William "Mike" Katrishen (1965) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

William "Mike" Katrishen

Induction:
1965

William (Bill) Katrishen played football during an era when the role of the end was perhaps completely different than it is now. Today in the world of college football the end is primarily a player who goes out to catch passes, and although that was part of the job back when Katrishen played in 1941, 1946 and 1947, there was much more to the job.
       Back then the job required the end to not only be a good receiver, but also the type of player that could get down in the trenches and block just like an offensive lineman. It had to be tough, because even though speed was important, it was more important for them to be able to put their body on someone and open up a hole.
       On defense the role of the end wasn't much different than it was today, play the run well and put as much pressure on the quarterback as possible.
       Although the game has changed a bit and the role of the end has changed a lot, one thing that hasn't changed is that if you play the game like Katrishen played it, you were going to be successful at it, regardless of what era you play in.
       That Katrishen had the talent to play became very obvious to Coach Reed Green and his staff during his initial season with the team, 1941.
       Katrishen would make his share of pass receptions on that team and on defense he quickly and quietly became a force the opposition didn't want to have to fool with.
       The 1941 season would see Katrishen play on one of the school's best teams. They opened the season with an impressive 70-0 win over Georgia State and then reeled off six more victories to open the year 7-0. After a 0-0 tie at Southwestern Louisiana, they would win the final two games of the year, to finish the year with a 9-0-1 mark. The Katrishen led defense gave up only 40 points that year (4.0 average, while the offense scored 246 points.
       Like many other individuals of that era, Katrishen would leave Southern Miss after the 1941 season to enlist in the military and take part in World War II. But when the war was over Katrishen and many others were anxious to return and play for Coach Green.
       Katrishen returned to form during the 1946 season and catching passes and making tackles looked easy to a man that had missed the better part of four seasons.
       He would help lead the team to a 7-3 record in 1946, with two of those three losses coming by just single points. Twice that year the offense scored 65 points and once they scored 55, while the defense led by Katrishen had six shutouts.
       Katrishen would return to play also in 1947 when the team went 7-3 for a second straight season. One of the highlights of the year was a 19-13 win over Auburn in the second game of the season.
       He earned a spot as a Little All-American end in 1946 and 1947 and later played with the Washington Redskins, after being picked by the Redskins in the 8th round of the 1948 NFL draft.