Sport: TIME'S All-America Team: Pick of the Pros

Vince Lombardi would have loved the football class of '74. The college players concluding their undergraduate grid careers this winter are an uncommonly rugged group. TIME'S annual poll of professional scouts to determine the athletes who will be most sought after in the N.F.L. draft has turned up an abundance of intimidating talent. The way the pros saw the season, the best players were linemen and linebackers—big rough performers schooled in the grunt-and-groan tradition that Lombardi refined to savage perfection at Green Bay.

The scouts' selections:

Defense Ends: (1) ED JONES, Tennessee State, 6 ft. 9 in., 268 Ibs., and (2) JOHN DUTTON, Nebraska, 6 ft. 7 in., 248 Ibs. Viewed as the second coming of Bubba Smith, the huge Oakland Raiders (former Baltimore Colts) defensive end who crunches quarterbacks like crackerjacks, Jones figures to be the pros' No. 1 draft choice this year. With 4.7 sec. speed in the 40-yd. dash, he is "frighteningly intense," say the scouts—a "real door jam" against the offense. He led Tennessee State to an undefeated season this year (TIME, Nov. 12). Button is the man "who takes the play out of the play action pass." Deceptively agile for his size and "very tough to fake or trap on a rollout," he has been a standout for Nebraska for three years. Tackles: (3) DAVE GALLAGHER, Michigan, 6 ft. 4 in., 245 Ibs., and (4) BILL KOLLAR, Montana State, 6 ft. 3 in., 251 Ibs. The scouts do not know whether Gallagher, a pre-med student, will be a doctor or a football player. If he picks shoulder pads, at least temporarily, the quick aggressive Michigan star is expected to be a formidable pass rusher. "You may pass around him, but you won't pass over him," says one scout. The wonder about Kollar is that Woody Hayes ever let this native Ohioan get away. Another top pass rusher, he is described as "quick as a mountain lion and strong as an ox." The scouts also like (5) CARL BARZILAUSKAS, 6 ft. 6 in., 270 Ibs., from Indiana, known as a killer against the run.

Linebackers: (6) RANDY GRADISHAR, Ohio State University, 6 ft. 3 in., 236 Ibs., (7) WAYMOND BRYANT, Tennessee State, 6 ft. 3 in., 236 Ibs., and (8) ED O'NEIL, Penn State, 6 ft. 3 in., 220 Ibs. Grad-ishar is one Ohioan who did not escape Hayes. The "best Big Ten linebacker in three years," Gradishar is a punishing tackier capable of penetrating any block, and, say the scouts, "he has that great pro quality—the ability to cover somebody else's mistake." This year he made 71 unassisted tackles. Bryant rates as the top prospect for middle linebacker. "Look for him and you'll find the ball," say the scouts. "He might be better than a bunch of middle linebackers who are already regulars in the pros." O'Neil, who roams the field from sideline to sideline, is a superb pass rusher. When he is not blitzing the quarterback, O'Neil can contain the sweep and cover against passes. He had a hand in 72 tackles this year.