Washington Non-Deal Gets Under Beathard’s Skin : Pro football: Redskins dangle Humphries in front of Charger general manager; Huerta dismayed at being chosen in 12th round.

General Manager Bobby Beathard was peeved at the Redskins, but delighted with his draft.

Kicker Carlos Huerta, meanwhile, was just downright mad.

“Wouldn’t you be?” Huerta said, after the Chargers had selected him in the 12th round of the NFL draft. “I thought I’d go in the third or fourth round.”

But wasn’t he happy to hear from Beathard? “I’m indifferent,” he said. “There will be no hand-stands.

“I was the MVP of the national championship team (University of Miami). I hit 157 consecutive extra points. I had two strings of 11 consecutive field goals. I hit 86-point-something of my field goals inside the 50 and a lot of NFL guys can’t do that. I don’t mean to be talking myself up, but it’s just the facts . . . Call my publicist; he’ll tell you.”

A 12th-rounder with his very own publicist . . . is no more ridiculous than the circus surrounding the on-and-then-the-off again trade of Washington quarterback Stan Humphries to the Chargers.

The Redskins don’t want Humphries, and they spent the past two days dangling him in front of Beathard, who had drafted Humphries in round 6 in 1988 while Washington’s general manager.

“The word we get is they would like to get him out of there,” Beathard said, “but to anybody but us.”

Washington coach Joe Gibbs and Humphries are no longer invited to the same parties. Gibbs has made it obvious that he prefers to play Mark Rypien, Jeff Rutledge and Cary Conklin rather than Humphries.

Humphries got the message. He sold his home and has vowed not to return to Washington. At the same time, the Redskins’ fourth-round selection of William & Mary quarterback Chris Hakel has all but guaranteed that Humphries will be traded.

But not to San Diego.

Beathard offered a fifth-round pick to the Redskins at last year’s trading deadline for Humphries, but Washington rejected it. After fielding another inquiry from Washington on Sunday, Beathard said he fulfilled the Redskins’ demand only to have them turn it down again.

“I felt we would be able to make it today,” Beathard said, “but the people here (in the Chargers’ personnel department) bet a dinner that there was no way they would work a deal with us. That’s exactly what happened.

“It’s always they change their mind; they want him back there. It got to the point where we would have been interested, but now we’re just not going to play the game anymore. We’re out of it.”

Gibbs told a different story to reporters in Washington.

“(Beathard’s) version doesn’t hold water,” Gibbs said. “My version is they didn’t want to do it. They wanted it (their offer) to be very low. We’re haggling over value, I guess that’s the way you should say it.

“We approached him (Beathard) and he didn’t want to do it.”

Asked if he was upset with his former team, Beathard said, “Yeah. What I think they’re trying to do is use us to get him some place else. They had no intention of giving him to us in the first place.”

The Chargers, however, do have Huerta. A very unhappy Huerta.

“He’s disappointed, because with the career he had, he felt he would go higher in the draft,” Beathard said. “He’s a very competitive kicker, and though he’s disappointed, he’s anxious to come in and compete for a job.”

Well, not anxious.

“It’s hard to go somewhere and just fill up space,” Huerta said. “Bobby Beathard told me that’s not the case, but I don’t know. I just don’t know what happened. I’m not someone who is very impressive to watch in practice and I was just average at the NFL Combine workouts, but I’m just very, very good in games.

“I couldn’t believe it when I didn’t get drafted the first day. I just sat there today watching the names crawl across the bottom of the screen on ESPN, and it turned into a joke. I mean they were taking guys from Livingstone College and Hampton Institute.”

Now is probably not a good time to mention that it was the Chargers who selected wide receiver Johnnie Barnes from Hampton Institute--in round 9.

“I had a chance at a $150,000 signing bonus if I go in the third or fourth round,” he said. “I don’t know now--maybe $15,000 or $12,000. I kicked for three national championship teams. Every time I came into a game and we needed a big kick, I made it.

“I was a walk on at Miami and I had maybe a 10% chance of playing there. Right now being a 12th-rounder I look at this as being a very similar situation. All I want is a chance, a fair chance.”

John Carney, the Chargers’ incumbent kicker, invited Huerta to work as a guest teacher at his Florida-based kicking camp last year. Now they will square off in training camp.

Carney, who was bypassed in all 12 rounds of the 1987 draft, is coming off a shaky performance last season, hitting 19 of 29 field-goal attempts. His solid work ethic and strong showing in 1990 (19 of 21), however, will make it difficult for anyone to uproot him.

Huerta, as he wanted everyone to know, had tremendous success while at Miami. In addition to his NCAA record of 157 consecutive extra points without a miss, Huerta, who is nicknamed “Iceman,” closed out his career hitting 73 of 91 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 9 from 50 yards or further.

“That’s the knock: I don’t have a big leg,” said Huerta, who is 5-6 1/2, 172 pounds. “Do I believe it? No. I had two misses from 57 yards and one from 59. Take those three misses away and I’m four of six from long range. I hit a 54-yarder in this year’s Orange Bowl. I’m 82% inside of 55 yards. I had a 50-yarder in the Cotton Bowl.”

Why call the publicist?

“If they give me a chance down there I’ll be happy as hell, but who knows if they will give a chance to a 12th-rounder?” he said. “Nothing against San Diego, it’s just the whole draft. I was a consensus all-American.”

A Look at the Charger Draft Picks

Sunday’s picks

WHERE PICKED NAME SCHOOL POS HGT WGT Round 1 (23 overall) Chris Mims Tennessee DE 6-5 270 Round 2 (33) Marquez Pope Fresno State DB 5-10 188 Round 3 (63) Ray Ethridge Pasadena CC WR 5-10 180 Round 5 (117) Curtis Whitley Clemson C 6-1 288 Round 5 (131) Kevin Little N.Carolina A&T; LB 6-2 251 Round 5 (140) Eric Jonassen Bloomsburg T 6-5 310

Monday’s Picks WHERE PICKED: Round 6 (147) NAME: Reggie White SCHOOL: N.Carolina A&T; POSITION: DT HEIGHT: 6-4 WEIGHT: 291 No, not that Reggie White. Same position, but that Reggie White remains entrenched in Philadelphia. Had 10 sacks and was all-Mid Eastern Athletc Conference first team choice. “He’s kind of a sleeper,” General Manager Bobby Beathard said. “He rushes the passer well. . . . I think he’s an excellent football player, not just a guy to fill the roster.” WHERE PICKED: Round 7 (174) NAME: Deems May SCHOOL: North Carolina POSITION: TE HEIGHT: 6-4 WEIGHT: 249 First name is Bert; middle name is Deems. Recruited as quarterback at 205 pounds. Added weight and became team’s blocking tight end, but impressed Chargers with ability to catch the ball. “Very smart kid and has good opportunity,” Beathard said. “His strong suit is his quickness off the ball.” WHERE PICKED: Round 8 (201) NAME: James Fuller SCHOOL: Portland State POSITION: SS HEIGHT: 5-11 WEIGHT: 208 A Kodak All-America performer in Division II. Led Portland State in unassisted tackles the past two seasons. “The coaches at Portland State thought he was a better prospect than (Atlanta free safety) Tracey Eaton,” Beathard said. “The time the combine scout had on him was inaccurate. He ran under 4.6 for us; before it was in the high 4.7s.” WHERE PICKED: Round 9 (231) NAME: Johnnie Barnes SCHOOL: Hampton Inst. POSITION: WR HEIGHT: 6-1 1/2 WEIGHT: 173 School’s all-time leading receiver with 134 receptions for 3,080 yards and 22 touchdowns. Invited to Olympic Trials in 400 meters. The 1990 400-meter national champion (NCAA Division II); fastest 400-meter time: 44.7. “A better prospect than Joe Weinberg (Chargers’ 11th-round pick last year, who was cut in training camp),” Beathard said. WHERE PICKED: Round 10 (258) NAME: Arthur Paul SCHOOL: Arizona State POSITION: DT HEIGHT: 6-5 1/2 WEIGHT: 307 Bakersfield Community College transfer with a basketball background, scoring 41 points in one game. Played nose guard and defensive tackle at ASU and had one sack. “I wouldn’t describe him as a threat as a pass rusher,” Beathard said, “but he’s very strong against the run.” WHERE PICKED: Round 11 (285) NAME: Keith McAfee SCHOOL: Texas A&M; POSITION: RB HEIGHT: 6-0 WEIGHT: 214 Averaged 4.7 yards a carry as career backup in college. Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences major. Ran four times for 25 yards in 65-14 Holiday Bowl win over BYU. “He’s a big back with great speed,” Beathard said. “He’s a kid we’re going to have to keep our thumbs on. He’s got loads of talent, but he’s left a little bit to be desired as far as his off-season work habits.” WHERE PICKED: Round 12 (315) NAME: Carlos Huerta SCHOOL: Miami POSITION: K HEIGHT: 5-7 WEIGHT: 172 Holds the NCAA all-time record with 157 consecutive extra points. Connected on 73 of 91 field-goal attempts. Was 2-for-9, however, from 50 yards and beyond. Nicknamed, “Iceman” for being cool under pressure. “We felt other than Jason Hanson (drafted in second round by Lions), he was the next best kicker on the board,” Beathard said.