ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 9, 1995 TAG: 9512100019
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
CRAIG KUSICK will worry about the NFL later. Beating the Profs today is the top priority for now.
Mike Scheuer is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback on the Wisconsin-La Crosse football team. He was the Wisconsin private schools player of the year in high school. He was recruited by Notre Dame.
He's running the Eagles' scout team.
Wonder how good the first string quarterback is?
Well, he's good enough to be a first team All-America. He holds UW-L's school record for touchdown passes with 48. He's 6-6, 230 pounds. NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. has him rated as one of the top quarterbacks coming out this year.
His name is Craig Kusick. To the Eagles' opponents, that means trouble.
``If he's standing back there in the pocket, we're in a world of trouble,'' said K.C. Keeler, coach of UW-L's Stagg Bowl opponent, Rowan.
Kusick's three-step drop looks like it's second nature. His throws go 50 yards with what looks like no effort. Every toss is a perfect spiral.
He can make it all look so easy because he's been doing it for so long. Kusick's father, Craig Sr., was an outfielder with the Minnesota Twins from 1973-79. Craig Jr. was born in Tacoma, Wash., when his father was a minor-leaguer there.
The first time he threw a ball, men like Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew were on the receiving end. They helped teach him the fundamentals of honing a throwing arm.
``He learned from the great ones,'' said Kusick's coach, Roger Harring, who also coached Craig Sr., a former tight end. ``There's not too much more you can ask for.''
If he had known it back then, Kusick probably would have asked them about off-the-field matters, too. As a senior this season, he's found out what it's like to be in the spotlight. Perhaps no Division III athlete in the nation has been in it more.
Aside from the hordes of interviews, 10 NFL teams have visited La Crosse to scout Kusick.
``It's been real overwhelming to be honest,'' Kusick said Friday. ``Everybody's asked about [the NFL] all year. I've just tried to keep things in perspective.''
That means focusing on the present. Kusick has a chance to win a national championship for the only time in his life today at Salem Stadium. Rowan, however, may present him more problems defensively than any other team this year. The Profs' blitzes are that good.
If there's a knock against him, it's that he's certainly not the fastest runner in world. He's at his best anchored in the pocket.
``It's not a bad thing,'' Kusick said. ``I'm not running around back there with my head chopped off.''
Kusick's 158.5 pass-efficiency rating, seventh best in the nation, shows he can do the right thing in a tough situation. He knows how to get himself out of trouble, too.
``He's got a secret quickness,'' Harring said.
At this time next year, Kusick most likely will be working out on an NFL practice field. But now, he's working on a way to beat Rowan and win the national title.
``It's definitely the biggest game I'll ever, I mean, I've ever played in,'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: MIKE HEFFNER/Staff. Craig Kusick has been rated as oneby CNBof the top quarterbacks available for the next NFL draft.