THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410140700
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Overlooked once, Darius Blount was not going to let it happen again.
Blount, a Norfolk State wide receiver, jogged back to the huddle early in the Spartans' game against Elizabeth City State on Sept. 24 and ``put a little pressure'' on quarterback Aaron Sparrow.
``I told him I was getting open, and that I can catch, too,'' Blount said.
Message received. Blount finished the game with a career-high 10 catches, for 140 yards. Saturday, against Winston-Salem State, he caught eight more passes, for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Heading into Saturday's game at Hampton, Blount is Norfolk State's hottest receiver. His 26 catches put him second on the team behind James Roe, and fourth in the CIAA.
``Last year, I was basically a decoy,'' Blount said. ``This year, I can look for the ball and I can expect to get it once in a while.''
Not bad for a walk-on from Maury High who felt totally overlooked by college recruiters.
``I had a few letters but no big names,'' Blount said. ``I knew I could play. I just didn't get a chance.''
Part of that was Blount's own doing. He was a two-way All-Eastern District pick as a senior and was All-Tidewater at defensive back. But he didn't qualify academically, and colleges stayed away.
``Once the colleges find out you don't have the tickets to get in the door, they don't waste their time with you,'' Maury coach Bob Pannenbacker said.
He may not have had the tickets, but Blount had the tools.
``Great hands, a good set of moves and not afraid to go over the middle,'' Pannenbacker said.
Blount led the Eastern District in receiving in 1990, his senior year, but was better known for his thievery, picking off 14 passes, the most in the area.
``I had as many interceptions as receptions,'' Blount said.
But his biggest catch was on offense. It's a grab that has been immortalized in papier-mache in the Maury trophy case.
``Opening play of the game, against Norview,'' Pannenbacker said. ``He goes up between two defenders and steals the ball out of the air.''
The defenders collided and Blount ran untouched into the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown. A picture of the catch made the newspaper, and an art student used it to create the trophy.
``How many guys get their own trophy?'' Pannenbacker said.
Blount would have preferred a scholarship. Without one, he decided to enroll at Norfolk State and walk on the team. He came to school in the spring of 1992.
``I wanted to play with Sparrow since he was so good in high school,'' Blount said.
He got his chance during spring practice in 1993, when he tried out for the team. An impressive showing got him a spot on the roster for the '93 season, but again, grades intervened. Blount wasn't eligible until the sixth game.
Still, he began working his way into the rotation, and in half a season he caught 12 passes.
This year, Blount has been a starter from day one. Early on, his primary role was to act as sort of an offensive steam valve and relieve pressure on Roe, an All-American candidate.
``We put him on the same side, and that makes it hard to double-team Roe,'' Norfolk State coach Darnell Moore said.
But in addition to freeing Roe, Blount has emerged as a threat himself. He's not big (6-foot, 165 pounds) or fast, but he's quick, sure-handed and has a knack for getting open.
``He's tough as nails,'' Moore said. ``He's thrown some devastating blocks on guys 215, 225 pounds.''
Blount has two of the most celebrated blocks of the year. He laid out defenders in both the Virginia State and Fayetteville State games, and then stood over them like a boxer who had just landed a knockout punch.
For Blount, lack of confidence is not a problem. He wore jersey No. 85 last year but asked for, and received, No. 1 this season because ``the people who wore No. 1 before me, they were big-play guys.''
Blount, Roe and fellow receiver Marty Conner have been the big-play guys for the Spartans this season. And, of course, Sparrow, who leads the CIAA in passing with 1,621 yards.
``We've got the best quarterback in the area,'' Blount said. ``If our offensive line can give Sparrow time, nobody in the league can cover me and Roe and Conner.''
They'll find out Saturday, when they face Hampton's secondary, probably the most talented in the CIAA. The Pirates, led by free safety Melvin Crawford, have picked off 13 passes this season.
``I've had some good games, but I'm hoping Hampton will be my best game,'' Blount said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK, Staff
``He's tough as nails,'' coach Darnell Moore says of 165-pound
Darius Blount, who has 26 catches and some rock-solid blocks.
by CNB