ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608120117
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
PENN STATE HAS come into Virginia and taken the lead this year in recruiting the top football players.
Virginia and Virginia Tech, both enjoying a string of football bowl appearances and national rankings, are in the midst of a battle for in-state recruiting supremacy.
But it's not with each other. It's with Penn State.
The Nittany Lions, who signed three players ranked among The Roanoke Times Top 25 in February, are among the early leaders for three of the top prospects in the recruiting class of 1997.
Running back Antoine Womack from Phoebus High School concedes Penn State is at the top of his list, and the Nittany Lions are considered the team to beat for Huguenot wide receiver Bruce Branch and Indian River defensive back James Boyd.
Richard McFee, Huguenot's coach, said Penn State and Michigan are co-leaders for Branch, although two Huguenot players went to Penn State, including McFee's son, Marcus.
Branch, who will announce his decision Sept.6, has Virginia in his final five. Womack and Boyd say, at least publicly, they are considering Tech and UVa, who both ended the 1995 season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time.
``They're good programs,'' said Billy Dee, Phoebus' coach. ``I know there are a lot of rumors going around, but when we sat down and talked, I told [Womack] that he would be making a mistake not to take the state schools seriously.''
Nevertheless, neither Tech nor UVa appears to have an inside track with any of the state's top six prospects, including 6-foot-7, 235-pound tight end tight end Nate Krill from McLean High School. Krill made an oral commitment to Duke in July.
Duke has commitments from three Virginia players, including Krill's teammate, running back Duane Epperson. The Blue Devils also landed the top prospect in Timesland, offensive tackle John Miller from Bassett.
It could be worse for the in-state programs. Womack and defensive lineman Tyrone Robertson from George Washington-Danville grew up as Florida State fans, but the Seminoles, who get most of their players from the Sunshine State, aren't recruiting them.
Robertson, also a dominating post player for GW's Group AAA championship basketball team, can run 40 yards in 4.8 seconds despite a 6-5, 260-pound frame. He said he likes Florida State, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Penn State and Tech.
Tennessee and Florida are two of the early leaders for Tim Olmstead, a Binghamton, N.Y., native who is entering his fourth year at Woodberry Forest in Orange. Olmstead also is considering North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech, which welcomed two of his 1995 teammates this past week.
Miller is the only sure Division I-A signee in Timesland. Three other Timesland players who have attracted interest are Pulaski County quarterback Ronald Branch, Roanoke Catholic running back P.J. Moyer and William Fleming defensive back Charles Burnette.
Moyer, who runs a 4.4-second 40, has rushed for 4,441 yards in his career and enters his senior year with 53 touchdowns. Tech, where older brother Keith is a walk-on defensive back, has called. So has James Madison.
``I just handed him his 52nd letter from Nebraska,'' Celtics coach John Cooke said this past week. ``I don't think anybody would send that many letters to one particular kid if it wasn't serious about him.
``You might say, `What kind of competition does he have?' Well, we play in Division I of the private school league. Randolph-Macon [Academy] has 300 kids in grades nine through 12. We had 64 last year.''
Moyer has taken a trial run at the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and is receiving instruction to ensure he will qualify academically. With a few exceptions, most of the top prospects in the state are expected to make the grade.
A preseason ranking of the top 40 prospects in the state takes into account the likelihood of a player meeting NCAA eligibility standards. Womack, Branch and Robertson have scored at least 700 on the SAT, with 820 the minimum to qualify.
The Roanoke Times rates prospects three times - at the end of their junior year, before their senior year and before the NCAA's February signing date. Last year's final top 25 included four players who did not make the preseason top 40.
Five state players have made oral commitments, including the three Duke-bound prospects, and Amherst County teammates Camm Jackson and David Pugh, who are headed to Virginia Tech.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by staff: Football recruiting.by CNB