Harrington or Gesser, which QB is better?

By Craig Hill

The News Tribune

An eight-story likeness of Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington is plastered on the side of a New York building. Among other things, the billboard is used for scenes in the Harrington highlight video that the university shipped to nearly every college football writer in the country.

You need stuff like that to be a viable Heisman Trophy candidate these days.

That is precisely why nobody will be surprised when Washington State University quarterback Jason Gesser isn’t invited to the Heisman presentation show.

Still, some coaches and players around the Pacific-10 Conference aren’t so sure the guy with the webfoot marketing machine will be the best quarterback in Martin Stadium on Saturday afternoon when No. 14 WSU hosts No. 11 Oregon.

“I really, really like Gesser,” said California safety Bert Watts, who has tried to defend Harrington and Gesser this season. “You have to be better prepared to go against him because he does so much. He’s one of the better quarterbacks in the country.”

Seven weeks into the season, Gesser leads the Pac-10 with 1,858 passing yards, 19 touchdown passes and 1,908 yards in total offense while leading the Cougars to a 7-0 record. Harrington, whose Ducks are 6-1, has been slightly more accurate than Gesser, completing 129 of 219 passes for 1,677 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“Harrington is the most polished quarterback in the conference,” said Stanford safety Tank Williams, who has played against both quarterbacks in the past two weeks, “and I think that makes him a little better right now. But I think that’s because he’s a year older than Gesser.”

Harrington, 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, has a strong arm and nimble feet.

“He’s very poised in the pocket and he’s real accurate,” Watts said. “He doesn’t throw a pass he doesn’t expect to complete. He doesn’t make many mistakes. He’s smart.”

Results back up Harrington. His 20-3 record as a starter is better than any quarterback in Oregon football history.

“He’s got the tools and he knows how to get the most out of his team,” Watts said.

While Harrington’s by-the-book style has been successful and will likely make him an early-round NFL draft choice, at least one Pac-10 coach thinks Gesser’s ability to improvise makes him more dangerous.

California coach Tom Holmoe was asked recently who he’d least like playing against and he answered without hesitation.

“Gesser,” said Holmoe, whose Bears have lost to WSU and Oregon this season. “With Harrington you have a very good arm. He can go deep and he can go underneath. He can read defenses well, but that’s structure. When the structure breaks down on defense, now you are playing football. That’s what Gesser forces you to do. He outcompetes the other person.”

Oregon coach Mike Bellotti compares the 6-1, 196-pound Gesser to a former UCLA star Cade McNown, who also had a gift for improvisation in college.

“He (Gesser) is even a little craftier,” Bellotti said. “… He has eyes in the back of his head. He has an extremely quick release. He buys time for himself outside the pocket, and that’s my biggest concern. He has great touch on the deep ball. He’s a gambler who has tremendous faith and confidence in his receivers. He has the ability to create.”

“And that,” Holmoe said, “is so hard to defend.”

Gesser and Harrington became friends last November when their teams played in Pullman. Gesser broke his leg early in the game, but as he hobbled off the field after Harrington led the Ducks to one of his patented come-from-behind overtime victories they shook hands and talked for a few moments. They’ve talked several times since that game.

After the Cougars beat Idaho in their season opener in August, Harrington’s younger brother, Idaho reserve quarterback Michael Harrington, delivered a message from his older brother wishing Gesser luck for the season.

“We have a pretty good relationship,” Gesser said. But neither is saying which quarterback has the advantage Saturday.

“The truth is they are both very difficult to prepare for,” said Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham, “and they are both having great seasons.

As for the Heisman, it’s unlikely either will win the award this season. No Pac-10 player has won the award since USC’s Marcus Allen in 1981, and the conference’s leading candidate this season is UCLA running back DeShaun Foster.

“But I expect Gesser to be a serious candidate next season,” WSU coach Mike Price said.

Of course, that will require highlight videos and billboards.

“We are going to put up a Jason Gesser billboard just outside of Colfax,” Price said.

A Heisman campaign launched in the wheat fields of Eastern Washington?

“Hey,” Price said. “Don’t laugh.”