Into the great wide open
Fomer Lions Enis, Jurevicius, McQuery sign with NFL franchises

By CHRIS MASSE
and VITO FORLENZA
Collegian Staff Writer

Last year at this time, Curtis Enis, Joe Jurevicius and Mike McQueary were wearing blue and white. This year they are fighting for jobs in the NFL.

Enis, the fifth pick in the NFL draft and the No. 3 rusher in Penn State history, agreed to a three-year, $5.6 million contract with a $3.6 million signing bonus. The deal includes an option for a fourth year which could pay him $2 million.

"It was a wise business decision," Enis told the Associated Press. "I wanted to come in here and play and prove that I can play first. We decided that was the best road to take."

For a while it appeared Enis would never wear a Bears uniform. Two days before signing, he broke off negotiations with Chicago and hung up the telephone on Bears' player negotiator Ted Phillips after telling Phillips he would see him in another uniform next year. Enis said he would sit out the season and re-enter next year's draft.

"I said some things out of frustration," Enis told the AP. "There's no hard feelings toward the Bears' organization. I'm excited to be here."

Whether Enis will be in the starting lineup for the Bears' Sept. 6 opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars has yet to be determined. He admitted to not being in the kind of shape he wanted to be entering training camp, and in his Chicago preseason debut against the Buffalo Bills he carried the ball two times for nine yards in the fourth quarter.

The Chicago fans greeted Enis with a chorus of boos the first time he trotted onto Soldier Field and continued to boo after each of his runs.

His debut and holdout were not the only news items involving Enis during the summer. In June, he was investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting a Dallas-area woman on May 29. Sports Illustrated reported last week that in a June 22 sworn affidavit, Enis said the woman had performed oral sex on him, an act he described as "completely consensual." On Aug. 17 a Dallas grand jury declined to indict Enis.

While under investigation Enis married his pregnant girlfriend Tiffanie and joined Champions for Christ, an Austin, Texas-based ministry headed by Greg Ball. Ball and the organization have both drawn suspicion in some NFL circles.

Sports Illustrated reported that a former CFC disciple said the organization may be receiving donations from up to 10 percent of the NFL's players.

Enis, though, had nothing but good things to say about CFC and Ball to Sports Illustrated.

"My life was a great big lie," Enis said, "and (Ball) basically saved it."

Now that Jurevicius has signed a multimillion dollar contract with the New York Giants, he doesn't have to worry about his academic performance any longer.

Jurevicius ended a four-day holdout with the Giants by signing a three-year, $1.48 million deal July 27.

"I am glad that Joe is in training camp," Jurevicius' agent Neil Cornrich said after the signing. "We are both excited for his career with the New York Giants."

Cornrich said there were "a number of variables that needed to be resolved" between his client and the organization, causing the holdout. In addition to his NFL contract, Jurevicius signed an endorsement deal with Nike.

Before being chosen in the second round of April's draft (55th overall) by New York and signing any deals with anyone, the former Penn State receiver was suspended twice for failing to meet Penn State's academic standards, once during the 1996 season for a game against Purdue and again last January for the Nittany Lions' Citrus Bowl game against Florida.

He also was declared academically ineligible for the spring of 1997 and could not participate in off-season drills.

But now, Jurevicius can concentrate solely on his battle with Amani Toomer, Chris Calloway, Thomas Lewis and fellow rookie Brian Alford (all from Big Ten schools) for playing time. One receiver slot likely will be occupied by former Florida standout Ike Hilliard. The 1997 first-round pick may fully be recovered from his season-ending neck injury from a year ago and the slight discomfort he had been feeling in the midst of training camp.

Hilliard's status was questionable, but he grabbed seven receptions for 74 yards in the Giants' 27-23 preseason loss to the New York Jets on Aug. 20. Hilliard now leads the Giants with eight receptions for 108 yards, but Jurevicius is not far behind, with five catches for 100 yards.

"I think that right now I'm learning to be a receiver and stay on the outside," Jurevicius said in a Giants' Internet chat session.

Jurevicius does not have the speed commonly associated with NFL receivers, but at 6-foot-4, 231 pounds he has the size to play a number of positions. In the same chat session, Jurevicius said coach Jim Fassel has moved him to various receiving positions such as H-back and tight end.

"Later on in life when I become old and decrepit," Jurevicius said, "I may have to move to tight end."

McQueary

Upon entering the 1997 season as Penn State's starting quarterback, many scouts believed McQueary already had the necessary size required for the position -- not only in college, but also in the NFL.

After McQueary was not selected in April's NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders landed the 6-foot-4, 220-pound free agent with a one-year deal to backup veteran quarterback Jeff George.

"I thought I might go in the sixth or seventh round, but that's the way the draft goes," McQueary said in June. "I have this opportunity with Oakland, and things look better and better every day."

That was going into camp, but McQueary's status with the Raiders does not look good as the season approaches. George had the No. 1 spot locked even before mini-camp opened in May. The highly touted star from Illinois had a rocky NFL career but may have found his niche after posting the fifth-best quarterback rating in the NFL last season (91.2). The Raiders, however, posted a dismal 4-12 record.

McQueary is competing with a number of players for one of the backup jobs, and has yet to take a snap with the team in any of its preseason games. If McQueary fails to make the team's final roster, he could remain on the practice squad or look for a similar spot with a different NFL team.

Although the State College native directed the Lions' offense for only one full season, he threw for some good numbers and ranks among some great Lion quarterbacks in the Penn State record book. McQueary is among the top 10 in Penn State career passing yardage (2,730), season passing yardage (2,211) and career quarterback efficiency (145.57).

But while those college stars have not had that success in the NFL (aside from Collins whose professional career is still in limbo), McQueary has the opportunity to join the fraternity of quarterbacks who have had illustrious NFL careers following solid but less-than-spectacular collegiate runs.

"You kind of have to keep a straight and level head," McQueary said in June, "and not be too cocky about it."