DATE: Saturday, July 19, 1997               TAG: 9707190641

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: FROSTBURG, MD.                    LENGTH:   53 lines

CREDIT FREROTTE'S WIFE AS THE FORCE BEHIND THE QB'S MEGA-CONTRACT

She is very pregnant with their second child, has a new house filled with boxes she must unpack herself while her husband is at training camp. And now she has to deal with the inevitable phone calls from people she hasn't spoken to in years wanting to know whether she and husband Gus Frerotte would part with some of that $18 million the Washington Redskins are paying them the next four years.

Make no mistake. Annie Frerotte was as much responsible for her husband's mega-contract as his agent, coach, general manager or team owner.

``She probably gets the most credit,'' Gus said Friday, choking back tears. ``It's stressful because it was a long negotiation. Annie and I stayed strong, we made this thing work and it was pretty easy on us.

``She knew at once what made me tick. I'm so laid-back, she's so focused, so feisty. That's what makes us a great couple. When I was a junior in college, I had a dream to make the pros. But I don't know if I had the desire. She put the desire there.''

Still sniffling, he bent and kissed his wife, who glowed with pride. She is the daughter of his high school football coach in Ford City, Pa., but they didn't meet until the summer between their sophomore and junior years in college. She attended Pitt, he was at Tulsa, and her dad made the introductions. Four months later, they were engaged.

``I knew from the start that he was a special player,'' she said. ``Tulsa is a small school, he didn't have a lot to work with, they're not on TV. But the day he threw six touchdown passes against East Carolina, I was convinced, even more so when some pro scouts started calling. I always thought he would make it, and I always thought it would be Washington.''

She knows things are going to be different now. Heath Shuler is gone and so is her husband's buffer with the fans. They understood and forgave when he was the underdog, the minimum-wage, low-round draft pick no one gave a chance.

``We are concerned about it,'' she said, ``because he's received so much support from the fans. It was easier when Heath was here, because we were in the shadows, there was no pressure. I hope it doesn't change with the fans. I hope they give him a little slack when he throws an interception.''

She wasn't surprised to see him break down when discussing their new contract and the security it gives them the rest of their lives. No one who watches Gus on a daily basis could remember him baring so much of his emotions in public.

``He always gets that way at home,'' she said. ``He's extremely solid, laid-back, but he thinks about things, too. And when he thinks about all that's happened the last six months; really, the last three seasons, what a real ride it's been to get to this point, it becomes very emotional.''

The last time his voiced cracked, he was thanking Annie for joining him in Frostburg and for being his support. She laughed.

``A couple of times I faltered in my belief,'' she revealed, ``but I never let on.''

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