The Michigan Daily-Saturday, August 1, 1981-Page 15
FIFTH SEASON FOR BECKER AND EDWARDS
'Mgridders reject pro dollars
By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE
Daily Executive Sports Editor
Special toihe Daily
CHICAGO - Passing up a bundle of
money isn't an easy thing for anyone to
do, but fifth-year Michigan seniors Kurt
Becker and Stan Edwards - both of
whom were eligible for last year's
National Football League draft -
decided to forego the lure of a pro con-
tract for another year at Michigan.
Becker, a 6-6, 260-pound offensive
guard, was rated by some experts as
the best eligible player at his position
for last year's lottery, and would surely
have been, a high draft pick. But he.
decided that the NFL could keep its
money for another year while he
finished his last season at Michigan.
"I MADE MY decision pretty early
that I wanted to come back," said
Becker, at yesterday's Big Ten Football
Kickoff Luncheon in Chicago. "A lot of
agents tried to contact me; trying to
persuade me saying, 'no, you're
making a big mistake.' But I just told
them I didn't want to talk to anybody.
"Sometimes the agents would come
over to the house," Becker explained.
"And a couple times I even introduced
myself as somebody else and they
didn't even know (the difference)."
So for the time being, the massive
gridder is only looking forward to the
start of the season, which comes Sep-
tember 12 on the road against Wiscon-
sin. "I'm not concerned about the NFL
now," Becker said. "I'm only concer-k
ned with playing for Michigan."
EDWARDS PROBABLY would have
also been picked fairly high in last
year's draftLike Becker, the 6-0, 208-
pound fullback made his mind up early
that he would return for his fifth year.
"I had made the commitment a long
time ago that I wasn't going to be
eligible for the draft," said Edwards.
"I want to really enjoy college football,
so I'm blessed to have an extra year."
As for the lofty predictions that place
Michigan atop numerous. polls, the two
Wolverine standouts aren't about to let
their team rest on its laurels. "I'm glad
that everyone recognizes that we have
a talented team," said Edwards. "But
we're going to have to go out and prove
it. We're going to give all out opponents
our best punch."
"I'm not too impressed that we're
picked number one in the country, since
that rating came on last year's team's
performance," Becker added.
But this year's Wolverine perfor-
mance will no doubt be aided by tIe
return to the lineup of Becker and Ed-
wards
Becker
.ducking agents
Edwards
...passing up the pros
4
Northwestern, Illinois
turn to aerial attack
By DREW SHARP
Daily Executive Sports Editor
Special to the Daily
CHICAGO-In the past few seasons, Big Ten coaches have finally realized that
since a football has air inside, it can be thrown. Former Michigan State coach
Darryl Rodgers introduced the conference to the then sinful thought that a team
could pass more than run and win at the same time, when he came out from the
west to take over the Spartans in 1976. Recently, coaches like Iowa's Hayden Fry,
Illinois' Mike White, Purdue's Jim Young, and now Northwestern's Dennis Green,
all with west coast coaching experience, have installed a more wide-open attack in
their offenses. The west coast football philosophy has invaded the Big Ten.
Two quarterbacks who will greatly benefit from the change in philosophy are
Illinois' Charles Carroll Eason IV, informally known as Tony, and Northwestern's
Mike Kerrigan.
"MIKE IS MY type of coach because he likes to have a straight drop back
passer," said Eason. "I knew coach White when he was coaching at Cal-Berkeley.
We share the same type of offensive philosophy."
White, while head coach at California and assistant coach at Stanford, played a
key role in developing such fine quarterbacks as Jim Plunkett, Steve Bartkowski,
Vince Ferragamo, and the lateJoe Roth. White's quarterback magic continued in
his first season with the Illini when he had Big Ten record-shatterer Dave Wilson.
And White has nothing but high praise for Eason.
"Tony was good enough to beat out Wilson last season," said White. "But unfor-
tunately he suffered an injury so we decided to redshirt him last season. He has
similar attributes to Wilson in that he has size, the arm, and the brains for the
position. He is probably my finest all-around player."
EASON, LIKE Wilson, was a junior college transfer from California where he at-
tended American River College in Sacramento. Since he was redshirted last
season, he has two years of eligibility remaining. Enough time, he says, to leave
his mark on Illinois football.
"I am really looking forward to playing here in the midwest," Eason noted. "On
the west coast, we are able to concentrate on passing more. This is probably due to
the warmer climate and, because of that, you will probably find your best passers
coming out of the West."
Kerrigan, on the other hand, is from Chicago and grew up with the "three yards
and a cloud of dust" philosophy of Midwest football. He decided not to follow the
same course as other Big Ten quarterbacks.
"I JUST ENJOY throwing the ball," said Kerrigan. "I believe in having a diver-
sified offensive strategy. A team has to be able to put the ball in the air if they are
to win in today's type of college football. And now with Dennis Green as ourcoach,
you will no doubt see an even more sophisticated offense for Northwestern.
"I am not a razzle-dazzle person as far as offensive strategy is concerned," said
Green. "I am a fundamentalist and I believe that you must have a strong passing
game to supplement your running game."
With Green at the helm, Kerrigan feels that Northwestern is in its best situation
ever.
"Our last coach, Rick Venturi, a former Illinois man himself, has followed that
same type Big Ten football strategy He would throw, but he would not center hi;i
attack around the passing. And that is the wave of the future."
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STARTING SENIOR QUARTERBACK Mike Kerrigan (insert) goes back to
pass for the Northwestern Wildcats. Kerrigan expects to see more service as
a passer this season because of the philosophy of the Wildcats' new head
coach Dennis Green. Green's presence in the Big Ten should aid the con-
tinuing emergence of wide-open football in a conference previously known
mainly for its running attacks.
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