Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501270053
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
McGirt, who made an oral commitment Thursday to play football for the Hokies, comes from the same league that produced former Tech standouts Vaughn Hebron and Antonio Freeman.
Hebron has been a running back for the past two seasons with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, and Freeman recently completed his college career as the leading receiver in Tech history.
McGirt (6 feet 3, 195 pounds) was named first-team All-Baltimore and second-team all-state after a senior year in which he rushed for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns and passed for 1,042 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Roger Wrenn, McGirt's coach at Patterson High School, compared him to all-purpose quarterbacks Maurice DeShazo at Virginia Tech and Marvin Graves at Syracuse.
``That's Willie,'' Wrenn said. ``He's not like those Oklahoma guys, who were running backs masquerading as quarterbacks. He's a quarterback who can run.''
Recruiters originally shied away from McGirt for fear that he would not be eligible under the NCAA's proposed ``sliding scale'' for enrolling freshmen. Implementation of the scale was postponed for a year and, after McGirt scored 680 on the Scholastic Assessment Test, he was only 20 points shy of the required score.
Although Syracuse expressed interest, Wrenn said Tech's chief opposition for McGirt is major-league baseball. McGirt, whose lone college visit was to Blacksburg, is considered a pro prospect as a center fielder.
Tech, which entered the week with four commitments, is up to 11 with the addition of McGirt and 6-3, 230-pound fullback-linebacker Shelley Ellison from Hampton. Ellison, who has had testing problems, committed to the Hokies twice previously.
Dwight Reagan, Sussex Central High School coach, said he expects defensive back Tyron Edmond to choose Monday between the Hokies and Wake Forest. Edmond was at Virginia on Wednesday to watch the Cavalier men's basketball game with Wake.
``I don't think it's very serious,'' Reagan said. ``He knows it's a last-minute thing [with Virginia]. His reaction was, `I've been here all year. Why are they [the Cavaliers] just expressing interest in me now.'''
UVa received some bad news when Joey Walters, a 6-5, 230-pound defensive end from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., picked North Carolina over the Cavaliers. His coach, Keith Flynn, said Walters had been leaning toward UVa as late as Monday.
The Cavaliers have received commitments from 23 players, including a Canadian linebacker who has not been identified. They are in the final two with North Carolina for 6-6, 240-pound Cuncho Brown from Winston-Salem, N.C., who has been rated the No.1 tight end prospect in the country.
UVa also has shown late interest in Marcus Bullett, a 6-4, 210-pound receiver from Fork Union Military Academy.
by CNB