He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he won the 1964 Heisman Trophy.
Huarte was born and raised in Orange County, California; his father Joseph was a former minor league baseball player of Basque descent.
[1][2] The family ran an orange and avocado ranch and he graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana in 1961.
During his sophomore and junior seasons, he averaged only a few minutes per game due to injuries and the Irish went 5–5 and 2–7, respectively.
[4] Huarte was a member of the College All-Star team in the annual pre-season game against the defending NFL champions at Chicago's Soldier Field.