THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510210396
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Former James Madison coach Rip Scherer says quarterback Mike Cawley has one of the strongest arms he's seen. And one of the strongest heads.
``You've got to put a tight leash on him,'' Scherer said. ``He's football-smart. He really knows the game. But sometimes he thinks he knows more than he does.''
Cawley's occasional bouts of cockiness and his tendency to free-lance at times can tax a coach's nerves.
But the flip side is that those same characteristics can come in handy when you're down a touchdown or two late in a game.
``We feel like if we're within a couple of touchdowns with five minutes to go, we've got the game,'' JMU quarterback coach Dan Werner said. ``That's the kind of confidence the players have, and it comes from Mike.''
Cawley, a fifth-year senior, has rallied the Dukes, No. 10 in Division I-AA, to last-minute victories the last three weeks. Cawley threw a touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining to beat New Hampshire last week. He beat Boston University the week before with a pass with 40 seconds left, and Maine the week before that with a pass with 37 seconds remaining.
JMU faces No. 7 Delaware today, and if the Dukes fall behind, Cawley won't be worried.
``We just feel we have a lot of talent,'' Cawley said. ``Whenever we get behind, we don't feel we're out of the game because we have so many guys who can make plays. We're pretty confident about it.''
Much of the Dukes' confidence stems from their hot-wired quarterback. After JMU rallied to beat William and Mary on Sept. 9, Cawley bounded into a postgame press conference, shirtless and shoeless, and tossed a jibe at a reporter who had picked the Tribe to win.
Cawley has never lacked in confidence, even when he was sitting on the bench at Syracuse. Cawley had signed with the Orangemen out of Mount Lebanon (Pa.) High. He redshirted his first year and played in just one series the next.
``I really thought I was ready to play, and I didn't want to wait around,'' Cawley said. ``When I found out about the rule change (allowing Division I-A transfers to play immediately at I-AA schools), I knew I was going to go I-AA.''
A Syracuse coach recommended Cawley to Scherer, who snapped him up.
``We were losing Eriq Williams, who had broken all the records at JMU,'' Scherer said. ``We felt we need someone who could step right in.''
Cawley did step right in, and three years into his tenure, he's almost completely wiped Williams' name from the record books. Cawley set a team record for passing yards in 1993 and then topped it last year. He became JMU's all-time yardage leader in the Boston University game.
``He can throw the ball deep as well as any quarterback I've been around,'' Scherer said. ``But his biggest physical asset is his mobility. Probably his biggest asset overall is his toughness. He's just mentally tough, he plays hard, and the players really respect him.''
Cawley, 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, ran the option for two years under Scherer, and rushed for 589 yards last season. When Scherer left after last season to coach the University of Memphis, new JMU coach Alex Wood scrapped the option in favor of a one-back set.
``I think this offense really shows his ability,'' Werner said.
The proof is in the statistics. With 1,607 yards in seven games, Cawley is on pace to throw for more than 2,500 yards, or about 500 more than last season.
Cawley is considered one of the nation's top I-AA quarterbacks, and with his strong arm and 4.6 speed in the 40, he'll likely get at least a free-agent invitation to an NFL camp next year.
Werner, who worked at Miami for two years, says Cawley's only drawback may be his height.
``He's 6-2, and they like 'em about 6-4,'' Werner said. ``But I worked with Steve Walsh, Gino Torretta and Craig Erickson, and as a total package athletically, he's as good as any of those three.''
And certainly as confident. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Mike Cawley
by CNB