Herb Orvis, a 2016 College Football Hall of Fame inductee who played at Colorado from 1969-71, passed away Aug. 14. Born Oct. 17, 1946, he was 73.

A First Team All-American as a senior in 1971, Herb Orvis caused nightmares for opposing offenses during his Hall of Fame career at Colorado, which included leading the Buffs to three consecutive bowl games; wins in the 1969 Liberty Bowl and the 1971 Bluebonnet Bowl; and a No. 3 national ranking in 1971. 
 
Orvis had joined the United States Army prior to his senior year at Flint (Mich.) Beecher High School, and would earn his diploma after serving overseas.  While stationed in Germany, he met then-CU head coach Eddie Crowder when the Buff boss was in Europe on a government-sponsored coaching tour.  Upon being discharged from the Army, he was offered as scholarship from Crowder and enrolled at Colorado as a 21-year old freshman in 1968. Orvis played alongside Hall of Famer Bobby Anderson during his career in Boulder. 

He was a consensus All-American as a senior team captain in 1971, earning recognition from five organizations, including AFCA/Kodak, Walter Camp and The Sporting News (he was a third-team Associated Press team member).  Prior to the season, he was also honored as a Playboy Preseason All-American.  A two-time first-team All-Big Eight Conference performer as a junior and senior, and was the Big Eight Conference Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore in 1969, when he had 75 tackles, including 12 for losses, which included nine quarterback sacks.
 
Orvis earned national lineman-of-the-week accolades for his play in CU's 41-13 win over Penn State on Sept. 13, 1970, a victory that stopped the Nittany Lions' winning streak at 23 games and overall unbeaten streak at 31 in a row.  He recorded 12 tackles, three for losses including two sacks that afternoon at Folsom Field.  He also helped limit the potent Penn State rushing attack featuring Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell to 144 yards on 50 carries.
 
In his day, he 'towered' at 6-foot-5 and weighed no more than 235 pounds.  He developed the reputation as fierce pass rusher his sophomore and junior seasons, when he racked up 144 total tackles, which included 26 for losses and 17 quarterback sacks.  A badly sprained ankle early in his senior year forced him to miss the better part of three games and play extremely limited in most of two others, but when healthy, he was a force against the run as well as a terror in opponent backfields.  One of the best examples of such was when helped limit Nebraska's potent running game to just 180 yards and recorded two sacks in Lincoln.
 
Orvis still played as significant a role as anyone in CU's 1971 season in helping CU to a 10-2 record and No. 3 final national ranking, both school-bests at the time.  Colorado's only losses came to top-ranked Nebraska and No. 2 Oklahoma, and to this day, it is the only time that the same conference occupied the top three spots in a final poll.  That season he had 46 tackles, six for losses and three sacks.
 
Colorado was 24-10 in the three seasons he lettered, earning bowl invitations all three years.  As a sophomore in 1969, the Buffs defeated Bear Bryant and Alabama in the Liberty Bowl, 47-33; the following year, CU lost in its return to the Liberty to Tulane; and in '71, Colorado upended No. 15 Houston in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl in what was practically a home game for the Cougars.  In that game, he tied for the game-high in recording 10 tackles (five solo, three for losses), a sack and a pass broken up and finished second in the voting for the defensive player of the game. In the three bowl games, he recorded an 24 tackles, three sacks, two passes broken up and a fumble recovery.

The senior team captain finished his career as Colorado's all-time leader in sacks (20) and second in tackles for loss (32) before appearing in the Hula Bowl. He remains one of the most prolific pass rushers in school history, finishing his career with 189 tackles (regular season), tied for the most at the time among CU defensive linemen and still tied for 13th. 

Selected as a member of the All-Big Eight Decade team for the 1970s, Orvis is a member of the Big Eight Hall of Fame and the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1989, he was named to CU's All-Century Football Team when the school celebrated its 100th year of intercollegiate athletics. Orvis was inducted into the Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 and was also named as one of the 25 greatest football players of all time from the Flint area that year. Orvis was also the only Buffalo player named to the 150th All-Time Bowl Game Players list created in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of College Football  in 2019. Orvis is the only Buffalo to be named to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl All-Decade teams for both the 1960's and 1970's.

"First of all, it's a great surprise," Orvis said upon learning of his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. "A run of vivid memories come back to mind – the players you get to play with, the coaches you played for, the games. They all eventually disappear into another life, but an honor like this brings it all back – just the excitement of playing on a great team and the love of the game. This is truly an unexpected honor."

The 16th overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 1972 NFL Draft, Orvis played for the Lions from 1972-77 and for the Baltimore Colts from 1978-81. He received Second Team All-NFC honors in 1975.

After his football playing days, he was involved in several different careers, including growing and shipping citrus fruit in Florida (oranges and grapefruits), as an art gallery owner and ran a construction business.  He eventually relocated to Goodyear from Colorado in 2015.  He returned to Boulder for a special on-field celebration for his college Hall of Fame induction in 2016, and then again last year for the 50th reunion of the '69 Liberty Bowl team.
 
Orvis is survived by his sons, Gabriel and Wilson, his brother, David, his sister, Daeanna, his fiance, Marilu Trainor, and their families. Herb impacted scores of other family members, cousins, nieces and nephews and friends and fans throughout the world.