ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 11, 1996 TAG: 9609130095
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Tech Notes
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Few have gone from zero to hero quicker than Shyrone Stith.
Stith, who a week ago was just another freshman football player at Virginia Tech, suddenly finds himself as a bona-fide big man on campus.
``I never knew this would happen so fast,'' Stith said. "People have been calling my house back home, people have been coming up to me on campus, saying `nice game' and all that. It's pretty unbelievable.''
No more so than Stith's performance in Akron, Ohio, on Saturday night. Getting the call when Hokies starting tailback Ken Oxendine was sidelined by a separated right shoulder, Stith made his first college game one to remember, running for 119 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the Hokies to a season-opening 21-18 victory over Akron.
``The coaches just threw me in there and told me I've got to do what I've got to do,'' Stith said. ``As the coaches said, I'm on the team now and I can't act like a little high school dude I've got to step up and be Division I material, which I did.''
Tech coach Frank Beamer said the 5-foot-9, 180-pounder from Chesapeake ``is a heck of a player.''
``You're going to be seeing a lot of Shyrone Stith,'' Beamer said Tuesday. ``All he needs is some experience. I don't worry about him running the ball. It's picking up the blocking assignments and going out on pass routes that he needs work at.''
Stith acknowledged he needs time to comprehend the college game. Things aren't exactly the same as back at Western Branch High School, where he ran for a school-record 2,234 yards and 39 touchdowns in his career.
``I was real nervous at first, not about my running but about my blocking on pass plays and all that,'' Stith said. ``There is so much stuff to know - your defense, your assignments, who's blocking who, where to cut.
``Heck, it's so much stuff that I take my play book to study hall just like my class books.''
NO WORD YET: Stith's playing time Saturday at Boston College will be determined by whether Marcus Parker is reinstated this week. Beamer said Tuesday he had not made a decision on the status of Parker, who is under indefinite suspension after pleading no contest to a July shoplifting charge.
OXENDINE UPDATE: Oxendine said Monday his shoulder was feeling ``pretty good'' and that he thought he could be back earlier than the original projection of three to four weeks. He could return for the home opener against Rutgers on Sept.21. If not, he should be a shoo-in at Syracuse on Sept.28.
LESSON LEARNED: For the second consecutive season, an Ohio team has schooled Tech on the perils of taking an opponent lightly.
Last year, it was Cincinnati. Saturday, it was Akron.
``The big difference this time was we won,'' said Billy Conaty, Tech's senior center. ``We learned our lesson last year in the Cincinnati game the bad way - we lost it. This year Akron gave us a scare, but thank God we had guts enough to play through and get the win. It's a good lesson to learn if you get out of it with a win.''
What would have happened if Tech had lost at Akron? Would the Hokies have had to move out of Blacksburg?
``I think we may have had to,'' Conaty said. ``The boo birds would have been out, for sure.''
VIRGINIA TIES: Little wonder Boston College lists eight Virginia-bred players on its roster.
Including head coach Dan Henning, who played quarterback at William and Mary and served two years as a Tech assistant (1971 and '73), BC has four coaches with ties to the commonwealth. Defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian, a William and Mary alumnus, coached at W&M, Tech, Virginia and Ferrum; running backs coach John McGregor coached at Roanoke's William Fleming High School; and linebackers coach Tom Throckmorton has worked at VMI, Tech and Richmond.
``That's a lot of contacts in Virginia,'' Henning said. ``It's allowed us make some inroads there that have paid off on occasion.''
TECH TIDBITS: For all the things it did wrong at the Rubber Bowl, Tech remained steel-belted in one area. The Hokies, who led the nation in rushing defense in 1995, permitted the Zips only 30 net yards on the ground. The Hokies had five sacks and three other tackles for losses. Beamer said he hasn't lost faith in JUCO transfer Walter Ford,who misplayed two punts that led to Akron scores. ``Walter will be back there again, write it down,'' Beamer said. Former Tech star J.C. Price, who was among the final preseason cuts of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, has resurfaced in Tempe, Ariz. Price has been signed to the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad. Tech has been installed as an early three-point favorite over BC.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Gene Dalton. After a 119-yard, two-touchdown performanceby CNBagainst Akron, "You're going to be seeing a lot of Shyrone Stith,"
said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. color.