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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 12, 1994                   TAG: 9401120158
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From staff reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

2ND WHITTEN SET TO PLAY AT VA. TECH

Family connections proved beneficial to Virginia Tech on Tuesday when 6-foot-5, 255-pound Joe Whitten made an oral commitment to play football for the Hokies.

Whitten, a defensive tackle at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla., is the younger and taller brother of Jimmy Whitten, a defensive lineman for the Hokies from 1986-90.

"We went to a lot of his games," said Joe Whitten, whose parents moved to Florida from Danville six years ago. "I've been around Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech football a lot. He's what got me into it."

The younger Whitten, who was credited with five sacks and approximately 75 tackles as a senior, visited Tech and Vanderbilt and said he canceled trips to Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Georgia. He plans to weigh 260 or 265 pounds by the time he enrolls and hopes to play as a freshman, but he is not opposed to redshirting.

Whitten, the seventh player to commit to Tech, was recruited for the Hokies by assistant coaches Rickey Bustle and Todd Grantham.

by CNB