Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``To be honest with you, before I visited there, Hampton was near the bottom of my list,'' said the Christiansburg High School running back. ``My father is a Hampton graduate and you know how that goes. I wanted to be independent.''
But if Beasley hadn't shown some interest in Hampton, he probably would not have signed with the Pirates on Feb.1. Hampton has had little contact with Christiansburg - other than an occasional questionnaire - in Mike Cole's nine years as the Blue Demons' head coach.
``The thing that Andra wants most is his education,'' Cole said. ``He wants to go into engineering, which eliminated some of the schools that had contacted him.
``I asked him for a list of schools that would interest him, so I could send out letters and film. Hampton was on that list. As soon as [the Pirates] got the film, they got in on him hard.''
Beasley, who has run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, was named first-team All-Group AA after rushing for a Timesland-leading 1,885 yards and scoring 27 touchdowns in his senior season. He visited James Madison and Morgan State, along with Hampton.
``I finally decided to give [Hampton] a chance and I loved it,'' Beasley said. ``It was a perfect fit for me. They just spent $12 million on a new engineering building, and the [football] program is going [Division] I-AA.''
Hampton was ranked No.1 in the final black-college football poll last year, but was ineligible for NCAA postseason play while making the move from Division II to I-AA. Lamonte Still returns at tailback for Hampton, one reason Beasley should be able to fulfill his desire to be redshirted as a freshman.
``A lot of the I-As liked him as a defensive back,'' Cole said, ``but we didn't have much film to show them. All of the I-AAs projected him as a running back and an immediate-impact kind of guy.''
COLQUITT RECOGNIZED: Salem High School alumnus Travis Colquitt, who set a Marshall University record by averaging 45.1 yards per punt, was named first-team All-American by The Sports Network.
Although Marshall's high-powered offense sometimes prevented Colquitt from registering enough punts to qualify for the NCAA Division I-AA statistics, he was the first Thundering Herd punter to average more than 40 yards for three consecutive years.
Colquitt, a senior, was one of four Marshall players from Virginia to earn All-America honors from at least one service. The others were tailback Chris Parker from Heritage High School in Lynchburg, safety Roger Johnson from E.C. Glass in Lynchburg and offensive tackle William Pannell from Altavista.
WANTED ABROAD: David Ware, who recently signed a free-agent football contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, has been made available to the Scottish Claymores of the World League of American Football.
Ware, a graduate of William Fleming High School, joins former Virginia teammate Matt Blundin on the Claymores' list. Frankfurt picked former Cavalier Don Reynolds, a Laurel Park alumnus, and Jerrod Washington.
The London Monarchs signed one-time Virginia Tech fullback Phil Bryant, who has been in Philadelphia's camp the past two years. Ex-Hokies quarterback Will Furrer, a backup with Denver, was loaned to Barcelona of the NFL-backed spring league.
HARDLY A COMPLIMENT: Virginia's strategy has been to use a post player on 6-foot-5 North Carolina sophomore Jerry Stackhouse, who is 6-of-29 in two basketball games against the Cavaliers.
``They put a hack on me from the start,'' Stackhouse said Sunday after the Tar Heels' 73-71 loss at University Hall. ``Alexander. Chris Alexander. He's a hack.''
IN THE ACC: Wake Forest will make a hardship appeal on behalf of junior college basketball transfer Sean Allen, who played in four games before contracting mononucleosis. ... N.C. State will seek an extra year for junior college transfer Al Pinkins, who aggravated an old knee injury, and Curtis Marshall, who has not played all season after injuring an arm in an off-season accident.
SPRING FOOTBALL: Virginia coach George Welsh has not decided on a date or site for the Cavaliers' annual spring scrimmage. Scott Stadium may not be available if a conversion to natural grass goes according to schedule.
VMI'S FINEST: Illinois and Northern Iowa are the only collegiate wrestling teams to beat VMI, which is 4-0 in the Southern Conference, including a victory over reigning champion Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Virginia senior Mike Krafchick, ranked seventh in NCAA Division I at 142 pounds, has won 20 consecutive matches and improved his record to 35-2. UVa has a winning record (3-2) in the ACC for the first time since 1986-87.
INSIDE JOB: The women's basketball team at Washington and Lee did not have a 3-point field goal this season, giving the Generals one made 3-pointer in two seasons of intercollegiate play.
NON-REVENUE: W&L swimmer Nathan Hottle, a sophomore from the Winchester area, recorded the fastest time in Division III this season in two events at Davidson College.
Hottle broke the W&L record by more than two seconds with a clocking of 57.70 seconds in the 100-meter breast stroke and knocked more than four seconds off the school record when he was timed in 2 minutes, 5.37 seconds for the 200 breast stroke.
Lew Kent, in his first season as Radford University's baseball coach, has revived a home-and-home series with Virginia Tech after a three-year break.
Symmion Willis, formerly the starting quarterback for Virginia's football team, got a hit in his first at-bat for the Cavaliers' baseball team.
by CNB