COLLEGE FOOTBALL ’86 : COACHES, PLAYERS, TEAMS, TRENDS TO WATCH THIS SEASON : THE QUARTERBACKS : The Target This Year’s Crop Has Set Its Sights on Is the Heisman Trophy

Vinny Testaverde was in the University of Miami weight room one day, standing in front of a mirror watching himself do the dumbbell curls that make it possible for him to throw a football 70 yards, flatfooted, when he found himself staring at the Heisman Trophy insignia on his T-shirt.

He thought to himself: “If I want to win that Heisman Trophy, I’d better do a couple more sets.” So he did. He liked the effect that T-shirt had on his workout that day, so he wore it every time he went to the weight room. Which was often. He calls it is Inspiration Shirt.

Testaverde, the strong, tall New Yorker who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting as a junior, is one of the favorites to win it if his senior season is as dazzling as his last one.

There’s an actual Heisman Trophy in a glass case in the entryway of the University of Florida athletic department. Steve Spurrier won it in 1966. Twenty years later, a 20-year-old junior quarterback named Kerwin Bell stops to admire it when he thinks no one is looking.

He’d be embarrassed if someone thought he was counting his chickens before they’d hatched. This son of a Florida tobacco farmer firmly believes that the work comes first, the payoff later. And he says: “I just think it’s unbelievable that I could be considered for the Heisman Trophy. I know I’m a longshot. But, golly, it’s an honor to be a longshot.”

There is no Heisman Trophy on display at the University of Alabama. Bart Starr didn’t win one. Ken Stabler didn’t win one. Joe Namath didn’t win one. And senior Mike Shula isn’t promising to win one, either.

But Shula, the son of Miami Dolphin Coach Don Shula, has a knack for winning football games. And if he leads Alabama to a Southeastern Conference title this year, he’s sure to be in the running.

Oklahoma has a little quarterback with nowhere near the pro quarterback potential of Testaverde, but with just as much chance of winning a Heisman Trophy somewhere down the road. Jamelle Holieway, a 5-9 sophomore from Banning High School, isn’t going to impress anyone with his passing statistics, but he’s going to win a lot of games with his sense for running the option and his speed for rolling up his own yardage.

As a freshman, Holieway led the Sooners to a national title. He’s the perfect quarterback for Oklahoma, and his success has to rank him with the country’s best quarterbacks.

John Paye is the perfect quarterback for Stanford, too. He was born and bred to the job and he’s bright and good-looking and has the mega-yardage passing totals, as expected. But the lack of success at Stanford weighs against him in the overall picture.

VINNY TESTAVERDE

Vinny Testaverde was so impressive as the University of Miami quarterback last season that his coach, Jimmy Johnson, said that he wouldn’t trade him for any quarterback at any level--and that includes former Miami quarterbacks Jim Kelly and Bernie Kosar.

When Testaverde arrived in Miami from Elmont, N.Y., he found himself playing behind Kelly and Kosar, and it seemed as if he might never get a chance to play. He considered transferring. He considered switching to tight end. (After all, he is 6 foot 5, and one of the strongest players on the team. He runs a 4.8 in the 40 and has a 30-inch vertical jump.)

But, first and foremost, Testaverde is a quarterback. “Quarterback was my position ever since I was a little kid,” he said. “When you’re not playing--that’s so hard. You think about another position. But that would be going back on your first priority.

“I had to believe that I was going to do what I came here to do. I think all good quarterbacks have that kind of belief. It’s a cockiness in a way, but it shows itself as confidence. It was a long few years while I waited for my turn. I didn’t enjoy it at the time. But now I’m thankful that it happened. It kept me humble. My head’s not so big that I can’t walk through doors.”

After the ’84 season, and months before any official announcement, Kosar told Testaverde that he’d be skipping his last year of eligibility to put his name in the NFL draft. So Vinny stuck around.

Last season, his first as the starting quarterback, Testaverde completed 61.4% of his 352 passes for 3,238 yards and 21 touchdowns in leading Miami to a 10-2 season. He had 11 straight games of passing for 200 yards or more.

Howard Schnellenberger, former Miami coach, said it was a tough call when he made Kosar the starter ahead of Testaverde in 1983.

Testaverde said that when he decided to go to Miami, he had no idea he was picking a quarterback school. “All of a sudden Kelly and Kosar made this another BYU,” he said. “It’s good in a way because it brings attention here and makes people want to know, who’s the next after Kelly, or after Kosar.”

But there are other comparisons.

Earl Morrall, the former Miami Dolphin quarterback, has likened him to Terry Bradshaw because of his physical capabilities.

No wonder all the talk about a Heisman Trophy and a top spot in the NFL draft.

Testaverde said: “The important thing right now is to keep everything in the right perspective, in the right order. Team goals have to come before individual goals. If you’re doing great as a team, everything else falls into place. There’s a thing I read just about every night that reminds me, ‘You can always better your best.’ That’s what I have to do this season.”

KERWIN BELL

Kerwin Bell had every reason to believe that he wasn’t meant to play major college football when not one Division I school recruited him out of his tiny high school in Day, Fla., a farming community in the northern part of the state.

But he didn’t believe it. He walked on at Florida and decided that he’d just work his way past the seven scholarship quarterbacks ahead of him.

“You’re not treated just the best when you’re a walk-on,” Bell said. “It’s old shoes and torn up shoulder pads. I dressed out for four home games my redshirt year, and I had a different number every time. I couldn’t even tell my parents which number to look for on the sidelines, because I didn’t know until they handed me the jersey.”

So why did he put up with all that? Because he knew, from the first few days on the field, that he could compete with those seven scholarship players.

“I wasn’t getting much encouragement from the coaches, but I knew that I was getting better and that I would be ready if they ever gave me a shot,” Bell said.

“You’ll hear a lot of guys complaining that the coaches aren’t giving them a fair chance, but if they spend too much time complaining about things going wrong instead of making things go right, they’re not going to be able to make the most of that break if it ever comes.”

Bell made the most of his break, when four days before the 1984 opener the last of the ranking quarterbacks went down with a knee injury. Bell opened against Miami, under the direction of Bernie Kosar. Bell held his own, too, but Kosar pulled out the victory with last-second heroics.

Bell kept that starting spot and led the Gators to their first SEC title with a 9-1-1 record. The title was later taken away because of recruiting violations that Bell obviously wasn’t involved in.

He was named SEC player of the year as a freshman after completing 98 of 184 passes for 1,614 yards, 16 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions.

Last season, as a sophomore, he led the Gators to another 9-1-1 season and was second in the nation in passing efficiency. He completed 62.5% of his 288 passes for 2,687 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Again, the Gators were ineligible for the conference title or the Sugar Bowl. Sanctions also include a TV ban that has kept Heisman voters in the rest of the country from seeing the young man whose teammates call him “Country.” That TV ban will be in force during the regular season this year, too, but will be lifted for his senior season.

Meanwhile, Bell will be plugging along. The 6-3, 210 junior works even during spring break. Instead of hitting the beaches, he goes home to help his father plant tobacco.

“I think my background helped me handle being a walk-on,” Bell said. “One thing about being a walk-on, we wasn’t never given anything. We had to earn everything we got.

“That’s the way my parents taught me, that you have to work hard if you want to obtain anything. I’ve never had nothing just given to me.”

MIKE SHULA

Mike Shula wins games for Alabama. He’s one of those guys always hearing about what he can’t do or what he’s not. And, yet, when the game is on the line, he finds a way to pull it out.

He did it again in the Kickoff game last week against Ohio State. Through three quarters he played a game that even he described as “poor, very poor.”

But he directed two fourth-quarter drives to give Alabama a 16-10 victory over Ohio State.

Typical. Last season he directed a 71-yard scoring drive in the final minute to beat Georgia, 20-16, and he took the team 45 yards in seven plays to set up the last-second field goal that gave Alabama a 25-23 victory over Auburn.

He finished last season ranked fifth nationally in passing percentage after completing 138 of 229 passes for 2,009 yards. His 60.3% completion rate was better than any of the great Alabama quarterbacks of the past. His 16 touchdowns in the regular season also was an Alabama record.

Alabama Coach Ray Perkins has absolute confidence in his 6-2, 198-pound senior quarterback. While he doesn’t rave on, comparing young Shula’s physical prowess to the great quarterbacks of all time, he does compare him, mentally, to Dan Fouts. And he doesn’t hesitate to point out that Shula has “common sense, which is about all football is.” Perkins said: “He has great poise. He can think in a heated situation. He doesn’t get overemotional. The two people who can’t afford to get emotional are the head coach and the quarterback.”

Which just might explain Shula’s poise. He has spent his life as an understudy to an NFL head coach--his dad. As a youngster, Shula had the enviable opportunity to sit in on meetings with the Dolphin quarterbacks, where he watched the work habits of Bob Griese. Shula said: “He always prepared himself completely for each game. I’ve always tried to follow his example.”

Shula’s background and associations didn’t make him a shoo-in for the starting position at Alabama, even though it played a part in his choosing Alabama in the first place.

In a phone conversation after Mike’s final high school season, Don Shula casually reminded Perkins (who had played as a receiver under Shula with the Baltimore Colts) that his son was hoping to play college ball. Mike eventually chose Alabama over Indiana, Duke and Louisiana State.

But Mike played in just one game as a freshman and in eight as a sophomore, starting only six. He didn’t really take over until last season, and he helped turn a 5-6 team into a 9-2-1 team that beat USC, 24-3, in the Aloha Bowl.

This season, Alabama is one of the favorites to win the SEC title.

Along the way, Shula will go head-to-head with Bell in a game at Gainesville., Fla., Sept. 20.

JAMELLE HOLIEWAY

Jamelle Holieway, the flamboyant little bundle of confidence who runs Oklahoma’s wishbone, has several goals this season. First among them, he wants to see that the Sooners repeat as national champions. While he’s at it, he wants to prove that his super showing last season was for real.

As a freshman, he took over when Troy Aikman (who is transferring to UCLA) broke his ankle at Miami during the only game the Sooners lost. Holieway then started the final eight games, averaging 95.7 yards a game for a total of 861 yards, the fourth-highest ever for a Sooner freshman and the best ever for a rookie quarterback. His 324 yards against Missouri set a school record. He was named the All-Big Eight quarterback.

“I know that a lot of people thought last year was a fluke,” Holieway said. “But I like to prove people wrong.”

A lot of people thought that a 5-9 quarterback would never make it on the college level. When he came out of Banning High, he was offered lots of scholarships from schools that wanted him as a defensive back--including UCLA and USC--but just a couple schools promised him that he could stay at quarterback.

“Colorado even told me they’d change their offense for me,” Holieway said. “But, you know, when you’re being recruited, people will say anything.”

This kid from the big city, the one with the spring in his walk and the diamond in his left ear, is wise to the ways of the world.

For example, on whether he’s not quite 5-9, as he says, or 5-11, as the Oklahoma media guide says: “Those things always lie. They even lie in high school.”

Which is why the pros do their own weighing, measuring and timing. Holieway isn’t kidding himself on that count, either. He figures that no matter how great a quarterback he is for Oklahoma, his chances of being a pro quarterback are “slim and none.” He said, “Are you kidding? I can hardly see over my line now to pass. How am I going to see over a pro line? That’s when I’m going to have to make the switch to defensive back.”

Holieway did manage to pass for 517 yards and five touchdowns last season, but the Sooner offense that was going to open up some under Aikman is going back to a very pure form of wishbone under Holieway. He ran the veer at Banning, and he proclaims it, “My kind of offense.”

Holieway said: “We don’t have to pass. With this offense, if I make the best read possible, we’re going to make somebody look stupid. It’s very difficult to stop a good option team. I enjoy that.

“The trick to playing the option is not to rush through it. As long as I have the ball, I have the bait. I hold that bait until they bite, and then, one way or another, we get the yards.”

Holieway has a full complement of running backs capable of rolling up yards, but he’s never hesitant to do the job himself.

Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer said late last season: “He’s the best we’ve ever had here.”

Oklahoma opens against UCLA Saturday.

JOHN PAYE

John Paye has been a starter at Stanford for the last three years. Going into his senior season, he has already rolled up 5,408 yards passing, completing 58.7% of his passes.

Last season, he led the Pac-10 in passing and was the total offense leader. But he wasn’t even named All-Pac-10 quarterback. He was second team, largely because Stanford had a record of 4-7.

Paye started eight games as a freshman, when the Cardinal was 1-10. He was injured most of his sophomore season, but was responsible for three victories as the Cardinal went 5-6.

Not one winning season. Of course, Paye knew what he was getting into when he signed on. There was never any question that he would play for Stanford.

“I felt like it was a kind of natural progression to Stanford,” Paye said. “I knew it would be a tough situation and that there would be some frustrating times. I just give it all I can.”

It was a natural progression not only because Paye was a good student, a state-record caliber passing quarterback and a star at Menlo High School, right next door to Palo Alto. It also was a natural because his father played football for Stanford, and Paye started attending Stanford games when he was a youngster.

It was meant to be.

Paye had a built-in loyalty to Stanford, but he also wanted to go where he could play right away, play against good competition and throw the ball 30 times a game.

He knew going in that when Jim Plunkett won the Heisman Trophy, it was after leading Stanford to the Rose Bowl.

“I’m not really worried about winning the Heisman,” Paye said. “I know that an important ingredient in winning it is to play for a successful team that is on TV a lot. I really can’t worry about that. I just go out there and try to get better.

“I’m trying to learn a lot of football so I can adjust better as a pro.”

Paye says that his coach, Jack Elway, has taught him a lot in the last couple of years. Elway is the father of John Elway.

Coach Elway can’t say enough good things about Paye--as a person, a student, a competitor, a leader and as a quarterback. He especially likes Paye’s accuracy as a passer, even when he’s throwing long.

Paye, who is 6-3, 195, has proven his straight athletic ability by starting for the Stanford basketball team all three years, too. Paye was the first freshman to start in both basketball and football since Quinn Buckner did it at Indiana in 1972.

Whether Paye will play basketball this season remains to be seen. He’ll decide after the football season. But because he plans to play in the East-West Shrine Game Jan. 10, it’s not likely he’ll play basketball.

This is an important football season for Paye. “It’s an important year for the team, too,” Paye said. “We have a lot of talented young players along with some talented older players. We have a good blend.

“I’m aware of the pressure on me this season, but I’m also aware of the fact that I have good players around me,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

OTHERS TO WATCH

There are other outstanding quarterbacks returning for the 1986 season, including: Jim Harbaugh, the No. 1 ranked passer in the nation in ‘85, who led Michigan to a 10-1-1 record and runner-up spot in both wire service rankings; Jim Karsatos, the Ohio State quarterback from Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton who was ranked fourth among NCAA passers, and junior Todd Santos of San Diego State, the nation’s No. 12-ranked passer.

HOW THEY DID STATISTICALLY IN 1985

KERWIN BELL

PASSING RUSHING TOTAL OFF. G Cmp Att Int Pct Yds TD Car Yds Avg TD Yds YPG TDr 11 180 288 8 .625 2687 21 54 -218 -4.3 0 2469 224.5 21

JAMELLE HOLIEWAY

PASSING RUSHING TOTAL OFF. G Cmp Att Int Pct Yds TD Car Yds Avg TD Yds YPG TDr 9 24 58 2 .414 517 5 161 861 5.2 9 1378 153.1 14

JOHN PAYE

PASSING RUSHING TOTAL OFF. G Cmp Att Int Pct Yds TD Car Yds Avg TD Yds Avg TDr 11 271 405 13 .669 2589 10 74 -41 -0.6 5 2548 231.6 15

MIKE SHULA

PASSING RUSHING TOTAL OFF. G Cmp Att Int Pct Yds TD Car Yds Avg TD Yds YPG TDr 11 138 229 8 .603 2009 16 52 28 0.5 1 2037 185.1 17

VINNY TESTAVERDE

PASSING RUSHING TOTAL OFF. G Cmp Att Int Pct Yds TD Car Yds Avg TD Yds YPG TDr 11 216 352 15 .614 3238 21 68 -158 -2.3 4 3080 280.0 25