Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 10, 1994 TAG: 9402100066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Salem coach Willis White didn't even know that Custer had signed with East Carolina until he received a call from a Greenville, N.C., television station, although Custer let the Pirates know he was coming during his visit Jan. 7.
"I tried to take a low-key approach to the whole recruiting," said Custer, a first-team All-Group AA selection as a junior. "I just didn't want the whole thing to blow up in my face."
Custer says he is obligated to complete an Algebra II class starting in May but otherwise is in good position to meet NCAA academic standards. It was questions about whether he would qualify - and not his ability or potential - that prevented him from being recruited more widely.
"I think he would have been one of the top picks in the state because of his size and quickness," White said. "Chad gained a lot of weight before his senior year and it slowed him down, but mostly people wanted to know if he could get in school."
Custer, listed at 6 feet 6 and 245 pounds as a junior, weighed 270 when he reported for his senior year. He made the All-Blue Ridge District second team as the Spartans dropped from 12-1 in 1992 to 7-4.
"Stats and honors don't mean that much to me," Custer said, "but I'll admit I didn't have the kind of season I wanted to have. I told myself not to get caught up in the hype, but it was hard."
Custer and teammate Marcus Parker were the only Roanoke Valley players to sign Division I-A letters, although Patrick Henry quarterback Shannon Taylor has made an oral commitment to Virginia. Only 23 seniors from the state have signed with Division I-A programs.
"Clemson was the school I always wanted to attend, and they stayed in touch for a while," Custer said. "But then coach [Ken] Hatfield left and I stopped hearing from them. East Carolina stuck with me and really did [its] homework."
\ TECH-BOUND?: Don't be surprised if Hylton High School running back Byron Stevenson, rated one of the top 25 prospects in Virginia by the Roanoke Times & World-News, surfaces at Virginia Tech next year.
Stevenson apparently has reached an agreement with the Tech staff whereby he would enroll in January 1995 with a scholarship, provided he posts the required score on the Scholastic Assessment Test. Stevenson, who has decent grades, plans to spend the fall training and assisting Hylton coach Bill Brown.
\ EX-COLONEL SIGNS: Kevin Ward, an all-district and second-team all-region defensive lineman for William Fleming in 1991, has signed a letter-of-intent with Cincinnati. Ward transferred to Chantilly High School before his senior year and spent this past season at Fork Union Military Academy.
Ward, a 6-foot-2, 270-pound defensive tackle, picked the Bearcats over Howard and Youngstown State. He started every game on defense for Fork Union this year and spent some time at fullback.
\ ONE TO GO: Fork Union coach John Shuman said he will meet Friday with All-Group AA quarterback Craig Akins, the lone uncommitted player on the Roanoke Times & World-News Top 25.
"I've probably seen 10 quarterbacks [on film] who are 6-4 and 210 and they're all qualifiers," Shuman said. "I think that says something about what the colleges are looking for."
\ VMI RECRUITS: All-Group AAA running back Avi Hopkins, who led the Richmond area in rushing this year with 1,891 yards for Lee-Davis High of Mechanicsville, is among new coach Bill Stewart's first crop of VMI signees.
Hopkins, listed at 5-5 and 150 pounds, will be joined by 6-5, 275-pound Fork Union Military Academy lineman Heath Edmiston and quarterback Damon Pinero from First Colonial High in Virginia Beach when VMI releases its full list Sunday.
\ HAMPTON SERIOUS: Hampton University, which plans to move from Division II to I-AA, signed two All-Tidewater players - running back Terry Ricks and wide receiver Larry Staton from Division 6 state champion Norcom High of Portsmouth. Ricks broke the all-time Tidewater career rushing record with 4,085 yards.
\ COACHING: Former Minnesota head coach and one-time Virginia Tech defensive coordinator John Gutekunst has been hired as defensive coordinator at Rutgers. Gutekunst had the option of remaining at South Carolina, where he had served under Sparky Woods, who was fired in December.
Jeff Bowden has left the football staff at Southern Mississippi to join his father, Bobby, at Florida State. Offensive-line coach John Eason has become the second Seminoles assistant to join the staff of new South Carolina coach Brad Scott, who had been offensive coordinator at Florida State.
\ IT'S OVER FOR DRAKEFORD: Virginia women's basketball player Konecka Drakeford, convicted on two counts of petty larceny for the theft of her roommate's credit card, announced she will not play for the Cavaliers again and will leave school in May. Drakeford was UVa's second-leading scorer when she was suspended after six games.
\ BIG SOUTH GETTING SMALLER?: Towson State could become the second prominent Big South basketball program to jump to another league, according to published reports linking the Tigers with the North Atlantic Conference.
Campbell already has announced plans to leave the Big South, and Towson State could be accompanied by Maryland-Baltimore County, with which it waged an unsuccessful bid to join the North Atlantic Conference in 1991. The NAC has eight teams, of which the southernmost is the University of Delaware in Newark, Del.
\ NON-REVENUE: Midfielder Bill Walsh from Chatham, N.J., is one of two UVa soccer signees rated among the top 25 college prospects in the country by Soccer America magazine. He joins Chagrin Falls, Ohio, midfielder Andriy Shapowal, considered the No. 1 prospect.
by CNB