Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 3, 1993 TAG: 9311030415
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
It no longer does Patrick Jeffers justice to lump him with the other walk-on wide receivers who have played and contributed for Virginia during coach George Welsh's tenure.
Jeffers is quickly approaching impact-player status.
Out of a group of receivers that some have touted as the best to play for Virginia, Jeffers is the leader in receptions (31), receiving yardage (540) and touchdown receptions (six).
He doesn't even start, although that never has been an issue.
"In this offense, especially, it's not that big a deal who starts," said Jeffers, a redshirt sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas. "I know I'm going to get my plays."
That wasn't always the case last year, when Jeffers could count on no more than five or 10 plays a game. And, there wasn't any assurance the situation would improve this year with everybody back and Larry Holmes returning from academic suspension.
The coaches knew better, however.
After reviewing late-season breakdowns in the passing game, they put in a formation utilizing an H-back who would roam the middle and keep opponents from stacking their defense against the long ball.
At 6 feet 4 and 220 pounds, Jeffers had ideal size for the position, and who cared if he could get down the field or not?
Virginia's opponents do now.
Jeffers has seven catches for 30 yards or more, including three Saturday in a 34-29 loss to North Carolina State.
"I am a little bit surprised by that," said George Welsh, UVa's head coach. "I don't know if I should be saying this, but I think he surprises some people the way he accelerates out of a break. Teams underestimate his speed."
It's not the first time anybody has underestimated Jeffers, who was headed to Princeton until then-Virginia graduate assistant Jim Warden called during spring break of Jeffers' senior year at Fort Worth Country Day School.
"I didn't know anything about him until he came here," Welsh said. "It's hard enough for me to keep up with the players we're recruiting. But he came in and ran pretty well. I wondered, `Where were all those Texas schools? Why didn't they take him.' "
Much has been made of Jeffers' connection with former Virginia wide receiver Derek Dooley, also a walk-on, but Jeffers' introduction to UVa was through his older sister, Allison, a 1991 graduate. He said he might have come to Virginia even if his sister hadn't dated Dooley.
"He was the one who reassured me that walking on wasn't such a terrible thing," said Jeffers, the latest in a line of talented UVa walk-on wide receivers that includes Keith Mattioli and Tim Finkelston. "Princeton put a lot of pressure on me, but at the end I just decided, `Stop kidding yourself.' "
Jeffers wanted the chance to play Division I-A football and, maybe, he wanted to prove some people wrong.
"People really doubted the stats I put up," said Jeffers, who had 52 receptions for 980 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior. "They blamed it on the competition and said I wasn't as fast as I said I was."
Jeffers never lost a 400-meter race in his last two years of high school and consistently runs 40 yards in 4.5 seconds.
"I was convinced I had the ability to play at this level," he said. "I wasn't convinced I would stick it out."
That was clear in the fall of 1992, when Jeffers was told he could not receive a grant during the season. He took the initiative of calling the legislative services office of the NCAA, which told him he could go on scholarship at any time.
"I just showed [UVa officials] what the rule said and they went ahead and gave it to me," Jeffers said. "If they had known they could give me one and said they weren't willing, I don't know if I would have been back this year, [but] I think I would have gotten one. It just would have been a semester later."
Jeffers did not meet his early 1992 goal of one catch per game, but he did finish with nine receptions, including three for touchdowns. That was a vast improvement from 1991, when, as a redshirt, he routinely dropped passes for the scout team.
"When I first got here, I was like, `There's got to be a reason that someone like me isn't on scholarship. What is it I don't do well enough?' " Jeffers said. "Eventually I just had to tell myself, `Maybe there isn't a reason. Maybe they can't find everybody. No one knows about all the players around.'
"As soon as I got past that point and realized there was nothing wrong with me, that was a big step."
by CNB