An Air of Difference for Illini Quarterback : George Leaves Woes of Purdue Behind

When quarterbacks go bad at Purdue, who do they call?

Georgebusters.

The Ghostbuster logo--a red circle and slash--was resurrected at Purdue in 1986 and the ghost was replaced by the No. 12 jersey of Jeff George, former Purdue and current Illinois quarterback.

And that was one of the milder indignations against George, who will lead Illinois in today’s 5 p.m. season opener against USC at the Coliseum.

Out in force at Purdue, the Georgebusters also put a sign on his dorm-room door, calling him a traitor and telling him to get out. They tossed firecrackers into his room.

Perhaps the low point came after George had already left school, but returned with his family to watch a game in the 1987 season.

As they got out of their car in front of a fraternity house, the family was mooned by frat brothers.

This, because George transferred from Purdue to Big Ten rival Illinois.

The problem began when George arrived at Purdue with such promise. He set national high school records for completions (543) and touchdown passes (45) at Warren Central High in Indianapolis and was picked Player of the Year by the Washington Touchdown Club.

But in his freshman season at Purdue, the results were mixed. He missed four games with an injury and threw only four touchdown passes, 15 interceptions and was sacked 21 times.

Then came the sacking by his schoolmates. It began after Purdue Coach Leon Burtnett was fired.

Fred Akers replaced Burtnett, and George saw Purdue’s future as a run-oriented team.

So, he decided to leave.

“Purdue was not the place for me,” George said.

He announced he was going to Miami, then reversed his field and landed at Illinois.

Enter the Georgebusters.

“I stayed close to my friends,” George said. “People who knew me did not act that way, but it goes with the territory.”

It got so bad, George moved home to Indianapolis and finished his freshman year at Purdue commuting 75 miles to school.

While still at Purdue, George tried to buy a Georgebuster shirt at the student bookstore.

They were sold out, but, not knowing who he was, a clerk asked if he wanted to be put on a waiting list. He declined.

“I would go through it all again,” George said. “I have no regrets. It was tough on me, but I progressed, not only as a player, but as a person. I learned to face adversity. After all that, I feel I can handle anything that is thrown at me on the field. It made me mature.”

Because scholarships are not allowed for Big Ten inter-conference transfers, George has to pay his own way at Illinois, about $7,000 a year. This one-time heavily recruited player became a walk-on.

He also had to start over.

Forced to red-shirt a year, George had to undergo yet another change in his personal game plan. He had come to Illinois to play for Coach Mike White. But in the interim, White resigned and was replaced by John Mackovic.

George wasn’t about to leave again.

“Jeff came to Illinois feeling he was going to play in a certain style of offense and, before he realized it, he was talking to a new head coach,” Mackovic said.

George adjusted and last season, his first, the Fighting Illini finished 6-5-1.

It was the first time in three seasons Illinois had a winning record and went to a bowl game--the All-American Bowl.

The big offensive star was running back Keith Jones, who led the team in rushing, receiving and scoring.

George completed 57.9% of his passes for 2,257 yards and nine touchdowns with eight interceptions. George had three consecutive games in which he threw for more than 300 yards. Illinois’ passing offense was second in the Big Ten.

It seemed as if George had finally overcome his biggest obstacle--the memory of Purdue.

“I thought he coped with trying to put himself in a good frame of mind, putting the Purdue experiences behind him as well as we could expect last year,” Mackovic said. “He worked through some feelings. There were times when it was tough.

“But he’s not someone who is critical of other people. He accepts the fact that some things just don’t turn out the way we expect. I find him far more relaxed this year.”

USC Coach Larry Smith finds the 6-foot-4, 216-pound George frightening.

“He’s got a super-quick release,” Smith said. “He’s got zip on the ball. He’s got a great touch for the short stuff and he puts it downtown. And he’ll scramble to avoid the rushers. I know he’s only a junior, but we’re playing one of the premier quarterbacks in the whole country.”

Still, George will be tested against a Trojan defense that returns 10 starters, including All-Americans Tim Ryan (defensive line), Mark Carrier and Cleveland Colter (secondary).”

“I’d rather go up against that challenge than up against some slouch team,” George said.

With Jones graduated, Illinois’ rushing game will be led by junior fullback Howard Griffith.

The Fighting Illini also return six of their top seven receivers, led by Steven Williams and Mike Bellamy.

The game could be determined by how USC’s freshman quarterback, Todd Marinovich, responds against an Illinois defense that returns two players from last year’s All-Big Ten first team--nose tackle Mo Gardner and inside linebacker Darrick Brownlow.

So look for the Trojans to stay on the ground.

Look for George to go to the air.

And look for Smith to come up with his own unit of Georgebusters.

USC Notes

Coach Larry Smith announced Sunday that Aaron Emanuel has beaten out Scott Lockwood and Ricky Ervins for the starting tailback spot. . . . Cleveland Colter has sufficiently recovered from last season’s knee injury to start in the defensive backfield. . . . Inside linebacker Scott Ross has not sufficiently recovered from a pulled hamstring, suffered two weeks ago. So Brian Tuliau will take his place in the starting lineup, but Ross is expected to see some action. . . . Quarterback Pat O’Hara, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week, has returned to the hospital for further surgery. Sunday morning, doctors took a piece of his hip bone and grafted it onto his shin bone at the spot he fractured to aid the healing process.

Jeff George, Illinois quarterback, missed several days of practice last week with a bruised elbow on his throwing arm, but says he has recuperated. . . . Even without an experienced quarterback, the Trojans have impressed the oddsmakers, who have made them a 14 1/2-point favorite today. . . . USC has also made points with the Pacific 10 Skywriters, a group of West Coast sportswriters who travel to all the preseason camps. The Skywriters have picked the Trojans to win the Pac-10 title for a third consecutive year, with UCLA second. USC’s Tim Ryan was named the best defensive lineman by the group and teammate Mark Carrier the best defensive back. . . . No reason for the Trojans to be overly optimistic. The Skywriters haven’t accurately predicted the Pac 10 champion in a decade. The last time they were right was 1979, when they picked USC.

Curtis Conway is back. The prep All-American quarterback from Hawthorne High recently announced he was going to Nebraska after being denied admission to USC when he failed to get the required minimum score on his Scholastic Aptitude Test. But now Conway says he has changed his mind, will sit out the year and work toward qualifying to be a Trojan. . . . Derrick Gachett, a USC reserve fullback, has left the team for personal reasons.