1979 Buffalo Bills Rookie Profiles

TOM COUSINEAU
Linebacker
1st Round
Ohio State
"In 1977 and 1978 the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers, respectively, drafted instant success in the form of running backs Tony Dorsett and Earl Campbell. Dorsett helped the Cowpokes win Super Bowl XII and Campbell led an Oiler rush to the playoffs and a quarterfinal playoff win.
The scenario was different last May at the 44th annual NFL draft held in New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, however, when this season's first choice, Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau, was selected by the Buffalo Bills. Cousineau is properly rated as the number one pro prospect in the country, but neither he nor his teammates are playoff bound.
'All we know,' said Buffalo head coach Chuck Knox, 'is that Cousineau can become an All-Pro.'
Cousineau is only the second linebacker ever honored as number one in the lottery, the other being Tommy Nobis, the Atlanta Falcons' 1966 selection, who more than made the pick stand up.
'My idol has always been Dick Butkus,' said Cousineau, who wears a diamond in his left earlobe, a leather scapular medal around his neck and a shark tattoo on his right calf. 'Buffalo seemed to need defense last year. I expect to start and I feel I will contribute.' Cousineau hopes to follow in the footsteps of the NFL's best inside linebacker- Denver's Randy Gradishar, another Ohio State grad and Woody Hayes player.
Cousineau is 6'3" and 230 pounds of filet mignon on the hoof, but like most draft picks his selection cannot be assessed for several years. The Bills needed defense and he was the best athlete available."

-Norm MacLean, Football Forecast 1979


JERRY BUTLER
Wide Receiver
1st Round
Clemson
A first-team All-American last year, his statistics were the most impressive of any pass-catcher in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His 58 receptions and 908 yards both topped the conference and his 15.7 average was good for second, as were his three receiving touchdowns. This followed a 1977 season in which Jerry topped the ACC both with 824 yards and a 17.7 average, and a '76 season which earned him the most Heisman votes of any underclassman in the country.
In 1977, Jerry set the Clemson record for most receiving yards in one game (163) against Georgia Tech. In his best game of the '78 season, against North Carolina, he caught six passes for 124 yards.

FRED SMERLAS

Nose Tackle

2nd Round

Boston College

A fine combination of strength and aggressiveness, Smerlas was an Associated Press and Sporting News honorable mention All-American in 1978 and United Press International All-New England in 1977 and '78. He was a starter the last three seasons and was a captain of the Eagles last year. He distinguished himself in the 1979 Senior Bowl.

Fred was a star athlete at Waltham (Mass.) High School. He was an outstanding wrestler, winning the New England championship in the heavyweight class in consecutive years.

JIM HASLETT

Linebacker

2nd Round

Indiana (Pennsylvania)

In his last three years at Indiana, Haslett was named to numerous college division All-America teams. He made 144 tackles in 10 games during the 1978 season.

He was also the team's punter with 60 punts for 2,489 yards (41.5 average). Jim booted a 73-yarder in a game, punting four times that day for a 61.3-yard average.

Scouts describe Jim a a super competitor.

1979 Profile: Lou Piccone

Wide Receiver
No. 89
West Liberty State
"One of the Bills' most versatile players, Lou excels on specialty team duty. He set Jets' season and career records for kickoff return yardage during the 1974 campaign.
Lou majored in speech at West Liberty State."

-1979 Topps No. 148

R.I.P. Chuck Knox

Thank you, Coach Knox, for making Buffalo a winning team again.

1979 Profiles: Willie Parker and Phil Olsen

WILLIE PARKER

Center
No. 61
North Texas State
"The Bills' regular center for the past two seasons, Willie started all 14 games of the 1977 campaign at the center post, moving in for the departed  Mike Montler. He had appeared in 30 consecutive games for the Bills before suffering an injury in the second game of 1976.
Willie is an excellent snapper on punting downs.
He won three letters in weightlifting at North Texas State."

-1979 Topps No. 259

PHIL OLSEN

Center-Defensive Tackle

Utah State

"Phil recovered from two knee operations to become a Rams' regular at right defensive tackle in 1971. He followed his older brother, Merlin, to Utah State and earned many of the same honors- he was an All-American defensive tackle, he played in the East-West Shrine and Hula Bowl Games and was picked as a College All-Star."

-1973 Topps No. 14

1979 Profile: Nick Mike-Mayer

Place Kicker
No. 5
Temple

"One of the NFL's outstanding rookies in 1973, Nick was one of the NCAA's leading placement specialists in 1972."

-1974 Topps No. 186

"Nick has been very accurate on placement attempts since 1967, the year he first kicked in competition. On November 4, 1973, his 16-yard field goal with 54 seconds left helped the Falcons defeat the 49ers."

-1976 Topps No. 506

"Nick enjoyed his greatest game as a pro on November 4, 1973. He had five field goals in the game, hitting on his fifth with 54 seconds remaining the game, giving the Falcons a 15-13 win. He missed a point-after-touchdown for the first time in his career in the 11th game of 1975. Until then he had connected on his first 73 extra-point tries. He has led the Falcons in scoring four times.

At Temple, Nick kicked 13 of 20 field goals and 24 of 26 extra points as a senior."

-1977 Topps No. 37

"Nick's name is beside nearly every Falcons placekicking record. His rookie season of 1973 saw him kicking the longest field goal of his career, a 52-yarder against the 49ers. That year he kicked five field goals in a 15-13 win over the Rams.

Nick works as a car salesman during the off-season."

-1978 Topps No. 491

"Nick joined the Eagles for the final three games of 1977 and displayed a perfect record. He was three-for-three in field goal tries and made seven extra points [7-for-7].
Nick earned a degree in languages at Temple."

-1979 Topps No. 107

1979 Profile: Merv Krakau

Linebacker
No. 52
Iowa State
"Merv has been a consistently strong player for the Bills both as a starting linebacker and as a specialty teams player. He played in the 1972 Liberty Bowl.
One of Merv's hobbies is bowling."

1979 Topps No. 491

1979 Profile: Mike Kadish

Defensive Tackle
No. 71
Notre Dame
"Mike was voted as the Bills' Most Valuable Player by his teammates for his performance during the 1977 campaign. He led all Buffalo defensive linemen that season with 117 tackles, third best on the defensive squad. Mike was the Bills' defensive leader in 1975 with 93 tackles and seven quarterback sacks.
An All-American at Notre Dame, Mike is the Bills' player representative."

-1979 Topps No. 87