Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 13, 1993 TAG: 9310130088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Davis has scored 16 touchdowns on 55 career receptions, including four TDs this year on 13 catches.
"It does get a little frustrating," said Davis, a 6-foot-5 junior from Halifax County, "but the touchdowns help make up for it. I wouldn't say one touchdown is worth five receptions, but it's as good as two or three."
Davis hasn't cracked the top 20 on UVa's career receptions list, but he already ranks third in career touchdown passes. And, don't think he doesn't have the record in mind.
"I definitely would like to be the all-time leader," said Davis, who trails Herman Moore and John Ford with 27 and 20 touchdowns, respectively.
It is Moore, a consensus All-American in 1990, with whom Davis has been compared since his arrival at UVa in 1991. They are approximately the same height, although Davis is heavier at 214 pounds and probably a step faster.
"When I first got here, there wasn't an article on me that didn't have Herman's name two words behind mine," Davis said. "My first year was when I seemed to get all of [the comparisons]."
Moore, in his third season with the Detroit Lions, set a UVa record in 1990 with 54 receptions. Only one other UVa wide receiver, Derek Dooley, had as many as 10 catches that year.
This year, three UVa wide receivers have caught 10 passes or more, including nonstarters Patrick Jeffers and Larry Holmes. Jeffers, a walk-on sophomore, leads the way with 21 receptions.
"Sometimes we try to joke about it - me, Holmes and Allen," Davis said. "But I think it's better for our team not to have one marquee receiver."
The only time head coach George Welsh has made reference to the pass was when he said the Cavaliers needed to get Allen, who had two receptions in the first three games, more involved with the offense.
"I'm not worried about keeping anybody happy . . . except me," Welsh said Monday at his weekly news conference.
For the most part, winning keeps the players happy, and nobody could argue with a scheme that has produced the No. 1-ranked passer in Division I-A, sophomore quarterback Symmion Willis.
After tying a school record with five touchdown passes against Ohio University, Willis said he didn't believe any team could cover UVa's receivers man-to-man.
"All we do is play man-to-man," Florida State cornerback Clifton Abraham said Tuesday. "If he says that, we'll see Saturday."
Perhaps Willis was unaware that UVa quarterback Bobby Goodman was 7-of-19 for 49 yards in a 13-3 loss to the Seminoles last year, with Abraham accounting for one of two interceptions. Top-ranked Florida State (6-0 overall, 4-0 ACC) is a 27-point favorite to beat No. 15 Virginia (5-0, 3-0) in a game that will start Saturday at 4 p.m.
Welsh used Virginia's game with Florida State last year as an example of the Cavaliers' dilemma in getting the ball to Davis, who did not have a reception.
"When we threw a deep ball to him early, he almost caught it," Welsh said. "Their corner just barely got a hand on it. After that, they weren't going to let him go deep anymore. No way."
Frequently seeing double coverage, Davis had six receptions in the last five games of the 1992 season. He averaged 23.8 yards per reception, which would have set an ACC record if he had the 25 receptions required to qualify.
"I think it was a combination of things," said Davis, who finished the year with 23 receptions. "Teams started to watch a lot of our films and they tried to eliminate what we did best - the long ball. Teams were lining up four deep across the field and we had to change our gameplan."
At his current pace, Davis would break Moore's ACC career record for per-catch receiving yardage; however, it does not appear that he will have the 100 receptions needed to qualify. He will go down as a big-play receiver who wasn't needed to be a possession receiver.
"I think it hurt Tyrone to follow Herman in that respect," UVa offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien said. "Herman didn't receive that much double-coverage, but, once he was gone, teams were determined not to let us get away with the same thing."
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB