Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Everybody wants Colonels' tight end and defensive tackle John St. Clair, or so it would appear.
"We've never had anybody get the kind of attention he's getting," Stuart said, "and I'm not just talking letters. They're past that. We're getting more of the bigger names in here than ever before."
And they're not looking just at St. Clair, now measured at 6 feet 7 and 265 pounds. Offensive tackle Russell Mills (6-6, 310) also has established himself as a Division I prospect and Stuart thinks center Paul Wallace (6-1, 255) is as fine a pure football player as his linemates.
"There hasn't been a college coach come by our school who hasn't mentioned them," said Northside coach Jim Hickam, who also has a pair of blue-chip line prospects in Roth Townsend and Jeff Painter.
Stuart said St. Clair is more advanced at this stage than David Ware, who started for two seasons at Virginia before he was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL draft.
"David would tell you himself that he was mostly interested in basketball until his senior year at Fleming," Stuart said. "John St. Clair has been with us since the eighth grade."
Another reason that college recruiters love St. Clair is his 3.5 grade-point average.
"We've had some kids with grades and not the ability and then we've had some kids who had the ability but maybe not the test scores," Stuart said. "St. Clair has the ability and the grades, plus he's got the great size they're always looking for."
Stuart said Georgia and North Carolina are St. Clair's two early favorites. Notre Dame, Michigan, Boston College and Florida are also in a top six that he recently gave to a recruiting magazine.
SAD DUTY: Page Moir had the somber task again this week of calling the Roanoke College men's basketball family to report the death of a former teammate, 27-year-old Taylor Livick, who suffered a fatal heart attack Monday while playing softball.
"It's strange to have this happen two years later," said Moir, referring to the 1992 death of former player Michael Murphy in an April pick-up game. I've seen Taylor maybe four or five times a week; I played basketball with him two weeks ago. He was a young, healthy guy who had just lost 10 [or]15 pounds."
WOULD-BE OLYMPIAN: One-time Cave Spring softball standout Sara Goodman, a four-time All-Big South Tournament selection at Campbell University, was one of four college players from North Carolina invited to the first round of tryouts for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, June 11. Goodman, a center fielder, was team MVP as Campbell won a school-record 40 games.
HIGHLANDERS STRIKE AGAIN: Chris Carr of William Byrd has become the second prominent area pitcher to sign a letter-of-intent with Radford University, joining Glenvar's Jason Anderson. Carr finished the regular season with a 10-0 record, 2.16 earned-run average and 93 strikeouts in 581/3 innings.
ODAC COMES TO ROANOKE: Emory & Henry's men's basketball staff has continued to look toward the Roanoke Valley, receiving a commitment from 6-3 Donald Childress, who averaged 15.5 points this past season at William Byrd. ... Marcus Cardwell, an All-Timesland football player at North Cross, has chosen to concentrate on basketball at Hampden-Sydney. Cardwell averaged 18.3 points this past season.
TRANSFERS: Virginia Commonwealth freshman Marc Jackson, a 6-10, 250-pound freshman from Philadelphia, has transferred to Temple. Jackson played in 22 of 27 games and averaged 2.6 points and 3.0 rebounds, although he did not start after an early-season knee injury. ... Richmond center Jeremy Metzger has transferred to Penn State.
BURNED OUT: Josh Pugh, a two-time All-Group AA offensive lineman at Salem High School, has elected to leave Marshall after one season and may transfer to Virginia Tech, but not to play football.
"It just got to the point where I didn't enjoy football that much anymore; I guess it would be accurate to say I was burned out," said Pugh, who inidcated he would not be opposed to playing basketball at a Division III program.
LOCAL UPDATE: Max Appleby from Blacksburg has received the Golden Helmet Award at Guilford College for his leadership and career contributions to the football program. Appleby, a linebacker, was a first-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference selection this past season as a senior.
LACROSSE LEFTOVERS: Bill Tierney, who has directed Princeton to Division I men's lacrosse championships in two of the past three seasons, was interviewed by Washington and Lee for the job that went to Dennis Daly when Jack Emmer left for Army after the 1983 season.
nThe NCAA handed down one of its most bizarre penalties in memory when Princeton was instructed to withhold transportation and per-diem expenses for midfielder Brian Tomeo, charged with taunting Brown coach Peter Lasagna after a goal in the Tigers' 10-7 semifinal victory.
The Princeton-Brown semifinal, tied 5-5 at the half, was the most lopsided of seven NCAA Tournament games after the quarterfinal round. Five were decided by one goal, four in overtime. ... Unbeaten Salisbury, which defeated three Division III tournament opponents by a combined 59-26 score, beat visiting Roanoke College 14-13 in the regular season.
by CNB