Football 82-83 the Daily Tar Heel 5
Different' tactics iiaed
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By KURT ROSENBERG
Staff Writer
Claude Felton, the sports information di
rector at the University of Georgia says that
he is opposed to a hard-sell approach to pub
licity for the Heisman Trophy. It just isn't
necessary. Everybody already knows about
Ceorgia's Heisman candidate.
"We're a little bit different because we're
not fighting any name recognition problem,"
Felton told the Associated Press recently.
"We're not going to have a Madison Avenue
sales campaign. Mainly, our philosophy is to
make sure everybody gets the facts."
But if s how those facts are presented that
makes one wonder, what would Felton's
hardsell campaign have been like?
A full-color caricature of Herschel Walker
comes bursting across the front of the spe
cial flyer on Ceorgia's tailback sensation. It's
as though he's about to dash off the page,
squeezing a football iji one hand while form-'
ing a tightly clenched fist with the other.
Some of his more noteworthy statistics fill in
the white space.
Turn the flyer over, and the following
screams out at you in inch-high block letters:
HERSCHEL '82. Below that is a collection of
quotes which describe Walker in fairly favo
rable terms. For example, ABC-TV analyst
; Fran Tarkenton: "Herscfiel is the greatest
running back I've ever seen. He's unbeliev
able." Or, Florida assistant coach Dwight
Adams: "Herschel is another dimension in
football. . ."
Then you get a summary of Walker's ca
reer stats, followed by a lengthy recap of the
records he has v set under the heading
"HERSCHEL OWNS THESE."
Well, you get the idea. - '
Who knows how much the flyer will actu
ally improve Walker's already strong Heis
man chances? The odds are that it probably
won't make a great deal of difference, even
though Felton has sent out about 2,000 of
them.
And that seems to be the consensus
among sports information directors who cur
rently have a candidate for the prestigious
award. A good publicity campaign can help
a player, they'll tell you, but he's got to have
a phenomenal season in order to win it
"We use the Heisman with his (quarter
back Dan Marino) name a lot but we're not
obsessed with it" said Joyce Aschenbrenner,
football sports information director at the
University of Pittsburgh: "We can't win the
Heisman Trophy for somebody who doesn't
do it on the field."
Marino is one of the favorites to win the
Heisman, along with Walker, North Carolina
tailback Kelvin Bryant and Stanford quar
terback John Elway. Others in the running
are Penn State tailback Curt Warner, Miami
See H EISMAN on page 23
Tfie Top Camidfldate
OTHAI Steet
UNO's Kelvin Bryant cuts through Virginia (Ins
. . . he could bring home the ACC's first Heisman
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Herschel Walker
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Kelvin Bryant
It's hard to say how much Herschel's frac
tured thumb will affect his Heisman chances.
One thing's for sure, though no running
back in college football can come close to a
healthy Herschel- Walker. He rushed sfor
1,891 yards as a sophomore last season,
holds 15 Georgia records, eight SEC records,
and six NCAA marks. He has 3,507 yards
rushing in two college seasons. He's 6-2, 220
and with world-class speed, is virtually im
possible to stop. The only question is: can he
get better?
Dan Marino will be in the spotlight along
with Kelvin Bryant tonight He threw for 34
touchdowns last season, plus three more in
the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, which Pitt
pulled out in the final minute. Marino owns ,
every Pitt passing record and is just 594
yards short of Tony Dorsetf s school record
6,526 yards of total offense. And not only
will he be working behind one of the strong
est offensive lines around, but the Pitt re
ceiving corps of Julius Dawkins, Dwight Col
lins, and John Brown is the best in the nation.
Other CoEitemdei'!
If Dan Marino isn't the best quarterback
in college, Stanford's John Elway is. If s hard
to imagine how good Elway would be if he
had the supporting cast of Marino. He had
his best season two years ago as a sopho
more, when he threw for 2,889 yards and 27
touchdowns and achieved All-America
status. Says Stanford sports information
director Bob Rose: "If s a prevalent state
ment from scouts and coaches that he could
become the greatest quarterback of all time."
All the talk what would have happened
had UNC tailback Kelvin Bryant stayed
healthy last season is past His knee is com
pletely recovered, which is bad news for the
rest of the ACC. All eyes will be on Bryant
tonight as he will probably face his toughest
test of the season against Pittsburgh, last
season's top team against the rush. A good
game would give his Heisman hopes a boost,
while a poor showing would do just the opposite.
Curt Warner
Penn State's Curt Warner will wear a tag
on his jersey this season that reads "A.O.C."
It stands for "among other candidates" and
refers to his less-than-realistic Heisman
chances. The underrated Warner needs just
578 yards to pass Lydell Mitchell as Penn
State's all-time leading rusher.
Jim Kelly
Yet another of this season's outstanding
crop of quarterbacks is Miami's Jim Kelly.
Last season Kelly passed for 2,403 yards and
completed 58.9 percent of his passes. With
4,643 career yards, he already holds the
school record. Most important, he can do it
in the clutch.
Billy Ray Smith
He isn't going to win the Heisman, but Ar
kansas defensive end Billy Ray Smith is a
good choice for the Lombardi Award. The
senior has started every game for three
years, was his school's first consensus junior
All-American, and already has the school
record for sacks.
Dave Rimington
Compared to Walker, Bryant, Marino, and
Elway," Nebraska center Dave Rimington
won't get a lot of recognition. But in the Big
Eight they know about him. He was the con
ference's offensive player of the year last
season and won the Outland Trophy as the
nation's best lineman.