Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 16, 1993 TAG: 9304160065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
TECH BACKS LOOKING GOOD
Virginia Tech's running backs have given Billy Hite a spring of good impressions, but he won't close the book on any of his runners until the fall.Tailbacks Dwayne Thomas, Tommy Edwards and Ranall White will remain competitors for the top two spots. Fullback Joe Swarm has been No. 1 in part because Mike Hodges, who ran for 175 yards last year, missed spring practice while recovering from thigh surgery. Hodges will get a playing-time shot in August.
Then there's the wild card: Brian Edmonds, a redshirt freshman walk-on from Nottoway High School in Blackstone.
"He's had a hell of a spring so far," Hite said. "He'll play a lot of football for us next year . . . He's a pleasant, pleasant surprise. He's carrying 240 pounds, hasn't lost any speed and has done an outstanding job of blocking. He's a faster Tony Paige."
Thomas, who gained 238 yards on 4.5 yards per carry last year and moved into prominence late in the season, will be a sophomore next fall and seems the odds-on No. 1 tailback. But Hite praised White, a redshirt junior walk-on from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Radford native Edwards.
"I'm very pleased with Tommy Edwards. I really think he's going to be an outstanding player for us," Hite said. "The passing game is new to him right now."
\ SPRING CHANGE: Normally for the Hokies' spring game, coach Frank Beamer puts the first-teamers on one club and plays them against the rest. This year, the starting offense and defense will be split up - meaning they'll play each other. Beamer feels he can evaluate players better that way.
"Every practice is so important, and you only get 10 days in pads," Beamer said this week. "We felt like it was really important for the competition to be very good and very even."
The spring game is 7 p.m. Saturday at Lane Stadium.
\ BANKING ON IT: Cornerback Antonio Banks did not enroll at Tech until January, meaning he'll be a true freshman next fall. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder from Newport News may be ready to make an impact.
"He's got a lot of work to do - movement, back-pedaling," Beamer said last week. "But he's got ability, too. He took Brian Edmonds one time and picked him up and took him back the other way. And it wasn't a sneak attack, either."
\ DOWN TO BUSINESS: One of the changes Beamer will make in operating procedure this fall is cutting back the size of the travel team, which he said would be a two-deep roster and some special-teams players instead of including a bunch of extras who aren't likely to play.
"Everyone involved with the trip is going to play quite a bit and should be totally involved in the ballgame," Beamer said.
\ PYNE'S PUB: Playboy magazine did not select center Jim Pyne to its All-America team out of the blue. Pyne was considered last year, said Gary Cole, the magazine's sports editor. And . . .
"We got a lot of correspondence from Tech," Cole said. "I told them, `Your media blitz really paid off.' We got seven or eight letters, videotape, newspaper clippings. I don't mind that at all. I'm very pleased that people want to lobby for players."
\ MOVES, ETC: Tech's switch of P.J. Preston from outside linebacker to free safety in the new 4-3 defense might not be permanent. Defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian said Wednesday he has to make "a very tough decision" about where Preston can be most effective. Said Beamer:
"I would hope he'd play there the next two scrimmages [Wednesday and Saturday] very, very well and take to it. He's a good player, and I think the position fits him. I hope he's going to make some plays."
Other moves: J.C. Price went from defensive tackle back to his original spot at defensive end . . . Chad King, who joined the team as a walk-on in 1989 and played in 11 games last year, left the team, as did defensive tackle Antoine Williamson of Bassett.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL