College Football: Where the Money Will Go

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The college halfback takes the handoff, slices off tackle, cuts right and scoots down the sideline 60 yds. for a touchdown. The crowd goes wild—all except a handful of tight-lipped men scattered around the stadium, jotting cryptic phrases in notebooks. They are the professional football scouts, and they know all about that particular halfback: too small, slow acceleration, can't cut left. The pros would gobble him alive. The player they watch is the 260-lb. offensive tackle who opened the hole—or maybe that 240-lb. defensive linebacker who fought off three men before he was knocked down. "There are a lot of boys playing good college football," says one chief scout, "and there are a few men—a very few."

Last week, while preparing for the Nov. 28 annual pro draft, the scouts opened their books on the men who will be getting the big money—and big it will be. With the upstart American Football League challenging the staid old N.F.L. for talent, a promising young man can write his own ticket—bonus of $25,000 and up, free car, free house, $15,000-a-season salary, twice what rookies earned a few years ago. TIME'S pro-picked All-America:

OFFENSE

∙ QUARTERBACK: Craig Morton, 21, University of California, 6 ft. 4 in., 215 Ibs. California had a dismal 3-7 record this year, but the scouts couldn't care less; nearly all chose Morton as their first-string QB. "You name it, he can throw it—short, long, fast, slow, drop back, roll out, standing up or falling down." Running close behind Morton is unbeaten Alabama's Joe Namath, 21 (6 ft. 2 in., 194 Ibs.), who has been handicapped this season by a banged-up knee but is still rated "the best drop-back passer in college." Another prime prospect: Notre Dame's John Huarte, 21 (6 ft., 180 Ibs.).

∙ HALFBACKS: Gale Sayers, 21, Kansas, 6 ft., 195 Ibs., and Donny Anderson, 21, Texas Tech, 6 ft. 3 in., 207 Ibs. Sayers has gained 2,675 yds. in his three varsity seasons, and a scout put it this way: "He's quick, man, quick. Don't blink your eyes or you'll miss him." Anderson, a draft-eligible junior, gets the same raves: "Has superspeed with the power of a fullback and possesses that little extra elusiveness a great back needs. Something like the Vikings' Tommy Mason, but faster."

∙ FULLBACK: Tucker Fredericlcson, 21, Auburn, 6 ft. 2 in., 221 Ibs. The consensus: "The best running back in college ball." The pros count on him for those short yardage situations, say he is strongest banging away "inside where the running is toughest." Better still, he can protect his quarterback on passes. "This kid is a bone-crushing blocker," says one scout. "He'll cut you in half with his shoulder."

∙ ENDS: Larry El kins, 21, Baylor, 6 ft. 1 in., 187 Ibs., and Jack Snow, 21, Notre Dame, 6 ft. 2 in., 215 Ibs. The pass-catchingest end in the country last year when he had Don Trull to do the throwing, Elkins was less effective this season, but the pros think he will shine again. In Snow, scouts think they have another like Baltimore's Ray Berry: "He can catch the ball, even a badly thrown ball, has good speed, great fakes and the change of pace needed to shake off tacklers."