Syracuse Passes All Praise to McNabb

The college recruiter saw something in young Donovan McNabb that did not show up on game films or in statistics, something that suggested McNabb would make a fine quarterback.

“I was in his home three times,” George DeLeone, a Syracuse assistant coach, said. “Here’s one of the best high school quarterbacks in the country and, every time I went in that house, he was washing the dishes.”

Scrubbing pots might seem unrelated to reading a two-deep zone, but DeLeone saw a connection.

“Tremendous discipline,” the assistant said. “He wasn’t a big shot and he wasn’t spoiled.”

Five years later, much has changed.

McNabb now ranks among the best college quarterbacks in the country, leading No. 18 Syracuse against No. 7 Florida in the Orange Bowl on Saturday. He is a four-year starter and a three-time Big East Conference offensive player of the year. He finished fifth in the recent Heisman Trophy balloting.

But the senior quarterback still conducts himself with all the pomp and arrogance of, well, a dishwasher. Call him “drab McNabb.”

“I try to put my team in position to win,” he said. “I just want to come out of that [Orange Bowl] game knowing I played well.”

That won’t be easy against the ninth-ranked defense in the nation, a squad that holds opponents to 286 yards and 14 points a game. The Gators have been weakened by the suspension of defensive end Tim Beauchamp and cornerback Dock Pollard, but they still have one of the nation’s best secondaries with Teako Brown and Tony George.

Syracuse will attack with a mixture of option and pass that has befuddled opponents to the tune of 430 yards and 42 points a game. The offense begins and ends with the quarterback.

As the nation’s seventh-rated passer, McNabb completed 62% of his throws for 2,134 yards, 22 touchdowns and only five interceptions. At 6 feet 3 and 220 pounds, he also had the size to run for 438 yards and eight more touchdowns.

“He has the good knack to get things done in the right place,” Florida defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. “He does all the things you’d want a quarterback to do.”

Just as important, from the moment McNabb took the helm as a redshirt freshman, he showed the quiet maturity to lead. Coach Paul Pasqualoni calls him a “role model” and wide receiver Kevin Johnson says he is “the type of guy you like to have on your team.”

The type who tells a few jokes in practice and does the occasional impression of his coach in the locker room but doesn’t show much in public. Faced with barrages of questions this week, McNabb has talked plainly about how much he enjoys being around teammates. He wondered if he’d have time for the beach. And what of the vaunted Gators?

“They’re a very talented bunch,” he said. “It’s special for us to go up against a team like that.”

There have been questions about the Heisman too, a recurring theme since the Downtown Athletic Club declined to invite McNabb to the presentation last month. His coaches cried foul at the time, arguing that their man threw 10 fewer interceptions than Kentucky’s Tim Couch, who was invited. They pointed out that McNabb had a better efficiency rating than UCLA’s Cade McNown, also in attendance.

How does McNabb feel?

“Nothing is going to stop my progress,” he said.

Still, the snub reinforced a lingering suspicion that McNabb is overlooked as a passer because his team runs the option. He does not get a chance to put up the numbers that Couch, McNown and Kansas State’s Michael Bishop do.

“Does this kid come in once and ask to throw more?” DeLeone asked. “That was never said. All he talked about was how he was going to help the team.”

The team seems to be the one, slight crack in McNabb’s calm exterior. To get any rise out of him whatsoever, mention that Syracuse has fallen short of expectations, coming into each season with national championship hopes, always finding a way to lose crucial games.

Ask about the season opener at Tennessee, when a controversial pass interference call led to the Volunteers’ game-winning field goal.

“That game really was something we wish we could have back,” he said with a hint of emotion. “You wish you could have that one call.”

Or talk about the perception in central New York that no one takes Syracuse seriously. His words come a little faster.

“People didn’t want us in the Orange Bowl,” McNabb said. “We’re just going to go out there and prove to the world that this Syracuse team is one of the best teams in the country.”

But he doesn’t get any more heated than that. In the end, it seems, a stoic nature is his strength.

“What it allows him to do, when he gets into the fire of the game, he just plays,” DeLeone said. “That’s what separates him. His calmness.”

The composure to throw up during a timeout, then run back onto the field and throw a touchdown pass to beat Virginia Tech on the last play of the game. The confidence to do what McNown could not, leading a team with a highly suspect defense to a victory over Miami, passing for two touchdowns and running for three more.

“I’m going to do whatever is best for the team,” McNabb said.

This is what DeLeone saw in him five years ago. A still-waters-run-deep quality. He saw determination.

“Because of his character and all his intangibles, he has meant more to his team than a lot of those hotshot quarterbacks,” the assistant said. “He knows how good he is, but he’ll never say it.”

Just a polite answer. Maybe a plug for his teammates. You can almost hear dishes clanking in the background.