One More Autumn

"If I make the squad, then I'll look for an apartment." Brian Buckley isn't taking any chances. He knows the odds for an 11th round draft pick. so the Harvard and perhaps New England Patriot quarterback is keeping his options open.

But that doesn't mean he wants it any less than any of the other rookies who will join him in the Pats' camp, stating July 20 in Smithfield, R.I. "For the first time in my life," says the history major who graduates today. "I have nothing to worry about but football. That's a great weight off my shoulders. and now I can really concentrate on making the team."

The odds may be in his favor. The Patriots. a team that traditionally carries three quarterbacks, has two (Steve Grogan and Matt Cavanaugh) who have serious knee trouble and one (Tom Owens) who is fighting with the team management. So the field is open.

After missing the Patriots' rookie camp to finish his finals, Buckley has been working out informally with the team at its Foxboro headquarters. Working with quarterback coach Babe Parilli ("He was real helpful in tutoring Joe Namath," Buckley says), teh left-hander is trying to tune his game to the pro level, He only has a few months before he finds out whether the talent that propelled Harvard to five victories in the six games he played in 1980 will be good enough for the pros.

But what if it doesn't work? "In the future." Buckley says, unfazed, if not happy with the prospect of life without football, "I'd like to go to law school eventually." And if he's not with the Patriots this fall, "I'll probably have some job offers available (he says two top New York investment banks are interested), so I'm not worried."

"And anyway," Brian Buckley, Harvard graduate and putative quarterback in the National Football League says. "this summer will be an experience that not too many people are able to say they've had."