It Looks Grimm for the Redskins

If 300-pound William Perry can play running back, why can’t 275-pound Russ Grimm play quarterback? No reason at all, thought Washington Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs.

So it is that Grimm, a three-time Pro Bowl guard, will double as the third-string quarterback for the Redskins. He will be available if Jay Schroeder and Doug Williams both are injured. Gibbs made the move after third-stringer Mark Rypien was put on injured reserve with a bone chip in his knee.

Grimm, a six-year NFL veteran, was a quarterback at Southmoreland High School in Pennsylvania but abandoned the role once he enrolled at Pitt, which featured a quarterback named Dan Marino during Grimm’s senior year.

Gibbs said Grimm already has been taking snaps in practice.

“This is no joke,” Gibbs said. “If there’s a pass rush, so what? He’ll put the guy’s lights out. It would be the first time a quarterback won.”

Add Forgettable Quotes: Said Jack Buchovsky, personnel director of the Indianapolis Colts, when Herschel Walker signed with the Dallas Cowboys: “He’s not going to run over people in this league.”

Are the New York Giants still in the league?

Add Walker: Dallas safety Bill Bates, who played against both Walker and Marcus Allen while at Tennessee, said: “Herschel has been given some great ability. In his first game as a freshman at Georgia, he broke a good run and ran right over me. After he flattened me, he ran over three guys on our goal line.

“On the same type of play against USC, Marcus tried to jump over me. Fortunately, I caught his back leg and stopped him.”

Trivia Time: Who made up the Minnesota Vikings’ front four known as the Purple People Eaters? (Answer below.)

For What It’s Worth: “Ditka: An Autobiography” is No. 2 on the best-seller list in Chicago. No. 1 is “Fatherhood,” written by another former football player from the state of Pennsylvania, Bill Cosby.

While Ditka was becoming an All-American as a receiver at Pitt, Cosby was supplying comic relief as a running back at Temple. In 1961, he averaged 3.9 yards in 36 carries as the Owls went 2-5-2 against Kings Point, Bucknell, Muhlenberg, Lafayette, Buffalo, Hofstra, Delaware, Gettysburg and Toledo.

From Laker Coach Pat Riley, an 11th-round draft choice by the Dallas Cowboys even though he didn’t play football at Kentucky: “Tell Tom Landry I can still throw the ball 70 yards with a tight spiral.”

Can a college football star also be a star in the classroom? Of course. Here’s an all-star team from the NCAA academic All-American teams since 1952:

OFFENSE: WR--Lance Alworth, Arkansas, and Raymond Berry, SMU; TE--Dave Casper, Notre Dame; T--Dave Foley, Ohio State, and Keith Van Horne, USC; G--Brad Budde, USC, and Stefan Humphries, Michigan; C--Dave Rimington, Nebraska; QB--Fran Tarkenton, Georgia; RB--Alan Ameche, Wisconsin, and Pete Dawkins, Army.

DEFENSE: E--Bill Stanfill, Georgia, and Gerry Philbin, Buffalo; T--Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma, and Merlin Olsen, Utah State; LB--Sam Huff, West Virginia; Donn Moomaw, UCLA, and Jack Pardee, Texas A&M; DB--Gary Glick, Colorado State; Dale Hackbart, Wisconsin; Tim Foley, Purdue, and Terry Hoage, Georgia.

Trivia Answer: Jim Marshall, Alan Page, Gary Larsen, Carl Eller. Larsen later was replaced by Doug Sutherland.

Quotebook

Personnel Director Mike Hickey of the New York Jets, told that Dallas faces a problem working Herschel Walker into the same backfield with Tony Dorsett: “That’s like saying if you’re not well off, it’s not going to help you to win the lottery.”