RETURN to Razorback Report
Stoerner doesn't mumble when talking about fumble
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ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Clint Stoerner went back in time Tuesday to the football moment that he would least like to relive.
Nothing about how Stoerner's appearance at SEC Media Days played out surprised him, least of all the questions about The Fumble.
For the record, it was second-and-12 with 1:47 to play, and undefeated Arkansas had its foot on No. 1 Tennessee's neck last Nov. 14 in Knoxville. Hello, Atlanta. And Tempe, here we come.
Instead, of course, fate interrupted and the Vols went on to win the SEC and national championships.
Stoerner, the Razorbacks quarterback, tripped on the foot of right guard Brandon Burlsworth, stumbled and fumbled.
Eight months later and now a senior, Stoerner handled the questions as well as he handles the blitz. He exhibited humility and composure as about 50 newspaper reporters formed a thick huddle around him.
First pitch, strike.
Clint, you can take a lot of pressure off of us if you'll talk about the fumble.
"Ah, good question," Stoerner said, drawing a round of laughs and immediately putting both sides at ease.
The first 10 questions were about the fumble. Stoerner eventually answered 15 questions about the experience, including whether he watched the British Open and felt any kinship to French golfer Jean Van de Velde.
And this was just the print interview session. Stoerner remained unflappable and upbeat as he answered the same questions in three rooms set up for television reporters, in interviews with Fox Sports and Jefferson-Pilot and in a Q-and-A with radio media.
Dealing with the fumble was tough personally and it was tough for the team, Stoerner said. It was a setback that comes with the game, but it was just one play and you have to press on.
"I can't get mad at you guys for asking that question," Stoerner said. "I asked myself the question a hundred times also. I'm obviously comfortable with it. It doesn't make me mad to answer it. It just comes with the sport, being in a big game like that and being able to play in a big game like that, sometimes you have to pay the price when stuff like that happens."
Ask him again and Stoerner will answer on the subject again just as upfront as he was in the locker room after the game. The only change since then is that time has allowed him to joke about the fumble occasionally. Only occasionally.
Asked how he reacts when he sees the replay for the umpteenth time on television -- does he broil or laugh? -- Stoerner said, "There's not a whole lot of laughing going on."
There's not a whole lot of obsessing going on, either.
"He came back after that loss to Tennessee and didn't let it keep him down," free safety Kenoy Kennedy said. "That was a great example [for the team]."
The good news for Stoerner is he gets another shot at Tennessee, Nov. 13 in Fayetteville, and he's looking forward to it.
"I'd be lying if I told you I didn't," Stoerner said. "That game is definitely marked on my scheduled. But Coach [Houston] Nutt keeps everybody in check to make sure if we're playing Mississippi State we're focused on Mississippi State and if we're playing SMU that's who were focused on. So right now SMU is on our schedule No. 1."
Nutt isn't worried about whether the fumble scarred Stoerner emotionally.
"I really feel in his mind it's not going to affect him," Nutt said. "Now to forget it? No."
Until Tuesday, Stoerner had lived the last several months having been asked about the Tennessee game only a few times. It seemed like half the state already had talked to him about it in those days afterward. Actually, it was only about 200, most of them by e-mail and mostly supportive messages.
So Stoerner expected to spend most of his interviews on the same subject when he came to Birmingham. Afterward, he said he didn't spend the weekend trying to conjure any funny lines or new ways of explaining the fumble. He "dealt with it like I had in the past, tried to anyway."
"It's never going to die with me," Stoerner said. "I'll always think about it. The questions about it, every now and then, it doesn't bother me to answer them."
This article was published on Wednesday, July 28, 1999
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