FRISCO -- Steve Sarkisian's 1997 East-West Shrine Bowl highlight isn't so cheery. But accepting an induction into the game's Hall of Fame 26 years removed, he reminisces on it with a laugh.

The 6-foot-tall quarterback from BYU dropped back for a routine screen pass that got intercepted. By defensive tackle Matt Finkes. Who then ran it back for a touchdown.

"So, clearly, you can get admitted into the Hall of Fame of the East-West Shrine Game for some other things than just how you played actually in that game," Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian wasn't offered a Division I scholarship out of high school, instead competing for two years at El Camino College. He then transferred to BYU and enjoyed two standout seasons, throwing for 7,758 yards and 55 touchdowns, piloting the program to a 14–1 season in 1996. He went undrafted and spent three seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before concluding a stellar, albeit non-HOF-worthy, playing career.

Instead, Sarkisian is granted the bowl game's highest honor for his mind under the headset. He led Texas to a 12–2 record and first-ever College Football Playoff berth this past season, the program's best since 2009.

"I don't know if anyone's path is always what they thought it was going to be," Sarkisian said. "At that time, I wanted to be Joe Montana, quite frankly. That was my idol. And in the end, I'm trying to be like Mack Brown and Darrell Royal."

But sitting in front of this year's Shrine Bowl participants, Sarkisian reflected on how playing in this game changed his life. At the conclusion of his career, Sarkisian returned to the junior college ranks as a quarterback coach. After the 2000 season, he took a 25-minute drive north to the University of Southern California and walked into head coach Pete Carroll's office to ask for a graduate assistant job.

Carroll gave it to him. He remembered watching Sarkisian at the East-West Shrine Bowl and interviewing him. Sarkisian told the players that effort doesn't take talent. The coaches are watching to see if guys go all-out in practice, or if they're too cool for school. If they see effort and intention, it might just start your career. Whether that be playing or coaching.

"You don't know what door can be opened by the way you treat somebody, by the effort you put forth in everything that you do," Sarkisian said.