Thu, Feb 02, 2006 page8

• Seneca Wallace fails to bow to pressure

  SUPER BOWL WEEK Back in 2002, Houston Texans GM dismissed Seneca Wallace's athletic skills in front of the media. On Sunday Wallace will play in the championship

  • NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
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  Every Super Bowl team has a player with a story that illuminates perseverance. Seattle's story is Seneca Wallace.

  About three years ago, Wallace, a former Iowa State quarterback, was in Indianapolis at the NFL combine showing off his skills for scouts and general managers.

  Wallace had enjoyed an outstanding college career: He was a serious Heisman Trophy candidate, had made Iowa State one of the hottest stories during the 2002 season and was being touted as one of college football's most exciting quarterbacks. But at the combine, Charley Casserly, the Houston Texans' general manager, burst Wallace's bubble.

  

  Seahawks receiver/quarterback Seneca Wallace, right, hauls in a catch from quarterback Matt Hasselbeck as a Panthers cornerback makes the tackle during the NFC championship game at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington, on Jan. 22. Wallace's catch set up a touchdown for the Seahawks.

  PHOTO: EPA

  Speaking to reporters, Casserly responded to a question about Wallace as an NFL quarterback by saying: "I think the young man is missing something here. I think either he should go to Canada or he should realize he should look to play another position and be a dual-position player in the NFL. Clearly, he's fighting that right now."

  Wallace did not go to Canada and did not change positions. He resisted the bait-and-switch. On Sunday, he will participate in Super Bowl XL as the backup to Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

  "Growing up, I always had to fight," Wallace said Tuesday. "`You're not a quarterback; you're too small; you're too athletic; you need to be playing somewhere else.' I just stuck to my guns. Whatever he said, when he did say it, it didn't bother me because I knew that given the opportunity, I could put myself in the best situation, and that's to play quarterback."

  Wallace's story is still unfolding. In the National Football Conference championship game against the Carolina Panthers, Wallace made a big play that set up the Seahawks' first touchdown. For the first time in his professional career, he lined up as a receiver, then ran a slant-and-go and made a 28-yard catch. Seattle scored on the next play.

  I followed Wallace's career at Iowa State and kept an eye on him in Seattle. When he caught that pass, I thought, "The beginning of the end of a quarterback's career."

  Antwaan Randle El, a wide receiver for the Steelers and a former college quarterback, said that when he saw highlights of the catch, he thought, "Five more catches like that and he'll never play quarterback again."

  Wallace said he was merely helping the team. "As long as they know in the back of their mind -- and I think they do -- `this guy's a quarterback."'

  The Catch-22 for aspiring quarterbacks with multiple talents is that they have the skills to go from quarterback to receiver or defense. There is also a bias against athleticism that militates against those kinds of quarterbacks playing team sports' most glamorous position.

  The temptation to switch a quarterback with skills often proves too great to resist. The scouts are already talking with Michael Robinson of Penn State about switching to receiver.

  Mike Holmgren still sees Wallace as a quarterback. At the same time, Holmgren acknowledged the dilemma facing coaches who are looking at a pool of talent with unprecedented versatility.

  "Here's a young man who, athletically, should be on the field," Holmgren said of Wallace.

  Randle El was in a similar position when he went to the Steelers. A standout quarterback at Indiana, Randle El switched without a fight.

  "I didn't feel I was going to press the issue," he said Tuesday. "My whole thing was opportunity to play in this league, and play in this league and be good."

  Pittsburgh has a history of making players switch. Tony Dungy, a quarterback at Minnesota, played in the Steelers' secondary. Kordell Stewart, a quarterback at Colorado, became famous as "Slash" (quarterback/wide receiver).

  Hines Ward played quarterback at Georgia, although only because he was pressed into action when the team was beset by injuries. Randle El was an accomplished college quarterback who has never lost his passion for the position.

  "In his heart," Ward said, "he wants to be a quarterback. It's not going to happen here."

  Reporters joked with Randle El Tuesday about his arm strength. Whose arm was stronger, his or Ben Roethlisberger's? ("Ben's.") Randle El's or Hines Ward's? ("Hines can't throw.")

  Asked to compare himself with Wallace, Randle El said: "Our games are similar just in terms of being an athlete. He has made some plays; that's where the similarity comes in."

  As quarterbacks, there is no comparison between Randle El and Wallace. One is a hybrid, the other is a bona-fide NFL quarterback. Jim Zorn, Seattle's quarterbacks coach, coached Randle El in the Senior Bowl and said he had charisma and bravado, but nowhere near Wallace's arm strength and accuracy.

  "If Seneca threw like Randle El," Zorn said, "he'd be a receiver today."

  IWhat lesson has Casserly learned in the three seasons since he dismissed Wallace? The Texans have the first pick in the NFL draft. Despite the cry to draft quarterback Vince Young out of Texas, Casserly has been noncommittal.

  He'd better get with the program. Just look at Seneca Wallace in the Super Bowl with Seattle. This could be you.
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