#13 Days Until Pitt Football: Dan Marino

If you spend any time on Twitter, you no doubt have seen people posting certain Pitt players wearing uniform numbers that correspond with the number of days left until the football season kicks off. Jim did it last year and this year, Pat Narduzzi has been doing it.

I know we have a lot of younger readers here and also some folks that may not have spent their entire lives following Pitt sports. For that reason, I thought it would be cool to not only do the countdown here, but also give a brief writeup on the player to potentially help fans connect a little more with some of the all-time greats.

Quick disclaimer - this isn't necessarily about picking the best player for each number. Not only is that disputable in many instances, but it's not really the point of the exercise. So don't be offended if your favorite player doesn't make the list here. I'll probably mirror Narduzzi's list for the most part but may go off the board in a few instances.

These will also be brief, folks. It's the offseason and we all use this time to wind down a bit. These won't be theses or anything, but we'll cobble together a few facts for each guy.

Finally, feel free to add on to a player's accomplishments in the comments section. Some I'll leave out due to space/time and some I may not even know about. But this will be a good learning exercise for all of us.

Continuing our countdown today is Hall of Famer Dan Marino.

One of Pitt's legendary players, Marino hardly needs much of an introduction. No, he never won a national championship at Pitt as many expected, but he still led the Panthers through one of their best eras as a four-year starter. He finished his Pitt career with every major passing record in the school's history (touchdown passes in a career and a season, passing yards, and completions). His 19 consecutive games with a touchdown pass was also a school record. His 37 touchdowns in 1981 as a junior led the entire nation and he was an All-American that season. In all, his teams were a combined 42-6.

Marino went on to be a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 1983 and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. After winning Rookie of the Year in 1983, he went on to nine Pro Bowl appearances and was the league's MVP in 1984. Marino's #13 was retired by Pitt, and he is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

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