Miami Still Hasn’t Broken Quarterback Mold

The man from Atlantis is the latest model to roll off the quarterback assembly line at Miami, which in this decade has produced Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde and Steve Walsh.

But Craig Erickson, whose hometown of Atlantis is only about a 90-minute drive from the Miami campus, differs from his predecessors in at least two areas: He is a Floridian and he is not Catholic.

“But I went to a Catholic high school,” said Erickson, who was raised a Presbyterian but nevertheless matriculated to Cardinal Newman High in West Palm Beach. “And I know how to say a Hail Mary.”

He also knows how to throw one.

Gary Stevens, Miami’s former offensive coordinator, told the Miami Herald that Erickson will be the best of the Miami bunch.

“I’m not saying he will get the best results, because that depends on a lot of other people and factors,” Stevens said last spring after becoming offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins. “But Craig will be the best because he has everything put together that the others had individually--head, heart, arm and feet.”

Said Miami’s new coach, Dennis Erickson, who is not related to his quarterback: “He can be as good as anybody I’ve ever seen.”

Erickson’s potential is such that Erickson the coach lost little sleep last spring when Walsh, an All-American who was 23-1 as a starter, announced that he would forgo his senior year to enter the National Football League.

And his reputation is such that highly regarded Jeff George, after announcing two years ago that he would transfer to Miami from Purdue, changed his mind when he heard about Erickson. George wound up at Illinois.

“Any time you lose somebody of (Walsh’s) caliber, it’s going to hurt you, but I think Craig Erickson is going to be a great player,” coach Erickson said. “Personally, I don’t think we’ll lose a stride.”

The outgoing Erickson, a 6-foot-2, 196-pound junior, is said to be stronger of arm, quicker and more mobile than Walsh.

“Steve always had that hesitation--’If a guy breaks open, can I get it there?’ ” said Dale Dawkins, the Hurricanes’ No. 1 returning receiver. “With Craig, you know he can get it there. And he’s accurate. Steve’s throws went up and over like a loop. But with Craig, you come out of a break and the ball’s right there.”

Unlike the reserved Walsh, Erickson is also known to be pugnacious. Last spring, believing that teammate Cortez Kennedy had given him a cheap shot, Erickson tried to fight the defensive tackle, who outweighs him by more than 100 pounds. His teammates call Erickson “the Jim McMahon of college football.”

“He likes to flex in the mirror,” said offensive tackle Mike Sullivan.

Said Dawkins: “His attitude is, ‘If you don’t like me, so what?’ ”

Although he saw only mop-up duty in his first two seasons, Erickson completed 55.8% of his passes for 686 yards and eight touchdowns.

In Erickson, Miami believes it has another winner.

Erickson believes it, too.

“Any quarterback who takes this job expects to be great,” he said. “I feel I can be an All-American. I think I fit the mold.”

The assembly line rolls on.