Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 7, 1993 TAG: 9309070023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GWEN KNAPP KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA LENGTH: Medium
He slipped away from one tackler like squeezed gelatin. He plucked his ankles out of another's grasp. One more fell by the wayside - outrun, outspun, spindled and mutilated by this little nobody from nowhere.
Vaughn Hebron was on the loose again Sunday, breaking tackles and shattering myths about rookie free agents.
His 33-yard run early in the fourth quarter put the Eagles at the 5, hunting for a touchdown that would push their lead to 13 points. The call was obvious. Randall Cunningham gave the ball to Hebron, and he finished the job.
Pandemonium ensued. Linemen engulfed him. The fans, apparently ready to confer icon status on the young back, roared. Vai Sikahema, Hebron's mentor since mini-camp, ran off the sideline to dole out a hug.
Receiver Fred Barnett had to track down the ball. Hebron had carefully dropped it for the officials, forgetting that he was entitled to a souvenir from his first NFL touchdown.
"I'd never spike it," he said after the Eagles' 23-17 victory over the Cardinals, with the ball resting in his locker.
That wouldn't be his style. He was the Eagles' leading rusher in the preseason, yet he was always humble, hoping just to make the team. He was their leading rusher again Sunday (66 yards in 10 carries), and he was humble still.
He talked about his offensive line, about Sikahema, about Cunningham and Barnett. He mentioned virtually every name on the roster. He told of standing in the backfield with Herschel Walker and saying to himself, "I can't believe I'm standing in the backfield with Herschel Walker."
He also talked about a mitigating factor in his sensational debut - a fumble late in the fourth quarter, returned 55 yards for a touchdown. "I stepped on somebody," Hebron said. "And, next thing I knew, he stripped the ball."
Hebron had been consoled by every teammate within shouting distance, and he seemed determined not to let the mistake spoil his day. He generally takes the same attitude about being overlooked on draft day. It hurt then, he said, but doesn't matter now.
In a year when the draft was cut from 12 to eight rounds, the slight made some sense. He was small (5 feet 8), from a second-tier football program (Virginia Tech) and injured for part of his senior season (twisted ankle).
The Eagles were the only team that came after him as a free agent. He didn't qualify as draft material for the team, because Philadelphia didn't need a running back, personnel director Joe Woolley said.
"And, let's be realistic," Woolley said, "he's playing better at this level than he did in college. In this business, sometimes teams get lucky. He just ended up having that hunger, that fire."
Hebron entered Sunday's game on the second offensive series. He was surprised by the early call, and he relived the moment with a boyish smile. "It was like, `Hebron, get in there.' `Yes sir,' " he said.
Until Monday, when the final team cuts were announced, Hebron lived in a hotel room near Veterans Stadium and walked to practice, sometimes hitching rides with older teammates. On Monday, right after the cuts, he went out and bought a black Nissan Pathfinder.
"I've never owned a car before," he said. "I've never owned a lot of things before."
He grew up in a poorer section of Baltimore, attending Cardinal Gibbons on a scholarship and making the honor roll. He should have a good income this season, but he intends to live frugally. His 2-year-old son, also named Vaughn, lives with his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore, and he wants to make sure the toddler has a comfortable life.
So he picked an inexpensive apartment near the airport. He still has to furnish the place.
"I'm not above sleeping on the floor," he said.
Then he tugged on a T-shirt, and walked away, his souvenir football tucked under his arm.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB