Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 25, 1995 TAG: 9504260067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: SPORTS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``No question,'' Taylor said by phone Monday.
Taylor, an All-Group AAA quarterback at Patrick Henry High School, has exceeded the minimum required score on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American College Test (ACT) and will enroll at Virginia in the fall.
``Usually, we've got to prod kids to come in and do them both,'' said Fork Union football coach John Shuman, ``but Shannon took both tests every time they were offered.
``We've seen a tremendous amount of academic improvement. In the deep, dark days of January and February, when a lot of kids think about quitting, Shannon maintained his focus.''
Taylor committed to UVa during his senior year at Patrick Henry in 1993-94, but did not sign. The Cavaliers, more optimistic that he would meet NCAA eligibility standards this year, accepted his letter of intent in February.
``A lot of people asked me, `What are you going to do afterward?''' Taylor said. ``It was like they didn't think it was possible I would make the score. I made it my goal to prove them wrong.''
Taylor, hampered by a shoulder injury that has healed, played only half of the 1994 football season.
``I only wish we had a spring game,'' Shuman said. ``I see him now and it almost makes me sick. He's got some of that heavy-set fat off of him. He's really trimmed down.''
Taylor, a 6-foot-5, 230-pounder, has lowered his best time for the 40-yard dash from 4.63 seconds to 4.55.
``He has in his heart that he's going to beat everybody out at quarterback,'' Shuman said. ``I've told him it's a two-year process.''
Taylor will become one of five scholarship quarterbacks in the UVa program; however, Aaron Brooks is the only other quarterback signed by Virginia in the past three years.
``He's [Brooks] not a better quarterback than I am,'' Taylor said. ``I plan on playing this year, but if it means moving to defense, I'll do what I can to help the team.''
UNTAPPED POTENTIAL: UVa coach George Welsh reported redshirt sophomore Frank Bjoring, rated one of the top five prospects in Virginia in 1991, has quit football. Bjoring, a 6-7, 295-pound offensive tackle from Tabb High School, was plagued by injuries and practiced infrequently.
WAVE OF SIGNINGS: The number of Virginia seniors heading to the NFL swelled to eight Monday with five free-agent signings: defensive tackle Ryan Kuehl (San Francisco), linebacker Randy Neal (Cleveland), defensive back Carl Smith (Indianapolis), defensive tackle Mark Krichbaum (Chicago) and center Bryan Heath (Seattle).
LEADING FOR NOW: Steve Smith, the Oak Hill Academy boys' basketball coach, said 6-10 center Melvin Whitaker returned from a visit to Virginia during the weekend and has the Cavaliers at the top of his list, pending a visit this weekend to North Carolina.
``It looks like Virginia is No.1 - I think everybody knows it - but he still wants to visit North Carolina,'' Smith said. ``If it were somebody else, I'd rule it out, but every kid we've had visit Carolina has come back drooling. Jerry [Stackhouse] had them fifth on his list before the visit.''
MEN'S HOOPS: Although Virginia's Cory Alexander has indicated he will skip his final season of college eligibility, some were surprised to see him listed by ESPN among underclassmen who have applied for the NBA draft.
The NBA does not release the names of draft applicants, but Alexander has made no public announcement and there is no indication he actually has filed a letter with the league. ``ESPN was probably going on his earlier statements,'' said a school spokesman.
Virginia senior Junior Burrough received favorable reviews at an NBA tryout camp last week and is moving closer to becoming a first-round selection. ... Tom Perrin, a Cavaliers assistant, was interviewed last week in Greensboro, N.C., for the head-coaching vacancy at Southern Methodist, where former UVa athletic director Jim Copeland is the AD.
TOURNEY FLOPS: The UVa men's lacrosse team gained the dubious distinction of becoming the second Virginia team this year - joining women's basketball - to go undefeated in the ACC regular season and fail to reach the final game of the conference tournament.
NON-REVENUE: Virginia has won four men's ACC championships since 1991, all in soccer. ... Freshman pitcher Pat Daneker has an ACC-high seven complete games for UVa's baseball team, which took two of three games during the weekend from 1994 NCAA runner-up Georgia Tech. Daneker is 4-3, with a 2.72 earned run average for the Cavaliers (19-26). ... Sophomore attackman Doug Knight has 42 goals for the UVa men's lacrosse team, two short of the school record of 44 set by Kevin Pehlke in 1991. ... UVa, which has been to the final four in women's lacrosse the past four seasons, is unlikely to make the NCAA Tournament field this year with a 6-6 record entering today's play.
by CNB