Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 8, 1995 TAG: 9508080050
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The countdown to Virginia Tech's 1995 football season began Monday as 32 first-year players reported to the Hokies' campcampus in Blacksburg.
Nineteen scholarship players, including a pair of highly touted junior college transfers, and 13 walk-on candidates were among the newcomers.
Coach Frank Beamer said he is counting on finding some immediate reinforcements among Monday's wide-eyed group.
``We've got a lot of good players coming back, but we need some more,'' said Beamer, whose Hokies will seek a third consecutive bowl bid. ``I think we're about four or five players short of being a pretty good program, and maybe four or five of those have shown up.''
The rookie crop is led by highly regarded Myron Newsome and Greg Melvin, two native Virginians who starred at Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kan.
Newsome, a linebacker, played at Bethel High School in Hampton before going to Butler. Former Tech defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian, now at the University of Washington, said the 5-foot-10, 205-pounder was one of Tech's ``top recruits ever.''
Melvin, a running back-defensive back, was Virginia's Group AAA player of the year at Virginia Beach's Bayside High School in 1992.
Other newcomers who could provide immediate help are defensive end Keith Short of Ashland, defensive back Tyron Edmond of Sussex Central, tight end Pedro Edison of Waynesboro and cornerback Loren Johnson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Short and Edmond were rated among the state's Top 25 players by The Roanoke Times.
While Tech's recruiting class received poor national marks - most publications rated it near the bottom of the Big East Conference - Beamer said he believes this year's group of newcomers will have a major impact.
``I think it's a good class,'' Beamer said. ``It's funny how publicity goes, because I think it's going to be one of our better classes. I really do.
``You know nobody wrote about this [Jimmy] Kibble kid, the kicker, but everybody was talking about him after the [Virginia High School Coaches Association] All-Star Game. And nobody wrote much about this [defensive end Chris] Cyrus kid, but all those coaches were talking about him down there at the All-Star Game.''
Kibble is from Osbourn Park High School in Manassas and Cyrus is from Brookville High School in Lynchburg.
``It will be interesting to see how it turns out,'' Beamer said, ``but I think it's going to be one of our better classes, if not our best.''
The majority of the opportunities for the first-year cast will come at linebacker and in the secondary, where Tech desperately needs to develop depth.
While Beamer remained noncommittal on how many of the newcomers might see action this year, he did predict ``it will be the most that we've ever played.
``Of course, we need some linebackers and some secondary guys to come in and play. But I think there are going to be some guys who come in and play just because they're good enough to play, too.''
TECH TIDBITS: Wide receiver-defensive back Shannon Rice of Shulerville, S.C., was the only signee announced by Tech who did not report to campus Monday. A Hokies source said Rice's scholarship offer had been withdrawn by the school for unspecified reasons. ... The list of walk-ons included Beamer's son, Shane. The younger Beamer, a star receiver at Blacksburg High School, hopes to win a spot on special teams. Greg Shockley of Blacksburg and Jason Buckland of Narrows were the other two Timesland-area players among the invited walk-ons. ... The first-year group will continue pre-practice conditioning and academic orientation today. Tech's veteran players arrive Thursday. After Friday's media day, the entire squad begins two-a-day drills Saturday.
by CNB