Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 1, 1994 TAG: 9405010126
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: ASHBURN LENGTH: Long
However, most rookies who arrive in the nation's capital find themselves buried on the Capitol Hill depth chart. The only place Shuler is No. 5 is on his football jersey.
In the most powerful city in the world, Shuler has a position of often-questioned influence. From his first day of minicamp, Shuler is the Redskins' starting quarterback.
He may be from Tennessee, but he didn't volunteer. He was drafted, No. 3 overall, the first quarterback picked first by Washington since Wake Forest's Norm Snead in 1961.
Shuler, a native of western North Carolina, has starred in the Hall of Fame and Citrus bowls. Big deal. Mark Rypien was a Super Bowl MVP and just a few bad series later, the Redskins' rooters got into the boos.
It's a good thing the first two days of minicamp have been closed to the public. Who knows what Shuler might be hearing? His timing is off almost as much as his passing accuracy. In making mistakes, however, he can take comfort.
He isn't alone.
All of the Redskins are learning new coach Norv Turner's system together. The former Dallas offensive coordinator doesn't expect Shuler to look like Troy Aikman today. Turner is certain, however, that his and the Redskins' immediate future hinge on Shuler's arm, savvy and mobility.
For the opening practice, Shuler walked onto the field with two veteran linemen who will be his protectors, Jim Lachey and Raleigh McKenzie. He likes what he sees of their health-care plan, and vice versa.
"Heath's hanging out with the offensive linemen right away," Lachey said. "That shows he has a little bit of intelligence."
Lachey also sees something else in Shuler, something Rypien had.
"You look at a quarterback and what impresses me is a guy's guts," said the 10th-year pro. "That's what impressed me most about Mark, that and his smarts. This guy seems to have those qualities."
It's showed up in the huddle. Shuler, just as he did in his first huddle as a freshman at Tennessee with linemen who were mostly fifth-year seniors, has taken control.
"You take charge with a loud voice," Shuler said Saturday at Redskins Park. "So, even if you don't know what you're doing, at least you should act like it."
In his first huddle with the Vols, Shuler got into a fight.
"One of the linemen called me a freshman," he said. "I told him to shut up, that it was my huddle, not his."
Shuler is trying not to be nervous, but Turner sees through that. After all, the Redskins are asking the 22-year-old to do some things he's never done before - like take a seven-step drop, or quicken the five-step drop that was fast enough in the Southeastern Conference.
"Watching Heath the first four or five plays, well, when a guy is nervous, he tends to breathe like a guy who just finished a marathon," Turner said. "Heath was breathing pretty good and I know he didn't run a marathon, so I'd say chances are pretty good he was nervous."
Shuler said other than the speed, the defense he's working against "isn't that different from what you see in the SEC." He's watched films of Aikman and talked with the Cowboys' quarterback about playing for Turner.
"Troy played for Coach Turner, and if he's not the best, he's right there," Shuler said. "I'm not going to be there in two hours or two days."
How about in two years? The 6-foot-2, 221-pounder brings the Redskins something they haven't had in recent years - mobility at quarterback. Rypien moved like the Washington Monument.
Lachey isn't sure how the second-generation Hogs will handle this development. He doesn't seem worried about Shuler taking over a team that's starting anew after a 4-12 finish in 1993.
"He's going to learn a lot of football," Lachey said. "I went through it as a first-round guy, too. You do everything you have to do, and then there's added pressure because you're a No. 1 pick. It's the risk of your success, of your record.
"He'll be treated differently, too, because he's a quarterback. It's just part of the job. I remember going in the huddle as a rookie with the Chargers with guys like Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Ed White and Charlie Joiner. That's when you need guts."
Shuler has that and more. He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds. He blends quickness and toughness, and he's a rarity in another sense in that he varies the speed of his passes and has a downfield accuracy that scouts love.
"I might have missed some passes so far, but Coach Turner knows I can get it there," said Shuler, whose first pass in a Tennessee practice punctured the ball, when it zinged through a receiver's hands and off a helmet screw.
"You just try not to get nervous," said the dark-haired quarterback. "When you do, that's when you make mistakes. Some mistakes are more apparent than others, and everybody makes them. It's an advantage to me that we're all learning this system together."
What Shuler has no grasp on yet is just how important his every play will become in a city that always is kicking around political footballs.
Shuler seems to have the right stuff to succeed. He doesn't just have to understand a new offense. He has to realize the guy from Tennessee most Washingtonians are talking about isn't Al Gore.
by CNB