The Whalers get a star; the Blues get a could-be

Sporting News, The, August 7, 1995 by Larry Wigge

The Southwest Conference is preparing to shut its doors on 81 years and five Heisman Trophies. But don't close them too quickly. A sixth Heisman may sneak in there. Not sneak so much as dart. The candidate in mind has never started a game at tailback and no, we haven't been ingesting finely ground press releases. We've been listening to SWC coaches.

"Y'all ought to see Leeland McElroy," Texas Tech Coach Spike Dykes says. "I don't think I've seen a better running back in a long time. We had Bam Morris. We played against Greg Hill. Tbey're not in Leeland McElroy's class."

Strong words. Morris won the 1993 Doak Walker Award. Hill, a former Aggie, rush 1,339 yards and 15 touchdowns in 1992. Get ready for stronger words.

"We've had Darren Lewis, Greg Hill, who was a first-round draft choice, Rodney Thomas This guy is better," Texas A&M Coach R.C. Slocum says. "I've never talked about the Heisman, but you should keep an eye on Leeland. I wouldn't trade him for anyone I've seen, and I was at USC."

Slocum spent 1981 at USC, where he was convinced throughout all of preseason practice he would lose his job. His defense couldn't stop the Trojans' offense. As it turned out, neither could anyone else. Marcus Allen was the tail-back that year, and he won the Heisman.

Now comes McElroy, listed at 5 feet 11, 202 pounds, which is too generous in height and too skimpy in weight. Entering his junior season, he has rushed for 1,320 yards over two seasons, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. He has returned four kickoffs for touchdowns (the NCAA record is six). He finished first in Division I-A in kickoff returns as a freshman but not as a sophomore. The opponents wised up, and he returned only six kicks, too few to qualify. He averaged 50 yards per return.

"The last two seasons, we've led the nation in kickoff returns," Slocum says. "The reason is Leeland. It's not some great scheme we have. It's Leeland. He can break tackles, and he can make people miss him."

McElroy has a couple of things working against him. The Southwest Conference carries little clout nationally. The Aggies open against underrated Louisiana State and play at Colorado September 23. Texas A&M then moves into its conference schedule, which will raise questions among skeptics. Given that this is the final year of the SWC, the intensity and the emotion of these games will be at a championship level every Saturday. But that feature will go unnoticed by the experts whose minds have been made up thousands of miles away.

McElroy also has never been The Man in the Aggies offense. Splitting time with Thomas last season, he rushed the ball 130 times. He'll get 25 carries a game this fall, probably more. There's no one with any experience behind him. The Aggies have no alternative. McElroy may run them to national title contention. He may run himself into the Heisman race. Without him, Texas A&M's national hopes are as dire as the future of the SWC.

Around the nation

Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz invited the players attending summer school and the coaches to his home for dinner last week. Next week, for the first time in Holtz's 10 seasons, the Fighting Irish will board school buses and head to nearby Culver Military Academy. They will have that coaching favorite, no distractions, at their weeklong camp. "One of the players asked me, `Coach, what time will we have arts and crafts?,'" Holtz says. Another inquired as to what songs they would sing around the campfire. But guess who will get the last laugh? ... Wide receiver Randy Moss, the Irish recruit from West Virginia who didn't pass muster with the admissions office, is hoping to attend Florida State. Seminoles Coach Bobby Bowden has indicated he won't take Moss until the charges stemming from a high school fight are resolved. Bowden heard Moss wouldn't be attending Notre Dame from Holtz, who called with a recommendation. "I told the Mosses I think Bobby Bowden is an excellent coach and an outstanding person," Holtz says.

Jackie Sherrill's public response to the NCAA letter of inquiry received by Mississippi State last month is that none of the allegations involved players currently on the roster. I guess that makes it OK. ... Division III Ohio Wesleyan Coach Mike Hollway needed a defensive coordinator so he called the best one he knew - his dad. Former St. Louis Cardinals head coach Bob Hollway retired a few years ago as an executive with the Minnesota Vikings. However, the thought of returning to the field and working with his son proved irresistible. Check that - working for his son. ... Watson Brown, who tutored quarterback Cale Gundy at Oklahoma, has hired Gundy as quarterback coach at Alabama-Birmingham.