Golden Gator

University of Florida fans call him "Batman," "Goldflinger," and "S.O.S." A pro scouting report credits him with "the arm of Sammy Baugh, the poise of Johnny Unitas, the leadership of Norm Van Brocklin and the quickness of Joe Namath." A rival coach calls him "the greatest quarterback in the history of college football." Now wait a minute, fellows. His high school coach remembers him as being "slow and awkward." Teammates say he is forever falling asleep. And his team has lost two out of its last three games. But last week sportswriters voted to award Florida's Steve Spurrier the Heisman Trophy as the No. 1 college player in the nation. And what does Spurrier, 21, say about that? "I guess," he moans, "that I was born a year too late."

Too late, Spurrier means, to become an instant millionaire. Now that pro football's two leagues have merged and huge rookie bonuses are presumably a thing of the past, Steve may have to settle for being merely well-to-do. He has hired a lawyer to plead his case-and quite a case it is. Spurrier has completed an astounding 61% of his passes, hitting on 179 out of 291 attempts for 2,012 yds. and 16 touchdowns. Against Miami last week, Steve completed 26 out of 49 for 227 yds. and one TD, although the Gators lost 21-16. To top it all off, he also handles the kicking chores for the Gators: he has averaged 40.8 yds. per punt, booted three field goals --including a last-minute 40-yarder against Auburn that won the game 30-27. The son of a Presbyterian minister, married to the niece of Penn State's former coach Rip Engle, Spurrier rarely smokes, drinks only an occasional beer, is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Rumor has it that under secret terms of the pro merger, he is ticketed to the National Football League's New York Giants, who desperately need a top quarterback if they are to improve on this season's sorry record of one win, eight losses and a tie. Steve insists that he has not yet talked terms with the Giants, and won't until the Gators meet Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2. Then, says his lawyer, the bargaining will "start at $200,000 and work up"--to $400,000 or so.

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