Several
years ago, we had a weekly feature in The American called
“Eye on Black Quarterbacks” where we chronicled the exploits of our
African-American signal-callers at the collegiate and professional
levels.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>After watching what three young brothers did on consecutive days last weekend, I feel compelled to bring back the “Eye on Black Quarterbacks” segment for one week.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>James Franklin of Missouri, Denard Robinson of Michigan and former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers each put on quite a display last weekend. I am now calling this talented young trio the “400 Club” after watching them put up more than 400 yards of total yardage.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>I stayed quite late on Friday to watch the official coming-out party of Franklin in Mizzou’s overtime loss at Arizona State. After struggling in his debut against Miami in the season opener, not much was expected of Franklin in his first road contest against a Pac 12 contender on national television.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>What Franklin did in just his second start at Mizzou was remarkable. He carried the ball 27 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. He completed 26 of 42 passes for 319 yards and two more touchdowns. He finished the game with 403 yards of total offense.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>More important, Franklin was clutch when his team really needed him. Despite missing several of his offensive teammates due to injuries, Franklin rallied the Tigers from a 30-16 fourth-quarter deficit to the verge of stealing a big road victory. He was tremendous in directing those late-game drives to bring Mizzou back.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>It is still early in the James Franklin era, but Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel seems to have his next stud quarterback. Very impressive.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>On Saturday, Michigan’s Denard Robinson provided some spectacular late-game heroics in leading the Wolverines to a heart-stopping 35-31 victory over Notre Dame in front of a crowd of 114,000 in the first ever night game in the Big House in Ann Arbor.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>After some early struggles, Robinson turned it on in the fourth quarter. He threw two touchdown passes in the last minute of the game, including a 16-yarder to Roy Roundtree with two seconds left for the winning score. Robinson directed an improbable 80-yard drive in the last 28 seconds of the game to give the Wolverines the victory.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>For the game, Robinson amassed 446 yards of total offense against the Irish. He rushed for 108 yards and one touchdown and passed for 338 yards and four touchdowns, putting him in the early conversation for the Heisman Trophy.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Speaking of the Heisman Trophy, last year’s winner, Cam Newton put on a record-setting performance in his National Football League debut for Carolina. In the Panthers’ 28-21 loss at Arizona, Newton completed 24 of 37 for 422 yards and two touchdowns. His 422 yards tied an NFL record for most passing yards by a quarterback in his first start. For good measure, Newton added an 1-yard touchdown run in which he dived over a pile of defenders in the end zone. Newton’s passer rating for the game was 110.4.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>It was quite a weekend for these young men. I’m glad I got a chance to witness all of it.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”> *St. Louis University High will be honoring one of their all-time great former athletes in football star Henry Jones on Friday night. Jones will have his number retired at a ceremony before the Jr. Bills’ showdown with Metro Catholic Conference rival CBC. A 1986 graduate of SLUH, Jones went on to become a All-Big Ten Conference performer at the University of Illinois. Jones also played 12 seasons in the National Football League with the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons from 1991-2002. He was an All-Pro with the Bills in 1992 after leading the NFL in interceptions. Jones was an important part of the Bills’ team that won four AFC championships and played in four consecutive Super Bowls. He becomes only the second former athlete in SLUH history to have his number retired. The first one was former basketball star and Hall of Famer Easy Ed McCauley.
