ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 22, 1996 TAG: 9604230169
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
VIRGINIA TECH defensive tackle J.C. Price goes in the third round of the NFL draft.
The Carolina Panthers offered the proper prescription for J.C. Price's insomnia Saturday night.
The Virginia Tech defensive tackle, afforded few winks on Friday's eve of the NFL draft, faced another restless night before the phone rang at his Blacksburg apartment around 10:15 p.m. Saturday.
It was the Carolina Panthers. They had taken Price in the third round, the 88th overall pick in the draft.
``I was surprised to hear from Carolina, but I was glad to get it done,'' Price said Sunday. ``No doubt, I definitely slept a lot better after getting that call than I did Friday. I couldn't sleep that night.''
The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder , whose great senior season for a 10-2 Tech team turned him into an NFL candidate, said he had no inkling Carolina had him on its mind.
``I hadn't really had that much contact with the Carolina people,'' Price said. ``When several teams didn't take me earlier, I figured I was going to go in [Sunday's] Round 4 to the New York Jets. They had been real high on me.
``Also, I'm real surprised to be going to a team that plays a 3-4 [defensive front]. None of the 3-4 teams had been scouting me that hard because I'm more of a movement guy. Nobody had projected me as an inside guy.
``But, hey, I'm happy to go anywhere. I'm going to a team where everything is about new and there's a lot of enthusiasm.
``Plus, I'm on the East Coast, where a lot of friends and family can get in the car and come see my play.''
Price turned NFL heads with a banner senior year in which he made first-team All-Big East Conference and third-team All-America. The Dunkirk, Md., native registered 23 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for Tech, which tied him for fourth among all NCAA Division I-A defenders.
``It's a dream come true,'' Price said. ``I watched the NFL on TV all my life. Now, I've got a shot at doing that and I plan on doing my best to make it happen.''
Price was the second of two Hokies taken in the two-day, seven-round draft. Flanker Bryan Still was taken in Saturday's second round by San Diego, the 41st overall pick.
Several Hokies who were considered border-line draft prospects - defensive tackle Jim Baron, defensive end Hank Coleman and split end Jermaine Holmes - failed to hear their names called. They will join Tech tailback Dwayne Thomas and free safety William Yarborough in the NFL's free-agent line, hoping to attract training camp tryouts.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB