ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608290049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
One of the underlying themes to this week's ACC football opener between North Carolina and Clemson is the return to Chapel Hill, N.C., of new Tigers offensive coordinator Darrell Moody.
Moody was North Carolina's offensive coordinator for eight years and also coached the running backs before he resigned following the 1995 season.
Carolina coach Mack Brown did not renew the contract of Jim Cavanaugh, who coached the Tar Heel wide receivers and had ties to Moody from their days on the North Carolina State staff in the late 1970s.
Cavanaugh later joined the staff at Virginia Tech, where he coaches the outside linebackers and provides the Hokies with a wealth of recruiting contacts, particularly in the Richmond area.
Even before Moody left Carolina, there was speculation that Brown would attempt to hire Greg Davis, a former colleague who had succeeded Brown as head coach at Tulane. Davis was the quarterback coach at Georgia through the 1995 season, when Bulldogs coach Ray Goff was fired.
What wouldn't make sense would be any disenchantment with Moody, under whose direction Carolina passed for 2,687 yards last season. The Tar Heels' previous high was 2,220 yards in 1993, when they played 12 regular-season games.
``North Carolina has never had a starting quarterback in the NFL,'' said Brown during the ACC's Operation Kickoff in Hot Springs. ``We felt we needed to get away from the option and get more into a pro-type passing attack to recruit more of the pro-style thrower.
``That's what kids want to do. Guys coming into college now would like to be pro quarterbacks if they can. If you're throwing the ball out of a lot of different formations, like the NFL is doing, then you have a better chance to recruit the better receivers in the country, too.''
It should be noted that Florida State does not have a starting quarterback in the NFL and has no high-profile wide receivers, although nobody would confuse the Seminoles with Carolina.
``We felt when [ex-quarterback] Jason Stanicek came in, he was so successful that we started running more option than we had planned,'' Brown said. ``We ran the option maybe 15 percent of the time his senior year, but we were labeled an `option' team. We were never an option team.''
IN THE ACC: North Carolina State has lost senior linebacker Ron Melnik, its leading tackler last year, who gave up football because of chronic nerve problems in his shoulders. Melnik earlier had lost a year while on suspension for disciplinary problems.
``This is another type of adversity that I must get past,'' said Melnik, who also overcame a hearing problem that was so bad that he communicated with the coaches through hand signals. ``It's the most frustrating thing in the world, [but] I don't want to be an old man with a dead arm.''
* Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said three starters and back-up tailback Rock Preston had violated team policy and have been suspended for the Seminoles' opener Sept.7 against visiting Duke. The regulars are offensive guard Marcus Long and defensive backs James Colzie and Robert Hammond.
* Duke has become the third ACC football team to remove its players' names from the backs of their jerseys. The other two are Virginia and Wake Forest, both of whose head coaches have an association with Penn State, which is famous for its plain jerseys.
IN THE BIG EAST: First-year Rutgers coach Terry Shea, who does not have a returning quarterback who attempted a pass last season, has tapped redshirt freshman Corey Valentine as the Scarlet Knights' starter Saturday against visiting Villanova.
Valentine, a redshirt freshman, played in a Wing-T offense in high school and has more mobility than rival Ralph Sacca. Sacca, a sophomore left-hander, is the younger brother of ex-Penn State star and 1992 Phoenix Cardinals draftee Tony Sacca.
Rutgers will be without the services of its top receiver with remaining eligibility, Reggie Funderburk, who had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Funderburk, who had 109 receptions the past two seasons, is seeking a redshirt year that will enable him to play in 1997.
HEISMAN HOPEFULS: Virginia Tech quarterback Jim Druckenmiller and Hokies defensive end Cornell Brown were among 23 college players given odds of 50-to-1 or better of winning the Heisman Trophy by USA Today sports ``analyst'' Danny Sheridan. Virginia running back Tiki Barber was not listed.
PLAYING FOR HAMPTON: Russell Mills, a redshirt freshman from William Fleming High School, is listed No.1 for Hampton University at one offensive-tackle spot. Mills has been measured at 6 feet 7 and 330 pounds.
Andra Beasley from Christiansburg entered preseason practice as the No.3 tailback for Hampton. Beasley played in five games last year, when he averaged 21.8 yards on eight kickoff returns and also had four rushing attempts.
RECRUITING: Inside connections have helped N.C. State secure a pair of basketball commitments, from 6-8 forward Kenny Inge from Hargrave Military Academy and 5-10 point guard Ryan ``Archie'' Miller from Beaver Falls, Pa.
Inge played last year at Atlantic Shores Christian School in Virginia Beach, where he played with Wolfpack freshman Damon Thornton and under coach Mark Phelps, now an administrative assistant at State. Miller is the younger brother of full-time Wolfpack assistant Sean Miller.
* Brian Bersticker, a 6-10 center from Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach, has eliminated Virginia and is looking strongly at North Carolina and Georgia Tech. ... Wake Forest has received a commitment from 6-1 Larry Morrissey, a point guard from Fayetteville, N.C.
LENGTH: Medium: 97 linesby CNB