In a Rush to the Top : Colorado’s Salaam Went From Small Eight at La Jolla Country Day to Big Eight’s Big Game

Rashaan Salaam, the front-runner of the moment for the Heisman Trophy, is an unlikely candidate.

Consider:

As a teen-ager he sometimes spent two hours on a bus to get to a high school that was so small its football team competed in an eight-man division.

To get a college scholarship, he and his coach went on a publicity campaign with recruiters and the local press.

As a freshman at Colorado, Salaam was so insulted when coaches suggested he redshirt that he openly talked about transferring.

He sat out the opener against Texas his sophomore season for disciplinary reasons and later bad-mouthed a teammate with whom he shared backfield duties.

But Salaam, a junior who recently turned 20, has persevered. He has gone from relative obscurity to a running back with such impressive numbers that he is being urged to make himself available for the NFL draft a year early.

The attention has become so overwhelming in recent weeks that Salaam is afraid to answer his telephone and often disguises his voice with callers he does not recognize. School officials have also stepped in, limiting interviews.

“Rashaan does not revolve his schedule around the media,” school spokesman Dave Plati said last week. “He has his own life and that’s the way we’re going to keep it.”

It might be difficult for Salaam to maintain much of a private life if he has a productive outing Saturday when No. 2 Colorado (7-0) plays No. 3 Nebraska (8-0) at Lincoln, Neb., in a Big Eight Conference battle with national title implications.

Salaam, 6 feet 1 and 210 pounds, already leads the nation in rushing with 1,256 yards, and an impressive performance against the Cornhuskers on national television should all but lock up the Heisman Trophy.

“I’m overwhelmed that I’m even considered the favorite,” Salaam said this week. “I’m surprised my name is coming up because I don’t see myself as a Heisman Trophy winner, I just see myself as a hard worker on a team.”

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Salaam grew up in San Diego. His father, Sultan Abdus-Salaam, formerly known as Teddy Washington, played running back at Colorado in 1963 before transferring to San Diego State.

Rashaan played Pop Warner football as a youngster and hoped to make a name for himself at San Diego Lincoln High, a local power. But Khalada Salaam, Rashaan’s mother who operates a private preparatory elementary school, wanted her son to get an education away from city life.

When he turned 13, Rashaan enrolled at La Jolla Country Day, a private school 30 minutes from downtown San Diego with annual tuition of $8,500. He was so miserable there in the beginning that he often came home crying.

Aside from being away from his childhood friends, Salaam, a black Muslim, felt out of place at a school with a student body of predominantly wealthy whites.

“I never forgot where I was from,” he said. “I never considered myself from La Jolla.”

With only 250 students, La Jolla Country Day competed in a football division with other small schools. Instead of 11 players on a team, the league played eight-man football.

“I thought, ‘Eight-man football. What is this?’ ” Salaam said. “I was just so sad. I mean, I’m like a football-aholic.”

Rick Woods, La Jolla’s coach and a former Big Ten quarterback at Minnesota, knew he had something special in Salaam and was not about to let him get away. Woods took a personal interest in his star player, often giving him rides to and from school and offering advice.

Because La Jolla Country Day was not a regular stop for local sportswriters or recruiters, Woods sent videotapes of Salaam to major colleges and begged reporters to take a look.

“I was a college athlete myself, so when I started promoting Rashaan I knew I was doing the right thing,” Woods said. “This kid was big-time, and I wanted everyone else to know it. Eventually, people came around.”

Salaam’s numbers helped his cause. Despite sitting out the first half of his sophomore season because he was not old enough to compete on the varsity, Salaam rushed for 1,207 yards and 24 touchdowns in six games. La Jolla went undefeated his junior season as Salaam finished with 2,164 yards and 50 touchdowns.

By the time he graduated, Salaam had gained 4,965 yards and scored 112 touchdowns, setting numerous school and San Diego Section records. His statistics are even more impressive considering he sat out the second half of most games because of lopsided scores.

Recruiters took notice too. Many came calling, and Salaam initially selected California but changed his mind when Coach Bruce Snyder left for Arizona State. He eventually settled on Colorado after a visit over the holidays left him impressed with the wintry setting.

Bill McCartney, Colorado’s coach, did not consider Salaam a risk despite the low level of high school competition.

“It wasn’t like we found a diamond in the rough,” McCartney said. “Everyone knew who Rashaan was, so we were thrilled to get him. I never considered him a risk. I expected the things he’s accomplished.”

Colorado’s offense was geared toward the pass when Salaam arrived in 1992, and McCartney already had a couple of veteran running backs. A nagging ankle injury also slowed Salaam, who was never higher than third on the depth chart. He finished the season with 158 yards in 27 carries.

Like many freshmen, he was homesick and disappointed at his playing time. He was also impatient.

“I shouldn’t be moaning and groaning,” Salaam said that fall. “Everything is going well. But I should have looked at (the college decision) more. My heart is with Cal.”

Instead of staying in Boulder and working out the summer after his freshman year, Salaam went home to San Diego to sort out his options. His mother persuaded him to stay at Colorado.

“We talked about his following through on his commitment,” she said. “He was going through normal things for his age, but I told him not to run away from his problems.”

Salaam returned and increased his playing time. He shared backfield duties with junior Lamont Warren and gained 844 yards in nine games. Despite sitting out the opener for giving police a false name after a liquor store incident, Salaam established himself as the main back by the end of the season, gaining 135 yards in a victory over Fresno State in the Aloha Bowl.

Splitting time with Warren was not easy for Salaam, who wanted to get the ball every down. Salaam said some unkind words about Warren to teammates and the gossip spread.

When Warren made himself available for the NFL draft a year early, the players parted on bad terms. “Some things did get back to me that really hurt my feelings,” said Warren, who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. “I had tried to be a friend to Rashaan, offering a shoulder to lean on when needed. We haven’t spoken since I left.”

Warren’s departure certainly helped Salaam, who has racked up impressive numbers against quality competition. His average of 179 yards per game is 21 yards better than the nation’s No. 2 rusher, Washington’s Napoleon Kaufman.

He is the first Colorado back to rush for more than 200 yards twice in the same season. His top performance was 317 yards in a 34-31 victory over Texas.

All of this has been accomplished on a team that has another Heisman Trophy candidate. Quarterback Kordell Stewart, a senior, would probably be a front-runner if not for Salaam.

The statistics, undefeated record and Heisman hype have led to a circus atmosphere for Salaam, who is trying to maintain some semblance of privacy. Friends have been calling to offer advice, and agents have been hounding him and his mother with promises of lucrative contracts.

Salaam has maintained all season that he will return to Colorado for his senior year, but he has begun to waver the last couple of weeks.

“We don’t talk about the draft at all,” his mother said. “I think my son just wants to concentrate on the next four games and try to be as normal as possible. He has a good head on his shoulders and that is going to have to be enough. Some things are out of my control.”

RASHAAN SALAAM

1994 RUSHING STATISTICS

Opponent Car. Yds Avg TD NE La. 24 184 7.7 3 Wisc. 26 85 3.3 4 Mich. 22 141 6.4 2 Texas 35 317 9.1 1 Missouri 28 166 5.9 2 Okla. 25 161 6.4 4 Kan. St. 28 202 7.2 2 Total 188 1,256 6.7 18