Thursday isn’t just the home football opener, it’s the beginning of the Eddie George era. George’s hiring created a buzz, but there’s more to BGSU’s head football coach than meets the eye.

Gridiron Legend:

Of course, there’s football. His accomplishments include the 1995 Heisman as college football’s best player, but also the Doak Walker, Maxwell and Walter Camp awards. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and was the NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 1996. He played 9 seasons in the league, earning Pro Bowl honors four times.

A Star in Her Own Right:

George’s wife, Tamara Johnson-George is a star in her own right. Known as Taj, she rose to fame as a member of the R&B group SWV (Sisters With Voices), one of the best-selling girl groups of the 1990s, with hits like “Weak” and “Right Here.” She also starred in Survivor: Tocantins in 2009, finishing fourth. She and her husband starred in the reality show “I Married a Baller” and currently appears on SWV & Xscape: Queens of R&B, a Bravo reality series.

Beyond the Field:

Some 12 years of singing and acting lessons culminated in George making his Broadway debut in 2016 as Billy Flynn, one of the most iconic roles in the musical Chicago, later joining the national touring company. Other stage roles include Othello (2012) and Julius Caesar (2012) with the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, The Whipping Man (2015) with the Nashville Repertory Theatre and God’s Trombones (2006) at Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre.

Sources: Wikipedia, BGSUFalcons.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com, Forbes.com, WeValueBeauty.com, Distractify.com, ElevenWarriors.com