Warrick Case Puzzles Cappelletti

It’s the Heisman, stupid.

That might not mean jack to Florida State senior receiver Peter Warrick, charged with grand theft the same week he became the Heisman Trophy front-runner, but some folks still think it’s a big deal.

John Cappelletti won the Heisman Trophy in 1973 and dedicated it to his brother Joey, dying of leukemia.

Funny, but as the Penn State tailback closed in on the award, he never considered walking into a department store with a buddy and exchanging $20 for more than $400 worth of merchandise.

Because he didn’t, they never had to make a movie called “Nothing for Joey.”

Pete, if you end up losing the Heisman over this mess, here’s what you missed.

“It was almost a cosmic event, the moon and the stars aligning,” Cappelletti said this week. “It means something different to everyone who wins it. It was never the same for me. It’s always different, whether it’s the first year, or the 10th, or the 25th anniversary.

“But the one thing it will always mean is that, at some point of time in my life, I accomplished something no one else in the country has.”

Cappelletti, like a lot of us, is dumbfounded that Warrick would recklessly derail his Heisman chances with a stunt that could land him on “America’s Dumbest Criminals.”

For the record, Warrick and teammate Laveranues Coles changed lawyers this week and pleaded not guilty to the charges, although there is a videotaped surveillance recording of the “alleged” swindle and Warrick’s now infamous post-bust line, “It’s not like I killed the president.”

No, Pete, what you killed was your reputation and the once-held belief that the Heisman Trophy was a prize to be coveted.

No sweat, right?

In 1995, Nebraska tailback Lawrence Phillips deep-sixed his Heisman hopes when he dragged his former girlfriend, by the hair, down the stairs.

No Heisman? No problem.

Phillips returned to the lineup in time for Nebraska’s national-title romp over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl and convinced the St. Louis Rams he was a top-10 pick.

Cappelletti wonders: “Has the Heisman become ‘If I win it, fine, if I don’t, I’m still going to be the fourth pick and make $50 million?’ I think it’s getting that way. I think money starts to overshadow the fact you were chosen the best player in the country.”

Truth is, Warrick’s arrest probably won’t affect his status as a probable top-five NFL draft choice.

It saddens Cappelletti that the Heisman has become devalued in this process, but there are other factors.

You can only rationalize Warrick’s actions by understanding he must have thought he was going to get away with it.

For that, Cappelletti says, the system of pandering to athletes is to blame.

“It’s not like he created this monster,” Cappelletti said. “It’s something that’s been going on many, many years in college. Athletes think they can get away with a lot. You’ve got to put a little emphasis on the way society puts guys on pedestals, especially in small-town college environments.”

Cappelletti does not think Warrick should be disqualified from Heisman consideration.

“I’m not scratching him off my list,” he said. “It’s not like we haven’t all done something stupid in our lives.”

Nebraska’s Johnny Rodgers won the Heisman in 1972 two years after he took part in a gas-station holdup.

“Did that make him a bad person?” Cappelletti said of Rodgers. “Not really. He’s one of the nicest persons you’d want to meet.”

But Warrick should know that blowing off the Heisman is not like blowing off an interview.

He needs to know what Cappelletti knows each year when he sits down for dinner with former Heisman winners.

“As you move down that table, each year you get pushed down a little farther,” he said. “You have a better understanding for what’s important in life.”

WHAT’S NEXT

Unlike former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne’s ill-fated decision to reinstate Phillips for the Fiesta Bowl, Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden has limited options with Warrick.

According to school rules, Warrick cannot play until his felony charge is resolved. He could return if the charge is reduced to a misdemeanor.

This is where it gets sticky. The threshold for grand theft in Florida is $300. Warrick and Coles combined to meet that threshold, but Warrick’s individual take was only $168.

The state’s attorney claims the players should be charged with felonies because they aided and abetted the department store clerk, who has also been charged with grand theft.

What should Bowden do if Warrick’s case is reduced to a misdemeanor?

First, Warrick should be allowed to return; the seriousness of his case does not compare with Phillips’ assault.

Bowden needs Warrick to win the national championship, but he also needs to punish the player. He can achieve both objectives by suspending Warrick through the Oct. 23 game against Clemson.

By benching Warrick for winnable games against Wake Forest and Clemson, Bowden can assure Warrick won’t win the Heisman yet not jeopardize his team’s national title hopes.

MORE WARRICK

Heisman voters are torn over the Warrick issue. A random sampling of reaction:

Andrew Bagnato, Chicago Tribune: “Through his actions, Warrick hurt his team the week before one of biggest games of season [Miami]. Heisman winners don’t hurt their teams. Does it mean I wouldn’t vote for him? No. But it’s something I would consider.”

Rich Rosenblatt, Associated Press: “I think the stupidity factor doesn’t matter in the Heisman vote. Just look at who’s won. I think the possibility of losing the Heisman is enough penalty.”

Mark Blaudschun, Boston Globe: “Unless he plays some games, he’s no longer a viable candidate. If he does, I will judge him accordingly.”

Vahe Gregorian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Warrick’s foolish off-field behavior has hindered his ability to play and been a betrayal of his teammates. The ‘outstanding’ college football player in the United States doesn’t do that.”

Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star: “I’ll downgrade Warrick more for the time he misses on the field than the criminal charge.”

Ivan Maisel, Sports Illustrated: “The so-called character issue won’t affect my vote. Missing games will affect my vote.”

Tom Shatel, Omaha World-Herald: “I’d vote for Peter Warrick if he A) admitted he was an idiot, B) admitted he committed a crime, C) said he’d never do it ever again and D) did something special on the field, particularly against Florida, not Duke or Wake Forest.”

THE STREAK

Mount Union can break Oklahoma’s record 47-game winning streak Saturday with a home victory over Otterbein, but at least one member of the famed Oklahoma squad said the record chase is bogus.

“Because they’re Division III, I don’t think it’s a threat to the record,” Bob Page, a freshman quarterback on the 1957 Oklahoma team, said. “If it was Nebraska or Michigan, it’s a different story. Mount Union? I don’t know anything about them. It’s like having a minor league baseball team threatening a major league record.

“I don’t want to say it’s irrelevant, I’m sure they’ve done a heck of a job, but I don’t think it affects the record Coach [Bud] Wilkinson set there.”

Notre Dame ended Oklahoma’s 47-game skein on Nov. 16, 1957, with a 7-0 victory at Norman, Okla.

“After the game, I sat there and bawled like a baby,” Ken Northcutt, a two-way starter at guard, recalled. “I’m not ashamed to admit it. You really hated to be the one that lost it. I was there from the start, with all of them, to the end.”

Northcutt’s thoughts on Mount Union’s assault on one of college football’s most hallowed records?

“I wish them the best of luck,” he said. “Deep down, you’d like to see the record stay but, by the same token, ours will always be in the record books.”

HURRY-UP OFFENSE

The worst-possible scenario has unfolded for first-year South Carolina Coach Lou Holtz. Not only has his wife, Beth, suffered a cancer relapse that required surgery last week, but his Gamecocks are off to a 0-6 start with games remaining against Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida.

South Carolina’s offense is averaging an NCAA-low five points per game and has committed 19 turnovers.

“This is uncharted territory for me,” Holtz said. “I’ve never been here before.”

As his school mounts a back-door Sugar Bowl charge, Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer is making feeble attempts to defend his school’s weak nonconference schedule, starting with that big Sept. 4 win over James Madison. “I don’t think they’ve lost since we played them,” Beamer said.

James Madison is a Division I-AA school, Frank, and its four wins since the Virginia Tech loss have been over Northeastern, New Hampshire, Delaware and Villanova.

The Pacific 10 is so whacked-out this year that Stanford, leading the conference with a 3-0 mark, has about an equal chance to make its first Rose Bowl appearance in 28 years or not qualify for a bowl. The Cardinal (3-2) still has to win half of its remaining six games to become bowl eligible.