How They Compare : Ismail Is a Memorable Flash From Notre Dame’s Past Whose Talents Can Be Used to Grade Conway’s Potential

The fastest pass receivers in football today aren’t all on NFL teams.

Two of the fastest--and most gifted--are elsewhere on the continent.

In alphabetical order:

--Curtis Conway, known to his associates as the Comet, is a USC junior who will face Notre Dame at the Coliseum Saturday as the season winds down for two of the nation’s most prominent intersectional rivals.

--Raghib Ismail, known as the Rocket, has spent the last two seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts.

Ismail and Conway. Speed and more speed, and talent, too.

Within the next few years, possibly as soon as next year, both will take it all into the NFL.

When that happens--when they can be compared in pro football--who will seem the abler?

Would you rather have the explosive Irish Rocket, a sprinter who can accelerate into high gear with his second step?

Or would you prefer the all-around Trojan Comet, who is even faster than Ismail, and more versatile than most pros?

The pick here is Conway. In less than a year as an every-down player, the Trojan flanker has shown the talent to become, as early as next fall, a starting wide receiver on most NFL clubs.

To be sure, turning pro that soon might well be a mistake for him. With more seasoning in college, Conway would feel more comfortable as a pro. Immaturity is no asset in matchups against veteran NFL defensive backs and special-teams players.

In 1993, moreover, Conway could be the leading Heisman Trophy contender after this first full year of national exposure at USC.

Those judging him from the sideline--his opponents, college scouts, pro scouts and others--are simply reporting what they see when they talk of Conway’s excellence.

His ability to scare the opposition on kickoffs and punt returns and to advance the ball on reverses will be judged by pro coaches as, principally, a bonus. What they want the most is what Conway does as a wide receiver.

He runs pass routes with much of the precision of a pro. He has the speed to get to the ball, the savvy to adjust to a deep pass, and the concentration to catch it over his shoulder if necessary. He competes aggressively for the ball on crowded fields. And he runs like a running back after making the catch.

In each of these areas, Conway probably has an edge on Ismail.

Where does the Rocket, runner-up in the Heisman voting two years ago, have the edge on him?

Some of us haven’t seen Ismail since he left the country. But remembering him from his Notre Dame days, he is an athlete who seems a bit quicker than Conway. He probably pulls away a bit faster after getting the ball.

At 5 feet 10 and 175 pounds, Ismail is more compact than Conway, who at 6-2 and 180, is nearly ideal for an NFL wide receiver.

And if Ismail is quicker, Conway is a tick faster.

A former state high school sprint champion--as well as a member of the 1992 USC track team that finished in the NCAA top three--Conway has a 100-meter best of 10.28 to Ismail’s 10:57. Their 40-yard times are said to be 4.28 for Ismail and 4.3 for Conway, although track experts are skeptical of all football numbers.

At the end of Ismail’s second season in Canada, football people are divided on how much the experience he gained there will help him in the NFL.

“Next year, at least, Rocket will be ahead of (Conway) as a football player,” veteran Ram executive Jack Faulkner said. “He will be far more experienced after two years on that wide Canadian field plus all those years at Notre Dame. (Conway) has really only had one season of football.”

Bob Ackles of the Phoenix Cardinals, the veteran chief scout who in his Dallas years recruited much of the Cowboys’ present division-leading talent, sees Ismail’s Canadian connection in a different light.

“I think he was a disappointment on that big field,” Ackles said. “With Ismail’s speed and the extra 15 yards of width they have in Canada, he should have done more than he did.”

Coast to coast, all NFL scouts, observing orders from Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, declined to judge Conway. They said that because of USC Coach Larry Smith’s antagonism toward the pros, there’s an NFL agreement not to mention Trojan players until they leave school.

The embargo doesn’t apply, however, to Pro Football Weekly’s personnel expert, Joel Buchsbaum, who said: “Conway is the more natural receiver. Ismail is more explosive.

“They’re so close in explosiveness, though, that I’ll take Conway.

“It’s like in baseball, where two pitchers might have fastballs (clocked at) 98 and 100 m.p.h. If only one guy has a curve, that’s the pitcher you want. (Conway) can do more.”

On the day he turns pro, Conway will be subject to the NFL draft, unless, by then, there is universal free agency. In contrast, Ismail belongs to the Raiders, who drafted him fourth in 1991.

“The Rocket will give us one of the all-time speed corps,” said Raider General Manager Al LoCasale, noting that the club already employs Willie Gault, Tim Brown, Sam Graddy, Alexander Wright and other sprinters.

Ron Wolf, general manager of the Green Bay Packers, said: “It will be a surprise if (Ismail) isn’t an immediate sensation.”

Another NFL general manager, Dick Steinberg of the New York Jets, said: “When I watch Ismail, I wonder about one thing, his college background. At Notre Dame, he was a cameo player. He wasn’t a full-time wide receiver like (Conway). At some Notre Dame games, he was only in for a dozen plays.”