Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511060122
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
He always does.
Then, he never does.
On a football team with a spectacular defense, Virginia Tech's quarterback is merely steady. Do not underrate that.
While precocious Syracuse freshman Donovan McNabb was running to nowhere at Lane Stadium, Druckenmiller was running a Hokies offense that stayed on the field for almost 36 minutes, passing for a career-high three touchdowns.
In a 31-7 cruising and bruising that brought Tech one victory from at least a share of its first Big East Football Conference title, the Hokies' defense held Syracuse (6-2) more than 200 yards below its season average.
Tech's defense didn't have to worry about losing the chase, because the Hokies' offense was staying on the field with perfect balance - 224 yards rushing, 224 yards from Druckenmiller's arm.
``Limiting mistakes, mentally,'' Druckenmiller answered when asked how he and Tech offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle define this quarterback's job. ``That, and moving the chains.''
Spectacular, he isn't. A star, well, the scouts from the Orange, Sugar, Gator and Carquest bowls at Saturday's game aren't going to fly home and tell their committees to invite Tech because of a big-name quarterback - although he is a man of letters in one sense.
He handles questions candidly after games, even if he sits and nervously taps his right foot on the floor while answering.
Pressure, he copes with. Well, usually. After the Lane season finale, Druckenmiller stopped to sign an autograph.
Maybe it's because it takes a long time to scribble that surname, but while he was writing, someone ripped his helmet from his other hand.
``I think I know who did it,'' Druckenmiller said. ``I'd, please, like to have it back. At least, bring back the mouthpiece.''
Don Strock, Bob Schweickert, Steve Casey, Will Furrer, Mark Cox, Maurice DeShazo ... You can talk Tech quarterbacks as far back as you want, and no one since 1905 has led his team to more victories in succession than Druckenmiller.
With a victory against Temple at RFK Stadium on Saturday, the Hokies (7-2) not only will take at least a piece of the Big East title, they'll also tie the '05 Tech team with a record eighth consecutive victory.
If Druckenmiller continues to play as he has recently, beating the one-win Owls shouldn't be difficult. In the last four games, the 6-foot-4 junior is 49-for-90 for 701 yards with eight touchdowns and only one interception.
Some rookie starters would have crashed after an 0-2 debut, particularly when the second of those losses included the kind of performance Druckenmiller had in a 16-0 loss to Cincinnati in the slop.
He was as awful as the weather, after a solid debut in Tech's opening loss to Boston College, a game in which he really was asked to do too much, with a season-high 42 passes.
Other than the Cincy loss, he's thrown four interceptions. He's thrown for 1,629 yards. In Tech history, only Strock, DeShazo and Furrer have had more productive seasons.
No other Tech QB has beaten Miami, however, as Druckenmiller did back in September for his first win as a starter. In the pocket, he may be flushed, but he's not flustered.
Druckenmiller called a very early timeout Saturday, then, on a fourth-and-two play at the Syracuse 8 when he thought the Hokies had drawn the Orangemen offsides, he genuflected for a drive-ending loss.
``I called time out because I couldn't see out of my right eye,'' he said. ``My contact froze up.''
Druckenmiller also has the responsibility of handling Tech's no-huddle offense. Bustle, who returned to Tech this season after a year at South Carolina, put in the no-huddle because he wanted to, not because he thought it was particularly suited to DeShazo's successor under center.
``The biggest thing about Jim and our offense is that he doesn't guess,'' Bustle said. ``He has very good football sense, and he always prepares so well, he gets to where he can just react on Saturday.
``When Will was here [during Bustle's first tour at Tech], he was a 3.6 [grade-point average] English major and he was very smart. But sometimes, he had to see something first to make it make sense.
``Jim can come off the field and tell me what was there or wasn't there just like that.
As for Druckenmiller's heisted helmet, how much is it worth? There's nothing in it now.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB