Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 15, 1995 TAG: 9508150032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES C. BLACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Roanoke Rush needed a punter.
Robbie Colley needed an opportunity.
The only problem for the Rush is that Colley may not be around for a full season.
``He is a major-league punter,'' said Denie Marie, head coach of the fledgling National Minor League Football franchise.
Some of Colley's Roanoke teammates are on the squad for recreation and camaraderie. Others are hoping to get a shot in the Federation of Italian-American Football or the World League of American Football.
But for Colley, it's simple. He's had a taste of the NFL. Now, he's just trying to get back there.
Colley, who graduated from Tech in the spring with a degree in history, signed a free-agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers early this summer. He was with the team for 21/2 weeks, but was released in July.
``I am not going to lay down and die,'' Colley said. ``I have the ability to play in the NFL.''
That's a belief Colley clings to and one his agent, Tim Irwin, strongly supports.
``The 49ers released him without giving him a good look,'' said Irwin, a 14-year NFL lineman with Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Miami. ``They made a decision before he got there [to camp]."
The Niners decided to keep a punter they were more familiar with in Tommy Thompson. The former Oregon kicker-punter was an All-American as a senior in 1993 and was in camp with the 49ers in 1994.
For Colley, the task was to pick up the pieces and start anew, something he has done before.
``Nothing has ever been given to me. I have earned everything,'' said the 23-year-old Tazewell native, whose license plate reads: ``4TH DOWN.''
Colley wasn't drafted by the NFL, and he wasn't offered a scholarship as a freshman at Tech.
Colley said he received several scholarship offers during his senior year at Tazewell High School. Among the interested schools were West Virginia, Duke, Rutgers and Wake Forest. However, there was one major roadblock - the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
``When it comes to taking tests, I panic,'' said Colley, who said he had a 3.0 grade-point average in high school. ``I started thinking, `If I don't get this score, I can't get into college.'''
After a half-dozen tries, he succeeded. But by then, his scholarship offers were gone.
Colley decided to enroll at Tech, where he made the Hokies' squad as a walk-on in 1990 and was redshirted. He punted in three games during the 1991 season, won the starting job a year later and steadily progressed.
As a senior, Colley averaged 42.1 yards per punt, 20th in NCAA Division I-A and second all-time at Tech. And his best games came against the Hokies' toughest competition.
He averaged 47.4 yards against Miami last season, including a career-long kick of 60 yards with 5.2-second hang time. A hangtime of 4.7 seconds is considered good in the NFL, according to Irwin. Against Syracuse in '94, he averaged 45.1 yards.
``The higher the competition, the more excited you are,'' Colley said.
Last year, Colley made an adjustment he credits with improving his punting: kicking the front-middle of the ball instead of the back. However, Irwin has made at least one significant suggestion that also could enhance his game.
``He has to become more of a directional kicker,'' said Irwin, mentioning a skill he feels isn't emphasized in the college ranks.
With the regular season still three weeks away, Colley could get a call from an NFL club. But until then, he is welcome in Roanoke.
``Robbie works as hard as everyone else,'' said Marie, who served as an assistant to coach Frank Beamer at Tech during Colley's first two years with the Hokies. ``He's a team player. He'll do anything you ask him to.''
In addition to playing for the Rush, Colley has used his free time this summer to attend graduate school. He registered for 15 hours at Tech toward a master's degree in education, something that pleases his parents, Bob and Wilma.
``He has loved to punt the football for years,'' Wilma Colley said before Saturday's Rush game. ``But he knows the importance of education - that's No.1.''
Colley's parents attended all of his collegiate games, driving as far as Miami and Boston, and will continue to be there.
As a matter of fact, the family had made plans to see Colley if he had been with the Niners in Japan at the American Bowl against the Denver Broncos on July 29.
But for now, the Colleys will settle for watching their son at Victory Stadium.
by CNB