| | |
|
A tale of two quarterbacks Morgan, Huard each have something to prove
Posted: Friday December 25, 1998 10:34 AM
HONOLULU (AP) -- The inaugural Oahu Bowl -- the back end of Friday's bowl doubleheader -- has two record-setting quarterbacks headed in opposite directions. On one side will Blane Morgan, who will soon be trading in his football uniform for an Air Force officer's uniform. The other side has Brock Huard, tabbed as a "can't miss" prospect headed for the NFL. Morgan is the trigger man for the ground game of the 16th-ranked Falcons (11-1), who ranked third nationally with 266.8 yards per game. He rushed for 508 yards and 15 touchdowns and also passed for 1,144 yards and 10 touchdowns. His aerial efficiency rating of 162.6 set a school record. At the other end of the spectrum is Washington's Huard, a prototype pro quarterback at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds. A year ago, Huard's statistics were eye-catching -- especially to NFL scouts. He passed for 2,140 yards and 23 touchdowns. This year, hampered by injuries that kept him out of two games, his totals were 1,924 yards and 15 TDs. Although he has one more season of eligibility, Huard has made it known he will make himself available for the NFL draft. The Falcons have the ranking and better record, but to Morgan, he and the Huskies (6-5) have something to prove. "A lot people are going to be watching; probably a lot of people who haven't seen our team in the past," he said. "We haven't had a lot of national exposure. A lot of people will remember a team by their last game and what they did in that last game. "A lot of people probably remember our last season by us getting killed by Oregon [41-13 in the Las Vegas Bowl], so they probably thought we weren't that great of a team. But we did have a great team. We just had a bad game." Coach Fisher DeBerry is counting on Morgan. "In the two years that he's been a starter, we're 21-3 and I think the way you measure the success of a quarterback is not in stats like number of yards, but whether he gets his team in the end zone and wins the game," DeBerry said. Huard wants to go out with a win. "For two years, I was surrounded by some great talent -- 10 of our guys were taken in the NFL draft," he said. "To have gone out last year, I wouldn't have been able to deal with the adversity at the NFL level. You see how mature Peyton Manning was this year and how he'd been through all the ups-and-downs, winning big games, losing tough games, having pressure and expectations. "In this position, you need to be mentally tough and keep fighting. That's what it's been for me this year: a fight and a struggle."
| |||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||
Calling the shots: Morgan (left) has led Air Force to a 11-1 record, while Huard's Huskies have limped to 6-5