Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 20, 1990 TAG: 9005200024
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Obviously, when Keydets football coach Jim Shuck hits the recruiting trail, he is looking for football players. But if he finds a guy who will help one of VMI's other athletic teams as well as his, all the better.
Shuck's 1990 recruiting class is loaded with multisport athletes. Of the 21 players signed to football scholarships, 18 lettered in at least one other sport in high school.
"We've recruited a lot of multidimensional athletes who have been very successful in other sports," Shuck said. "I like that because it shows something about their competitiveness and athletic ability."
And while most will play only football at VMI, some have other Keydets coaches extremely excited.
"Some of these guys were recruited specifically to do two sports," said Mike Bozeman, the Keydets' track and cross country coach. "They're what we call joint recruits. There's an understanding between Coach Shuck, the athletes and me that they'll participate in track once football is over."
Bozeman was referring to three athletes in particular:
Quarterback/defensive back Darrin Evans led Freedom High in Morganton, N.C., to two conference championships. He also has long-jumped 23 feet and run the 300-meter hurdles in 37.1 seconds, which Bozeman calls a "top national-caliber time."
Defensive lineman Butch Jennings, from Fork Union Military Academy by way of E.C. Glass High, has thrown the shot 57 feet.
Running back Kerrell Bryant, from Highland Springs High in Richmond, is one of the state's top sprinters.
"They've all done very well in high school," Bozeman said. "I think they'll have an immediate impact on our track program. They'll make us a better track team and football team."
Last year, freshman offensive lineman William Barringer, a 6-foot-2, 275-pounder, joined coach John Trudgeon's wrestling team after football season and filled the Keydets' need for a heavyweight.
Next season, Trudgeon hopes for contributions from football recruits Camillus Musselman (6-2, 215 LB/TE), from Newark, Ohio; Brian Froehlich (6-2, 240 DL) from Delaware, Ohio, and Travis Allie (6-1, 190 LB) from Somerville, N.J.
"I don't think there's any doubt all three could have signed a grant-in-aid in wrestling if they didn't have football," Trudgeon said. "I know a lot of wrestling coaches who would like to get some of their school's football players on their team. But that happens very seldom at other places."
For lower-profile sports such as track and wrestling, the benefit of having football players on the team is obvious. Those programs can get a quality athlete with the scholarship counting against the football team's total.
"It's great that Coach Shuck would allow for this," Trudgeon said. "We're a tiny school, and anything we do to work together will help. We're shallow and we'd love to have these guys, but we're not going to put any pressure on the kids. The more they participate, the more pressure they're putting on themselves. It's up to them, and it's all going to wait until after football."
Two other football recruits - running back Eric Walker of North Cross in Roanoke and defensive back Maurice Christian of New Kent High in Providence Forge - are planning on trying out for the basketball team.
Walker was listed as one of the top 50 football prospects in the state by the Roanoke Times & World-News. He rushed for 1,285 yards and scored 17 touchdowns as a senior. In basketball, he was an all-state selection among private school players while averaging 25 points.
"I've seen Walker," said Joe Cantafio, the Keydets' basketball coach. "He had an injury, but you can tell he's a very good athlete.
by CNB