ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Bassett High School offensive lineman John Miller, with four Division I-A scholarship offers on the table, has emerged as perhaps the top football prospect in Timesland.
In some respects, Miller is under no pressure. He no longer has to prove he is a Division I-A prospect. However, there is another type of pressure from teams who want an early commitment.
``The way they put it to you is, `We've got 14 scholarships, we're going to sign three linemen and we've got 20 people on our list,''' Miller said. ``You hear it from everybody. It's understood that the offer is not indefinite.''
Miller is still hearing from a large number of schools, but it is possible that he will make an early commitment before the season to either Duke, Virginia, North Carolina State or Virginia Tech. Duke and UVa head the list.
Miller has been to camp at State and Duke and will go to Virginia after that. He then will take stock of his situation and decide whether to visit Tech.
Academics will play a major factor in his decision. Miller has a 96 average on a 100-point grading scale and scored 1,240 on the Scholastic Assessment Test.
Such attention to academics hasn't prevented Miller from participating in three sports. He reached the Group AA heavyweight wrestling semifinals as a sophomore and junior and throws the shotput and discus in track.
Miller, who was measured at 6-feet-71/2 and 294 pounds recently, said he has no aspirations to top the 300-pound mark.
``It would be fine if I stopped growing,'' he said, ``but that doesn't appear to be the case.''
MORE RECRUITING: Running back Duane Epperson from McLean High School has made an oral commitment to Duke. Epperson, who has been timed in 4.47 seconds for 40 yards, rushed for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns this past season.
Just as significant are developments with Epperson's teammate, 6-7, 235-pound tight end Nathan Krill. Krill had an estimated 30-40 offers, the first of which came from Virginia in January, before narrowing his choices to Duke and Northwestern.
Krill, who also has received some Division I basketball interest, has a 3.5 grade-point average and scored 1,100 on his first try at the SAT. His father is a lawyer and his mother is the assistant school superintendent for Prince William County.
HOKIES CITED: Virginia Tech senior Cornell Brown has been named preseason All-American by The Sporting News in its college football yearbook and has been rated the No.1 defensive end in the country.
Other Hokies ranked by the magazine were Torrian Gray, selected third among safeties; Billy Conaty, the sixth-ranked center; and Jim Druckenmiller, who was 18th among drop-back quarterbacks. Offensive tackle Jay Hagood was included on a list of the country's most unsung players.
GATOR CONNECTION: Florida quarterback Eric Kresser, who passed for 992 yards and 12 touchdowns last year despite starting only one game as the backup to classmate Danny Wuerffel, reportedly will transfer to Marshall and join new coach Bob Pruett, formerly Florida's defensive coordinator.
Marshall quarterback Brad Pennington, who passed for 2,445 and 15 touchdowns as a true freshman, may redshirt in order to establish a line of succession behind Kresser. The Thundering Herd also may get seldom-used West Virginia wide receiver Jerald Long, although WVU has not released him.
CONFERENCE COMPROMISE: The way was paved for East Carolina and Army to become football-playing members of Conference USA when opponent Louisville agreed to a plan that would require teams to play no more than six conference games before the year 2000.
East Carolina and Army, who would become the seventh and eighth Conference USA teams to play football, could start league play as early as 1997. Louisville's desire is to play more high-profile intersectional games and the Cardinals only reluctantly agreed to a tie-in with the Liberty Bowl.
STANCE SOFTENS: Old Dominion men's basketball coach Jeff Capel has backed off comments made on a Peninsula call-in radio show, when he indicated that his son, Jason, would play for ODU. Jason Capel, named Mr. Basketball in Virginia by The Roanoke Times, will transfer to St. John's Prospect Hall in Frederick, Md., for his junior year.
``You've gotta remember this: In two years he's not going away to college, so this is his chance to get away from home,'' Jeff Capel said. ``Our realm of thinking right now is to get him prepared for college, to go play major college basketball at Old Dominion.
``What I meant to say was `like' Old Dominion University, not `at' Old Dominion University,'' the older Capel said one day later. ``It would be ludicrous to think somebody would make a decision this early - even if his dad's the coach.''
HALL RECOGNIZED: Nikki Hall, a junior from Glenvar High School, has been named female athlete of the year at Longwood College. Hall was named to the All-Carolinas-Virginias Conference team after averaging 16 points for the Lady Lancers, who were 18-0 in conference play.
BASEBALL LEADERS: Virginia Tech junior Kevin Barker was the only player ranked among the Division I leaders in home runs and triples. Barker, who signed with the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, was eighth in slugging percentage (.792), 12th in triples (9) and 18th in home runs (20).
Tech reliever Charlie Gillian, who signed with the Twins, finished second in Division I in saves with 14. Mike Lyons of Stetson was first with 15. ... Virginia was 16th in ERA at 3.72, with two pitchers in the top 20, No. 1 Seth Greisinger (1.76) and No. 20 Craig Zaikov (2.48).
NON-REVENUE: Washington and Lee women's tennis player Natalia Garcia, a sophomore from Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic, has been named to the Division III All-America team. Garcia was ranked seventh in the country in singles and second in doubles with senior Julie Ayers.
LENGTH: Long : 105 linesby CNB