THE NFL DRAFT : A FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH : Sanders’ Success Helped Open Floodgates to Underclassmen; Today, 38 Juniors to Try Luck

As a 20-year-old college junior, Barry Sanders came out of Oklahoma State last summer, carrying the Heisman Trophy and a football, to make the NFL game look easy.

Despite his inexperience, Sanders, the running back in a run-and-shoot offense, averaged 5.3 yards a try, led the NFC in yards gained, became the Detroit Lions’ MVP and finished as the league’s consensus rookie of the year.

Not bad for a junior. Hardly anyone else, in fact, ever did all that after a big year as a senior.

Nor was the feat lost on other underclassmen. And so as the NFL’s 55th annual player-distribution process begins at 9 a.m., PDT, today, a record 38 college juniors will head for the pros in what may be remembered someday as the Barry Sanders memorial draft.

Several of the 38, conceivably, are as talented as Sanders, who will shortly begin his second pro season after his first year at Detroit’s Oakland University, where, continuing as a role model for junior dropouts, he toiled as a transfer student this spring.

If not as gifted as Sanders, some, nonetheless, will be drafted in the first round. As many as a dozen juniors could go in the first two rounds, starting with Illinois quarterback Jeff George, the No. 1 pick.

Other juniors preferred over most seniors are USC linebacker Junior Seau, Alabama linebacker Keith McCants, Florida running back Emmitt Smith, Houston quarterback Andre Ware, Houston linebacker Lamar Lathon and USC safety Mark Carrier.

The Indianapolis Colts signed George after a trade with the Atlanta Falcons, who won the top draft choice for the second time in three years.

That’s been the fashion in recent Aprils--signing the year’s No. 1 pick a day or two before the draft process begins.

George signed a six-year, $15-million contract, but it remains to be seen if he can play in the NFL. Using a high pick on an inexperienced junior is somewhat like using a blind date to find a wife or husband.

But this is a year in which, according to many scouts, much of the real quality is coming out of the junior class. They say there are only three Pro Bowl types in the entire draft--two of them juniors, Seau and McCants, plus senior running back Blair Thomas of Penn State.

George doesn’t rank with Seau, McCants and Thomas--in the collective wisdom of the scouts--but Cortez Kennedy might. A Miami senior, Kennedy is a 290-pound defensive tackle.

Dick Steinberg, the general manager of the New York Jets, would take Kennedy over almost any junior.

“Drafting juniors is a bad idea whose time has come,” Steinberg said. “The problem is that there’s no way to know if they’ll ever develop. The NFL doesn’t want juniors. They aren’t mentally ready, they aren’t physically ready, and their skills are not refined.

“Many of them do have the skills, though. The juniors have made this into a super draft--the best we’ve had in eight years--even if it is a grab bag.”

There’s so much uncertainty that the scouts can’t even agree on a junior as visible as George.

The NFL’s two New York general managers, for example, Steinberg and George Young of the Giants, differ pointedly on the young athlete’s value.

Steinberg is generally pro-George. “Physically, he’s got everything, including the intangibles,” the Jet chief said. “He’s the sort to win championships for you.”

Young, however, is in the majority, which tends to be lukewarm on George. “He is one of the best quarterbacks on the board this year,” the Giant general manager said.

One of the best? And he’s the top pick? What a year.

THE PASSERS

There are plenty of talented running backs and linebackers available, but long before 1999, the passers drafted today will have made a bigger impact than any other group.

This is the view of many NFL scouts, who have concluded that the quarterback class of 1990 could even surpass that of 1983, which began with John Elway and ended with Dan Marino.

Said Young: “We’re seeing more quarterbacks than ever this year--more that will eventually be (successful) players down the line.”

From Dallas, Bob Ackles, the Cowboys’ chief scout, said: “Schools that send up a quarterback every century or so are in it this year. Take Mike Buck of Maine.”

Ackles, Steinberg, Buffalo’s Bill Polian and others won’t be surprised if five or six starting quarterbacks come out of the following group today:

Jeff George, 6-3, 212, Illinois (junior): Although he could use another year or two of college seasoning, George “has been well trained by (Illini Coach) John Mackovic,” Steinberg said. “He has the size, arm and touch.”

Andre Ware, 6-2, 206, Houston (junior): Downgraded at first this year because he played in the run-and-shoot offense, which showcases average passers, Ware, the Heisman Trophy winner, has moved up in the ratings with every tryout for the scouts.

Scott Mitchell, 6-6, 229, Utah (junior): A left-hander, Mitchell throws “a nice, catchable ball (while) rolling to his left,” according to Joel Buchsbaum, Pro Football Weekly’s personnel expert. If so, he will trouble NFL defenses.

Cary Conklin, 6-4, 215, Washington: Steinberg said: “This man has the size and all the physical tools.” The draft’s best senior quarterback, Conklin lost $1 million or more when the juniors came out.

Peter Tom Willis, 6-2, 188, Florida State: Well drilled for five years on Bobby Bowden’s passing team, Willis has the polish that the juniors lack. He also has “most of their tools (but) not their size,” Steinberg said. Buchsbaum calls him “one of the best, if not the very best, (quarterback) prospect.”

Troy Taylor, 6-3, 200, California: Smart, slender, Taylor has the good passing mechanics that most of the others would like to have.

John Friesz, 6-4, 210, Idaho: From Dallas, Ackles singled out Friesz as one of the day’s top two or three quarterback prospects.

Mike Buck, 6-3, 220, Maine: Highly rated for his arm, poise, judgment and mobility, Buck has had a knee problem.

Major Harris, 6-0, 208, West Virginia: “Despite his size, Harris rates in this group somewhere,” Ackles said.

Tony Rice, 6-0, 200, Notre Dame: The team that takes Rice will get a superb running back who can become an NFL passer.

Tommy Hodson, 6-2, 190, Louisiana State: They say he needs only consistency.

THE RUNNERS

Quality NFL running backs are in such short supply to begin with, and tend, secondly, to wear out so fast, that most pro teams value a bumper crop of runners above all other kinds of draft prospects. So, today will be Christmas for many NFL coaches.

“There are more good backs than anything else in this draft,” Young said. “Of the 38 juniors coming out, 15 are running backs.”

Named below are the best of about 75 above-average candidates, as voted on by Steinberg, Young, Ackles and two other scouts who asked not to be identified.

“Of course, none of us are telling the truth,” Young said. “No writer should believe any scout in the last three weeks before the draft.”

The consensus:

Blair Thomas, 5-10 1/2, 194, Penn State: One coach said: “If Thomas hadn’t missed a full college season with a knee injury, they would be comparing him now with Hall of Famers.”

Emmitt Smith, 5-9 1/2, 200, Florida (junior): Buchsbaum calls Smith a Walter Payton type.

Harold Green, 6-1, 215, South Carolina: “We’re considering Green,” said chief scout Joe Mendes of the New England Patriots, who draft third.

Darrell Thompson, 6-1, 219, Minnesota: The durable Gopher has the acceleration that offensive coaches want.

Rodney Hampton, 5-11, 210, Georgia (junior): As a sophomore, Hampton was good enough to alternate with last spring’s No. 1 Steeler, Tim Worley.

Steve Broussard, 5-6 1/4, 200, Washington State: Broussard has great speed, hands and power.

Anthony Thompson, 5-11, 207, Indiana: The first-round quality runs deep enough, perhaps, to include the Heisman runner-up.

Reggie Cobb, 5-11, 215, Tennessee (junior): Cobb has first-round talent and off-field problems.

LINEBACKERS

Of the linebackers on the board, “The top 10 or 12 divide into two groups,” Ackles said. “Good, and great.”

Some of them:

Junior Seau, 6-2, 240, USC (junior): After growing up in Samoa, Seau learned to speak English at 7, and he is still an inexperienced player--though quite possibly the class player of this draft.

Keith McCants, 6-4, 258, Alabama (junior): Equally unpolished, but with even more talent, McCants apparently has an attitude problem.

Others:

Lamar Lathon, Houston junior, and the following are linebackers with presumed first-round talent: Chris Singleton, Arizona; Darion Conner, Jackson State; James Francis, Baylor; Percy Snow, Michigan State and Ron Cox, Fresno State junior.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Only one stands out, and only three--about half as many as in other years--seem to have first-round skills:

Cortez Kennedy, 6-1 1/2, 290, Miami: Said Steinberg of this probable high first-round choice: “Kennedy is the kind of defensive tackle you have to account for on every snap.”

Reynaldo Turnbull of West Virginia and Ray Agnew of North Carolina State are other candidates.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

No two scouts have the same opinion of the best defensive backs in what they say is another slim talent field. The leaders:

Ben Smith, Georgia; Mark Carrier, USC junior; Pat Terrell, Notre Dame, and James Williams, Fresno State.

THE OTHERS

The pickings are even slimmer in the offensive line and at tight end. As for wide receiver--where the Philadelphia Eagles have a need--Coach Buddy Ryan said: “There’s no wide receiver out there that I’d give a No. 1 for.”

The leaders:

Offensive lineman: Richmond Webb, Texas A&M.;

Tight end: Eric Green, Liberty.

Wide receiver: Reggie Rembert, West Virginia.

THE AREA

Of the dozens of draft-eligible players watched last season on Southland football fields, Seau and Carrier of USC are expected to be the first chosen today.

The No. 1 UCLA pick, the scouts say, will be Charles Arbuckle, one of the top three tight ends in the draft, or offensive lineman Frank Cornish.

Others:

USC: backs Leroy Holt and Aaron Emanuel, tight end Scott Galbraith, receiver John Jackson, linemen Bill Schultz, Dan Owens, Tim Ryan, Brad Leggett and Brent Parkinson, linebackers Delmar Chesley and Michael Williams, and defensive backs Cleveland Colter, Ernest Spears and Dwayne Garner.

UCLA: back Mike Farr, defensive lineman Mike Lodish; offensive linemen Keith Jacobson and Rick Meyer, and linebackers Marvcus Patton and Craig Davis.

CS Fullerton: back Mike Pringle, lineman Reggie Redding, defensive lineman John Bavaro, linebacker Harold Jones.

CS Long Beach: receiver Derek Washington, linemen Cornelius Harrell and Dave McKinnon.

CS Northridge: lineman Barry Voorhees, defensive back Willie James.

NFL Notes

The teams expect to complete five rounds of the draft today. They have agreed to begin no new round after 6 p.m., PDT, and will finish Monday, starting at 7 a.m. . . . Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will preside at draft headquarters, New York’s Marriott Marquis Hotel. The draft will be televised by ESPN. . . . Only 25 teams will participate in the first round. The three others--Dallas, Denver and Phoenix--used their picks in last summer’s supplemental lottery.