Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 26, 1994 TAG: 9412280058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Even on his best days, George Welsh has little tolerance for Duke, so the questions about Blue Devils running back Rob Baldwin were starting to become a little bit irritating.
``If we gave [Charles] Way the ball that much, he could do the same things,'' the Virginia football coach said at one of his weekly news conferences.
Keep in mind, Baldwin was leading the ACC in rushing by about 400 yards at the time and would be selected the conference`s player of the year.
Those were pretty strong words for early November, but UVa's support for Way has grown only stronger.
``He's better than Baldwin is,'' UVa assistant coach Ken Mack said late last week from Shreveport, La., the site of the Cavaliers' meeting with Texas Christian on Wednesday night in the Independence Bowl.
``He's a good run-blocker, he's a good pass-protector, he catches the football, he runs the football and he's more powerful than Baldwin. People would rather tackle Baldwin than Charles Way.''
Much to Mack's regret, not everybody has had the opportunity.
In the first eight games of the regular season, Way carried the ball as many as 10 times only once. In the past three games, however, Way had 54 carries for 264 yards and five touchdowns.
``Jim Bollman and I fought and fought to get more fullback plays in [the game plan],'' said Mack, referring to a fellow assistant now departed for Michigan State. ``Late in the year, I put Charles in position so we had no choice other than to give him the football.
``I'll make sure he gets the ball in the bowl.''
Way, nominally the Cavaliers' starting fullback, became the No.2 tailback and principal ball carrier in one-back formations after an injury to Tiki Barber in the Virginia Tech game on Nov.19.
Way responded by carrying for 132 yards in the Cavaliers' 30-27 loss to North Carolina State, a team that held Duke's Baldwin to 72 yards.
``When that game started and I saw the way he was running and [offensive coordinator Tom] O'Brien saw the way he was running. It was pretty obvious to me and him that we ought to give [Way] the ball more,'' Welsh said. ``He was hot. He was breaking tackles. Even if Tiki had been healthy, it would have been the same thing.''
In the first half alone, Way had 95 yards on 15 carries, including runs of 22 and 23 yards. He was shut down in the second half, however, and had 13 yards on his last eight attempts.
``I could tell the difference,'' said Way, a fifth-year senior. ``I was really tired after the game. I did know, going into the game, that I was going to carry the ball more because Tiki was hurt. I had prepared all week for that.
``I just wanted to play well in my last game. I've come a long way since my first year. I dedicated my last game to the Lord. I wanted to say thank you. It's something I started around the fourth game of the season, when I wasn't playing too well.''
UVa's lack of tailback depth was no secret during the summer, and Way had heard he might be getting more carries, which is why he dropped 8 pounds. In the process, he tried to be something he wasn't.
``We had a little talk at the time, and I told him he had gotten away from what he does best,'' Mack said.
Way was trying to make tacklers miss instead of running over them.
``I had to step back and say, `Hey, you know better than that,''' Way said. ``There had to be something wrong. You could tell from the beginning of the season 'til now that there was a difference. I could tell.''
Way declines to be drawn into comparisons with Baldwin, who, like Way, was a blocking back until his fifth year. Baldwin rushed for 1,187 yards in 276 carries this year; Way gained 517 yards on 118 attempts.
``I don't try to think about that,'' Way said. ``You can't take anything away from him. He's gotten 1,000 yards. It doesn't matter how he got it. I see myself as a team player. As long as we were winning, why complain?''
Way has been a model teammate and a model student. He recently completed requirements for a degree in civil engineering, a course of study from which rival recruiters tried to dissuade him. In his years at Virginia, Way can remember only one other football player who was an engineering graduate (Tom Burns).
There are those who would give Way additional credit because of his inner-city background, but Way wants none of it.
``I don't want people to think I came from the slums,'' he said. ``My neighborhood wasn't that bad. My parents raised me well. I'm from North Philadelphia. People say, `Stay away from North Philadelphia,' but you've just got to be street-wise.
``When you say inner city, people think, `Aw, he's been ditching and dodging trouble,' and it hasn't been like that. There are far worse places than where I come from.''
by CNB