the hospital with a fever. I was not going to allow this to stop me, so I checked myself out
and suited up for the game. I threw three touchdown passes and we won the game 24:21 in front
of 55,000 spectators.
Walland's pre-game body temperature of 102 degrees (strep throat was the suspected culprit)
was not enough to keep the senior down. After spending the previous night in the hospital,
Walland showed up at the Yale Bowl and had the game of his life. Passing for Ivy League
records of 42 completions and 67 attempts, Walland totaled 437 yards. All three of those
numbers are school records. Walland's pass to WR Eric Johnson with 29 seconds left in the
contest provided the game-winning points for the Bulldogs and an Ivy League championship for
the first time since 1989. The final TD pass was Walland's third of the day.
KN: When did you start playing football?
JW: I was eight years old with my first experience as a running back. In high school I played
quarterback.
Legendary Yale football coach Carm Cozza recruited Joe Walland, TD '00, as an "athlete."
"There was no position for me on the team when I came in, so I came in to camp my freshman
year playing wide receiver and switched halfway through to defensive back," Walland recalled.
When current head coach Jack Siedlecki arrived in the spring of 1997, Walland asked him if he
could try out to be quarterback. "I just felt like seeing what it would be like," he shrugged. "I
wanted to see if I had a shot at it."
Walland started out at the bottom of the depth charts in his freshman spring season, but moved
up to No. 2 by the following Fall when the starting quarterback, Chris Whittaker, SM '99, limped
out of the lineup with a pre-season injury, Walland was prepared to step in. However, the
position seemed jinxed: Walland tore his MCL in a scrimmage and missed the first two games of
his quarterback career.
KN: What made you decide to play football in Germany?
JW: Head coach Mark Grocholski visited with me after the season and asked if I was interested
in playing for him in Kiel. I liked what he had to say and I also thought it was a great opportunity
to play outside of the USA.
KN: What did your family say when you decided to go to Europe?
JW: My father was excited along with me but my mother was not. She would have gladly kept me
home in Cleveland.
KN: What about your girlfriend?
JW: Yes, that was a problem (laughs). Lisa was not very enthused about it. She eventually
understood what I wanted to do and accepted it.
KN: What do you expect from the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes?
JW: We must be a team. We must come together to have success. All must work hard. Naturally I
want to always win but one must be able to lose together as well. The common spirit moves
mountains.
KN: What can you offer your new team?
JW: What I bring to this team will be my guidance and leadership skills. I also want to show my
passion for the game and let everyone know that only as a team we will win.
KN: What can you learn from the football in the GFL?
JW: The rules of the game are the same but I must learn and understand the teams in the GFL
as I did while in college. We will analyze the weaknesses and strengths of our opponents with the
coaches and the team. I want to win for myself, my team, the coaches, and especially the fans.
This interview was conducted by Helmut Schwalm of the Kieler Nachrichten
New US Quarterback (Joe Walland) of the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
Kiel Newspaper: Mr. Walland, what was your greatest achievement?
Joe Walland: The Harvard-Yale game was definitely the highlight of my career. Before the game
I was in the hospital with a fever. I was not going to allow this to stop me, so I checked myself out
and suited up for the game. I threw three touchdown passes and we won the game 24:21 in front
of 55,000 spectators.
Walland's pre-game body temperature of 102 degrees (strep throat was the suspected culprit)
was not enough to keep the senior down. After spending the previous night in the hospital,
Walland showed up at the Yale Bowl and had the game of his life. Passing for Ivy League
records of 42 completions and 67 attempts, Walland totaled 437 yards. All three of those
numbers are school records. Walland's pass to WR Eric Johnson with 29 seconds left in the
contest provided the game-winning points for the Bulldogs and an Ivy League championship for
the first time since 1989. The final TD pass was Walland's third of the day.
KN: When did you start playing football?
JW: I was eight years old with my first experience as a running back. In high school I played
quarterback.
Legendary Yale football coach Carm Cozza recruited Joe Walland, TD '00, as an "athlete."
"There was no position for me on the team when I came in, so I came in to camp my freshman
year playing wide receiver and switched halfway through to defensive back," Walland recalled.
When current head coach Jack Siedlecki arrived in the spring of 1997, Walland asked him if he
could try out to be quarterback. "I just felt like seeing what it would be like," he shrugged. "I
wanted to see if I had a shot at it."
Walland started out at the bottom of the depth charts in his freshman spring season, but moved
up to No. 2 by the following Fall when the starting quarterback, Chris Whittaker, SM '99, limped
out of the lineup with a pre-season injury, Walland was prepared to step in. However, the
position seemed jinxed: Walland tore his MCL in a scrimmage and missed the first two games of
his quarterback career.
KN: What made you decide to play football in Germany?
JW: Head coach Mark Grocholski visited with me after the season and asked if I was interested
in playing for him in Kiel. I liked what he had to say and I also thought it was a great opportunity
to play outside of the USA.
KN: What did your family say when you decided to go to Europe?
JW: My father was excited along with me but my mother was not. She would have gladly kept me
home in Cleveland.
KN: What about your girlfriend?
JW: Yes, that was a problem (laughs). Lisa was not very enthused about it. She eventually
understood what I wanted to do and accepted it.
KN: What do you expect from the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes?
JW: We must be a team. We must come together to have success. All must work hard. Naturally I
want to always win but one must be able to lose together as well. The common spirit moves
mountains.
KN: What can you offer your new team?
JW: What I bring to this team will be my guidance and leadership skills. I also want to show my
passion for the game and let everyone know that only as a team we will win.
KN: What can you learn from the football in the GFL?
JW: The rules of the game are the same but I must learn and understand the teams in the GFL
as I did while in college. We will analyze the weaknesses and strengths of our opponents with the
coaches and the team. I want to win for myself, my team, the coaches, and especially the fans.
This interview was conducted by Helmut Schwalm of the Kieler Nachrichten
| Joe Walland is one of the greatest quarterbacks in Yale history. |
The former US president Bill Clinton, his successor
George W. Bush and the historian Joe Walland have
a common bond: they acquired a top education at
the American elite Yale University. The difference:
while Clinton and Bush entertain the highest political
office in Washington, Walland will serve a term in
Kiel, Germany playing quarterback for the Kiel Baltic
Hurricanes.
The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes have signed the former
Yale University football player to showcase his
leadership in the German Football League (GFL).
George W. Bush and the historian Joe Walland have
a common bond: they acquired a top education at
the American elite Yale University. The difference:
while Clinton and Bush entertain the highest political
office in Washington, Walland will serve a term in
Kiel, Germany playing quarterback for the Kiel Baltic
Hurricanes.
The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes have signed the former
Yale University football player to showcase his
leadership in the German Football League (GFL).
From that inauspicious opening, Walland went on to start in
every subsequent game. In his senior season, he broke six
NCAA records, including lowest career interception
percentage (13 interceptions, 787 attempted), most plays
attempted in a half (51, second half against Harvard in
1999), most passes completed in a quarter (20, third
quarter against Harvard), and most passes completed in a
half (33, second half against Harvard). Over his three years
as QB, Walland posted nine Yale career records, including
total offensive plays (1,030), completions (430), passing
yards (4,832), touchdowns (46), and total yardage (5,608).
every subsequent game. In his senior season, he broke six
NCAA records, including lowest career interception
percentage (13 interceptions, 787 attempted), most plays
attempted in a half (51, second half against Harvard in
1999), most passes completed in a quarter (20, third
quarter against Harvard), and most passes completed in a
half (33, second half against Harvard). Over his three years
as QB, Walland posted nine Yale career records, including
total offensive plays (1,030), completions (430), passing
yards (4,832), touchdowns (46), and total yardage (5,608).
| © 2008 World Sports Scouting is in association with Athletic Enterprises |
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| Joe Walland scrambles away from a Harvard defender in a game that will mark his legacy. |
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