Sports Page 12 Friday, July 23, 1982 The Michigan Daily Out of the spotlight Stan Edwards learns to be second fiddle By RON POLLACK Second in an eight-part series Stan Edwards now knows what it is like to be the "other" running back. Two seasons ago, he rushed for 901 yards. But last year the fullback found himself in Butch Woolfolk's shadow, and gained only 445 yards since he was utilized mostly asa blocker. HE WAS selected by the Houston Oilers in the third round of this year's draft, and even should he earn a starting, berth he will probably be viewed as the Oilers "other" back. The reason is quite simple, Houston already has one of the best tailbacks in all of football in the person of Earl Campbell. "All my life I was the guy the team centered around, regardless of whether it was little league baseball, football or any other sport," said Edwards. "I always wondered what it was like for the guy who didn't get his name in the paper. Well, I found out last year-reluctantly. I wanted to carry the ball, any back does, but I realized that if I wanted to play beyond college I had to block. But it worked for the better and made me a better all-around back which helped when the draft came around." But there once was a time when he wasn't an all- around back. A shift from tailback to fullback in his junior year changed that. "My blocking has im- proved tremendously, because when I was playing tailback I didn't want to block anyone," said Edwar- ds. "But when (Michigan head) coach (Bo) Schem- bechler asked me to move to fullback, what was I going to say, no? Fullback is something you have to want to work on. When I first moved to fullback, I'd make one good block and then miss two. By the time I was done, I think I was pretty consistent." NOTING THAT Houston's leading carrier after Campbell only rushed the football 31 times last year, Edwards thinks that his experiences the last two years were very important. "It's more than likely that I'll be blocking a lot," he said. "Considering the team I was drafted by, last year when I wasn't carrying the ball a lot was probably good for me. Af- ter all, Earl Campbell isn't paid to block." Campbell is paid to run the ball, and Edwards says that he is looking forward to seeing what makes the former Heisman Trophy winner an annual 1,000-yard ground gainer. "I'm eager to work with Earl Campbell to see how it should be done," said Edwards. "I want to see what makes him what he is. I may not change my style, but I want to find out the little things that make him great." BUT AS great as Campbell is, he can't be the offen- se all by himself. Campbell gained 1,376 yards rushing last year, but after him the next highest out- put was Adger Armstrong's 146 yards. Needless to say, the Oilers' coaches would like to get more production out of the fullback position. Edwards believes he can fill that role. "They want another back to compliment Earl, and I know that if you give me a little hole I can hurt you," said Edwards. "I can break it and make a lot of people take notice." If Edwards is to get an opportunity to prove this, he must beat out Armstrong for the starting fullback spot. "I hadn't heard of Adger until I was drafted and heard he was the Oilers' number one fullback," said Edwards, who may also see some action at tailback when Campbell is given a rest. "I've seen some films of him since then, and he's pretty good. If I go to training camp and get the job done, I think I can start realistically by mid-season. I know I have no weak points in my game since I can catch the ball, run and block. So I'll have to see if Adger has any weak spots and try to beat him there. If he doesn't, then I'll have to beat him out by working harder. Right now I'm in the best shape of my life. I'm about 206 or 207 pounds and I'm quicker than I've been the last few years." At Michigan, it was with reluctance that Edwards became the "other" back. Now, he'd only be too hap- py to fill such a role for the Oilers. The attempt of Ben Needham to make the jump from college to pro football will be featured tomorrow. Edwards ... no limelight Neither side budges in NFL talks WASHINGTON (AP) - Neither the players' union or National Football League team owners made concessions on items such as individual player negotiations or drug testing yesterday as negotiations continued over a new bargaining agreement. After an almost five-hour session neither side could say any progress had been made nor were they any closer to an agreement than when they began sporadic negoiations on Feb. 16. MEANWHILE, Jack Donlan, executive director of the NFL Management Council which represents the owners, declined commend on a Washington Post report that a majority of the owners support locking out the players just before the start of the regular season unless contract negotiations improve dramatically. "I haven't polled the owners," said Donlan. "The last time I talked to the owners there were some who favored a lockout and some who didn't. There were others who were wary of what happened to baseball last year. Player drug testing among stumbling blocks "That is an issue we will have to ad- dress before we open the season," he said. ED GARVEY, players association executive director, called the owners talk of a lockout "as a good threat, but I don't see it as an effective tool. I don't think they will ever call a lockout. Once they do that, they know the players can strike. They would be risking their TV package." At the first bargaining session in a week, the Owners' representatives presented a formal medical program to the players who in return gave several proposals to the owners' management council dealing with a drug abuse coun- seling and rehabilitation, which the owners rejected a week ago, and one on relocation and travel allowances. Each said it would study the other's proposals. Negotiations were to continue this morning. DONLAN SAID the owners spent the entire morning discussing individual contract bargaining. He said Eddie Lebaron, Atlanta Falcons' general manager, and Terry Bledsoe, New York Giants assistant general manager, came to the session prepared to negotiate the contracts of free agents- Alfred Jenkins and Rob Carpenter, respectively, but to no avail. Under the terms of the last collective bargaining agreement, the union again became the sole bargaining agent for the 30 players who failed to sign before the contract expired last Thur- sday. "We had a long discussion and it is very clear to us the union has no inten- tion of negotiating individual contrac- is," said Donlan. "Terry Bledsoe said he had all the material with him but would not get into details unless they were willing to negotiate. They were not." Ton Condon of the Kansas City Chiefs, a member of the union's executive and negotiating committees, said the owners refused to give "us what we believe under the law is essen- tial information, all the 1982 player con- tracts. They refused us that infor- mation. They refused to talk about anything but yearly salaries for the in- dividual players. Donlan said the management council has rejected many of the proposals, in- cluding the drug counseling and rehabilitation program, because it calls for a joint committee between the owners and the union.