Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 21, 1991 TAG: 9104210205
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"Scramble, scramble, scramble," said Tech's third-string quarterback who is widely seen as the Hokies' offensive future.
During Tech's annual spring football game at Lane Stadium, the redshirt freshman spent more time avoiding losses than producing yards, thanks to a leaky second-string offensive line that allowed first-team defenders instant access to the former Group AA player of the year.
DeShazo's White team, spotted 18 points at the beginning of the game, scored just once as the Maroon team of starters won 31-25.
Maroon quarterback Will Furrer was selected the game's top offensive player after completing 13 of 24 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. The White team's Billy Swarm, a reserve defensive end, was picked the game's top defensive player after recording eight tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
Maroon's Tony Kennedy led all rushers with 82 yards on seven carries and scored two touchdowns. For the White team, fullback Mark Poindexter had 22 yards on four carries.
Maroon tight end John Burke caught four passes for 57 yards, and teammate Marcus Mickel had three catches for 80 yards, including a 54-yard over-the-shoulder TD from Furrer.
DeShazo caught most of the defensive pressure that resulted in the Maroon team recording six sacks, two each by defensive end David Wimmer and inside linebacker Chris Peduzzi. It was DeShazo's first performance for the Tech public - there were perhaps a couple thousand folks in the stands on a chilly night - since arriving in Blacksburg last fall amid murmurs that he is the second coming of Shawn Moore.
His numbers, however, made him seem more the second coming of forgettable former Hokie Steve Casey. DeShazo completed two of 19 passes and lost 53 yards rushing to finish with a net total of 19 yards on the ground.
"I tried to compose myself [passing], but sometimes you just forget about your form," he said.
But when he scrambled . . . . "I wanted to show the people I could run," said DeShazo, who had several manic, cross-field scrambles for big gains but had his three longest plays called back because of penalties.
"I believe they had it rigged," he said, tongue-in-cheek, about the officials.
DeShazo kept his humor despite enduring an out-of-the-pocket night that had his coaches shaking their heads. But even DeShazo's troubles didn't mask his potential in Tech's eyes.
"I know he avoided a lot of people," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "He's been throwing the ball better than he actually threw it tonight.
"He's in a position where I want to get him some work next fall. Depending on how he develops will determine how we're going to get him in the game - whether it be in the second quarter or [at other times]."
DeShazo's main success Saturday came, to no one's surprise, running the option. He scored the White team's only touchdown on a 2-yard option keeper after missing on three alley-oop passes.
Beamer is obviously delighted with the versatility DeShazo can provide to Tech's offense.
"He's going to run the option, and if he's in the game, people are going to have to prepare for the option that week," Beamer said. "It adds something to our game plan."
DeShazo said his biggest improvements this spring came in reading defenses, and quarterbacks coach Rickey Bustle praised his decision-making during spring. DeShazo said he knows he will not challenge Furrer for the starting job, but said he'll shoot for No. 2 and says he will have a comfort zone heading into the fall.
"I learned a lot of plays that, last fall, I was guessing," he said. "You don't want to be guessing in a big game. I want to know what I'm doing when I do it."
Just what, Tech fans may ask, will DeShazo do? At Bassett, he had the legs - 1,559 yards and 20 touchdowns rushing - and the arm, with 3,217 yards and 28 TDs passing. He is elusive, as he proved by faking past several first-team defenders Saturday. He is creative, as he proved by cutting back across the field a couple of times when hemmed in.
DeShazo, however, is laid-back about his future, even if some Hokies' fans eyes may have bugged out watching him scramble.
"Some people said, `Are you going to do anything different to please the fans?' " he said. "I just do what I can do. If they're impressed, fine. If they're not, sorry."
see microfilm for box score
by CNB