Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 25, 1990 TAG: 9004250072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He's not talking about playing time. He's talking about weight and bulk.
"We've got to make some adjustments: Add weight, drop weight, get stronger," Beamer said.
"It's going to be real important what we do during the summertime. I think we've got a chance, but there's really some question marks [as to] how good we can be. It's left probably up to us and how hard we work on it."
One of Tech's biggest concerns is depth. Beamer said he wants several of the Hokies' second-stringers to add weight and muscle during the summer. Among them are end Bernard Basham, outside linebackers Harold Banks and P.J. Preston, tackle Don Davis and safety Dennis Spain.
Among those needing to shed some pounds, Beamer said, are 6-foot-4, 296-pound defensive tackle Jeff Gallman and 6-2, 279 tackle Stephan Holloway, on whom Tech is counting for improved play next year.
"Defensively, we stayed locked up with people too much this spring," Beamer said. "We need to step correctly and disengage from the block and go make the tackle."
The first-team defense wasn't exactly beaten in the spring game, allowing the second team 117 total yards (45 rushing) and no points. The second-team defense, though, gave up 357 total yards (241 passing) and 28 points to the first-team offense.
Beamer had little quarrel with the starting defense.
"I thought they flew around and they resembled a good defense at times," he said.
\ After the spring game, Beamer reserved praise for just about every position, saying he wanted to see the films first. The offensive line, however, got a pat on the collective back.
"The offensive line was probably the most consistent group we had through spring, particularly that first group," Beamer said.
Split guard John Rehme, tight tackle Marc Verneil, center Rob Vaughn, tight guard William Boatwright and split tackle Eugene Chung comprised the starting line. Beamer said Verneil, at 6 feet 6, 268 pounds, was the most improved lineman on the squad.
The second team is inexperienced, but an influx of linemen in the fall may make that one of Tech's strongest areas. Former starter Glenn Watts is expected to return after sitting out a year because of academic difficulties; Todd Meade and Jimmy Bryson, both of whom started games last year, are expected to return after recovering from knee surgery; transfer Calvert Jones should be available; and touted prep school center Jim Pyne will arrive.
\ Beamer said some players solidified their holds on starting jobs in the spring game, but he said that doesn't mean the top 22 for the season opener Sept. 1 at Maryland is already determined.
"We've got it on the depth chart where we feel like it should be," Beamer said after the staff's film session on Monday. "But let's see how it goes this summer and in the fall."
Overall, Beamer said, he was pleased with the spring game.
"The execution for a spring game was very good," he said. "I thought the effort and the aggressiveness for a spring game was excellent.
"I thought our kids played hard and were flying around, and that's important to us."
\ Tech recruit Maurice DeShazo, a high school All-American quarterback, has his right wrist in a splint these days. However, team doctor Duane Lagan said the injury isn't serious.
Lagan said DeShazo sprained his wrist during basketball season and, when DeShazo underwent a physical exam at Tech recently, he told Lagan he still was experiencing soreness in the wrist. Lagan said X-rays of the wrist showed no break, but he put the wrist in a splint to help it heal.
\ Hokies inside linebacker Wooster Pack, a Radford native, had signed up to play for the Radford entry in the Virginia AAU basketball championships, which start Thursday at Virginia Tech.
Pack, a second-team all-New River District basketball player at Radford High School, is 18 years old and could have played in the 19-and-under division. However, a minor injury to a shoulder near the end of spring football practice will keep him off the court.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB