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6
Tech’s Famous Football Coach Fails to Select a Single Yellow Jacket for HiLTeam
HEISMAN’S ALL-SOUTHERN ELEVEN
Player Position XCeight College
MorganCenter2l4. . .Vanderbilt
Thigpenßight Guard .... 185 . . . Auburn
Barker Left Guard .... 191 . . Mississippi
T. Brownßight T ackle . . 181 .. . V anderbilt
Meadows Left Tacklel76. . . Aub urn
E. Brown . . .... Right Endl6o . . . V anderbilt
Gillem Left End 160. . .Sewanee
SikesQuarterback . . 162. . .Vanderbilt
HardageLeft Halfl67. . .Vanderbilt
ReulleFullbackl92. . MissA-M
By J. W. HEISMAN
THE Southern Intercollegiate Athletic association embraces
the following members: Alabama, Auburn, Howard, Geor
gia, Mercer, Tech, Tulane. L. S. U., University Mississippi,
Miss. A. &. M.. Mississippi college. Milsaps College, Trinity. Clem
son. Wofford, TheCiadel. University of Florida. \ anderbilt, Sewa
nee. Tennessee, College of Charleston. Texas A. \|.. and three
colleges in Kentucky.
Excluding the Kentucky and
Texas colleges on lhe ground of
geographical remoteness my sec
lections will bo confined to teams
representing the above colleges.
Center Again Goer
To Vanderbilt.
THE first-class centers of the year
have not been as numerous as here
tofore, and 1 am going to seriously
consider but four of them. These are
Adams, of Mississippi: Dutton, of L. H.
XT.: Loeb, of Tech, and Morgan, of
Vanderbilt.
Adams and Dutton are much alike in
size, general ability and style of play.
They are excellent snappers, know the
possibilities of their position, and are
grand football players. Either of them
would prove entirely acceptable In the
position on any team in the South
land. They are experienced linesmen,
and play with great vigor. It would be
a hard task to decide which Is the bet
ter of tin two.
Loeb, of Tech, is all this —lacking one
thing, and that is weight. At first
thought it would seem absurd to dis
cuss for this position n man who weighs
but 155 pounds. Yet Loeb is possessed
,f such tremendous energy, such abso
lutely indomitable fighting spirit, and
such splendid vitality that he com
pels consideration; he overcomes a han
dicap of from ten to twenty pounds in
an opponent by these factors with ease.
Thus, while differing from the other
two in general style, he ranks on a pat
with them, and a selection from one of
the three would be just as difficult
(and just as easy) to make as one from
the first two. 1 will say for Loeb that
when it tomes to pure grit he merits
the highest possible ranking.
Morgan Good
Heavy Man.
Morgan, of the Commodores, is the
man who helps me out of my diffi
culties, for he puts It a shade on the
others. This is in large part due to
the fact that he is many pounds heav
ier than any of the other three, weigh
ing. as he does, about 220 pounds. A
good big man is surely better than a
good little man. and that’s all there is
to it. If Morgan couldn't do arty of
the things that the other trio do. it
would be a different case. But you can
certainly find no fault with Morgan's
enapping, nor his charging and block
ing. nor yet his tackling and generally
fine spirit in the game. And when you
add his high-grade experience to the
list of his other good points, there is
‘\left nothing to discuss. Morgan would,
1 think, make any team in the country
at center.
* * *
Guards a Puzzle
To Coach Heisman.
THE selection of the most suitable
pair of guards for our team is a
profound puzzle. Hardly a Southern
team is without at least one man who
has some claim cm this position.
Probably the best of the lot is Thig
pen. of Auburn. This chap is well
Qualified in every respect to hold down
the job. and it Auburn were not so well
fortified with tackles 1 daresay we
would se< him playing this position on
the Drang' ami Blue lineui. Guards
have little opportunity to show off or
pull brilliant stutity Steadiness and
good, eonsistetit, hard work are the
filings tout are needed in i man if ho is
t<> play the position to the satisfaction
of his coach' - These qualities Thig
pen possc-se- to an eminent degree,
along with lots of wv.ght. strength, ex
perience and knowledge of the inside
fine points of the |<osition. Few. 1
think, will be disposed to differ with
this estimate of th- man. or his tight
to a position
The man for the other flank of our
center is indeed a problem. Consider
ing merely the men who have played
at the guard position all season. 1
would have little trouble in selecting
Casaanova. of Missi< it>i>i A anil M.
This big fellow also 'can < dm every
natural qualification f. .r u< h a posi
tl
\
(kill 1 I ■
blit. and Schiilette nf i I
|jL former ol these is I , \ , ....
■Ug&ef . th, lutl'.
Daves I eliminate on the ground of
lightness and some lack of experience;
while the la tter must be dropped on the
ground of lack of general* speed—and
he, too, needs a little more seasoning.
Both have put up a splendid game and
deserve special commendation.
But to be perfectly frank about it, J
do not consider any of these three quite
ready for places on an all-Southern. and
my team would really be too tar beloe
standard at that spot were we to use
one of these men this year.
Switches Tackle
To Guard.
The difficulty is rounded by selecting
one of the numerous exceptionally good
tackles and putting him in the posi
tion, This may not seem quite fair to
strictly guard candidates, nor would' I
do it In years when 1 considered the
regular guards of the year able to hold
their own and maintain a standard of
play reasonably up to that of the rest
of our team.
It is particularly advisable that we
this year switch a tackle into the
guard’s place, on account of the fact
that this all-S. I. A. A. represents, in
general, the best rounded-out eleven
players of the year, and to exclude any
one of at least three tackles that can be
named wouldn ot only work a great
hardship on that one man. but would
make our team look like a chain with
•me weak link when w« had plenty of
good, strong links lying around idle
that we could insert at the weak spot
with the greatest ease.
Now. I do not say that this substi
tution would be possible or advisable
at every or any old position. Thus it
would be a wild guess to say that a
good guard would make an equally good
fullback, or that a fine halfback would
do equally well at snapper. But guard
and taikle are ntlrely alike In their
work, the only difference being that
tackle Is a harder place to play suc
cessfully than guard, requires more ex
perience and agility and, generally
speaking, takes a better man to play it.
But, this admitted, it follows clearly
that if a man can play tackle success
fully he can certainly Play an entirely
satisfactory guard.
Barker at Left Guard.
For these reasons I have decided to
put Barker, of Mississippi, at left
guard. This man weighs 190 pounds,
has played exceptionally well at Tackle
for three years, and is able to tun 100
yards in 10 1-2 seconds. He Is one of
the fiercest tacklers to be found any
where, and backs up a line In faultless
fashion. Now, how can such a player
be kept off my team merely because
there are two other men who play the
tackle position about as well as he
does? And when there is no satis
factory regular guard to nominate for
our second guard position?
And the reason I want the other two
men to whom I refer for regular tackles
on both offense and defense Is that they
do their best work in the line, while
Barker is a star of the first magnitude
when It comes to backing up the line
in secondary defense. Playing the
guard’s position on offense, -he could
be drawn back when it came to de
fense and play in that .secondary de
fensive line. He and Reulle, of Mis
sissippi A. & M.. would make the best
backers-up of any men of the year.
This would leave Morgan and Thigpen
to hold thing? steady in tin middle of
ibe line, and would be a capital ar
rangement. I let It go at that.
• • »
Tackles Also
Give Trouble.
\ FTER much careful observation,
thorough inquiry and thoughtful
consideration, I have come to the con
clusion that Tom Brown, of Vander
bilt; Meadows, of Auburn, and Barker,
of Mississippi, are the three best tac
kles of the year.
It is with much reluctance that 1 r
b i t Dobbins, of Sewanee, and Shipp, of
Vanderbilt, both of whom have done
remarkably tine work for men in their
first year on a college learn; and 1 suf
fer equal mental spasms in setting
Lamb, of Auburn, and Kelley and
Il iyay. of Tennessee. Lamb has not
b'-en ii t|),. best of condition this year
his gaim lias, inconsequence, not
"ten quite as good straight through us
it w;i“ last season. Tile Tennessee tac-
■k es art about tie lx -i men of that
,i' ». I ..ey a'i hard workers, have the
j lice s- '.q v,« arnt am. al - born fight, rs
! 'e gUI ■
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. SATURDAY. NOA’EMBER
A BIT OF HEISMAN DEFENSE BY TECH
( MKKXs IS v
' A liikKa 11/
W Imlk A- / JBe . I
"■ <■ ' x A’VJiFsr
\ J/'
The Yellow •l;i"kets’ light lor .%. • Y
wards held >■> well that tintdiv -—This photograph was snapped
the Clemson attack was forced Io hy a Georg'ian camera expert at
practically hurdle over them, ' the I’ech-iieorgia game.
sition did I not have Barker on my
hands; while at tackle they ire shunt
ed oft because of the fact that they
have not had the same experience as
the other men 1 have named, either
with or against high-grade teams.
Tom Brown Great Player.
I am satisfied no one will argue wit it
me about Tom Brown's fitness for a
tackle’s commission, for he lias been
one of the mainstays of the Vanderbilt
line for several years. There seems no
limit to his ambition to Improve and
to learn all the football there is to
know. His build for the position Is
ideal, and he has a full and perfect
working use of his hands —that faculty
so rare among Southern linemen. Su
perb on making openings, he is an even
better man when it comes to defensive
work, and we must look upon him as a
well-nigh finished linesman.
Meadows, of Auburn, is not quite as
heavy a man as I would like to have at
tackle, and it might be beter were ho
shifted to guard, leaving Barker to
come out to the tackle’s place. Either
of them Is quite quick enough for the
place. Meadows' forte is in accurate
diagnosing of the play, coupled with
simultaneous action on tie judgment.
He has a fine knack of knifing through
and nailing the runner in his tracks
with a clean, low tackle. Altogether
he appears to be the best lineman Au
burn has this season, and that is say
ing much when we reflect what a high
grade lot of forwards these ate. Mead
ows will do evry well.
* * •
Sewanee and Vandy
Get the End Berths.
T?OR the end positions there are quite
* a number of men who stand out
well above the average. These Include
Robinson, of Auburn; Conklin, of Geor
gia; Vandegraaf. of Alabama; Pounds,
of Florida; Gillem. of Sewanee, and E.
Brown, of Vanderbilt.
For defensive purposes 1 would not
ask a better man than Robinson. He
has weight and strength and is excep
tionally clear-headed on sizing up a
play. And he plants himself in such a
manner as to make it a mighty hard
tiling to get him off hi.- feet. This
makes It possible so. him to handle a
heap of interference and still gel t..e
runner himself.
Conklin, of Georgia, is much the same
style of plater, though he comes in
faster to smash interference i probably
only a difference of detail in team sys
tem). But his judgment is almost
equally infallible, and he is one of the
surest tacklers to be •found anywhere.
Pounds, of Florida, is as shifty, nifty
and altogether brilliant a player so:
his inches and ounces as could be
found. On no two downs does he play
his position the same, but uses his
judgment as to just where and how to
play each attack by itself. He is ex
ceedingly clever in handling forward
passes, and he can spill mote ends go
ing down field under punts than any
other man 1 have seen this season. ll■
is too light for consideration in the
present connection, but deserves, none
the less, a Wo'’d of praise.
Gillem, of Sewanee, is one of-our
best players. H. bus the necessary
weight, speed and expert, nc . lie lias
the footballer’s fighting instinct. H< is
a . ai
i.d.tW >. I »txt . , I
"«’i
HEISMAN'S 1911 TEAM
Player Position , College
MorganCenter,Vanderbilt
Peacockßight Guard Georgia
i Metzger .Left Guard Vanderbilt
Lambßight Tackle Auburn
Freeland. .Left Tackle Vanderbilt
Walton Right End Mississippi
! GoreeLeft End Tech
: Hardageßight ElalfVanderbilt
McWhorterLeft Half Georgia
Davis Fullback Auburn
Morrison Quarterback Vanderbilt
in quantities. There can be little doubt
of Gillem’s light to a place. On de
fense I would play him at side-back.
“Muck” Brown, of Vanderbilt, has
been, toiling a\ iy now for several years
at that end p< Ilion, and has always
put out a jam-up good game. East
year he was almost ripe enough, ami
this year he i- so beyond all doubt.
Brown is mil a. big man. yet lie is big
enough, and he is as tough as wire
nails. He can smash any old kind of
interference, can get down field like an
aeroplane, and then tackle for keeps.
He handles with accu acy and dispatch
all kinds of forward passes, and he is
almost immune to injuries. Then, too.
Brown lias been playing with a high
grade team against other classy teams
for years now. and he knows the game
as few Southern players ever get io do.
There are few sure men for places on
our team than Brown.
» « «
Quarterback Job
Is a Conundrum.
|IN attempting the solution of the
quarterback problem. n (iitlieulty of
an entirely different nature from that
of licking out star players confronts
us. I refer to the difi’er. nt systems of
plttj and the different ways that teams
use their q mrters nowadays. I’ormeJy
th. question of haw the quarter handled
, his ball from snapper to runner ent. . ■>]
wry largely hi the determination of his
fitness for premier honors. But mor.
anil more each year w< see teams dis
pensing with the intei mediate handling
of the ball by the quarter, and on some
teams—Tech and Auburn, for instance
—the quarterback scarcely ever relays
the unrip.
On such teams there is little or no
real distinction between the quarter
and the fullback, or any other of the
backs. To be sure, they have to be
called something in the official lineup
and so the coach of sin h a team picks
out some one man and calls him the
quarterback; sometimes, perhaps, lie
cans’ he is the man who gives the
signals, or because h» plays rear guard
on the defense, or because another back
does most of the line bucking i for
which reason the other man is denomi
nated fullback i, which necessarily
letivi the title of .pm toy lor tile fir-;
i man,
I’ I ’. i tod mor. m,.|,. I.uokin;'
t vnglb in the Ijockli-ld. tog.-thm with
t
heat.' interfering. I would probably
choose Major, of Auburn, for my quar
tet’. I* I wanted a man who could run
the nds. punt the ball and return punts.
I would not overlook McDonald, o'
Tech. If I wanted a skillful handler of
the ball from snapper to runner, am!
” n “ who was a gv)od field general, no
doubt I would choose Fletcher, of Alis
' Sissippi, or Cameron, of Tennessee. And
so it goes.
1 hen there is Tolley, of Sewanee, who
eettainly handles the center’s snaps
nicely, and who runs himself with the
ball in good form and with line drive.
Still Im is not a very fast man, else
Loeb, of Tech, would never have run
, him down and eaught him from behind.
Neither is fie a sure man on catching
punts, notwithstanding Im caught them
, all in fir- lech game; in other games
he missed a number of them. But Tol
ley makes a v-ry satisfactory quarter
back and one who stands out from the
general field on his season’s work. I
find it hard to turn him down—very
? haul.
Curlin Best Drop Kicker.
t Vanderbilt's quaiters are all in-etty
’ fair men. but none oi them seem to
l hare given entire satisfaction to their
» coaches. Curlin is the best drop kick
er of the year amopg the quarterbacks,
I although he seems to be somew hat be-
I hind his last year’s form.
’ Cameron, of Tennessee, and McDon
ald. of Tech, are brilliant for fit st-year
men. (’ameron has had but on., drop
: ped punt the entire season. He i- ;>
cool ami self-confident player, handles
the ball in jam-up style, and runs- like
’ an antelope. He is only nineteen, and
is still to make his mark. Next year
> he will m ar watching for all-Southern
’ honors.
McDonald, of Tech, is one of the sur
prises of the year. Along with Major,
Reulle and Gillem. he helps to compose
■ the South's best quartet of punters; in
my opinion, he is quite as good here as
atty ot the other-. He weighs but 150
and how In* can make the ground he
I does around the end and through the
line when that line is the least bit
broken up is and has been one of the
mysteries of the eason. He can cutch
almost anything ever let out of the
cage in the shape ol a forward pass,
"s' I'.- I.'..eking i- pa. . x. ollem ||i-
itm ,iii, is ma ... clean, . ontldeiu and
I I aggressive ,s II Will l„. u yea; from
now. Also, he lias some tendency to
drop the ball, which he will doubtless,
overcome.
Homing back to those first mentioned;
Fletcher is beyond all cavil the very
best quarterback of the year. His play
deserves half a column. But right at
the tail end of the season Fletcher was
disqualified; so what’s the use in say
ing a word about it? If he is ineligi
ble to play on his own varsity team,
he is equally Hieligible for my all-6. I.
A. A.
Os the remainder who have figured in j
the various coaches'- line-ups as quar
terbacks-the next best man'is probably
Majors, of Auburn, and he is a tip-top
player. But is he really any more of a
quall ••rb:<-k in his team’s system of
play than any other man in the back
field? lie is not called upon to relay
the snap and he does not play rear
guard in receiving opponents’ punts.
In only one usual respect is he a quar
terback for his team, and that is in
calling the signals. But I can not give
Majors much when it comes to his sig
naling ability, and so I can not select
him for an all-Southern quarter on the
strength of thi.-f point.
Sikes Is Heisman’s Quarter.
But alter eliminating Fletcher and
Majors thi'e are no quarters left that
I consider quite worthy to uphold the
standard of the rest of the team, so
what are we to do? It happens that
there is playing this year one man of
superlative backfield excellence who
w.ouUl make an ideal quarterback—one
almost as good as Ray Morrison. That
man is Sikes, of Vanderbilt. He has
been playing fullback and halfback all
season, and he plays one of these as
well as the other. It is idle to say he
could not play as good a quarter as
Majorj. for. as I have pointed out. Ma
jors. in fact, plays no more quarter
back under Auburn's system of play
than do s Sikes in Vanderbilt's system.
What can Sikes do? Ho is one of
the very fastest runners of the year.
He is the best blocker 1 have ever seen
in tiie South. His tackling is the
fiercest, keenest and surest of any man
South this season. Next to Reulle and
along with Ressljac, he is tile best
bill koi down h> re. Ho can run the ends
1 ■ -t -is well as Hardage, ami ci.
tainiy quite as well as any other man
y>.-i His weight of 162 pounds
would In- just the thing for a quarteiv
back, while hi, spirit would keep anr
team in the world going at top speed
all the time. His ger, it play
me more of .Mor’ism's han any man I
have seen this year, and he Is certainly'
the best rounded football player that
has shown this campaign.
And that’s why I put Sikes at quar
terback. And if he couldn’t call signals
satisfactorily (though I believe he
could). I have no doubt that Hardage
could, so what's, the difference?
Fullback Goes
To Miss. A. & M.
QI'TSIDE of Auburn no college In the
South seems to have the luck or
the ability, whichever it takes, to turn
out fullbacks. True Vanderbilt put out
in Alanit r the very best the South has
developed, but he and Edgerton let the
< ’oininodort s »»ut.
\ubu ti Ims recorded the names of
'!• I.ay. I.aey, I ’ >y, Redding, two
!’■ titans. Stokes, Streit and Davis. And
tilth tiny come along with still another
who is wmthv to mingle his bones with
Honorably
Mentioned
By Heisman
Player CENTER Co " e « e
StoneySewanee
GUARDS
Hicks Alabama
Black Tulane
Lucas Georgia
Means Tech
TACKLES
Woodward Tulane
Myers . Mississippi
Lamb Auburn
Kelley .. . j .
Tennessee
elds
BowdenGeorgia
Long Alabama
quar’ers
Marks Tulane
Rob ins Vanderbilt
Martin Citadel
Paddock G eorgia
HALFBACS
Newell . . . . . • ■, Auburn
Arnold Auburn
HaxtonMississippi
Evans Tulane
FolgerCitadel
his illustrious predecessor; Ressija
is a very tine plunger, indet, He get,-,
start'd quickly and with ifcat snap
he plunges in as though stfc the op
posing ling is nothing but a lather b. .
and he keeps on ramming tillbmething
gives evety time. Ressijac’s D
also excellent. Really, though'je ough'
to weigh a little more for an avgouth
ern fullback.
Wt'bb, of Clemson, i- a spletifl full
back. He weighs only 165. bus s ta
and rangy, and slashes in wit great
abandon. He is undoubtedly th :
best players Clemson has ever eve'
oped. As yet J would not say V; he
had had sufficient experience to I pm,
on the all-S. I. A. A.
Probably the’best man for the ree
ls Reulle. of Mississippi A. & Al. his
man weighs 192 and is very fast.n
deed, for his, weight. He has the i-n
build for a'fullback. In addition,,
these natural advantages, he is a t
top foi ward passer, and as good a kit.
er as cither Gillem, Majors or McDo
ild. And if it’s bucking you demand
a fullback, why, here’s the man ea
give it to you. There is little doub
that with his weight and speed com
bined he gets up more momentum tlta’
any other man playing the game dowt
here this fall.
So 1 give the place to Reulle, with ;
regret that 1 haven't another one so
Ressljac as well.
Norman, of Mercer, deserves a v
honorable mention.
$ »x *
Halfbacks a
Hard Job.
rHA VE i<s»rv ed mj
the last, and I know this eha :
of my mirthless monogram is goin.. o
trace even more wrinkles' in my 1 ,:
than any of the others.
Os superior halfbacks this year tie
is no end. Det’s see: Hardage. S'
and Collins, of Vanderbilt; Sheldon. '
Sewanee; Fonde, of Tennessee; Wil
liams, of Mississippi A. & M.; Vami
graaf, of Alabama; Evans, of D. S. I
Haxton, of Mississippi; Newell, of Au
burn; <'ook, of Tech; Taylor, of I'l°
'da; .McWhorter, of Georgia, and Fo
ger, of Citadel. That’s a baker’s doz t
or more right there, and lots of tol
are going to be mad that 1 do no
mention still others.
Now, the only way I see to approac.
this task is not to stop to put dowr
every last little tiling that every one ,
these men does well —no matter iro
much I should like to do this. Tie
point is that I hale to select two met 1
on each of whom, after selection,
may be able to spare ten words. Bu
the rest I must eliminate quickly.
Well. Sheldon is in his first year it
the S. I. A. A. That’s no crime: bu
it’s a vital weakness when we n iu<
her so many of the other good one
thal have been serving two or three o
four years. Some don’t think much o
Sheldon, anyway; but I differ fron
i them radically. Sheldon is a born foot
bailer, and a sure comer for All-South
ern honors. Put a pin in this.
Fonde is a fine-spirited player. Ib
has had his chances spoiled by injurlv
Williams is great with the ball, bu
. too weak on defense.
Vandegraaf Finished Player.
Vandegraaf is a very finished footba.
payer and has tile heart of a lion. H'
new as yet to the position, hay
inj played end nearly all of his career
H;|ts off to this fellow, boys!
Avans is a fairly satisfactory half
bar*:, but he has too many moments o
1 in his play. He deserves, how
evefi more words of praise than I hav
’ rooirt for. \
Co4k is a very graceful and tinism* l
, halfback. No one can excel him ■
getting through a slightly seutti :■
' field, lie has thotfoot ball lighting
'it .III,IIs an excellent general. B' him
i Continued on Next Sport Pa<je.