ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 12, 1996 TAG: 9610140090
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
Virginia Tech's offensive linemen are big and strong, quick and fit. They run laps and ride a stationary bike, lift weights and do blocking drills. They're rough and they are tough. And they play best when they're: hungry?
"Pregame meal is at 8 a.m.," said offensive tackle T.J. Washington. "Then we don't eat again until after the game."
But T.J., that's almost nine hours later, probably around 5 p.m.?
"I know, but I kind of like it," Washington said. "Because I get hungry. And when I'm hungry, I'm mad. And when I'm mad, I play better."
Washington stands 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 313 pounds, the largest man on the Tech team. The perfect size for a lineman.
"My playing weight is 310," Washington said. "On a bad day I may go 6 pounds over, but I feel really good at this weight. I'm in the best shape ever, I'm playing well, plus I'm just enjoying playing because it's the last year I'll be playing with my brother."
That's his younger brother, Todd, who himself stands 6-foot-3 and 308 pounds, the second biggest man on the team.
"They've been big all their lives," said Earline Washington, their mom, from back at their Accomack County home. "They were average size when they were born, T.J. weighed 7 pounds, 91/2 ounces and Todd weighed 7 pounds, 101/2 ounces, but within two weeks they didn't fit the charts of the average-size baby. They were toddlers when they were 6 months old. The doctors just told me we wouldn't use the regular growth charts for them."
And so it began.
When T.J. Washington was a year old he wore a size 1 shoe. At 2 it was a size 2 shoe. At 3 it was a size 2 shoe. And so on, and so on ...
"People would always say, 'What's your age, not your shoe size,' but for me they were the same until I was 15," Washington said. "Fortunately my feet stopped growing after that - but I didn't."
Washington came to Virginia Tech at 328 pounds, and says his weight has been as high as 340. But through hard work and a rigorous training program he has found his ideal playing weight and has maintained it - even if he does sneak a dessert here and there.
"To be a lineman you have to be big and be in shape," Washington said. "And that's a tough combination."
"I've been really pleased with the weight of all these guys," offensive line coach J.B. Grimes said. "Even T.J. Washington, who's always had a weight problem here, has found a good playing weight. He's dedicated. And I believe that he'll keep it all year long because he wants it for himself."
The players are not on any particular diet to either gain or lose weight during the season. The team eats together on Friday nights and Saturday mornings before a game, but beyond that, they are on their own.
And while Washington said he is one of the ones who has to watch how much he eats, there are other linemen who just can't get enough, at least as far as Grimes is concerned. Excluding the Washington brothers, the other three starting linemen (who average 300 pounds) were all tight ends in high school. They had to bulk up to be successful playing on the offensive line in college.
"I was about 230 pounds and playing tight end in high school," said guard Gennaro DiNapoli, the smallest of the Hokie linemen. "Then after being here a couple of years, I just ballooned up to 295. I give more credit to the strength and conditioning program than anything. Plus, I eat a lot anyway."
Others are still trying to put on that much-needed extra weight to control the line of scrimmage. Take backup tackle Derek Smith, who weighs in at a lean 285 pounds.
"I tell him if it doesn't move, eat it," Grimes said of Smith. "He's one of those offensive lineman who can eat anything, anytime, all day long and still not put on weight."
Grimes knows that predicament all too well. At 5-foot-8, 170 pounds it might be hard to imagine the him on the offensive line, but that's exactly where Grimes spent his football playing days at Henderson State 1973-76. Of course, he was about 50 pounds heavier then - but was still the smallest lineman on his team.
"It was a constant struggle for me," Grimes said. "I ate a lot and I've still got a tremendous appetite to this day. I eat, eat, eat - all the time."
But at his current stature he can afford a few extra calories, and said he wouldn't mind a few extra inches either - added to his height, that is. Grimes spends much of his day looking up at his linemen, but it's the players who say they are the ones looking up to him.
"It's ironic that we're the biggest guys on the team and we've got the smallest coach," Washington said. "But it takes a special man to do that - and he certainly deserves a lot of respect from the players."
"He may be small, but we're more scared of him then he is of us," added DiNapoli. "And you can take that to the bank."
Or maybe, to the dinner table?
FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER AT THE FARMHOUSE RESTAURANT
Served to all Virginia Tech football players
*10-ounce boneless sirloin
*Six-ounce boneless chicken breast
*Baked potato (butter and sour cream on table)
*Green beans
*Rolls
*Tossed salad with dressing
*Two scoops of ice cream
*Soft drinks and tea
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Alan Kim. At Macado's in Blacksburg, Virginia Techby CNBoffensive lineman T.J. Washington gets set to take a bite out of a
Titanic, a prime rib sandwich with extra cheese. color.