In an age of football specialization, the finest of all 1960's college quarterbacks might seem as far out of date as the flying wedge. Most of his quarterbacking rivals simply fire passes or present the ball to others to carry, then scurry off the field when the enemy begins to attack. But the University of Washington's Bob Schloredt, 20, not only passes with precision, but also slams into the line like a fullback, skirts the ends like a halfback, drops back and kicks the ball out of sight, and plays defense as though the family honor were at stake. "The way I feel about the guys in the other jerseys. they're open game," says Schloredt, a rugged 6 ft. 1 in., 197 Ibs., "and I expect them to think the same way about me."
They do. All season long teams will be gunning for the versatile Schloredt, prime mover of the Washington Huskies, who last year startled the football world by humiliating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, 44-8. When strapping Jim Owens became coach in 1957, Washington was sulking about a series of recruiting scandals, had such a reputation for attracting players with a checkbook that flashy Halfback Hugh McElhenny ('52) was said to have taken a pay cut when he turned pro. An Oklahoma All-America end, Owens snapped Washington out of its lethargy with rib-rattling practice sessions that came to be known as "The Death March." Moreover, Washington began getting more good football players at far less cost. Says Assistant Coach Tom Tipps: "Make this a game for men, and the men will come to play it."
Heart of the Matter. The best of the men who came to play was Schloredt. Son of a three-sport coach and grade-school teacher, Schloredt was born in Deadwood. S. Dak., but grew up in Gresham, Ore. As a tyke, Schloredt was tossing timid passes to his 75-year-old great-grandfather. While still a boy, Schloredt lost 90% of the vision of his left eye when a chum set off a firecracker in a bottle. Schloredt now sees only a blur with that eye. has to survey the field with quick movements of his head when he fades to pass. Although 3-D movies seem the same to him as ordinary films, Schloredt has developed amazingly good depth perception on the field, thinks that he judges distance by the relative size of players.
Schloredt is the key to Washington's varied offense. Under Coach Owens' blend of legerdemain and brute force, the wingback often acts as an end, the quarterback and fullback operate as halfbacks, and a tackle may end up as an eligible pass receiver. The system involves so many variations of men-in-motion, split ends and unbalanced lines that Schloredt must memorize some 240 plays. "Schloredt is the whole thing," says Owens. "He's the heart of it. He's close to the ideal. We use a lot of option plays, and once he decides to keep the ball the play is all his. He has the confidence of the players, and what's even better, he has confidence in his players."