Time's All-America: The Pick of the Pros

ONCE the last of the bowl games is out of the way, the 26 National and American League football teams will sit down to draft this year's college seniors into the ranks of the pros. At that point, the most important man on every coach's staff will be his chief scout. How really valuable is that scrambling, rollout quarterback who has been dazzling college fans all fall and has the press clippings to prove it? Can that light little scatback or that skinny, glue-fingered end stand up against the agile brutes of the big leagues? Who are the sleepers, the unsung stars from little-known schools who will grab the headlines when they play for pay? The scouts' answers add up to something more than vital information for their teams. For the scouts have surveyed all of college football, big time and small; chosen by their demanding criteria, the top men at every position make up the most authoritative of All-America teams.

Herewith, the 1969 All-America, as named for TIME by the chief scouts in the N.F.L. and A.F.L.:

OFFENSE QUARTERBACKS: MIKE PHIPPS, Purdue, 6 ft. 3 in., 207 lbs. "Phipps has all the qualifications of a topflight quarterback," says one scout. "He has a great arm, plenty of poise and is a born leader." Phipps' brilliant three-year record includes 375 completions for 5,432 yds. and 37 touchdowns; he threw only 34 interceptions. The pros like his ability to drop quickly into the pocket and stay there; they rarely go for scramblers, although, says one observer, "he runs well enough to be an effective rollout passer, too." They also like Phipps' size and strength. "He can take a helluva beating," says one scout, "and still come back for more." For all Phipps' talent, though, several scouts say that TERRY BRADSHAW, 6 ft. 2 in., 210 lbs., Louisiana Tech, may be even better--possibly the No. 1 draft choice. "He's much like Roman Gabriel," says one report. "He's big, he stands in there like Gabe, and he has a pro arm." Indeed he does. Bradshaw throws a football like the national high school javelin champion he once was; he fired 390 completions for 39 touchdowns in three spectacular years. "If you were going to save a franchise with a quarterback," advises a scout, "this guy would be the one."

RUNNING BACKS: STEVE OWENS, Oklahoma, 6 ft. 2 in., 216 lbs.; and CHARLIE PITTMAN, Penn State, 6 ft. 1 in., 197 lbs. This year's Heisman Trophy winner, Owens rewrote the record books with career totals of 3,867 yards rushing and 56 touchdowns--the latter eclipsing the three-year mark of 51 set in 1946 by Army's legendary Glenn Davis. He impressed one scout as "a crusher, with good balance--one of the great competitors of the '60s. He does it all the hard way." Though he lacks the blinding speed of Gale Sayers or O. J. Simpson, Owens is a driving, slashing runner who, as one scout puts it, "can carry the ball 55 times a game and five-yard you to death." If durable is the word for Owens, slippery is the term for Pittman, who racked up 31 TDs for the Nittany Lions. "An elusive will-o'-the-wisp," reads one scouting report. "You go to tackle him and there just isn't anybody there. He has an uncanny knack for picking his hole and getting through it before the defense knows what's happened."

FLANKER: WALKER GILLETTE, Richmond, 6 ft. 5 in., 205 lbs. The pros began to take serious notice of this lanky receiver when he caught 20 passes against Ohio University in the Tangerine Bowl last year, and nothing he has done this year (57 receptions, 11 TDs) has diminished their interest. A hurdler on the track team, Gillette has speed, superb balance, and more moves than Joe Namath at a cocktail party. "He's tall, thin as a reed," says one dossier, "yet he can take a beating. He's got a long, effortless stride--satin-smooth." All that, plus an exceptionally good pair of hands, make the scouts report that "he's got the kind of assets that set coaches drooling."

ENDS: JIM MANDICH, Michigan, 6 ft. 3 in., 225 lbs.; and KEN BURROUGHS, Texas Southern, 6 ft. 5 in., 215 lbs. "Mandich is the kind of rugged tight end who can block like a demon for three quarters, then break the game open with a spectacular catch in the fourth," says one scout. The pros mark him as a savage blocker, and are particularly impressed with the way he can "catch the ball in a crowd and carry three tacklers for five yards." On the whole, scouts were disappointed with the receivers this year, but many feel that Burroughs is a bright exception. "Burroughs not only has sticky hands," notes a scout, "he can run the 100 in 9.4 sec. He has all the qualifications of a top pro receiver. He could turn out to be another Homer Jones."

TACKLES: BOB McKAY, Texas, 6 ft. 6 in., 260 lbs.; and SID SMITH, Southern California, 6 ft. 5 in., 270 lbs. As one pro puts it, they are "just big, strong, physical guys who can grind you into the ground." McKay led the charge for the nation's No. 1 team, whose backfield averaged 363 yds. rushing per game; the scouts give him high marks for being at once a great blocker on quick openers and a ferocious pass protector. Smith, says one scout, "has everything it takes--he's powerful, has fine footwork, can pick up the loop and requires no additional growth"--and he can cover 40 yds. in an eye-catching 5 sec.

GUARDS: RON SAUL, Michigan State, 6 ft. 2 in., 245 lbs., and CHUCK HUTCHISON, Ohio State, 6 ft. 4 in., 242 lbs. Crack guards are always a scarce commodity on the college market; most of them are too light to make it in the pros. Not Saul. "A big, tough battering ram who will block and rise to block again," says a scouting report. Hutchison, one in Woody Hayes' long line of tough, power-blocking tackles, will probably be converted to guard because "he has great speed for a big man and the savvy to pull and protect on wide plays."

CENTER: KEN MENDENHALL, Oklahoma, 6 ft. 1 in., 235 lbs. For three years Mendenhall's specialty has been coming quickly off the ball to open a hole for Steve Owens' patented power dives. The scouts say that he will have to put on another 15-20 lbs. of muscle, but they admire the way he blasts out at linebackers. "He can make it on quickness alone," reports one pro.

DEFENSE

ENDS: AL COWLINGS, Southern California, 6 ft. 5 in., 250 lbs.; and PHIL OLSEN, Utah State, 6 ft. 4 in., 261 lbs. Beyond the plenitude of sparkling quarterbacks, the scouts are most elated over the number of brutal, brobdingnagian defensive linemen. Cowlings, who led Southern Cal's heralded "Wild Bunch" that allowed only 95.6 yds. rushing per game, was described by one scout as "a big Belgian horse." But Cowlings is fast (4.9 for the 40) and, says one report, "he's mean, with the right determination and attitude to play defense. He eats quarterbacks." Many pros say that Olsen compared favorably with Big Brother Merlin of the Los Angeles Rams. "If he's got any negatives," says one scout, "we don't know about them." Another scout worries that "he can occasionally be fooled by the quarterback," but adds that he is so tall and maneuverable that he can perform that rare feat --deflecting the pass a split second after the quarterback releases the ball.

TACKLES: MIKE McCOY, Notre Dame, 6 ft. 5 in., 287 lbs., and MIKE REID, Penn State, 6 ft. 3 in., 250 lbs. The pros regard McCoy as easily the best defensive lineman in the country --big, fast, as aggressive as a water buffalo. He could be the No. 1 draft choice--and Reid will not be far behind. "Now here is the classic defender--a guy who is strong, durable and intelligent. He sniffs out the play quickly and bores in with a stubborn, vicious pursuit," says one report. A few scouts worry that he may be too small for a pro tackle, but most think that he could be one of the big leagues' top linebackers.

LINEBACKERS: STEVE KINER, Tennessee, 6 ft. 2 in., 225 lbs.; DON PARISH, Stanford, 6 ft. 4 in., 232 lbs; and JOHN SMALL, The Citadel, 6 ft. 4 in., 238 lbs. Kiner is a devastating tackler who "has both the size and speed to plug up a hole quickly or drop back for pass coverage." Parish impressed most scouts with his speed and range--"enough to keep up with the speediest of flankers on pass defense." Scouts are full of encomiums for Small, "a defensive technician with the kind of quickness and reaction that lead him directly to the play. He has size, strength, speed, keen eyes, leadership, brains--and on top of that, he just loves to hit people."

CORNERBACKS: STEVE TANNEN, Florida, 6 ft. 1 in., 193 lbs.; and TIM FOLEY, Purdue, 6 ft. 1 in., 195 lbs. Following the Vince Lombardi stratagem of picking good athletes rather than just good football players, the pros are eager to grab Tannen, who, in addition to stints at offensive end for the Gators, is a versatile track man. "This boy has exceptional coordination," says one scout, "and enough speed and mobility for man-to-man coverage in the pros. And that's saying something." Foley is regarded as an ideal cornerback--quick on the uptake in a passing situation, yet alert and aggressive enough to ruin a power sweep. But the one player the scouts are really hankering after is only a junior and therefore ineligible for the upcoming draft: Ohio State's JACK TATUM (6 ft., 204 lbs.), whom one pro labels "the finest natural football player in the country. He's ready for us right now--no question about it."

SAFETIES: TED PROVOST, Ohio State, 6 ft. 2 in., 180 lbs.; and GLENN CANNON, Mississippi, 6 ft. 3 in., 190 lbs. Provost is a hustling, hard-nosed strong safety who has developed "a fine knack for homing in on the ball." He drew everyone's attention by intercepting Mike Phipps twice in this year's Purdue game. Says one scout: "He's just what you are looking for in a great defensive back --a hard tackler with quick feet." Cannon is "a typical Southeastern Conference back --tough and fast, with excellent hands and the ability to make the big play consistently. In college, he is already the model of what a free safety should be."

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