Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 6, 1993 TAG: 9310060012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Crittenden, however, has a distinction. The rookie receiver for the New England Patriots holds Virginia Tech's single-season scoring record in soccer. It's a reputation he can't seem to kick.
"Guys come up to me now and ask soccer questions," said a laughing Crittenden, who has fielded queries recently from teammates on next year's World Cup. "I tell them I don't know. I enjoyed playing soccer, but even when I was doing it, my mind was always on football because I knew that was my future."
Crittenden played three varsity sports for the Hokies. From 1988-90, he played soccer, setting Tech's single-season goals record with 15 as a freshman. He was a basketball walk-on in 1988-89. He left soccer for football in the spring of 1991 and spent two seasons in coach Frank Beamer's program, hardly starring, much less starting.
"I was fourth string when I first came out," he said. "I always thought that last season I should have started."
He didn't. Crittenden played 10 snaps in Tech's season-opening victory over James Madison in 1991. A few weeks later, he was punched in an altercation with a teammate and suffered a broken jaw that ended his season. Last year, as a senior, he caught nine passes.
Crittenden admits his NFL career may appear to be an improbable dream, but in an 0-4 start for New England, the backup receiver from Annandale already has a five-catch game and is averaging almost 19 yards on six receptions.
Before New England's first minicamp with Bill Parcells in the spring, the Patriots' new head coach was asking someone familiar with Crittenden about the free-agent receiver who didn't even start. Defensive back John Granby, a former teammate of Crittenden at Tech, was playing salesman and told Parcells that the receiver had great speed.
"I can't believe he's that fast," Parcells told Granby, who was trying to make the Pats' roster after being released by Denver following his rookie NFL season. "I'll make you a deal.
"If Crittenden is that fast, he stays. If he doesn't run a 4.4 or better [in the 40-yard dash], then you'll pay his way home."
Crittenden stopped the watch in 4.32 seconds. The irony is that while he made the team, Granby, now home in Virginia Beach, was cut.
"My agent [Michael Phillips of Hampton] and I went for what we thought would be the best opportunity for me," said Crittenden, 23. "We looked at Pittsburgh, Seattle and the Redskins, too. What helped me from the first day was that the Patriots gave me a chance to show them I could play.
"It was a new staff, a new system and a lot of new players. We were all learning together. I remember that for years I was told I didn't have a chance to do this, that I wasn't good enough because I hadn't caught enough balls over the years."
Crittenden's concentration on one sport has helped. He was a football star in high school as a senior at Annandale High School, but he played in the state coaches' all-star game in basketball. Before transferring there, he was an all-state selection in soccer at Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria.
"When I got into camp, it wasn't a case of thinking, `Can I make it?' " Crittenden said. "I know I can play, but the learning process was most crucial for me. Parcells' practices are very tough. When you go through this, you can see why he's a great coach, why he's been successful.
"For me, it came down to the last day, the last cuts. It's still there. I've never relaxed, even now. I don't feel like I have it made. I have something to prove and probably always will.
"That is, to prove that I can play, that I belong here, and that this ain't just some fluke."
So far, he's sold Parcells.
by CNB