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A four-year starter and West Liberty's first two-time NAIA All-American, Tom Priest is remembered as not only a great football player but as a great leader on Coach Bob Roe's back-to-back NAIA playoff teams of 1970 and 1971.
Priest was voted WVIAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1970 and 1971, earning first-team NAIA All-America honors at middle guard as a junior and following that up with a first-team NAIA All-America citation at linebacker as a senior. Co-captain of the Hilltoppers' unbeaten 1971 WVIAC championship squad, Priest was also chosen as the "Outstanding Defensive Player" in the 1971 NAIA national semifinal loss to Livingston (Ala.).
After graduating from West Liberty, Priest played two seasons as a starting linebacker with the Youngstown Hardhats of the Midwestern Football League. He later served as a teacher and coach in eastern Ohio before entering the business world at Coshocton Stainless, a division of Armco Steel.
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