Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508240036
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
That was the first giveaway Virginia coach George Welsh had about Michigan quarterback Scott Dreisbach, who will start against the Cavaliers on Saturday in the Pigskin Classic.
``The kid obviously has talent,'' Welsh said. ``Otherwise, he wouldn't have won the job so quickly. I talked to a Detroit radio man who told me, if something had happened to [Todd] Collins last year, they were going to un-redshirt Dreisbach.''
Dreisbach's backups are sophomore Brian Griese, son of Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese, and senior Jason Carr, son of head coach Lloyd Carr. Carr, who has completed six of 14 passes in three years, is the lone Wolverines quarterback to have attempted a pass in a college game.
Dreisbach, a 6-foot-4, 209-pounder from Mishawaka, Ind., was a SuperPrep All-American in 1994 but he wasn't exactly a phenom. He was rated 16th among 16 quarterbacks named to that team.
``Dreisbach has excellent skills in terms of arm and ability to make plays,'' said Lloyd Carr, the Wolverines' former defensive coordinator who was elevated to head coach after Gary Moeller was fired May 4.
``He throws the ball deep extremely well [and] has the ability to become a great quarterback. He has the kind of toughness I like. He's not intimidated and I don't think he's afraid to make mistakes. He's a guy who I think will get better and better.''
IN THE ACC: N.C. State quarterback Terry Harvey was given a week off after spending the first part of the summer with Watertown, N.Y., where he led New York-Penn League pitchers with a 1.82 earned run average.
Harvey, who had been drafted by baseball teams several earlier occasions and not signed, went to Cleveland in the 17th round. He is about to break the N.C. State record for passing yardage, but his future is in baseball. He holds Wolfpack pitching records for victories and strikeouts in a career.
nClemson defensive lineman Marvin Cross, named to several preseason All-ACC teams, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Friday and will be lost for 3-5 weeks. Another of the Tigers' best pass rushers, Brent Williams, will be out a similar period with a separated shoulder.
PARTIAL ACCEPTANCE: Hampton University will be eligible for the Division I-AA football championship this year, but executives in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference declined to let the Pirates play for the championship in that league as first-year members.
When the Roanoke Valley Sports Club invited the head coaches from the state's eight Division I programs to its kickoff dinner, Joe Taylor from Hampton was the only one who worked it into his schedule. Two schools didn't even send assistant coaches.
AROUND THE STATE: Willie Gonzalez, who appeared in two games for Georgia Tech last year at quarterback, has transferred to James Madison and will be eligible this season. ... Todd Burks, who had 13 receptions last year for LSU, has transferred to Liberty.
RECRUITING: Anthony King of Granby High School in Norfolk was an oversight on The Roanoke Times' list of the preseason top 40 football prospects in the state, but he will make future lists. King, a 5-9, 160-pound quarterback, made an oral commitment to Penn State, where he is projected as a defensive back.
Linebacker Jeremy Kishbaugh, who committed to Virginia Tech last month, is rated one of the top 10 prospects in Pennsylvania by SuperPrep. His teammate at Berwick High School, wide receiver Brian Remley, is in the top 30.
NFL CUTS: It has not been a good week for ex-UVa football players, seven of whom have been waived. Of the five 1994 Cavaliers who signed as free agents, the one who remains with an NFL team is perhaps the most unheralded, defensive back Carl Smith, with Indianapolis.
One of the bigger surprises Tuesday was New England's decision to waive former Virginia Tech wide receiver Ray Crittenden. Crittenden made the team as a free agent in 1993 and had 28 receptions for 379 yards and three touchdowns last year, but reportedly he had been inconsistent in the preseason. He was claimed off the waiver wire by the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday.
NOLAN MAY PLAY: Virginia is preparing an appeal to the NCAA that, if approved, would enable sophomore Norman Nolan to open the basketball season with the Cavaliers. Nolan passed nine hours in summer school and will be enrolled for the first semester.
Nolan is ineligible because fewer than 75 percent of his credit hours have come during the regular school year. However, there are extenuating circumstances involved and coach Jeff Jones says there is some precedent for the NCAA viewing cases like Nolan's favorably.
nColin Ducharme, who last week made an oral commitment to Virginia, says he has discussed the possibility of redshirting as a freshman. Ducharme, a 6-foot-7 1/2, 235-pounder, averaged 13.9 points and 9.1 rebounds as a junior at Douglas Freeman High School in Richmond.
NON-REVENUE: The Washington, D.C., franchise in Major League Soccer continues to pursue Bruce Arena, who has coached Virginia to four consecutive Division I championships. It has been speculated that Arena would need a three-year contract at $200,000 per year to leave Virginia for the new league, which begins play this spring.
TRIBE GOES ON: Barbara Blosser will serve as interim athletics director at William and Mary, which intends to conduct a national search for a successor to John Randolph, who died Aug.11 after a three-year bout with lung cancer. Blosser and fund-raising chief Bobby Dwyer are viewed as possible candidates for the job.
by CNB