with his rear end maybe
two inches off the ground, he threw the ball. A perfect spiral up and
into the outstretched hands of the wide out that would have been yet
another score if the astonished Auburn cornerback hadn't stuck out his
hand at the last moment and deflected the ball.
</p>

This kid wasn't like any Accorsi had seen -- not in a long time. He was
tall -- 6-foot-4 at least. He could throw the ball plenty far. He was
decisive. He was poised -- ridiculously so. He had exquisite feel for
the game. But that sterile checklist didn't begin to capture what caused
Accorsi to feel the way he did. ''Forget all about the measurables.''
he says. ''When you're trying to find the difference between the great
quarterback and the good quarterback, you have to feelit. The
intangibles.'' In his 32 years in pro football, Ernie Accorsi had a
chance to draft this sort of talent once: John Elway. As the general
manager of the Baltimore Colts, in 1983, he chose Elway with the first
pick of the draft -- only to hear Elway say he'd rather play
professional baseball than play football in Baltimore, forcing a trade
to Denver. Accorsi quit in frustration; as he put it, ''If I'm going to
lose my job, it's going to be over this, not some right guard.'' And now
here was this kid, a junior at a school that hadn't won anything, whom
he had a shot of drafting. He wrote in his notebook:
</p>

</p><blockquote>He has a feel in the pocket. In one case a linebacker
coming off the blind side edge had him measured and