Bye Bye Bearcats Seniors: #4 Munchie Legaux

Our farewell tour for graduating Cincinnati Bearcats seniors rolls along with quarterback Munchie Legaux.

The lanky, 6’4″ signal caller was one of the first recruits of the Butch Jones era, signing with UC from Edna Karr High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Due to depth issues at receiver and not so much at quarterback, Jones and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian opted to burn Legaux’s redshirt to line him out wide. Hindsight’s 20-20 but it would have probably been better for Munchie had he sat out 2010 instead of catching one pass for 18 yards in a blowout loss to the Pitt Panthers at the end of the season.

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As a sophomore in 2011, Legaux played the role of senior Zach Collaros’ backup. He rarely got reps but for garbage time early in the year but was thrust into a starting role against West Virginia when Collaros broke his ankle. Munchie nearly led the Bearcats to an upset of the Mountaineers but came up just short. He struggled against a stout Rutgers defense the following week but finished the regular season strong, beating Syracuse and UConn to guide Cincinnati to another Big East championship.

In 2012 UC’s football team was his. A junior and with the most collegiate experience of any quarterback on the roster, Jones and Bajakian gave him the reigns to the offense. Legaux was solid for most of the year, even heroic at times, but he struggled as the Bearcats made their way into their Big East schedule.

Munchie was benched against Syracuse, having completed just 50% of his passes and throwing zero touchdowns to his one interception. Brendon Kay took over from there and #4 was relegated to calling plays from the sideline.

But Munchie never showed signs of dejection with the change, taking it in stride and doing everything he could to ensure he was helping Cincinnati win games. Whether that was with him taking snaps from the center or relaying play calls from the offensive coordinator, he performed his role to the best of his abilities. That’s an aspect of his character that fans forget sometimes.

With Jones gone to Tennessee, Munchie got a new lease on life under his new head coach Tommy Tuberville in 2013. A clean slate and nagging injury to Brendon Kay allowed him to start at quarterback for Cincinnati in the first game of the season against Purdue. But the following week against Illinois tragedy struck when he was hit by a lineman and tore every ligament in his knee.

We won’t rehash that since that clip has been forced upon you incessantly by ESPN and the like.

The silver lining of that injury was that Munchie was able to receive a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA and return to Cincinnati for a fifth year. This past season he sat behind both Gunner Kiel and Jarred Evans as he rebuilt the strength and cartilage in his knee. But like the previous few years, #4 was “Munchie on the spot” when Kiel couldn’t play for the second half against South Florida and Tulane the following week and Evans was suspended from the team. In a fight to keep pace in the AAC title hunt, he led the Bearcats to a win over the Bulls and Green Wave, including one of the greatest touchdowns of an UC player ever.

So after five years in red and black, we say goodbye to All-Name Team quarterback Munchie Legaux. He drew the frustration of many fans due to his inability to play the quarterback position like some had expected. But no one can deny the heart and resiliency that embodied this young man.

Munchie in many ways typified UC football’s “never say die” attitude. Whether it be individual games or the state of college football that has Cincinnati outside of a Power 5 conference, the Bearcats have embraced that “we’re done when we say we are” mentality, just like Legaux. Even when his own body gave out on him he was able to recover and guide the Bearcats to key wins last season.

Overall, what Munchie Legaux gave to this program over the last five years won’t be forgotten. Not by the coaches or the fans or the folks on this blog. We’ll always remember the sacrifices he made for the Bearcats.