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

DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994                   TAG: 9406050079
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

UVA NOT AS CAVALIER AS IT SEEMS ABOUT PLAYING FRESHMEN

Whether their playing time was well-spent is another matter.

George Welsh, who has been head coach at Virginia for 12 years, has never hesitated to use recruits in their first season. Some have played major roles, as Chris Slade did when he led the Cavaliers in sacks in 1989. Others can legitimately wonder if their freshman year was wasted.

Tom Burns, a starting linebacker for the past two seasons, recently lost an appeal for an extra year of eligibility for the 1990 season in which he played in two games and for a total of 58 plays.

Derey, whose practice work at defensive end drew rave reviews from coaches and teammates, got on the field for 60 plays in 1993. His only action came in three lopsided victories and in a 40-14 loss at Florida State.

"In some ways, I would have been better off not playing," said Derey, from Northside High School in Roanoke. "In the long run, I could be better for it. I think I got better acquainted with the system."

Barber, a tailback from Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, played in eight games but carried the ball only in victories over Navy (38-0), Duke (35-0) and Ohio University (41-7).

It's hard to find anybody who defends the decision to use Derey - "Outrageous," one insider called it - but Welsh refuses to second-guess himself on Barber.

"I don't think we had a choice with Tiki Barber," Welsh said. "We had a choice with Walt Derey, but we've never been able to make it through a year with two tailbacks, like we did last year."

UVa's shortage of tailbacks was one of the incentives for Barber when he signed with the Cavaliers. They had just lost promising Lamonte Still, one of three tailbacks returning from the 1992 team, to academics.

"Coming in, I knew if one of the tailbacks got hurt, I'd have to step up and play," Barber said. "In the Duke game, when [Kevin Brooks] got thrown out [for fighting], I got a lot of playing time in the fourth quarter."

However, when Welsh says Virginia rarely has surived a year with two healthy tailbacks, he has a short memory. In the 1991 and '92 seasons, no game was in doubt when either Terry Kirby or Nikki Fisher wasn't at tailback for the Cavaliers.

The third freshman to play for Virginia during the '93 season, James Farrior, was UVa's fourth linebacker in terms of playing time. In that respect, he probably benefited from Gene Toliver's decision not to return for a fifth year.

"You're going to see fewer and fewer schools redshirt entire freshman classes because of the drop in scholarships from 95 to 85," Welsh said. "I think those days are probably over for us."

When Welsh came to Virginia in 1982, virtually all of his experience had been at schools that did not redshirt. After spending 11 years as an assistant at Penn State, when freshmen were ineligible, he was the head coach at the Naval Academy for nine years.

In his first few years at Virginia, Welsh refused to let future eligibility enter into his decision to use a player. In those days, UVa's talent pool was so shallow freshmen quickly moved up the depth chart.

In 1985, one year after the Cavaliers had made their first bowl appearance, UVa passed up the chance to redshirt freshman linebacker Jeff Lageman and used him for a total of 72 plays - less than one average game. Lageman later became a first-round pick in the NFL draft.

In 1992, freshman John Slocum played in seven games at defensive tackle, then was moved to offensive guard in the spring. A similar thing happened to Derey, who played tight end in the spring.

Derey said he benefited from working against the first team, by making trips and by going to position meetings, which scout-team players are not required to attend.

"I'm better acclimated," said Barber, whose twin brother, Ronde, was redshirted. "I'm a lot farther along than if I had been redshirted. Part of me wanted to redshirt, but part of me didn't."

Tom O'Brien, UVa's offensive coordinator, said Barber, a national-class sprinter in high school, might be good enough to consider an NFL career after four years.

On the other hand, tight end Aaron Mundy said he would have profited from an extra year when he was passed over in the NFL draft this spring.

Burns, injured in the seventh game in 1990, was ineligible for a hardship ruling because his injury occurred in the second half of the season. Rules state that an injured player may receive an extra year only if he has played in no more than one-quarter of his team's games - before the midpoint of the season.

Redshirting is just one of the games that college coaches play and, in this game, the rules haven't changed.