ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
VIRGINIA TECH'S SHAINE MILES has gone the extra mile for the Hokies.
When Shaine Miles arrived at Virginia Tech in the fall of 1992, he was much like any other football stud coming out of high school.
Ready. Set. Hike. Bring it on, baby.
``Oh, no doubt about it,'' Miles said. ``At first, I envisioned myself starting and playing every down and blah, blah, blah ''
Coming off a highly successful career at Salem High School, where he was named Group AA's defensive player of the year in 1991 as a linebacker, Miles couldn't conceive of taking a back seat to anybody on a football field.
Then one day he opened his eyes.
``I watched some of the athletes that Tech had and I realized that, athletically, I didn't have all the tools necessary,'' Miles said. ``However, I did feel, and I still feel, that I have other things some players don't have and that helps.''
Like a blue-collar work ethic that won't stop. Like a passion for the game. Like a true understanding of the word ``team.''
``If there's ever been a team player, it's got to be Shaine Miles,'' said Bryan Stinespring, the Hokies' tight ends coach. ``Whatever it takes for this team to be successful, that's what Shaine is going to do. And that's something special.''
As a player and a person, Shaine Michael Miles definitely is special.
In his fifth year at Virginia Tech - he was redshirted as a freshman in 1992 - Miles already has his undergraduate degree in history and is almost halfway home on a master's degree. This semester, he is serving as a student-teacher aide at William Byrd High School.
As if his plate isn't full enough with football and graduate school, Miles has a third major interest. He is the only Hokies player who is married. Miles, 23, wed Vanessa Rorer, his longtime sweetheart and a fellow Tech graduate, in May.
``It's a tough balancing act sometimes,'' said Miles, who commutes every day from the couple's Roanoke duplex.
``Take Tuesdays and Thursdays right now,'' he said. ``I wake up at 6 a.m., eat breakfast with Vanessa, go to Byrd from 8 a.m. to 11:40, drive to Blacksburg, work on my studies for an hour or so, go to team meetings about 3 o'clock, then practice to 6:30 or so. I shower and get back to Roanoke about 8. I eat, kiss my wife, go to bed and then get ready to do it all again.
``Maybe one of these days I'm going to have some time to spend with my wife.''
But, hey, there's more football to be played.
Miles may not be a football stud anymore, but he's certainly no dud. In addition to playing on all kicking-game special teams, the 6-foot-1, 242-pounder is the Hokies' backup tight end, entering games as an extra blocker in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
While it's nothing like his high school heyday - as a two-way starter, he played 90 percent of the plays at Salem, including special teams - Miles understands his role.
``It was tough at first; I'm not going to lie to you and say it wasn't,'' Miles said. ``Everybody wants to play every down, wants to contribute, be out on the field and do their best. If you don't want to do that just from a competitive standpoint, then football or sports in general just isn't the right thing for you.''
At Tech, Miles started out as an inside linebacker. Lacking the speed to play in new coordinator Phil Elmassian's defensive scheme, Miles was moved to fullback in his first spring practice.
``It was a tough adjustment, because even today I feel like I've got a defensive mentality,'' Miles said.
After spending 1993 and '94 as a backup fullback, Miles was shifted to tight end. Playing behind former Parade All-American Bryan Jennings, Miles has been limited to special teams and extra-blocking downs.
While Miles' seat for his Tech football flight may have been in coach instead of first class, he never once thought of bailing out. And others noticed.
``Shaine's to be commended for that,'' said senior linebacker Brandon Semones, one of Miles' high school rivals while playing at Glenvar. ``I think a lot of people have a lot of ego. They come in after having a great high school career and they always want to start and get publicity.
``But Shaine has never been that way. His love for the game and his love for Tech are unsurpassed. I think he's probably the ideal team player. For sure, he's a guy who has done things the right way.''
Billy and Linda Miles say they couldn't ask anything more of their eldest son.
``Shaine's a real solid, blue collar-type player,'' said Billy Miles, a longtime teacher and assistant coach at Salem High School. ``He knows the game. He studies the game.
``He's not real fast. Speed is not something our family was blessed with. But he can hit somebody. The Mileses have always been big hitters.''
So little wonder Shaine Miles loves special teams.
``You've got to be a guy who wants to go out, lower your head and knock the living crap out of somebody,'' Miles said. ``And, hey, I don't mind doing that.''
Especially for the team.
``The team,'' Linda Miles said. ``That's what Shaine's all about, that's what Shaine is, being part of that team. I think being part of a football team all his life is what made him who he is.''
Shaine Miles' football life has five more games - four in the regular season and a bowl game.
``That'll be hard. I've played this game since I was 6 years old,'' he said. ``But know what? It'll be good, too. I'll have more time to kiss my wife.''
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. ALAN KIM Staff Salem High School product Shaineby CNBMiles (left) hasn't become a star at Virginia Tech, but according to
teammates and coaches, there is no better team player.
2. headshot of Miles