Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 9, 1994                   TAG: 9409090051
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HE COULDN'T LET HIS LAST CHANCE AT PLAYING FOOTBALL SLIP AWAY

William Propst had a definite problem his first two seasons on the Washington and Lee football team - but don't look to his statistics to find it.

The split end from Atlanta led the Generals in receiving as a freshman and a sophomore, racking up 1,044 yards on 85 catches. Propst was the leading receiver in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in 1991 and 1992.

The problem was his attitude.

``I would be in the locker room at halftime talking to people about what what we were going to do that night,'' said Propst, who has rejoined the team after a one-year hiatus.

``I had a lot of problems with the players and the coaches, but it wasn't them. It was me.''

At the end of the 1992 season, frustration caught up with Propst and he decided he had had enough of W&L football. He went to Gary Fallon and informed the Generals' head coach that he wouldn't be back for his junior season.

``I was disappointed, but he wasn't 100 percent,'' Fallon said. ``He was questioning the coaches, his teammates and the program. It was his decision not to play.''

Then life handed Propst a cruel twist of fate.

The next September, while the Generals were practicing moves on the gridiron, Propst was trying to teach himself a new move on his skateboard. His attempt failed and he ended up with a dislocated right ankle and broken fibula.

Propst had surgery and then spent two months on crutches.

``I must have heard 20 or 30 times that this wouldn't have happened if I had been on the football field,'' Propst said. ``But not being able to do things - that taught me a lot. It taught me to be patient. It was a tragedy, but a good thing in the long run.''

Over the winter, Propst started kicking himself for giving up football and decided his priorities needed changing. With the help of family and friends, Propst said he began turning his life around.

``I had been in a long, steady downward trend. ... My father sat down and started talking some sense into me about the real world,'' Propst said. ``I was able to see that football is and always will be an important part of my life. I only had one chance left to play organized football and I knew I couldn't let that slip away.''

Propst returned to Fallon and asked for a second chance.

``He said he had seen the errors of his ways,'' Fallon said. ``And I have a lot of respect for William. I told him when he came back, not to make me any promises.''

Fallon said Propst had made a ``180 degree turnaround attitude-wise.'' He will start Saturday when the Generals play host to Emory & Henry in their season opener.

``He came up to me and said, `Coach, I can't tell you how happy I am to be back,''' Fallon said. ``I just told him to keep that positive stuff between his ears.''

Propst also appears to have the physical part covered, estimating he'd ``probably only lost a half-step'' during his rehabilitation. Fallon said he thought Propst was capable of posting the kind of numbers he had his first two seasons.

``He has the ability,'' said Fallon, who's hoping some ODAC opponents have forgotten about Propst. ``It's whether we can get the ball to him. He's going to have to be reckoned with.''