THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9501010200
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GAINESVILLE, FLA. LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
Virginia Tech's 1994 football season was reminiscent of a golfer who plays the round of his life for 14 holes, then limps home with nothing but double- and triple-bogeys.
Or perhaps an artist who is more than half done with a masterpiece, only to spill paint all over the canvas.
Pick any analogy of bereavement following unfulfilled achievement. Tech picked up recognition and respect the first two-thirds of the season, reaching No. 10 in the national polls, its best-ever ranking. Then the Hokies lost three of their last four.
The final blow came Friday night in the Gator Bowl, where Tech was swamped by Tennessee, 45-23.
What to make of the Hokies' 8-4 season?
A good year, certainly.
As good a year as Hokies players and fans had reason to hope for?
Certainly not.
That's not to say it was a disappointment. Remember, this is a program just two seasons removed from a 2-8-1 campaign, which cast doubts about the head coach's job security. In 1994, the coach got a contract extension and a handsome raise. Tech placed second in the Big East behind Miami, as most prognosticators figured, and played in its best bowl game ever.
But down the stretch, the Hokies lost blowouts to Miami, Virginia and Tennessee, sandwiched around a narrow victory over mediocre Rutgers. The finish prevented Hokies fans from ringing in the new year with feelings of good cheer about the season.
``We will be back and we will be better,'' coach Frank Beamer said after the Gator Bowl. ``We will, I promise that. We found out tonight what it takes, and we've got to keep working to get there.''
All week in Florida, Beamer spoke of Tech as ``a program on the rise.'' There are ample reasons to believe it's more than just talk.
Next season, that reason is defense. All 11 starters in Friday's game were underclassmen. The Hokies' 1994 defense ranked eighth nationally against the pass, 20th in total defense and 23rd in scoring defense.
Defense should be Tech's bedrock in 1995. That's assuming the Hokies can return to the caliber of play exhibited in allowing just 102 points through the first eight games, rather than the last four when they gave up 145 points.
``Defensively the first 8 1/2 games - up to the second half of the Miami game - we were doing fine,'' Tech linebacker and leading tackler George DelRicco said. ``I really don't know what happened - missed tackles, bad fundamentals.
``It's going to be exciting next year. A big key is staying together and working hard in the preseason and having the mentality we're going to be one of the best defenses in the country.''
Beamer said the Hokies need three or four recruits who can come in and contribute as freshmen. The Hokies are particularly weak at cornerback and lack depth in both the secondary and linebacker positions.
``We get the right three or four players and it's a bright future for this defense,'' Beamer said.
Offensively, the picture is somewhat murky.
``It will get down to the quarterback,'' Beamer said.
Three-year starter Maurice DeShazo - Tech's career total-offense leader - has completed his eligibility. The cold reality is maybe that's a blessing for the Hokies.
DeShazo struggled as a sophomore, shone as a junior and struggled again as a senior. One year after ranking fifth nationally in passing efficiency, he was seventh in that statistic in the Big East.
In the Virginia and Tennessee games, the Hokies' two worst outings of the season, DeShazo turned the ball over nine times (six interceptions, three fumbles).
His replacement will be either Jim Druckenmiller, who will be a junior, or Al Clark, a redshirt freshman. Both are inexperienced.
If one of them is an effective first-year starter, Tech should be good offensively. Two-time leading rusher Dwayne Thomas will be back for his senior season, and although career pass reception leader Antonio Freeman will be gone, the receiving corps is solid. Offensive guard Damien McMahon, a three-year starter, is the only lineman who won't be back.
Another addition to the offense will be new coordinator Rickey Bustle, who held the position in 1993 when the Hokies had a record-setting offense. He went to South Carolina, but gladly returned when Gary Tranquill left for a similar job at Michigan State. No tears were shed at Tranquill's departure. His acerbic and negative coaching style didn't go over well in Blacksburg.
``Great,'' offensive guard Chris Malone said of Bustle's return. ``He's real close to a lot of us and he recruited a lot of us.''
The other key holes for Tech to fill are placekicker, where career scoring leader Ryan Williams has held the job four years, and punter, Rbbie Colley the past three seasons. Atle Larsen appears to be an adequate replacement at kicker, and John Thomas will punt.
The Hokies have won 17 games the past two seasons and played in successive bowls for the first time.The 19,000 Gator Bowl tickets gobbled up by Hokies fans will make bowls take notice in the future.
Tech has plenty to look forward to as they prepare to open the 1995 season in an ESPN Thursday night home game against Boston College.
They'll just have to forget about the way the 1994 season concluded. ILLUSTRATION: CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff photos
A bright spot for Virginia Tech next season: Two-time leading rusher
Dwayne Thomas will be back for his senior season.
``We will be back and we will be better,'' coach Frank Beamer said
after the Gator Bowl. ``We will, I promise that.''
by CNB