Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 28, 1994 TAG: 9412280078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING AND JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: JACKSONVILLE, FLA. LENGTH: Long
The Tech defense, which already figures to be without star linebacker Ken Brown (pulled hamstring), may be operating with a pair of banged-up starters - cornerback Antonio Banks and whip linebacker Brandon Semones.
Coach Frank Beamer said Banks (hyperextended left knee) and Semones (bruised right shoulder) suffered the injuries in contact drills during the Hokies' first on-site practice Monday. Both sophomores practiced gingerly Tuesday, but are expected to play Friday.
When asked why Tech was engaging in full-contact drills four days before its biggest bowl game ever, Beamer was quick to go on the defensive.
``That's our normal early-week practice on game week,'' he said. ``It's a timing thing, really, of getting back into the flow of playing football again. Hey, we've won 17 games that way the last two years, so we're not changing now.''
Beamer, noticeably downcast about the injuries, said Brown's spot at inside linebacker will be filled by freshman Tony Morrison of Chesapeake, Va.
``Tony has been looking good in practice,'' Beamer said. ``I think we'll be much better off than we were in the Virginia game when Brandon moved inside and Tony went outside. Still, you're going from a truly experienced senior to an inexperienced freshman.''
The Hokies plan on dressing 67 players for Friday's 7:30 p.m. game.
``I just hope by Friday that we have enough guys left,'' Beamer said. ``We've got our fingers crossed that nothing else happens.''
TRADING PLACES: The move of Banks from free safety to left cornerback in a position swap with William Yarborough had its roots at midseason. Banks, MVP of Tech's Independence Bowl triumph last season, and Yarborough have each made 11 starts this season at their old spots.
``In the [victory] at East Carolina, Yarborough on one play went from the numbers [at a yard line] to the far hash mark to make a play as a cornerback,'' said Phil Elmassian, Tech's defensive coordinator and secondary coach. ``I said, `That's a free-safety play.'
``Then watching them more on film, I decided Tony [Banks] could play corner and Yarborough would be better at safety. Frank [Beamer] and I talked about it, and we wanted to make the switch in October, but we couldn't do it.''
The reason? A lack of depth and versatility in the secondary.
In another change, redshirt freshman Baron Spinner, from Jefferson Forest High School, is scheduled to make his first collegiate start, at right corner.
Spinner had been penciled in as a starter during the season, but Elmassian changed his mind before kickoff and stayed with experience at a spot that has been occupied by Larry Green and Stacy Henley.
Why Spinner in the bowl game? ``It's time for him to play,'' Elmassian said.
HE'S BACK: Tennessee has pronounced sophomore tailback Jay Graham ready for the Gator Bowl. Graham, who will back up senior James Stewart, had been a question mark after surgery to repair a broken jaw.
Graham was injured in an altercation Dec.14 on the Knoxville campus. He had surgery the next day, and Monday resumed practicing in pads.
Graham's presence may be crucial, since Tennessee lost its second tailback, Aaron Hayden, to a broken leg in the rout of Vanderbilt to end the regular season. Graham will wear a tinted shield attached to his face mask for the game against the Hokies.
IN THE HALL:Doug Dickey, Tennessee's athletic director, will be one of three inductees to the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame at Friday's game. This year's game is his fifth Gator Bowl.
Dickey played quarterback during Florida's victory in the 1953 game, coached Tennessee in two Gator dates and coached his alma mater in another. The other 1994 inductees are: Rip Engle, the late Penn State coach; and Larry Libertore, Florida's quarterback in the Gators' victory over Baylor in 1960.
PLAYING AGAIN: It has been chronicled that the Gator Bowl will be the first football meeting between Tennessee and Virginia Tech since 1937. Well, that's varsity.
The last Tech-Tennessee football game was in 1965. Back when freshmen were ineligible for varsity football, the schools played freshman games from 1963-65.
The Vols won all three, including a 19-8 victory in 1965 when Tech's freshman team had a cornerback and future head coach named Frank Beamer.
BIG EAST PLANS: Starting next season, the Big East Conference has agreed to send its second bowl selection - after the new alliance pick for the Fiesta, Orange or Sugar - to the Gator Bowl to play the ACC's second team.
The Big East also is on the verge of locking up berths for third and fourth teams. The league is expected to stay with the Carquest Bowl as its No.3 site and likely will agree to send a fourth team to the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, where Boston College beat Kansas State 12-7 on Christmas Day.
GATOR BITES: Among the visitors to Tech's Gator Bowl workouts has been prospect Corey Yarbrough, a Florida Super 24 pick as an offensive lineman at Baker County High School. Yarbrough is expected to choose between the Hokies and South Carolina. ... Charlie Pell, the former Florida and Clemson head coach and former Tech assistant, has been a visitor to Tennessee's practices. Pell, forced to resign at Florida a decade ago because of NCAA violations, lives in the Jacksonville area and reportedly is interested in returning to college coaching. ... The first question for Tech quarterback Maurice DeShazo from a Tennessee sportswriter at one media briefing? ``Do you know the Wood Brothers?'' DeShazo was born in Stuart, Va., the home of the Wood Brothers' NASCAR Winston Cup team.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB