Thursday, October 3,1985
Daily Nebraskan
Page 13
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Sin all
By Mike Reilley
(senior Reporter
Size and speed are precious com
modities in college football, but New
Mexico senior running back Willie Tur
ral has proven they aren't necessarily
prerequisites for success.
Turral at 5-11 and 185 pounds, said
he wasn't recruited by many colleges
hoMnsfi he was too small. He said New
Mexico was the only school that offered
him a scholarship to play after attend
ing Godby High School in Tallahassee,
Ha.
"Missouri and Florida wanted me to
walk-on," he said. "I was only 5-10 and
180 pounds and they didn't think I
could play running back in college so
they didn't offer me a scholarship."
But the risk the Lobos took with
Turral four years ago has paid off. Last
year, he rushed for 1,064 yards and, in
doing so, became the school's first
1,000-yard rusher in six years. Turral
also earned a spot on the all-Western
Athletic Conference team last year.
Turral got off to a quick start this
year when he gained 148 yards in the
Lobos' 32-31 season-opening loss to
Texas Tech. But he has only gained 100
yards total in games against New Mex
ico State and Air Force.
Turral said the two offensive forma
tions the Lobos have run since his
freshman year helped him overcome
his physical disadvantage. He said the
veer offense, which the Lobos ran his
freshman year, and the "run and shoot"
punctuate his inside running and his
ability to slip through tackles.
"I don't have the speed to run out
side so I have to go straight ahead,"
said Turral, who runs the 40 in 4.6
seconds. "I like to run from tackle to
tackle and make as many moves as I
can up the middle."
When the Lobos are in their "run and
shoot" offense, Turral lines up as the
only running back in the backfield. The
other back lines up as a receiver,
which, Turral said, "spreads out the
defense."
"The 'run and shoot' is a big advan
tage because we spread the field out
and I can run straight ahead," he said.
"But when we're in our other offense
it's tough (to run up the middle)
because the line stacks up."
The "other offense" is the wishbone,
which the Lobos run occasionally. Tur
ral said he isn't suited for the wishbone
because it has a lot of outside running
plays.
Turral said the only disadvantage of
playing in a "run and shoot" offense is
kg
ets Ion
that he doesn't get as many carries as
he does as a veer or wishbone back.
"Since we switched to the 'run and
shoot' we've become more of a passing
team than a running team," he said.
Switching to a passing game is char
acteristic of most teams that play in
the WAC. Turral said it's hard to get any
exposure as a runner in a pass-oriented
conference. He said Air Force and
Wyoming are the only teams in the con
ference that run a lot.
Turral, a human resource manage
ment major, said he is about two
semesters away from graduating. He
said he hasn't thought much about
what he wants to do in the future.
One thing Turral has thought a lot
about lately is Saturday's game against
Nebraska. He has watched all of the
games Nebraska has played this year
either on television or on game films.
He said he is wary of the Huskers'
defense, which has surrendered an
average of 95 yards rushing in its first
three games.
"They be big," he said.
Turrall said the Lobos are approaching
the game with reckless, but positive
attitude.
"Hey, we're 45-point underdogs," he
said. "What have we got to lose?"
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Photo courtesy New Mexico Sports Information Office
Willie Turral
Heisman derby narrows
Bo Jackson front runner in trophy race
Analysis by
BobAsmussen
Senior Editor
Remember these names? Napoleon
McCallum, Rueben Mayes, Allen Pinkett
and Kenneth Davis.
If you don't remember them don't
feel bad, many of the Heisman Trophy
voters in Nebraska don't remember
them either.
McCallum, who is coming back from
an 1984 injury, is playing for a 1-3 Navy
team. His chances for the Heisman
Trophy have been blown out of the
window by his team's poor start and his
own less-than-brilliant performance.
Rueben Mayes is part of Washington
State University's famed RPM backfield
named for quarterback Mark Rypien,
fullback Kerry Porter and Mayes. So far
the RPM has been driving in reverse.
They lost three of five games, with the
wins against weaklings California and
Utah. Even with a good start, Mayes
would have not been a very likely
candidate because of his and the team's
low profiles.
Pinkett is the star (?) running back
wr the Notre Dame Fighting (like Larry
Holmes) Irish. The Golden Domers are
off to a hot 1-2 start and Pinkett looks
like he's running in mud. Even if he
finds a dry track, the riegative publicity
for Notre Dame and a horrible start
doom Pinkett.
Kenneth Davis, what a sad story. If
the Heisman were given for honesty, he
might win, but the Heisman is given for
yards gained and playing ability. Davis
has a lot of the latter but hardly any of
the former. The senior from Temple,
Texas has been suspended from the
Texas Christian University team because
he accepted money illegally from a TCU
booster. It's too bad the booster wasn't
suspended and Davis allowed to keep
playing. Davis gets an "A" for honesty
but an "F" for timing.
What remains is a four-man race for
the Heisman Trophy. The remaining
candidates are: Keith Byars (just barely)
Bo Jackson, Chuck Long and Robbie
Bosco. It's funny how much the Heisman
derby resembles a political party's
nominating process.
Byars hasn't played in Ohio State
University's first three games because
of a broken foot. He is expected back
for this week's game with Illinois.
Auburn University's Jackson went
nuts the first two games, rushing for
more than 400 yards. But those two
games were against Southwest Louisiana
and Southern Mississippi, neither noted
for their great defense. In his third
game against Tennessee, Jackson was
held to less than 100 yards and the
Tigers were defeated by the Volunteers.
Jackson is assured of playing against
several tough defenses in conference
play, including highly regarded Alabama.
Star: 1. Jackson; 2. Bosco; 3. Doug country."
DuBose. "There seems to be a concerted
effort on the part of Auburn to push
him (Jackson) for the Heisman Trophy."
Long has racked up a ton of yards
against weaklings, but his team's No. 1
ranking helped thrust him into the
limelight. Long is also getting praise
because he decided to stay in college
and play a fifth season.
Bosco was probably the leading
quarterback candidate until BYU lost
to UCLA. The team has gotten back on
track with two straight wins and Bosco
has been one of the top-rated college
quarterbacks this season.
But what are the voters themselves
thinking? The consensus among nine
Nebraska-based Heisman voters is that
Bo Jackson will be the 1985 Heisman
Trophy winner and that Long will finish
as runner-up. However, the voters said
their votes are not etched in stone. The
following are their votes and some
comments.
Babcock said he didn't think Kansas'
Mike Norseth or Oklahoma State's
Thurman Thomas had a chance at the
award, despite outstanding starts. "I
don't think a guy from Kansas is going
to get it. Neither one of them had any
kind of buildup."
Chuck Stevens, KFOR: 1. Bosco; 2.
Long. "It's hard to pick anybody that's
just a clear shot. I wouldn't know who
to put third."
Steve Riley, Grand Island Daily Inde
pendent: 1. Long; 2. Bosco; 3; Jackson.
"I changed to Long because, number
one, he's having a great year, albeit
against some no-name Mother Hubbard
teams, He's proven himself to be the
best quarterback in college."
Riley mentioned several longshots
including SMlTs Reggie Dupard, Norseth
and Oklahoma's Tony Casillas. Riley
said, however, that he didn't think
Casillas has a realistic chance of winning
the award.
Mike Babcock, Lincoln Journal and
Mike Kelly, Omaha World-Herald: 1.
Long; 2. Jackson; 3. Larry Station. "I
think he's (Long) shown that he'll be
the first pick of the quarterbacks in the
pro draft. This could be the year when
someone other than a quarterback or
running back wins the Heisman. Station
might be the very best player in the
Ken Pavelka, KFAB: 1. Jackson; 2.
Long. "I would guess if that nobody
gets hurt among the top three that
Jackson will probably win. Between
Bosco, Long and Jackson I think Bosco
and Long's chances are more inter-,
related with how their teams do."
John Knicely, KETV: 1. Jackson. "He
didn't play well last weekend, which
brought him closer to everyone."
Terry Yeager, KMTV: 1. Byars; 2.
Jackson; 3. Long. "Even though he
(Byars) hasn't played. He's so good and
he's so fast"
Virgil Parker, Lincoln Journal' and
Star: 1. Jackson; 2. Long; 3. Doug
Dubose. "He's (Jackson) gotten a lot of
national ink. I'll be a patsy, I'll get on
the bandwagon. I would think he's the
front runner."
Brent Robinson, Kearney Daily Hub:
1. Bosco; 2. Jackson; 3. Thomas. "Keith
Byars has dropped completely out of
the picture. Kenneth Davis? Let's say
he bought himself his own Heismai'
Trophy. Long? I'm not impressed witl
who they've played."
Slow pitch
softball playoffs
po
JL
stponec
Doug Carroll
Staff Reporter
Intramural men's slow pitch Softball
S, , wiI1 start six davs Iater than
S n-d because bad weather forced
r?aCS,ng of manv ges. sd Bill
ua, UNLAssistant Intramural Director.
Jlayoffs will start Oct. 9. Resche
duled games will begin today. The
inirmiiii -tr .ii , . ...
vrptriT mu lry 10 rescneouie
igui 'season games so each team will
i - v wui sian inursday. He said
this plan is the "fairest" thing to do
since some leagues played once or
twice this fall while others played their
entire schedule. One league had not
played a single game as of Monday.
According to Kenda Scheele, UNL's
Intramural Coordinator, more than 150
softball games and many flag-football
games were canceled this fall because
of weather, but she said this fall is not
much different than any other year.
"Every fall we get a week or so when
it rains," Scheele said.
She also said it's better to get rain
during the regular season because
rescheduling games during playoffs is
hard. Regular season games are canceled
when the fields are unplayable and are
not normally rescheduled.
Right now the fields are in fairly
good shape, according to Scheele. She
said people playing on the fields even
when they are wet and when intramural
games have been canceled are the
biggest problems for the recreation
office.
A four-person student grounds crew
is in charge of preparing the fields for
play. These students work on the fields
between classes and after school. The
grounds crew takes longer to get fields
ready for play if people played on the
wet fields, Scheele said. If someone
wants to practice, she said they should
use the outfields, which are in good
shape, and stay off the diamonds.
A list of rescheduled games are
posted in the recreation office. A team
member should go to the recreation
office to find when their team plays if
they have had games rescheduled.
Rescheduled games count for seedings
and forfeits, Goa said.
If it rains during playofis, teams can
call INFO-REC, 472-2692, to find if their
game was canceled. This recording
gives information about postponements
ecause of poor weather or playing
conditions.. If playoff games are can
celed, Goa said a team member should
go check the revised playoff schedule
at the rec office.