(This is the first in a series of profiles of the 2015 Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame inductees)

Tom Muecke has to wonder what kind of numbers he might have put up in an Art Briles-coached offense.

Consider this: Baylor's starting quarterbacks the last four years threw for more yards in one season than Muecke did in his four years at Baylor (1982-85).

"For that period of time, we probably put it up a fair amount of the time," said the 52-year-old Muecke, who is part of the 2015 Baylor Hall of Fame class that will be inducted Oct. 23. "But still, it was let's lineup and run the ball and play good defense and throw it when we need to, maybe. This is just amazing. It's fun to watch."

When he finished his collegiate career 30 years ago, Muecke actually ranked fourth all-time at Baylor in career passing yards (3,688), behind only Neal Jeffrey, Terry Southall and All-American Don Trull. Now, he's clinging to a top-15 spot.

"Statistically, you don't look at the numbers and go, ‘That's a Hall of Fame career,''' he said. "It was more of just being on a good football team for several of those years and having a lot of a good guys around us. I didn't throw for 10,000 yards and 70 touchdowns."

You also have to consider the fact that he burned a redshirt seven games into the 1982 season when veteran quarterbacks Mike Brannan and David Mangum were banged up. And then, for his last three years, Muecke split time at the quarterback position with Cody Carlson.

When the Bears opened the 1983 season with a 40-36 upset of BYU, legendary coach Grant Teaff alternated his two QBs on every play. By the end of the year and for the next two seasons, they rotated every couple series.

"At first, both of us were still in that competitive mode of trying to win the job," Muecke said. "We figured out about midway through the year, ‘OK, this is the way it's going to be.' So, I think we got used to it, accepted it and pushed each other.

"Neither one of us was the starter, so every day when you went out to practice you had to have a good day. It wasn't like it couldn't change at any point if one pulled away from the other. So, I think it kept both of us on our toes."

Thrown into the middle of a sticky situation that could have broken up even the tightest of friendships, Muecke and Carlson remain close friends to this day. "When he's coming into (Houston), he lets me know, and we'll meet and have dinner. I've probably seen him four or five times in the last year," Muecke said of Carlson, who went into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

"I don't know how you handle it any other way."

Saving his best for last, Muecke threw for 1,488 yards and 11 touchdowns in helping the Bears to a 9-3 finish and Liberty Bowl victory over LSU in 1985. He earned his second All-Southwest Conference nod and was named the SWC Offensive MVP by the Houston Post.

Undrafted, Muecke headed north and spent parts of seven seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Edmonton Eskimos and Shreveport Pirates. As a backup, he threw for 4,298 yards and 33 TDs and was part of two Grey Cup championships.

His one shot in the NFL came with his hometown Houston Oilers in 1990, when Muecke made the practice squad for a team that included future Hall of Famer Warren Moon and his Carlson, his former Baylor teammate.

"With Warren Moon as the starting quarterback, you're not really looking for a shot at playing, you're just trying to make the team," he said.

Muecke's undergrad degree from Baylor was in business administration, and he had even dabbled in investments and insurance during the offseason. But while he was still playing in Canada, he got fitted for contact lenses, sparking his interest in the field of optometry.

"I had done some work, but nothing that really said, ‘Hey, this is what I really want to do when I finish playing ball,''' he said.

Going back to school - "Obviously with a business degree, you're trying to get into a medical professional school, you've got to go back and take some science courses." - Muecke graduated from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 2000. He has spent the last 15 years with the Berkeley Eye Center in Clear Lake, Texas.

"Optometry is a rewarding field," he said, "because people get excited when they can see. And then, once it hits 5 o'clock, you just let it go and spend time with your family. You don't have to take work home with you."

Tom and his wife, Alison, have a 14-year-old daughter, Kenzie, and 9-year-old son, Garrett. Alison is a University of Texas grad from his hometown of Angleton, Texas, "but she's not much of a sports fan," he said.

"For the 15 years in a row that Texas beat us, I didn't really hear a lot about it," he said. "So, for the last four or five years, it doesn't really do much to stick it in her face. She doesn't care."

Joining Muecke in the 2015 Hall of Fame class are fellow football player Ed Marsh, basketball's Terry Black and Danielle Crockrom, soccer's Molly Cameron, golfer Jimmy Walker, track's Bayano Kamani and Benedikt Dorsch from men's tennis.

The banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at the Ferrell Center. Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased by contacting the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at tammy_hardin@baylor.edu.