Football: How the Pro Scouts Vote

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College football, like wine, has its vintage years. And what kind of a year was 1967? Well, to the fans it was certainly exciting. To sportswriters and pollsters it was bewildering—as one after another of the favorites went down to defeat, making a mess of the national rankings. To pro scouts, who pay no attention to either the crowd or the polls, it was a little disappointing in some respects. Where were the great quarterbacks of yesteryear? The best runners in college ball were juniors and therefore ineligible for the pro draft. Good defensive backs were hard to find. But last week, as they studied their notes and prepared for the draft, scouts from the 25 pro teams agreed that in many ways 1967 was a very good year indeed. Rarely had there been so many big, tough, fast linemen to choose from, or such a wealth of sticky-fingered pass receivers. For those positions, there was more competition than ever in the balloting for TIME'S annual pro-picked All-America.

OFFENSE

¶QUARTERBACK: Gary Beban, 21, U.C.L.A., 6 ft., 195 Ibs. Anybody who gains 5,358 yds. in three seasons of college ball figures to impress the pros; yet the scouts have mixed feelings about Beban. They applaud his "natural poise and confidence" and his "ability to make the big play when it's needed"—but they deplore his lack of height and his preference for rolling out rather than passing from the pocket. A better pro prospect, say some scouts, is Alabama's Ken ("Snake") Stabler, who is 3 in. taller than Beban, completed 60% of his passes in the tough Southeastern Conference. Stabler is an oddity because he is lefthanded, but the pros like his strong arm, quick release and thread-needle accuracy.

¶HALFBACKS: O. J. Simpson, 20, Southern Cal., 6 ft. 1 in., 202 Ibs., and Leroy Keyes, 20, Purdue, 6 ft. 3 in., 199 Ibs. Since Simpson and Keyes are juniors, the pros will have to wait for what one scout calls "two of the finest football players I've seen in 15 years." A 9.4-sec. man in the 100-yd. dash, Simpson was college football's No. 1 ground gainer with 1,415 yds. and an average of more than 5 yds. per carry. He can also throw passes and catch them—and a lot more. "If a coach put him in as a defensive back," says one scout, "I'm sure that in ten minutes he'd be the best defensive back on the field. He simply can do everything." So can Keyes. In Purdue's 28-21 victory over Notre Dame, he kicked off, played halfback and flanker on offense, and cornerback on defense. "Shifty power, great speed and acceleration," notes a scouting report. "Could play either offense or defense in the pros right now."

¶FULLBACK: Lee White, 21, Weber State, 6 ft. 4 in., 240 Ibs. "A sleeper," says one scout, apparently figuring that White would go unnoticed by the other bird dogs because he played for the small Ogden, Utah, school. Not so. A Little All-America, White carried the ball an average of 28 times a game, ran for 276 yds. against Idaho. "Doesn't have great outside speed," says a scouting report, "but really tough inside. An excellent blocker on both runs and passes. Will be among the first four draft picks."