Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993 TAG: 9309040222
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Vaughn Hebron, however, seems to have flicked a switch in Philadelphia.
"I went in a mall the other day to buy a hat," the former Virginia Tech running back said. "People went crazy. They're saying, `Lead us to the Super Bowl.' I said, `Thank you, but . . . ' They don't understand, I'm just happy to be in the league, and any way the coach wants to use me, I'm with it."
Hebron is one of five running backs kept by the Eagles, joining Eastern Kentucky's Markus Thomas as free-agent runners on the active roster. Hebron is listed as Herschel Walker's backup at tailback.
Hebron isn't the only former state player to survive preseason tryouts. Kicker Michael Husted, who had 90 touchbacks in a four-year career at Virginia, is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' specialist. Husted was one of 25 worked out by the Bucs.
Husted made six of eight field-goal attempts in the preseason and had seven touchbacks in 16 kickoffs.
"It's slightly harder in the pros because you kick here each week with new balls, not the older balls you're allowed in college," Husted said. "I knew I was being looked at [by NFL scouts] and since my forte was the kickoffs, I felt I could do it if I just got noticed."
Other former state players in their first NFL season include New York Jets offensive lineman David Ware, the first Roanoker to play in the NFL in 15 years; former Virginia running back Terry Kirby, a third-down specialist with the Miami Dolphins; and former UVa defensive lineman Chris Slade, a second-string linebacker with New England, where one of his teammates is former Hokie Ray Crittenden, a second-string receiver with the Patriots.
Damien Russell, whose last season at Tech was 1991, made the San Francisco 49ers as a second-string safety after missing last season with injuries.
Hebron's perseverance, personality and performance helped him beat out two runners with bigger reputations who were '92 draft picks - Alabama's Siran Stacy (second round) and Notre Dame's Tony Brooks (fourth round).
It also has media, in Hebron's words, "flocking to me."
A five-minute interview segment is expected to air on Philadelphia's ABC affiliate today. . It was taped in the city's popular shopping-and-dining South Street area, and Hebron said he attracted a wake of fans.
The Eagles' public relations department said CBS' Jim Nantz and Irv Cross wanted to chat during the network announcers' off-camera, pregame background interviews. A local radio station wants him as a guest disc jockey twice a week. He already has four hour-long autograph sessions scheduled.
All this for a guy who probably won't get more than a half-dozen carries per game, an Eagles' spokesman said.
"I'll tell you what," Hebron said. "I'm active, and that's all right with me."
Hebron, from Baltimore, finished his Tech career as the school's sixth-leading rusher with 2,327 yards. He was the Hokies' top runner three times, including his freshman year, and he caught more passes (60) in his career than any Tech running back.
Hebron used quickness and surprising strength for his size - he's 5-foot-9, 196 pounds - to succeed at Tech, and did the same during Philadelphia's preseason. Hebron often was injured at Tech, missing eight of 44 games and playing hurt in some others, but he didn't let an injury slow him during training camp.
On the second day of workouts, a tackler's helmet broke Hebron's left hand. He had X-rays taken three days after it happened.
"They asked me if I wanted a cast," Hebron said. "I said, no. I'd be going home."
He played with that injury and with bruised ribs. After one preseason game, Eagles coach Rich Kotite said Hebron played with "the poise of a veteran."
Hebron was the team's leading preseason rusher, gaining 239 yards on 34 carries and scoring once, and Eagles spokesman Mike Gilbert said Hebron's production didn't suffer when he played against first-team defenses. He was second in receptions (10) and yards receiving (132). He returned four kickoffs for 42 yards.
Hebron said he never assumed he would make the team, although he admitted having the same feelings about his performance that he did in his first few days at Tech in 1989. He got nine carries in his first game, and later became the second Tech freshman to have back-to-back 100-yard games.
"I never knew when the politics or the business aspect was going to take over," said Hebron, who was eyeing draftees Brooks and Stacy. "I had no bargaining power."
But when he wasn't told not to show up for the Eagles' 9:30 a.m. practice Monday - the day NFL teams had to trim their rosters to 47 players - he knew he'd made it.
"I'm still in shock," he said. "It's something you work so hard for, not only in training camp but since you were a kid. You say, `Damn, I'm a pro.' I don't know how long it's going to last or what have you, but I have made it. The best feeling I have is knowing how proud I made my friends and family. Right now, I'm just riding off that high."
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB