Everything came down to the eyes of the quarterback in the Bob Petrino's option offense. A great quarterback knew the scheme with excruciating detail and had the vision to know what the defense was doing before they did. 

Jason Grovom was the last great quarterback to operate Petrino's offense, and he did it with skill, earning Frontier All-conference honors, leading the Saints to the NAIA Playoffs and stamping his name on the Carroll record book.

Grovom was the quarterback at Capital High School and led the Bruins to an 11-0 record to advance to the state championship game in 1992 but were upset by CMR, led by future Heisman finalist Ryan Leaf, 20-11. 

After graduation, he stayed to play for the hometown Saints, but he would take a round-about path before becoming a star on the field in the purple and gold. 

After the 1993 season, he transferred to the University of Montana, but he wanted to get back on the field, so he returned for the 1995 season and was thrust into the lineup as the starting quarterback. 

He helped the Saints to a 5-5 record, including a 4-2 record in Frontier play. He earned second-team All-Conference honors.

In 1996, the Saints made the first playoff run in three years after a going 3-0 in non-conference play and 3-3 in Frontier action. The Saints met rival Montana Tech in the NAIA Playoffs. 

Grovom scored the first touchdown of the game, a three-yard keeper, to give the Saints a 7-0 lead. After the Diggers tied the game, Grovom again found the end zone on a 34-yard run to give the Saints a 14-7 lead. Montana Tech ran away with the game in the second half to earn the 49-28 win, but Grovom's performance was impressive in the loss. 

He closed the season with 842 rushing yards on 171 carries, which ranked fourth in the nation. He ran for 13 touchdowns. He notched 68 completions for 1,241 yards and eight touchdowns and again earned Frontier All-Conference Second-Team honors. 

In 1997, the Saints started 2-0 with non-conference wins over the University of Mary and Minot State but lost five of their next seven games to close the season with a 4-5 record. 

Grovom again closed the season with All-Conference honors and earned honorable mention All-American honors. He also made his mark on the Carroll record book when he scored five touchdowns in the 40-14 homecoming win over Montana Western to tie the longest standing record in Carroll history, first set in 1927.

The Saints missed the playoffs in the second-to-last year of Petrino's tenure, but just two seasons later, under coach Mike Van Diest, the Saints returned to the playoffs open the historic run that culminated in six national championships.

Grovom graduated with a degree in education. He taught for 10 years before moving into administration. He has been an elementary school principal for the last eight years. He currently resides in Mankato, Minnesota, with his wife Kate and their four children Blake (8), Brett (7), Bennett (5), and Livy (4).

He will be honored with the other inductees in at the Hall of Fame brunch Saturday Oct. 7 at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are still available for purchase here.