THE TROJANS: A NOBLE GLOW

THE LEGEND

Over gin and tonic at Julie's, beer and chili-burgers at The Trojan Barrel, coke and hamburgers at The Grill—the in-places around the University of Southern California campus—you can find people who still love to talk about Morley Drury and the tribute 70,000 people gave him when he played his last game for USC in 1927. But even more—especially on sunny Saturdays in the fall—they love to recall what Morley Drury did: how he played with his broken jaw wired together and carried the ball more times (223) for more yards (1,163) in one season than any other USC man; how he captained the Trojans and ran, punted, tackled, passed and blocked as few have since. He was called The Noblest Trojan of Them All. Nobody has ever surpassed him at USC.

Morley Drury performed in an era of unrestrained prose. Wrote one journalist: "He was omnipresent, smart, powerful and positively brutal in the way he banged and whanged at Stanford's line. His defense against passes was phenomenal, his generalship above reproach." Drury was often compared with Ernie Nevers and just as often referred to as "a living legend." No matter which position he played, halfback or quarterback, Drury always called the signals, because, as his coach, Howard Jones, said: "He had that instinct." Nate Barrager, a center who blocked for Drury, recalled recently, "Morley was older than the rest of us. He was more mature, more settled and better adjusted. He was a great leader. He was superb under pressure."

Drury was born February 5, 1903 in Midland, Ontario, Canada and went to Long Beach, Calif. as a child. He worked in the shipyards to put himself through high school. He graduated from prep school at 21 and reached USC in 1925 with 10 letters in football, basketball, water polo and swimming. Besides football he won letters in hockey, basketball and water polo at USC. As a 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore, Drury led USC to an 11-2 record in 1925. The following year he had his team headed toward an unbeaten season when he injured his knee and, on crutches, watched Southern Cal fall to Stanford 13-12. He longed to play in the Rose Bowl and would have in his final year had the Trojans managed to do better than tie Stanford. That they did not was no fault of Drury's. He gained 163 yards rushing and intercepted five passes.

The Noblest Trojan played his last game in the Los Angeles Coliseum in the sunshine of a December afternoon, 1927. As the Trojans continued to punish Washington late in the third quarter, the public address announcer told the crowd, "Morley is coming off the field for the last time, folks. Give him the hand he deserves." Drury had run for 180 yards and had scored three touchdowns. The crowd rose and clapped and cheered and threw programs into the air, and Drury trotted toward the tunnel. "As I reached the track I looked up at all those people," he recalls. "I tried to wave, but my hand jerked so it wasn't much of a wave. My knees got weak even if I did feel fresh as a horse. And I bawled like a baby."

There have been brilliant Trojans since Morley Drury—Orv Mohler, Gus Shaver, Cotton Warburton, Frank Gifford and Jon Arnett—and there is a senior this year who ranks with, if not ahead of, them. He is Mike Garrett, a stocky, soft-spoken Negro halfback who needs only 248 yards to break Mohler's alltime USC career rushing record of 2,028 yards. Unlike Drury, Garrett does not pass or punt or call the plays. He just runs—like no USC man before him. "There may be better ones around," says Tommy Prothro of UCLA, "but I can't name you two real quick. His broken-play patterns are hell for a defensive man." USC's John McKay will never forget a run his halfback made against Michigan State two years ago. Garrett dipped, dodged, whirled and sidestepped some 60 yards to advance the ball 24 yards, leaving tacklers sprawled in the grass behind him. "It was incredible," said McKay. "There was no way that run could be made, yet Mike made it."

A 5-foot-9 185-pounder with a sprinter's speed, Garrett could very well have his finest year in 1965. His determination to succeed was illustrated when, after USC defeated Colorado 21-0 in 1964, Garrett rushed from lineman to lineman, apologizing for the holes he missed during the game. Quarterback Craig Fertig understood completely. "Mike's the whole player," he said. "He's all out, even when he's not carrying the ball. Why, he knocks himself out faking for you."

It is doubtful that Mike Garrett will receive a standing ovation when he leaves the field for the final time this fall—in this age of two-platoon football who will know he is out?—but he is a Trojan of the Drury mold and, like Drury, too noble to be soon forgotten.

THE BEST

For SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA the party was over before it began. About 30 players, their wives and girl friends had gathered at Enoch's Steak House in suburban South Gate last November 28 to celebrate the Trojans' 20-17 upset of Notre Dame and await the vote of conference officials that would send the team to the Rose Bowl. Then, about 10 p.m., a voice broke in over the radio with the news that Oregon State had been given the bid. Enoch's steak suddenly tasted like the football USC and Notre Dame had kicked around the Coliseum that day.

Craig Fertig was bitter: "The AAWU is nuts," he said. John McKay was bitter but more diplomatic. "This is the second year we have lost a vote to play in the Rose Bowl," he said.

The 1965 Trojan team is so good that it should not have to worry about any Rose Bowl vote. Garrett, Flanker Rod Sherman and 220-pound Fullback Homer Williams (if his foot mends) are among 20 returning lettermen, and McKay has so many impressive sophomores and junior-college transfers he is rubbing his hands together. "We've got more and better running backs than a year ago," he says without a coachly trace of modesty. "And now we've got the depth to rest Garrett and not be hurting." Bottomless lakes should be so deep.

Pat Mills, a junior who played only 40 seconds in 1964, replaces Fertig at quarterback. Just before the spring game McKay said, "Mills lacks experience, but in a throwing contest he can throw the ball as far as anybody." He then watched the youngster go out and complete 22 of 38 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns. To make everything even rosier, USC has its largest offensive line in years, including two of the nation's finest ends in 220-pound Dave Moton and John Thomas. Chuck Arrobio, 6 feet 4, 245 pounds, and Mike Scarpace, 6 feet 1, 245 pounds, will be at the tackles. Jim Homan, 6 feet 2, 221 pounds, Harry Wells, 6 feet 1, 220 pounds, and Frank Lopez, 5 feet 11, 205 pounds, will handle the guard positions. Paul Johnson, 6 feet 1, 205 pounds, will start at center.

Jeff Smith, a 240-pound All-Conference end, and Safety Nate Shaw, who intercepted a third of the passes thrown into his zone last year, are among six regulars left on the defensive unit, and the Trojans will be improved here with help from fine young sophomores like 6-foot-6, 255-pound Ron Yary (see box page 70) and Tim Rossovich, smallish by USC standards at 220 pounds.

"I have always felt that the team with the quarterback is the team to watch," cautions McKay, referring not to his own Mills but to Dave Lewis of STANFORD. Because Lewis can punt and run as well as pass and because Co-Captain Halfback Ray Handley can run—936 yards in 1964 (seventh nationally)—Stanford is already pointing to October 16, the day it heads south for a showdown with USC in what should be the most important game on the Coast this year. "I think this Stanford-to-the-Rose-Bowl talk is not only premature," Coach Johnny Ralston says, "I might say it's disturbing. However," he adds, as uncoachly a man as McKay, "I'm not going to say it's out of reason. We've got depth and a scoring punch. I just hope we can hold 'em."

Stanford has 21 lettermen returning, losing only five men from its defense and four from the offense. Neither Indian line has the size of USC's, but both are swift, agile and experienced. Defensively, Co-Captain Gary Pettigrew and Mike Hibler return at the tackles, and Lettermen Al Wilburn and Roger Clay will step right in at the ends. Excellent replacements, sophomore Dave Nelson and junior Mike Pavko, take over for the men Stanford misses most—Safety Dick Ragsdale and Linebacker Jack Chapple. The offensive line is unchanged except for Tackle Ferg Flanagan, Guard Rick Derby and Center Jim Mills. Blaine Nye, a 235-pound sophomore, blocks so well he must fit in somewhere—probably at tight end.

Four lettermen start in the offensive back-field, where Lewis and Handley are not the only ballcarrying threats. Bob Blunt, a steady, 184-pound junior, is Handley's runing mate, and John Read, the 209-pound fullback, was second in team rushing last year with 307 yards. Terry DeSylvia has to be the best backup quarterback in the conference; he completed 39 of 71 passes for 451 yards in 1964. So if the Indians get past USC the path to the Rose Bowl is clear, right? Wrong.

Two weeks later they meet WASHINGTON in Seattle, and Coach Jim Owens' boys play for him as if each of them had the family mortgage to pay off. Owens admits his team will be tough—but that's not news anymore; just how good the Huskies will be depends upon how much they score (they did little enough of that in 1964) and how well Owens rebuilds a platoon that last year led the country in rushing defense (61.3 yards per game). Seven men—including All-America Guard Rick Redman, three All-Coast selections and three-quarters of the deep secondary—are gone from the defense. Returning are End Mike Otis (who will probably replace Redman at linebacker), Tackle Fred Forsberg, Linebacker Steve Hinds and Safety Ralph Winters, but help must come from lettermen drafted from the offense and from sophomores like Linebacker Brent DeMeerleer. Dick Wetterauer will take over for Koll Hagen at middle guard, Ron Clark replaces Jim Norton at right tackle and junior Jerry Williams steps in for Jim Lambright at right end. Some other linebackers who may play a lot are Clarence Pautzke, another sophomore, and Luke Novelli, a senior. Joining Winters in the secondary are seniors Al Libke and Jim Sartoris and junior Vince Lorrain.

Halfback Charlie Browning and Fullback Junior Coffey (who lost his job to Jeff Jordan midway through the season) are the only real losses from an offensive unit that only lacked, until the last four games, Quarterback Tod Hullin. Hullin, a 6-foot 185-pounder who can run and throw, started the seventh game, against USC, and took the Huskies to four straight wins. Washington is generally a slow starter, but with burly Ron Medved and 150-pound Steve Bramwell at the halves and the 205-pound Jordan at full to help him, Hullin could very well pick up where he left off. Up front there may be room for only one newcomer—6-foot-3, 235-pound Bob Richardson, a sophomore tackle from Kailua, Hawaii. Washington followers, who have suffered through two almost-seasons, have reason for optimism, if only USC, Stanford and—well, the whole schedule is tough.

Take OREGON'S Webfoots. They are the fourth AAWU team with reasonable expectations of playing in the Rose Bowl. The reason is not All-America Quarterback Bob Berry, who is gone after breaking every Oregon total-offense and passing record last year. Coach Len Casanova thinks he could have a highly dangerous team this season simply because Berry is about all the Web-foots did lose. Among 25 lettermen, Oregon still has its top three ground-gainers, four of its five top receivers and individual leaders in scoring, kickoff returns, punt returns and pass interceptions.

Bill Smith, a 240-pound transfer, proved during spring drills he could handle All-League Dave Tobey's center position well enough so Tobey could be switched to linebacker. Smith and All-League Guard Mark Richards and 250-pound Tackle Pat Matson anchor a solid offensive line, and Halfback Les Palm and Linebacker Tim Casey are among the returnees on defense. Believe it or not, things could be worse at QB: two good ones are battling for Berry's job and, at the moment, even Casanova does not know who will win it. Tom Trovato, a transfer who sat out the 1964 season, appears to have the edge because of his splendid running ability. However, some observers feel junior Mike Brundage can throw the ball even better than Berry. End Ray Palm, Les's brother, is itching to find out; he caught 42 passes last year for 570 yards. The schedule is both bad and good. The Webfoots play only three games in Eugene—bad, according to Coach Casanova. But they probably will be able to concentrate on three big games—Stanford, Washington and Oregon State—and play it low key with the rest, which is good.

Utah, New Mexico and Arizona tied for the Western Athletic Conference title in 1964, and the way every team is scrambling for replacements a four-way tie would surprise no one this year. New Mexico must be rated as a contender, but the teams best prepared to sneak away with the championship are Wyoming and Utah.

At WYOMING, Quarterback Tom Wilkinson, who threw for 1,021 yards in 1964, and End Darryl Alleman, who caught 32 passes for 519 yards, are the foundation of Coach Lloyd Eaton's optimism. If Eaton can smooth over losses in both lines, a WAC title appears likely. "We are very optimistic despite the loss of quite a few interior linemen," says Eaton. "The back-field depth is the best it has been since I've been at Wyoming and so is the overall team speed. We've enough lettermen [22] to give us two deep at most positions, but beyond that we tail off sharply." Mike Davenport and Don Klacking provide the Cowboys with strong inside running, and wing-back is in good shape with Jerry Marion (also the WAC's leading punter with a 40-yard average), Garry McLean and Bob Grant. Tackle Pierre Desjardins will anchor the offensive line and Center Frank Windholz is also a fine linebacker.

Utah is favored as the most likely contender on the basis of its 25 returning lettermen, but Coach Ray Nagel wonders just how much the Redskins will suffer from inexperience in his backfields. Nagel's team will miss All-America End Roy Jefferson but it has size and speed in the line with Center Pat McKissick plus 223-pound John Stipech and 6-foot-6, 262-pound Greg Kent at the tackles. Rich Groth should fill in ably at quarterback. Halfback Ben Woodson, third on the team in rushing last year, has a calcium deposit in his thigh, and at the moment his status is doubtful. Fullback Allen Jacobs will be hard to replace. He carried for 752 yards and made the All-Conference team. Rounding out the starting backfield will be Jerry Pullman at right halfback and Roger Cline at full.

Coach Tony Knap lost 16 linemen at UTAH STATE, one of the rare independent western teams, but, with the backs he has left, he can afford to smile when he says, "We could have a team capable of beating anyone." The Utags were second nationally in scoring last year (294 points in 10 games), seventh in total offense (348.4 yards per game), and all the contributors to those statistics are ready to try again. They include Quarterback Ron Edwards (1,071 yards total offense) and Fullback Craig Murray. Tailback Roy Shivers (one of 28 Utags hurt last year) would like to play a full season; he had gained 330 yards in 27 carries (12.2 average) before he broke his ankle in the fourth game.

THE REST

Tommy Prothro has moved south to UCLA, and taking over for him at OREGON STATE is Dee Andros, an ex-marine who doesn't scare easily. This is fortunate, for the situation at Corvallis offers abundant opportunity for a man to prove his courage. There are 19 lettermen missing from last year's Rose Bowl squad, and the schedule includes Illinois, Iowa, USC, Syracuse, Washington and Oregon. "I still think we're in their league," says Andros, basing almost everything on the fact that Paul Brothers (1,487 yards total offense) remains at quarterback and Jack (Mad Dog) O'Billovich is one of the linebackers. Among the other 23 lettermen returning are Halfbacks Cliff Watkins, who was second to Brothers in team rushing with 340 yards, and Bob Grim. Pete Pifer is a hard-hitting junior fullback. In the line there is as much size as is found in the conference. There is, however, not much speed—and this could be serious. The tackles will be Bill Stellmacher and Jeff Hardrath. Joel Heacock and Skip Diaz will be the guards and Al Frei the center. The defense is in much better shape. The front line is comprised of lettermen Ends Greg Hartman and Al East, Tackles Dennis Rozario and George Carr and Guards Dave Gould and Doug John. Russ Kuhns, a 205-pound junior, will play alongside O'Billovich. Conceivably Oregon State could overcome the line's slowness and make a second straight trip to Pasadena—but don't bet on it.

UCLA, California and Washington State all are moaning about manpower losses from 1964—a year when their combined records totaled 10 wins, 19 defeats and a tie. UCLA is without Quarterback Larry Zeno (1,688 yards total offense), California has lost Quarterback Craig Morton (185 completions in 308 attempts for 2,121 yards and 13 touchdowns), and Washington State is minus 16 lettermen—who were not particularly impressive in the first place. Also the schedules awaiting these three are as conducive to winning football as four-letter-word parades are to peace on the Cal campus. But as Darrell Royal of Texas once said, "If you're going to get beat you may as well get $60,000 or $70,000 for it."

Coach Prothro compiled a 63-36-2 record at Oregon State by punting on third down, watching games from the press box and calling the plays for his quarterbacks. He will do the same at UCLA but, for the time being, patiently. With Zeno, Halfback Mike Haffner and All-Coast Tackle Kent Francisco gone, it might be safer for Prothro to follow the progress of his Uclans against Michigan State, Penn State, Syracuse, Missouri, Stanford, USC and Tennessee from outside the stadium. John Richardson, 6 feet 2, 216 pounds, is perhaps one of the finest tackles in the West, but he cannot be expected to tackle everybody. Gary Be-ban takes over at quarterback and he has no experience whatsoever. Halfback Cornell Champion finished third in team rushing—but since Zeno was the Bruin offense, Champion picked up only 222 yards last year. Dick Witcher, at right half, is a fine receiver (15 catches for 243 yards and four touchdowns) and Fullback Paul Horgan is a good blocker. The Bruins are probably strongest at end, where Kurt Altenberg and Byron Nelson are well established.

California, even with Craig Morton, still finished 3-7 last year and, with the loss of his big man, Coach Ray Willsey has made some changes: Cal quarterbacks (whoever they may be) will roll out instead of dropping back, and the Bears will operate from a slot formation to pep up their running. A sudden change in opponents, however, would help more than anything. Notre Dame, Michigan, Washington, Penn State, USC, Oregon and Stanford are just too good, plus the fact that 6-foot-5, 248-pound Stan Dzura, an All-America tackle candidate, broke his leg and is out for the season. But Willsey promises the Bears will be "mentally tougher" than before. "The price to play football at California has gone up," he warns. Jim Hunt, a letterman who completed five of six passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, is battling Dan Berry, a junior-college All-America, for the quarterback job. "We spent as much time as we could with these men during spring practice," says Willsey. "This is the key to our offense." Also missing from the backfield are Halfbacks Tom Blanchfield and Jim Blakeney, who combined for 465 yards on the ground last year (not bad when you consider that Morton was throwing the ball most of the time). Fullback Tom Relles will play wingback in the new formation, and he was the Bears' top rusher with 519 yards. Willsey expects big things from the 5-foot-9 185-pounder—especially since the attack will feature more runs than it did before. Hunt and Berry, however, will have a couple of pretty good receivers to look for when they feel so inclined—Jerry Mosher (37 receptions for 427 yards and five touchdowns) and Relles (30 catches for 233 yards).

Washington state's Bert Clark has prepared himself—and the alumni—for the worst at Pullman. "We're not kidding ourselves," he says. "We certainly need more physical strength and more maturity." Youngsters like Dave Middendorf, a sophomore linebacker, and sophomore Halfback Ted Gerela will make life interesting, but a .500 season is at least a year away. Halfback Clancy Williams will be missed the most. He picked up 783 yards and led the Cougars in scoring with 36 points. He will be replaced either by Ammon McWashington or Huarleen Bain. Both have enough speed and moves to be starters. Larry Eilmes, one of the most capable short-yardage fullbacks in the league, was second to Williams in team rushing last year with 491 yards. End Rich Sheron will be the man Quarterbacks Tom Roth and Dave Petersen will have to look for in third and nine or second and 11 situations that, unfortunately for State, could arise all too often.

When the first-year players reported for spring practice at the AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Freshman Coach Jim Bowman greeted them with the stimulating word that "never have so many frosh players had the opportunity to step in and show what they can do." The cribbing scandal of last January plus graduation losses stripped the Falcons of 29 lettermen. "Our experience level is at the lowest it's ever been and we have always been struggling," shudders Coach Ben Martin.

The Falcons have nine experienced players to start with, and all won letters for the first time last year. There is not an experienced end nor an experienced center hovering about, and there is only one letterman at tackle, at quarterback and at fullback, respectively. The four top scorers are gone. Air Force will regroup around Quarterback Paul Stein, Halfbacks Jeff Jarvis and Bill Manning and Fullback John Ondrejko, and hope for the best against Nebraska, Stanford, Army, etc.

Stan Quintana, the WAC's Player of the Year and perhaps the best unknown player in the country this year, returns for another season at NEW MEXICO after accounting for 1,249 yards in total offense and averaging 5.4 yards per carry in the Wolfpack's pass-shy offense. The defenses will be geared against Quintana's bootlegs this time, however, and the Lobos may have to throw more. If so, Coach Bill Weeks must find a replacement for Gary Plumlee, the team's leading pass catcher in 1964. With only 16 lettermen returning, and All-Conference linemen like Guard Jack Abendschan and Tackle Wayne Tvrdik among the missing, it is fortunate last year's freshman team was one of New Mexico's best. "Our biggest problem will be to get that game experience for the newcomers without getting our brains beaten out at the same time," says Weeks. Tackle Dave Hettema, a 6-foot-4, 227-pound draftee of the San Francisco 49ers, is the best of the interior linemen. The offense, however, will depend upon the guards, John Anderson and Cal Jeter, who was shifted from end during the spring. End Woody Dame caught 13 passes for 231 yards last year, and the man who will play opposite him, Emilo Vallez, was the top player on the good freshman team. If too many opponents key on Quintana, junior Carl Bradford could be in for a big year at tailback. Bradford was third on the team in rushing in 1964 with 300 yards, and he gives the Lobos strong inside running in support of Quintana's roll-outs and bootlegs. A powerful transfer, Carl Jackson, should start at fullback, and Albert O'Neal appears to be set at wingback.

Arizona state's Frank Kush cannot be blamed for being upset. It was enough to lose Quarterback John Torok (2,226 yards total offense, second nationally, in 1964), but when junior Halfbacks Larry Todd and Henry Carr decided to sign pro contracts, Kush was almost speechless. At least Halfback Ben Hawkins is still around, and he reminds some people of Charley Taylor and Tony Lorick. "We have a lot of youngsters," admits Kush, "and they simply must go through the learning process."

"We're going to be a better ball club this year, I feel sure of that," says BRIGHAM YOUNG'S Tommy Hudspeth. He probably is right. The Cougars were 3-6-1 in 1964 despite Quarterback Virgil Carter's 1,542 yards in total offense and Fullback John Ogden's 770 yards rushing (tops in the WAC). The problem was too few players, but things should be different now. With 21 lettermen returning along with more junior-college transfers than ever in the school's history, Carter and Ogden have more and better help in tackling a schedule where four of the Cougars' five WAC games will be played on the road.

When he departed from IDAHO for Oregon State, Dee Andros did not leave Steve Musseau in such bad shape. A total of 23 experienced players are returning to Idaho, where the Vandals will be playing for the first time in the Big Sky Athletic Conference. Happily, Fullback Ray McDonald will be among them. The 6-foot-4 232-pounder missed the first three games last year but still set a new school rushing record for the season with 585 yards and a 4.4-yard average. The schedule, however, is about as easy to handle as McDonald is on an off-tackle smash. Idaho meets four AAWU teams, including Washington and Oregon, and therein lies the main problem of improving upon last year's 4-6 mark.

At University Park, N. Mex., everything is up to sophomore Quarterback Sal Olivas. NEW MEXICO STATE, 6-4 last year, is stocked with experience at every position. If Olivas throws as well as he did in the Aggies' two freshman games, the record could be more like 8-2, 9-1 or even 10-0.

Six of the football players who had to leave the Air Force Academy last year have enrolled at ARIZONA. The Wildcats would love to push them into action immediately, but all six must sit out a year, and that means Coach Jim LaRue must depend primarily upon a good group of sophomores to fill in for the 25 lettermen who graduated. Needless to say, Arizona will be green, but more optimistically, it will be big and green, and the Wildcats are getting accustomed to life at the top of the league. They will fight rather than go up in smoke, and with a little break here and a sophomore surprise there they just could stay up with the leaders. La-Rue promises a good defense and a better offense, and when he talks that way he is thinking in terms of bigness. With fellows like Co-Captain Jim Pazerski, 6 feet 2, 228 pounds, and a transfer, Steve Mass, 6 feet 4, 260 pounds, at the tackles, the Wildcats average 220 pounds per man in the offensive line—even with 185-pound Jeff Fries at left end. "We have better backfield potential than we had last year, too," says LaRue, referring to his 6-foot-2, 215-pound ex-marine halfback, Brad Hubbert. The way LaRue sees it, Hubbert will get Arizona the title if the defense keeps the games close. The burly, lacerating halfback ran for 115 yards in 11 carries in the spring game—and that was no accident. Junior Phil Albert, who missed all of 1964 with an injury, takes over at quarterback. He had a fine all-round spring and completed six of nine passes for 119 yards and one touchdown in the spring game. Co-Captain Tom Malloy at linebacker will key the whole defensive unit. LaRue sums up his team this way: "It might take a while for our youngsters to develop, but the talent is there. If they take charge right away, we could have a very good football team."

The Tigers of the UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC have decided they owe something to somebody on their schedule this year. They were shut out in four of their nine losses in 1964 and took some lacy trouncings along the way, among them 50-0, 40-0, 54-7, 42-6 routs. Only nine players are missing from that outfit and, though the Tigers will not win more than they lose, they will improve on last year's nightmare. To start with, Coach Don (Tiny) Campora has installed the I formation. He says he has done this to exploit the all-round abilities of Quarterback Tom Strain, now third among the school's alltime passers. Fullback Bob Erman led Pacific in rushing last year and should do it again. If Campora can strengthen the defense enough so it gives up just half the points it did last year (304), and the I does not buckle under Strain, the Tigers may be better than anyone expects.

ILLUSTRATION

MORLEY DRURY, USC, '27

PHOTO

FAST, HUGE AND ONLY A PUP

The best sophomore lineman in the West, or anywhere else for that matter, should be 19-year-old Tackle Ron Yary of USC. "Ron is as good as I've ever seen," says USC Coach John McKay, who has won and lost plenty of good players in the recruiting wars. "If he continues to develop, he'll be fantastic." Yary, who weighs 255 pounds and stands a shade over 6 feet 6, hardly fits the longtime image of the compact, quick Trojan linemen. "But Ron has far better movement than a boy his size and youth should show," says McKay. "He is fast and hard to move out, he's so strong." Yary grew up (indeed, he has not yet stopped growing) in Bellflower, Calif., where he was All-San Gabriel Valley tackle his junior year. "I played fullback as a senior, but I like tackle better," says Yary, who has no idea what his rushing average was. After a semester at Cerritos (Junior) College, where he returned to the line and made All-Metropolitan Conference tackle, Yary transferred to USC last February. McKay took one look at Yary and immediately made him a first-string defensive tackle.

Butting heads with Yary when Washington plays USC this fall will be 6-foot-3, 235-pound Bob Richardson, another swift sophomore tackle. Two-time All-State at Kailua High in Oahua, Hawaii, Richardson had his pick of just about any major college in the U.S. A Seattle boy before his family moved to the Islands, Richardson chose Washington. The Huskies, in turn, were delighted to give him a scholarship even though they had never seen him play. By the time spring practice ended, Richardson had beaten out a senior letterman for one of the starting offensive-tackle spots. "He played both ways as a frosh," says Freshman Coach Ed Peasley, "but his long suit is his offensive blocking ability."

New Mexico State, which sent Charley Johnson into the pros, has a sophomore quarterback in 19-year-old Sal Olivas, who may make the Aggies forget all about the Cardinals' star. "Olivas compares favorably with Johnson in his first year and is even ahead of him in some areas," says Coach Warren Woodson. High praise indeed for a lad who played quarterback in only a handful of games before this season. At Cathedral High in El Paso, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Olivas was a hard-running fullback, good enough to make the All-Texas team. (He also was all-state in basketball and lettered in baseball.) Cathedral did have a fullback pass play, and in one game Olivas threw 72, 64 and 52 yards for three touchdowns. That was enough for Woodson, who converted Olivas to quarterback. In two freshman games last fall, Olivas completed 16 of 33 passes for 417 yards and six touchdowns. This fall he will be the Aggies' No. 1 quarterback.