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

AS Christmas vacation nears, graduating college seniors are busily interviewing for that perfect job with the perfect company. Yet for a small group of seniors, plans for the immediate future are based not on a personnel man's questions but on their own violent demonstrations. They are the college-football players who hope that they have shown enough size, speed, skill and strength to be selected by professional football scouts to play for pay.

Since Walter Camp popularized All-America college teams at the turn of the century, they have become as common as cheerleaders. Yet to most of the All-America athletes, the only thing that counts is the cool assessment by the pro scouts. Since 1958, TIME'S All-America has been based on reports from the scouts. Several Heisman Trophy winners have not made the team; a good many small-college players who never made anyone else's All-America have lived up to the scouts' estimates.

Herewith, TIME'S eleventh All-America--as picked by the head scouts of the National and American Football League teams.

OFFENSE

. QUARTERBACK: Terry Hanratty, Notre Dame, 6 ft. 1 in., 210 Ibs. "Hanratty has it all," says one scout. "He can throw long or short, soft or hard, on a high trajectory or on a line." Others praise his faking and peripheral vision. They say that he has "the natural cockiness of a good team leader." His faults--a penchant for "throwing into a crowd," and tipping off a pass play by dropping his right foot back just before the ball is centered--are correct able. His recent knee injury is a minus, but could work as a plus by exempting him from that other draft--military service. Always on the lookout for taller, stronger quarterbacks, some scouts prefer Greg Cook, Cincinnati, 6 ft. 4 in., 205 Ibs. He led the nation in yards gained by passing (3,272). The scouts like the way Cook's head sticks up like a periscope above the mauling linemen to survey his receivers downfield.

. RUNNING BACKS: O. J. Simpson, Southern Cal, 6 ft. 2 in., 210 Ibs.; and Paul Gipson, Houston, 6 ft., 205 Ibs. The scouts are calling 1968 the Year of the Running Back. Reason No. 1 is Heisman Trophy Winner Simpson, everybody's All-Everything. The pros liken his bulling power, his marvelous moves and his explosive speed to a cross between Jim Brown and Gale Sayers. That means, as one scout says, that "he is the greatest college runner in 10-20-50 years--unbelievable!" Noting that OJ. ran the ball an average of 35 times a game this season, the scouts talk in awed tones about his "incredible durability." Reason No. 2 for the Year of the Running Back is Gipson, who, in any normal season, would undoubtedly have won the same high praise now reserved for Simpson. As it is, he is rated as a strong, slashing runner and a pass receiver with more moves than a belly dancer.

. FLANKER: Leroy Keyes, Purdue, 6 ft. 3 in., 205 lbs. The most versatile of the college backs, Keyes seems to have just one shortcoming: there is only one of him. The scouts, citing the way he has demolished Notre Dame on both of fense and defense, are touting him for almost every position on the field except head lineman. Most, however, agree his speed, deceptive moves and pass-grabbing skills would be put to best use as a flanker. "He's so great," says one scout, "a mean coach would use him both ways until he burned out."

. ENDS: Ted Kwalick, Penn State, 6 ft. 4 in., 230 Ibs.; and Ron Sellers, Florida State, 6 ft. 4 in., 187 Ibs. Kwalick is heralded by one scout as "probably the finest tight end since Mike Ditka came out of Pittsburgh." He can go deep for a pass, and once he has the ball "turns upfield and just knocks somebody over. He'll not out-nifty anybody, but with his size he bowls over the de fense like duckpins." Some scouts say Kwalick will have to learn a bit more about blocking to become a real pro star. Sellers, the top college receiver this season, with 86 receptions, is a swift, shifty end already running the kind of pass patterns the pros prize. His strongest asset: "a complete disregard for personal welfare when going after the ball." A close runner-up is Jim Seymour, Notre Dame, 6 ft. 4 in., 205 Ibs. Though a few pro teams question his speed, one scout lauds his "knack of keeping his eyes on the defender and on the ball at the same time."

. TACKLES: George Kunz, Notre Dame, 6 ft. 5 in., 245 lbs.; and Dave Foley, Ohio State, 6 ft. 5 in., 250 Ibs. Whenever Notre Dame needed clutch yardage, a running back took off behind Kunz's blocking. A former tight end, he has the strength and agility to "pick up a big defensive end and whip him to the outside," says one scout's report. "He pass protects like a pro now." Foley is a "big, tough, mean lineman" from a school that specializes in turning out pro tackles. The scouts predict that he will win a starting assignment on any team that drafts him.

. GUARDS: John Skinners, Xavier, 6 ft. 3 in., 255 Ibs.; and Rufus Mayes, Ohio State, 6 ft. 5 in., 250 Ibs. Few college guards are big enough to hold their own in the pros, and the pros usually fill the position with the fastest and most agile college tackles. In the case of Shinners, however, this need not be true. He is a stick-out at guard, with "great maneuverability, good lateral movement and the speed to pull out and lead sweeps. He's a winner--period." Mayes is a converted tight end with "excellent balance, quick feet and grand size." He is still growing, and the scouts are convinced that his best football is still ahead of him.

. CENTER: John Didion, Oregon State, 6 ft. 4 in., 244 Ibs. Centers with pro potential are hard to find in college ball, but Didion comes closest among the 1968 seniors. A crisp, sure blocker, he is adept at opening up the middle, cutting off the blitz or dropping back for pass protection. One scout says that Didion "gets on the linebacker faster than any other center I've seen."

DEFENSE

. ENDS: Ted Hendricks, Miami, 6 ft. 8 in., 222 Ibs.; and Bill Stanfill, Georgia, 6 ft. 6 in., 242 Ibs. On the field, Hendricks looks like a basketball player who accidentally put on the wrong uniform. Confident that he can easily pack another 25 or 30 Ibs. onto his lean frame, scouts predict the "Stork" will continue to "worry hell out of a backfield" with his long-arm way of deflecting passes, and snagging ballcarriers from behind. Stanfill is a relentless de fender who specializes in flattening quarterbacks. Nothing fancy about him, say the scouts, "just a big strong boy who gets to the ballcarrier."

. TACKLES: Joe Greene, North Texas State, 6 ft. 4 in., 274 Ibs.; and Rolf Krueger, Texas A & M, 6 ft. 4 in., 240 Ibs. Pumping his arms and legs like pistons, Greene is a kind of fearsome onesome. Says one scouting report: "He's tough and mean and comes to hit people. Good killer instincts. Mobile and hostile." The consensus on Krueger is that he is "a natural." He is "rugged, durable, covers the outside very well and has lots of desire," just like his brother Charlie, a tackle for the San Francisco 49ers. His coaches at A & M say that he is more advanced than his brother was at a comparable age, and the scouts feel that Rolf is good for at least ten years of frontline duty as a pro.

. LINEBACKERS: Ron Pritchard, Arizona State, 6 ft. 1 in., 226 Ibs.; Bill Enyart, Oregon State, 6 ft. 3 in., 235 Ibs.; and Bob Babich, Miami (Ohio), 6 ft. 2 in., 225 Ibs. Pritchard is "a great hitter who can crunch the wide play" and has the speed to stick with a receiver coming out of the backfield. One scout ranks him with top Pro Linebackers Tommy Nobis and Dick Butkus. The only difference "is that Pritchard is one inch shorter." Enyart, who also rates high as an offensive fullback, is "a hardnosed kid who can make those snap judgments that give him a jump on the play." Known for his bone-jarring tackles, he lives up to his nickname: "Earthquake." Babich is an equally deadly tackier, but with an extra shot of adrenaline. He may be the fleetest of college linebackers, and the pros laud his ability to "always be where the ball is."

. CORNERBACKS: Jim Marsalis, Tennessee State, 6 ft. 2 in., 190 Ibs.; and Tom Maxwell, Texas A & M, 6 ft. 2 in., 192 Ibs. After four years of playing man-for-man defense--a rarity among college teams--Marsalis figures to make the transition into the pros with ease. He has "sprinter's speed plus the mean streak you need to play corner." Maxwell, in the terse, tight lingo of the scouting reports, is: "Fast, with good hands. Covers a lot of ground. Likes to play it tight. Tough." If he were not a junior, another top contender is Jake Scott, Georgia, 6 ft. 1 in., 190 Ibs. He is a blue-streak threat on punt returns. When he becomes available, some scouts contemplate using him as a running back because of "his skill and instinct for using blockers."

. SAFETIES: Tony Kyasky, Syracuse, 6 ft. 4 in., 210 Ibs.; and Roger Wehrli, Missouri, 6 ft., 187 Ibs. Kyasky has a "good nose for the ball." A solid, consistent performer, he is big enough to fight it out with a tight end, quick enough to stop an off-tackle play. Wehrli will probably be cast as a free safety because of his knack for homing in on the ball. "He's a tough kid," says one scout. "Maybe too tough. I've seen him knock himself cuckoo on tackles." The nation's top punt returner, with an average runback of 11.7 yds., he can go all the way with an interception.

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