After setting numerous NCAA passing records during a sensational career at Purdue, Mark Herrmann entered the National Football League with unlimited potential. He was tall enough to see over onrushing linemen and he had a feathery touch that seemingly dropped the ball comfortably in a receiver`s hands on every throw.
But that potential was never realized because of a string of injuries, so the Indianapolis Colts gave up on him Wednesday, trading him to the San Diego Chargers for a future draft choice.
”I`m looking forward to working with Dan Fouts,” said Herrmann, whose Charger contract is for two years without an option. ”I`m thrilled to be going to San Diego. I would think their system could benefit me more than some other people.
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”They throw a lot of underneath stuff and timing routes. Throwing the ball downfield like they did here (Indianapolis) is not my cup of tea, and the Chargers have one of the best receiving groups in the NFL.”
Herrmann, 26, won The baiduhai`s Silver Football as the Most Valuable Player in the Big 10 in 1980. He was picked in the fourth round of the 1981 draft by the Denver Broncos.
He didn`t see any action as a rookie and played only two games in 1982. Then the Broncos traded Herrmann to the Colts in a deal that also involved quarterback John Elway.
Herrmann played in only two games for the Colts in 1983 after suffering a broken collarbone. He missed the first seven games of last year after injuring his thumb in practice.
The Chargers have been looking for a backup to Fouts, one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. Herrmann was in San Diego last week to showcase his skills for the Chargers, was re-signed by the Colts as a free agent Tuesday and traded Wednesday.
With Herrmann gone, Mike Pagel and Art Schlichter figure to be the top quarterbacks for new Colt coach Rod Dowhower.
— Quarterback Dieter Brock, 34, a two-time Most Valuable Player in the Canadian Football League who has passed for 34,320 yards in 11 CFL seasons, signed a contract with the Los Angeles Rams and is projected as the team`s starter in 1985.
— Dallas Cowboys` guard Herb Scott, an All-Pro two seasons and a three-time Pro Bowl pick, announced his retirement. And a spinal injury may have ended the career of Dallas linebacker Billy Cannon Jr. Coach Tom Landry told Cannon he hasn`t received medical clearance to play in the 1985 season. Cannon was knocked unconscious and suffered a brief paralysis of his arms and legs when he tackled New Orleans` Wayne Wilson last year.
— Former Nebraska defensive back Dana Stephenson, 36, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for involvement in a cocaine conspiracy. Stephenson had been convicted on 14 drug-related counts.
IT`S BONKERS AT ASU
Recent events in the Arizona State athletic department have been so bizarre that Arizona Senate Majority Leader Robert Usdane proclaimed, ”That place is bonkers.”
The latest development in the Sun Devils` soap opera found athletic director Dick Tamburo resigning Tuesday night. He was told by university president J. Russell Nelson ”it was time for a change.”
Tamburo`s resignation came in the wake of newspaper reports that several of the school`s baseball players had been taking a mood-altering drug prescribed by a campus psychiatrist.
Tamburo insisted his decision was not based on the controversy and instead ”was a culmination of things.” During the last 21 months, Arizona State has been penalized by the Pac-10 in five sports.
News of the resignation came on the same day the university was celebrating its 100th anniversary and kicking off a $75 million fund-raising campaign.
Things got a little better for ASU baseball coach Jim Brock Tuesday night, who earlier this week said he had changed his mind about resigning because of the controversy. The Sun Devils presented him with his 700th victory at the university by beating UCLA 9-3.
ANOTHER CHANGE OF MIND
Auburn basketball coach Sonny Smith, who announced last month that he would quit at season`s end, has decided to withdraw his resignation. ”I am convinced that this is the right thing to do,” said Smith, whose team was 22-11 this season and returns all five starters–including the gifted Chuck Person–for 1985-86.
Smith, 48, stunned everybody at Auburn when he declared Feb. 8 that he was quitting. A campaign to keep him at Auburn grew as Smith led the Tigers to their first Southeastern Conference tournament championship, winning four games in four days. Auburn then knocked off Purdue and Kansas to reach the Southeast Regional semifinals, where the Tigers were eliminated by North Carolina.
— Junior guard Kelvin Upshaw, a Marshall High School graduate who led Utah in scoring this season with a 17.4-point average, has been dismissed from the squad for failure to meet minimum academic standards, said Utah coach Lynn Archibald. The coach said Upshaw would not return to school for the spring quarter.
BASSETT`S NO FALL GUY
The United States Football League`s planned shift to a fall schedule in 1986 apparently doesn`t sit well with Tampa Bay Bandits` owner John Bassett, who announced Tuesday that his team is unilaterally planning to play in the spring next season. ”The commissioner (Harry Usher) is upset, but we will not play in the fall of 1986, period,” said Bassett, whose decision was triggered by the USFL`s inability to negotiate a network television contract.
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”Mr. Usher thinks we`re not helping him with his negotiations, but for four years I`ve done nothing but act in the best interests of the league. Now I`m acting in the best interest of the Tampa Bay Bandits. There`s no point rowing a boat that`s full of holes. I think the fall people have had their chance for `86 and, as far as I`m concerned, they failed.”
Usher issued a statement saying Bassett would be fined an undisclosed amount for violating a directive that ”public statements regarding the USFL will originate from the league office.”
BASEBALL TALKS HUNG UP
Negotiators for major league baseball club owners and the players` union met Tuesday but failed to reach an agreement that would expand the American and National League playoffs from a best-of-5 series to a best-of-7 series. Don Fehr, who is leading the contract negotiations for the players, and Lee MacPhail, the owners` chief negotiator, said the stumbling block to expanding the playoffs remains the manner in which $9 million in additional television revenue would be split up.