Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, November 30, 1912, HOME, Page 10, Image 10

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10 Tech’s Famous Football Coach Fails to Select a Single Yellow Jacket tor His Team HEISMAN’S ALL-SOUTHERN ELEVEN Player Position VCeight College MorganCenter2l4 . .Vanderbilt 'Thigpenßight Guard . . . . 185 . Auburn Barker Left Guard ... 191 ... M issitsippi T. Brownßight Tackle . . 181 . . Vanderbilt Meadows Left Tac Me 176.. A üburn E. Brown . . .... Right Endl6o . . . V anderbilt GillemLeft End 160. . .Sewanee SikesQuarterback ..162 Vanderbilt McWh orter .... Right Halfl74 .. . Georgia HardageLeft Halfl6z . . Vanderbilt ReulleFullbackl92 ... Miss A-M By J. W. HEISMAN THE Southern Intercollegiate Athletic :tss<»ciai.ion enibiaecs 1 the following members: Alabama, Auburn. Howard, Geor gia. Mercer, Tech. Tulane, L. S. I’.. I'niversity Mississippi, i Miss. A. &. M., Mississippi college. .Milsaps College, Trinity. Clem son. Wofford. The(.'ia< lei, 1 niversity of Florida, Vanderbilt. Sewa nee, Tennessee. College of Charleston. Texas A. M.. and three colleges in Kentucky. Excluding the Kentucky and Texas colleges on the ground of geographical remoteness my sec lections will be confined to teams representing the above colleges. Center Again Goes To Vanderbilt. THE 'first-class centers of the year have not been ns numerous as here tofore, and T am goimr to seriously consider but four of them. These tire Adams, of Mississippi: Dutton, of L. S. , U.; Loeb, of Tech, and Morgan, of I Vanderbilt. Adams and Dutton are much alike in I 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 I position on any team in the South £ land. They are experienced linesmen, land play with great vigor. Tt would be f a hard task to decide which Is the bet ler of the two. | Loeb, of Tech, is all this- lacking one I thing, and that is weight. At first Ifthjought it would stem absurd to dis |jcuss for this position a man who weighs | but 155 pounds. Yet Loeb is possessed t of such tremendous energy . such abso f Jutely indomitably fighting spirit, and '-such splendid vitality that he coin i pels consideration: he overcomes a. lian i dicap of from ten to twenty pounds in van opponent by these factors with ease. I Thus, while differing from the other B/two in general style, he ranks on a pat [ with them, and a selection from one of £ the three would be just as difficult | (arid just as easy) to make as one from | the first two. I will say for Loeb that when it comes to pure grit he merits the highest possible ranking Morgan Good Heavy Man. Morgan, of the Commodores, Is the i man who helps me out of my difii | cultiee, for he puts it a shade on the pothers. This is in large part due to jthe fact that he Is many pounds heav ier than any of the other three, weigh ting, 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 any of the things that the other trio do, it would be a different case. But you can certainly find no fault with Morgan's snapping, nor his charging and block -1 ing, nor yet his tackling and generally fine spirit in the game. And when you add his high-grade experience to the AitK of his other good pointe, there is left'nothing to discuss. Morgan would, 1 thf'nk. 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 I profound puzzle. Hardly a Southern ; team is without at least one man who j-'Jtas some claim on this position. FProbably the best of the lot Is Thig- ( \pen, of Auburn. This chap is well | I ’qualified in every respect to hold down .• the job, and if Auburn were not so well I 'fortified with tackles I daresay we '•would see him playing this position on H the Orange and Blue lineup. Guards ‘ have little opportunity to show off or pull brilliant stunts. Steadiness and r.jgood, consistent, hard work are the EjMagr that are needed tn a man if he is ’ » to pftjr the position to the satisfaction i fc of his coaches. These qualities Thig- Kpen possesses to an eminmt degree. along with lots of weight, strength, e\ f perlence and knowledge of the insidi fine points of the position Few. I L tAiink. will be disposed to differ with eL, his estimate of the man, or his right s • 1 a position | 'The man for the other flank of our G~|Ar>ter is indeed a problem t’onslder ng merely the men who have played at'the guard position all season, I M would have little trouble in selecting ■ Cassanova. of Mississippi A. and M. K This big fellow also can claim every LU natural qualification for such a ,>osl- K tion, and he has put up a game all KJaeason that mu.-, draw attention 'Two men who ar- right in a ciass < 'iSKtiw.Vf Bl "v ' t»<* Scbllletter, of ("i< ntson. The of these is heady and a fit th* latter has been playing a Dates I eliminate on tin ground of lightness and sonic lack of experience; while the latter must be dropped on the ground of lack of general speed and he, 00. needs a little mote seasoning. Both have put up a splendid game and deserve special commendation. But to be perfectly frank about it, I do not consider iny of these three quite ready for places on an all-Southein, and my team would really be too far below 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 tire 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 liotal 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 one weak link when we 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 tackle are ntlrely alike In their j 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 matt 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 run 100 yards in 10 1-2 seconds. He Is one of the fiercest tacklers to be found any where, and backs up a line tn 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 tn the line, while Barker is a star of the first magnitude when tt comes to backing up the line in secondary’ defense. Playing the . guard’s position on offense, he could j be drawn back when it came to de fense and play in that secondary de | fensive line. He i.nd Reulle, of Mis sissippi A. & M., would make the best bsickers-up of any' men of the year. Tnis would leave Morgan and Thigpen to hold things steady in the middle of the line, and would be a capital ar rangement. I let it go at that. • • • ' Tackles Also Give Trouble. I » 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 I re ject Dobbins, of Sewanee, and Shipp, of Vanderbilt, both of whom have done remarkably tine work for men in their first year on a college team; and I suf fer equal mental spasms in setting aside laimb, of Auburn, and Kelley and Hayley, of Tennessee. Lamb has not 1 been in the best of condition this year and his game has, inconsequence, not 5 been quite as good straight through as ’ tt was lust season. The Tennessee tac. k'es are about the best men of that ’ temn. They are hard workers, have the » j necessary weight and are born fighters, t 1 would give one of them a guard po ITHE1 T HE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS.SAITRDAY. No\ EMBER 30. 1912. A BIT OF HEISMAN DEFENSE BY TECH Jr & // TLx V ■* v. WBIRferL.T-Y V »H I -f / A 'WK \ ' z JhßHb - \ .JF L—l %' v WhbIIIISIKIw/ .. 4 . ’ ■ W P MM *• )a l - The Yellow Jackets' liifht for- wards held so well that finally '' l ' s photograph was snapped the Clemson attack was forced to . ' l,v a * !1 < expert at practically hurdle over them. - .... . game. sition did I not have Barker on my hands; while at tackle they are shunt ed off because of the fact that they have not had the same experience as the other men I have named, either I. with or against high-grade teams. ,■ Tom Brown Great Player. ( am satisfied no one will argue witli : me about Tom Brown’s fitness for a . tackle’s commission, for lie has been [ one of the mainstays of the Vanderbilt j' 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 l 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 1 would like to have at ! tackle, and it might be beter were he shifted to guard, leaving Barker to come out to the tackle's place. Either i of them is quite quick enough for the , place. Meadows’ forte is in accurate diagnosing of the play, coupled with simultaneous action on the Judgment. He has a line 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 are. Mead ows will do evry well. • * • Sewanee and Vandy (Jet the End Berths. FOR the end positions there are quite x a number of men who stand out well above the average. These Include 1 Robinson, of Auburn; Conklin, of Geor gia; Vandegraaf. of Alabama; Pounds, of Florida; Gillem. of Sewanee, and E. Brown, of Vanderbilt. For defensive purposes I would not ask a better man than Robinson. He has weight and strength and is excep- , tionally clear-headed on sizing up a pla.x. And he plants himself in such a manner as to make It a mighty hard thing to get him off ills feet. This makes it possible for him to handle a I heap of interference and still get the I runner himself. t'onklin. of Georgia, is much the same style of player, though he comes in faster to smash interference (probably only a difference of detail in team sys tem). Hut his judgment is almost equallj 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 for 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 more ends go ing down field under punts than any other man I have seen this season. He is too light for consideration in the present connection, but deserves, none the less, a world of praise, Gillem, of Sewanee, is one of our best players. He has the necessary weight, speed and experience. He lias tin- footballer's fighting instinct. He is a splendid forward passer, and one of tin- must brilliant punters in Dixie. He lias a fine rangy build and is able to haul down op,totients’ forward passe- HEISMAN'S 1911 TEAM Player Position College MorganCenterVanderbilt Peacockßight Guard Georgia Metzger Left Guard Vanderbilt Lambßight Tackle Auburn Freeland Left Tackle Vanderbilt Walton Right End Mississippi Goree .... Left End . . . Tech Hardage Rnjht Half Vanderbilt McWhorterLeft Half Georgia Davis Fullback Auburn Morrison Quarterback Vanderbilt in quantities. There can be little doubt of Gillein's right to a place. On de fense I would play him at side-back. “Nuck” Brown, of Vanderbilt, has been toiling away now for several years at that end position, and has always put out a jam-up good game. Last year he was almost ripe enough, and this year he is so beyond all doubt. Brown is not a big man. yet he 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 accuracy and dispatch all kinds of forward passes, and he is almost immune to injuries. Then, too, Brown has 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 to do. There are few surer men for places on our team than Brown. * ♦ * Quarterback Job Is a Conundrum. J N attempting the solution of the quarterback problem, a difficulty of an entirely different nature from that of picking out star players confronts us. 1 refer to the different systems of play and the different ways that teams use their quarters nowadays. Formerly the question of how the quarter handled his ball from snapper to runner entered very largely hi the determination of his fitness tor premier honors. But more and move each year we sei teams dis pensing with the intermediate handling of the ball by the quarter, and on some teams- Tech and Auburn, for instance —the quarterback scarcely eyer relays the snap. 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 such a team picks out some one man and calls him the quarterback; sometimes, perhaps, be cause he is the man who gives the signals, or because he plays rear guard or * he defense, or because another back does most of the line bucking (for which reason the other man is deifomi nuted fullback), which necessarily leaves the title of quarter for the first man. If I wanted more mete bucking - trengtii In tiie backlit id, together with heavy interfering, I would probably choose Major, of Auburn, for my quar ter. . If I wanted a man who could run the ends, punt the ball and return punts. I would not overlook McDonald, of Tech. If I wanted a skillful handler of the ball from snapper to runner, and one who was a good field general, no doubt 1 would choose Fletcher, of Mis sissippi, or Cameron, of Tennessee. And so it goes. I'hen there is Tolley, of Sewanee, who certainly handles the center's snaps nicely, and who runs himself with the ball in good form and with fine drive. Still he is not a very fast man, else Loeb, of Tech, would never have run him down and caught him from behind. Neither is he a sure man on catching punts, notwithstanding he caught them all In the Tech game: in other games he missed a number of them. But Tol ley makes a very 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 ' hard. Curlin Best Drop Kicker. Vanderbilt's quarters are all pretty ’ fair men, but none of them seem to have given entire satisfaction to their ' coaches. Curlin is the best drop kick er of the year among the quarterbacks, although he seems to be somewhat be hind his last real 's form. Cameron, of Tennessee, and McDon ald, of Tech, are brilliant for flrst-year men. Cameron has had but one drop ’ ped punt the entire season. He is a cool and self-confident player, handles the ball in jam-up style, and runs like ’ an antelope. He is only nineteen, ami is sure to make his mark. Next year • he will bear 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 1 the South's best quartet of punters; in ' my opinion, he is quite as good here as any of the others. He weighs but 150. > and how he 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 season. He cun cutch almost anything ever let out of the ' cage In the shape of a forward pass, and his blocking; is par excellence. His ; tackling is not so clean, confident and i aggressive <ia it will »«• a year from now. Also* he has some tendency to drop the ball, which lo- will doubtless overcome. Coming back to those first mentioned: Fletche ■ is beyond all cavil the very best quarterback ot the year. His play deserves half a column. But rigitt 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 ineligible for my all-S. I A. A. Os the remainder who have figured in 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 quarterback in his team’s system of play than any other man in the back field? He is not called upon to relay the snap and he does not play rear guard in i eceiving 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 hot select him for an all-Southern quarter on the strength of this point. Sikes Is Heisman’s Quarter. Rut after eliminating Fletcher and Majors there 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 , would 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 , Majors, for, as I have pointed out. Ma- Jjors, in fact, plays no more quarter , back under Auburn’s system of play than does Sikes in Vande: hilt’s system. What can Sikes do? He is one of , the very fastest runners of the year. , He is the best blocker I have ever seen in the South. His tackling Is the I fiercest, keenest and surest of any man South this season. Next to Reulle and along with Ressijac, he is the best bucker down here. He can run the ends • almost as well as Hardage, and eer« tainly quite as well as any other man of the year His weight of 162 pounds . would be Just the thing for a quarter- • back, while his spirit would keep any team in the world going at top speed al! the time. His general plav reminds • me more of Morrison’s than any man I ■ have seen this year, and he Is , .. > i the best rounded football player that has shown this campaign. And that’s why I put Sikes at qua'- i terback. And if he couldn’t call signals - sati-factorily (though I believe he i 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 tn the South seems to have the luck or the ability, whichever it takes, to turn True Vanderbilt p u t out in Maui. , the very best the South has developed, but he and Edgerton let the ’ < ominodoies out. Auburn has recorded the names of i Penton Stol Reddln <- t "'-‘ nt. n.. stokes, str.dt and Davis. And ‘ n, ‘' v ,h "' ' "<’»« with still another ‘ "ho is worth, to ming!.. his bone. wKh Honorably Mentioned By Heisman On account of lack of space, Mr. Heisman was unable to discuss a num ber of players. Following are those that he also wishes to boost for their good playing: Player . College CENTER Stoney Sewanee GUARDS Hicks Alabama Black ... Tulane Lucas Georgia Means 1 eck TACKLES Woodward . . . . ■. Tulane Myers Mississippi Lamb Auburn Kelley .... , . Tennessee ENDS Bowden Georgia Long Alabama QUARTERS Marks Tulane Robins V anderbiit Martin Citadel Paddock Georgia HALFBACKS Newell Auburn Arnold Auburn Haxton Mississippi Evans Tulane Folger Citadel his illustrious predecessors. Ressiju is a very tine plunger, indeed. He gets started quickly and with great snap; ’he plunges in as though sure the op posing line is nothing but a featherbed, land he keeps on ramming till something i gives .-very time. Ressijac’s defense i also excellent. Really, though, heougb. to weigh a little more for an all-South ern fullback. Webb, of Clemson, is a splendid ful back. He weighs only 165, but is ta and rangy, and slashes in with grea , abandon. He is undoubtedly one of thu best players Clemson has ever devel oped. As yet I would not say that he had had sufficient experience to be put on the all-S. I. A. A. Probably tiie best man for the place is Reulle. of Mississippi A. & M. This man weighs 192 and is very fast, in deed. for his weight. He has the ideal , build for a fullback. In addition to these natural advantages, he is a tip -1 top forward passer, and as good a kick er as either Gillem, Majors or McDon ald. And if it’s bucking you demand of a fullback, why, here’s the man can give it to you. There is little doubt that with his weight and speed com i bined he gets up more momentum than . any other man playing the game down . here this fall. So I give the place to Reulle, with a . regret that I haven’t another one for Ressijac as well. Norman, of Mercer, deserves a very honorable mention. » * • . Halfbacks a Hard Job. [ HAVE reserved my hardest task for the last, and I know this chapter of my mirthless monogram is going to trace even more wrinkles in my brow than any of the others. Os superior halfbacks this year there is no end. Let’s see: Hardage, Sikes and Collins, of Vanderbilt; Sheldon, of Sewanee; Fonde. of Tennessee; Wil liams, of Mississippi A. & M.; Vande graaf, of Alabama; Evans, of L. S. U.; Haxton, of Mississippi; Newell, of Au burn; Cook, of Tech; Taylor, of Flor , Ida; McWhorter, of Georgia, and Fol ger, of Citadel. That’s a baker’s dozen or more right there, and lots of folks 1 are going to be mad that I do not mention still others. 1 Now, the only way I see to approach 1 this task is not to stop to put down every last little thing that every one of 1 these men does well—no matter how ■ much I should like to do this. ,J’h< i point is that 1 have to select two men, ! on each of whom, after selection, I tnay be able to spare ten words. But the rest I must eliminate quickly. V. ell, Sheldon is in his first year in the s. I. A. A. That’s no crime; but I it? a. vital weakness when wc remem ber so many of the other good ones that have been serving two or three or lour years. Some don’t think much of Sheldon, anyway; but 1 differ from . them radically. Sheldon Is a born foot baller, and a sure comer for All-South ern honors. Put a pin in this. I’onde is a fine-spirited player. He has had his chances spoiled by injuries. W illiams is great with the ball, but too weak on defense. Vandegraaf Finished Player. ' andegraaf is a very finished football Player and has the heart of a lion. He is too new as yet to the position, hav mg played end nearly all of his career. Hats off to this fellow, boys! i Evans is a fairly satisfactory half t back, but he has too many moments of 5 let-up tn his play. He deserves, how , ever, more words of praise than I have room for. i aver T graceful and finished halfback. No on.' can excel him in ■' o' >' t,,r °ugh a slightly scattered 1 laid He has the football fighting spir it and is an excellent general. Behind 1 Continued O n Next Sport Page.