Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 27, 1994 TAG: 9412290054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING AND JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: JACKSONVILLE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Tech coach Frank Beamer said Monday that the Hokies may be without the services of senior linebacker Ken Brown when they face Tennessee in Friday's 50th Gator Bowl in Gainesville, Fla.
``He's going to have to make some improvement if he's going to play,'' Beamer said before the Hokies whipped through their first on-site workout.
Brown, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound first-team All-Big East performer from Richmond, Va., spent Monday jogging around the practice field while the rest of the players drilled in pads.
Brown first injured his right hamstring Nov.12 against Rutgers. He missed the Nov.19 Virginia game - the first game he's sat out in four seasons at Tech.
After a five-week recovery period, Brown resumed workouts with the team on Dec.17 and appeared strong. But the next day, Brown came up lame while participating in a pass coverage drill.
Tech head trainer Eddie Ferrell said it's simply a waiting game now.
``You can't give him a pill or wrap it,'' Ferrell said. ``There's no miracle cure for a hamstring. Right now, it's just day-by-day and see how he feels come Friday.
``If he's not close to 100 percent, he probably won't play. You hate to have the guy in and out where he keeps pulling it.
``If you have a sore ankle, a sore knee or a sore back, you can bite the bullet a little bit, wrap it up or tape it up. But with a hamstring muscle, it's disabling in itself. It won't let you go.
``I hate to see it. We don't have many [hamstring injuries] anymore. We've had knees, ankles, thighs and shoulders, but we haven't had a kid all season miss time with a hamstring. And this one couldn't have come at a worse time.''
CHANCES: Brown estimated the health of his right hamstring as about 60 percent after Monday's workout at The Bolles School. The senior linebacker said if he ``could be 85 percent, I'd probably try to play.
``There's a tingly feeling there now, kind of like a spring stretching and then recoiling,'' he said.
The injury also could jeopardize the Hokie linebacker's opportunity to play in two postseason all-star games for seniors.
Brown and Tech wide receiver Antonio Freeman are scheduled to play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan.14 at Palo Alto, Calif. Freeman also is scheduled for the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan.21, and Brown will be heading to the Hula Bowl in Honolulu the following day.
Four Volunteers are scheduled to be Freeman's teammates for the South in the Senior Bowl - running back James Stewart, offensive guard Kevin Mays, defensive end Ben Talley and wide receiver Billy ``Turk'' Williams.
PARKER OK: Marcus Parker, Tech's third-string freshman fullback from Salem High School, is healthy to play in the Gator Bowl. Parker underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Dec.2.
Parker played in nine games this season, carrying 16 times for 83 yards, and performed on special teams.
BRAINE BACK: Tech athletic director Dave Braine is on the sidelines for another Gator Bowl. Braine was a member of the 1963 North Carolina team that beat Air Force 35-0.
A Tar Heels junior starter in the secondary, Braine missed that bowl game after fracturing his right leg in UNC's regular-season finale against Duke. He returned to start his senior season.
NEIGHBORS: Tennessee is 14-4 in football history against teams from Virginia, including 4-2 against the Hokies, who haven't played the Vols since 1937.
Tennessee is 3-1 against Virginia, 1-0 against William & Mary and Richmond, 5-0 against Washington & Lee, and lost its only date with VMI, in 1923. The Vols have played twice in Roanoke, beating Tech 18-0 in 1897 and W&L 30-0 in 1929.
GATOR BITES: Virginia Tech hasn't won a football game in Florida in 20 years. The last victory was 56-21 at Florida State in November 1974 ... Tennessee has won six of its last eight bowls. The Gator snaps a string of five straight New Year's Day appearances for the Vols, who have gone bowling in 13 of the last 14 seasons ... UT has played in 13 different bowls but hasn't been to the Gator since a 28-19 loss to Texas Tech in 1973 ... Tennessee (7-4) was not ranked in the final regular-season Associated Press poll, while the Hokies are No.17. The Vols were 13th in the preseason poll, nine spots ahead of the Hokies.
by CNB