Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 20, 1993 TAG: 9304200093
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Now they find out.
Terry Kirby broke the career rushing record at Virginia and Chris Slade set the ACC record for career sacks and all the time they were playing out of position.
Apparently that's what some National Football League scouts are saying.
Kirby and Slade have been projected as second-round picks Sunday in the NFL draft, Slade as an outside linebacker and Kirby as either a tailback or fullback.
Kirby, a tailback throughout his UVa career, had not played fullback until the East-West Shrine Game in Palo Alto, Calif.
"They came up to me and asked if I would play fullback because they'd only brought one in, Rudy Harris [from Clemson]," Kirby said. "I was like, `Sure, why not?' I'd never really been in a three-point stance before.
"I felt comfortable with it. If I have to go into the league as a fullback, that's fine with me. There's not really a true fullback in pro football anymore. By `true' fullback, I mean somebody who just blocks."
At 6 feet 3 and 218 pounds, Kirby is taller than some of the marquee runnings back in the NFL like Barry Saunders and Emmitt Smith, but his stock seems to be on the rise.
Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. placed Kirby third on his list of the top five running backs, behind Garrison Hearst of Georgia and Notre Dame fullback Jerome Bettis, but Kiper conceded that Robert Smith of Ohio State and Natrone Means of North Carolina may go before Kirby.
"I don't know what's going to happen," said Kirby, described in one Kiper report as the best pass-receiver among draft-eligible running backs. "It's out of my control."
Kirby, a conditioning fanatic, has recovered from the fractured shoulder blade that took him out of All-America consideration and ended any Heisman Trophy talk.
"I gained almost 900 yards in [the first] six games and that kind of opened a lot of eyes," said Kirby, the ACC rushing champion. "Then, when I came back from an injury that was supposed to keep me out for the entire year, I think that showed my toughness."
Kirby, who carried 26 times for 185 yards in UVa's regular season-ending victory over Virginia Tech, became animated when asked about scouting reports that allegedly questioned his durability.
"We don't have many outside plays," said Kirby, who considers durability one of his chief assets. "To go up the middle as many times as I did, to catch as many passes as I did . . . I'd like to know where that came from."
A potential knock against Kirby, was an absence of breakaway speed. But he was timed in 4.56 seconds for 40 yards in workouts before the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
"There's so much emphasis on the `40' now, it's ridiculous," said Kirby, who nonetheless wowed the scouts at a later workout in Charlottesville.
"I came across the finish line," Kirby said, "and they looked at their watches, then they looked at me, then they looked at each other. My times were between 4.39 and 4.47. One of the scouts made a friendly bet with me before I ran that I wouldn't run better than 4.57."
Nobody has ever questioned Slade's speed, but, at 6-5 and 235 pounds, he is light by NFL standards for defensive ends.
"I think all year long my ratings have been like a roller coaster," said Slade, who had 35 1/2 sacks in his career, 14 as a senior. "That's why I went to the Senior Bowl. People were saying, `He can rush the passer, but can he drop back in coverage?'
"Luckily, my first two years, I was an outside linebacker. I played in a pro scheme for the Cleveland Browns [staff] at the Senior Bowl and they threw the playbook at us. We didn't have every defense in, but they had quite a few."
Slade was selected a first-team All-American by six services or publications, yet he doesn't view any of the draft projections as a slap at his ability.
"I think it's more a case of needs," Slade said. "There might be 29 teams who don't want to use their first-round pick for an outside linebacker. I think 235 or 240 [pounds] is ideal size for an outside linebacker. As a defensive linemen, of course I'd have to gain weight, but I don't think that's an issue."
Analysts expect four UVa seniors to be drafted, possibly all on the first day, when the first four of eight rounds will be held. In addition to Kirby and Slade, the top Cavalier prospects are offensive tackle David Ware and cornerback Greg Jeffries.
"I think everybody who plays in college who's going in the draft wants to go in the first round," Slade said, "but you can't fit all those guys in 29 slots. Somebody's going to have to go in the second. I just hope I'm one of those guys who gets picked in the first."
by CNB