Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 13, 1995 TAG: 9509130027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Why be nervous? Augustino, a previously obscure offensive tackle, had never thought of himself as a candidate.
``First, he said there would be three captains,'' Augustino said. ``I thought, `OK, that's probably [quarterback] Mike [Groh] and two players from the defense.' Then, he said two of the captains played offense, and I was thinking it was Mike and probably Chris Harrison.
``I wasn't sure, even when I heard it, that he had really called my name. I was greatly surprised [and] pretty excited, too.''
While Welsh reserves the right to alter the voting, he said no changes took place in the spring.
``To tell the truth, I was a little surprised myself,'' said Danny Wilmer, the assistant coach with responsibility for the UVa offensive tackles. ``I knew the other kids respected him, but he's the kind of guy who tells you what he thinks. He's not out to win a popularity contest.''
If performance is any criterion, he might.
``The most improved player on the offensive line is Augustino by far,'' Welsh said Monday. ``His pass protection is so much better, and he's doing all the little things - like picking up stunts - that nobody notices but us.''
Since being named a co-captain, Augustino has held himself to a higher standard.
``Some of the people who have been captains before me, like [offensive linemen] Ray Roberts and Mark Dixon, have been unbelievable players,'' Augustino said. ``You realize you have to step up your game and play at a higher level.
``Other players are going to look to you and see how you're playing. If you're supposed to be a leader out there and you're not playing well, it doesn't look good for the team.''
Augustino was highly recruited as a senior at North Allegheny High School in Wexford, Pa., but not as an offensive lineman. Virginia liked him as a defensive end, which was his position as late as the summer before his third year.
``When Chris Harrison broke his leg the first week of preseason [in 1993], Coach Welsh called me in and said, `You could really help the team [by moving] because we need help right away.' It looked like I would get to play more, so I was more than happy to go over.''
The only problem was, Augustino weighed 245 pounds at the time, which left him unusually slender for a 6-foot-6 offensive tackle.
``I had trouble gaining weight at first; even last year, it seemed like I was at 270 forever,'' Augustino said. ``This summer, working out with [strength] coach [Eric] Fears, I was lifting and eating all the time and I was able to put 10 pounds on.''
At the same time, Augustino has been able to maintain the quickness that enabled him to play tight end in high school.
``He could probably play tight end now if needed,'' Wilmer said. ``He's got good speed and he's very, very aggressive. He's very intelligent, which does not always carry over to the football field, but in his case it does.''
Augustino, like fellow co-captains Groh and Skeet Jones, is playing as a graduate student. Augustino's original intention was to major in engineering, but he switched to finance and finished in four years with a 3.0 grade-point average.
Augustino has lost much of his hair along the way - ``Actually, I was losing it before I ever got here,'' he said - but he has found the experience rewarding. He does not regret choosing Virginia over the other four schools he visited - Duke, Miami, South Carolina and Arizona State.
Never was that more the case than Saturday, when Augustino flattened his North Carolina State counterpart, creating the hole for Tiki Barber's winning touchdown run with 13 seconds remaining.
``It's called `55 blast,''' Augustino said. ``All week in practice, we ran it to Chris' side. When they called it to my [left] side in the game, I was really psyched. There was no way I was going to let them keep us out of the end zone.''
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB