Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504250047
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's where Freeman was headed Saturday night in Baltimore when he was paged by his mother, Rotha.
``She was yelling and screaming, `Green Bay, Green Bay,''' said Freeman, a wide receiver from Virginia Tech. ``She was trying to recite some phone number that I couldn't make out, so I figured I'd better get home.''
When he got to the house, Freeman learned he had been selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the NFL draft. Freeman was the 90th player taken overall.
Four picks later, Mike Frederick became the first Virginia player to be drafted when Cleveland selected him.
Frederick's father was watching extended draft coverage on ESPN2 while his son and friends were watching the movie ``Angels in the Outfield'' in another room of the family's home in Penndel, Pa.
``Hoping for a little divine intervention,'' Mike Frederick said jokingly. ``I heard the phone ring and my father came in and said, `Here, I think you'd better take this.'''
Frederick, a first-team All-ACC defensive end, said the Browns were among the three teams that had showed the most interest in him, ``but I've been told that probably means a team isn't going to draft you.''
Frederick said Cleveland first called to ask if he had heard from Dallas or San Diego, who had earlier third-round picks, then asked him to stay by the phone. Head coach Bill Belichick called to say the selection was official.
``There's no doubt they'll give me a good look,'' said Frederick, who was unaware Belichick has ties to Navy, where UVa head coach George Welsh previously served.
The call from Green Bay came as something of a surprise to Freeman, who had done private workouts for scouts from 15 or more teams, but had done little more for the Packers than fill out a questionnaire.
``You'd have to say Green Bay was a long shot,'' Freeman said, ``but it's a pleasure to be a Packer. I had hoped and expected to go sometime in the second round, but my agent told me not to get my hopes up.''
Freeman had watched the first two rounds of the draft with his father, Clarence, and thought the first day of the draft would end at that point.
Freeman knew a few things about the Packers, but couldn't immediately identify their head coach, Mike Holmgren. When pressed, he said he thought the Green Bay coach was a former Washington Redskins linebacker.
``I know they throw the ball a lot and that a couple of years ago Sterling Sharpe had 100 receptions in a season,'' he said. ``I look at it as a possibility I might start for them, but my primary goal is to make the team.''
by CNB