ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 12, 1996 TAG: 9612120058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
If he had been redshirted as a freshman, Tiki Barber would be facing a decision on whether he should turn professional or return to Virginia for a fifth season of eligibility.
He might be facing that decision anyway - across the room from him.
Barber's twin brother, Ronde, was redshirted as a freshman and has the option of returning. At last report, he was wavering.
``He hasn't been home before 6 [a.m.] in the last three days,'' said Tiki during an impromptu news conference Saturday, on the eve of first-semester exams. ``He's working on a project; plus, he's got pressure on whether or not to leave school.
``He really, honestly doesn't know what he's going to do. He really hasn't gotten good advice, mostly from the fact he hasn't sought it. He's been too busy to seek it. He stays in the lab all night. I'm not kidding.''
Players with remaining eligibility can learn about their draft status from the NFL Advisory Committee, a group of general managers that reviews a player's career and looks at him on tape.
The committee makes one of four recommendations: 1) that a player has the potential to be drafted in the first two rounds; 2) that he will not be drafted higher than the third round; 3) that he will not be drafted before the fifth round; or 4) that he will not be drafted.
Requests for information must be made in writing before Jan.6.
``It's hard to get pre-draft status on him right now because he hasn't given an indication that he's going to leave,'' Tiki said. ``People think he's going to stay, if you judge it by publications or whatever.''
Ronde is a three-time, first-team All-ACC selection at defensive back and Wednesday was named third-team Associated Press All-American for the second time. He has 15 career interceptions - two short of the UVa and ACC record he had set as a goal.
``It's a weird thing,'' Tiki said. ``If he stays, he's not going to get any more plays than he did this year. Nobody's going to throw his way. His stats aren't going to get that much better.
``He may get stronger. He may boost his stock a little bit. But, I think he's good enough to play right now at the next level. If I was telling him, I'd tell him to leave. I think he's done his due here.''
REFS CONSIDER ALLIANCE: Dan Wooldridge, supervisor of football officials for the Big East, confirmed that the Big East and ACC are considering a plan that would merge the conferences' officiating crews.
``It could be win-win for everybody and I'm not saying that I would run it,'' said Wooldridge, a Roanoke resident. ``One of the complaints we're getting from the schools is that they're seeing the same crews all the time.
``When you have five crews, that means you see the same crew twice [and] maybe three times a season. Three times is too much. Not only do the schools not see the same officials, but the officials don't see the same teams.''
Wooldridge said the Big East has benefited from its working agreement with the Division I-AA Yankee Conference. Big East and Yankee Conference officials attend the same clinics and report to the same supervisor, which makes for a smooth transition if there is an absentee.
RECRUITING: James Boyd, named Tidewater Player of the Year, is expected to announce today that he will sign with Penn State. Boyd, a defensive back at Indian River High School in Chesapeake, was rated the No.5 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times before the season.
Boyd told The Virginian-Pilot he did not consider Virginia Tech or Virginia - Tech because of its off-field problems and UVa because he didn't feel coach George Welsh had shown enough support for Tiki Barber's Heisman Trophy bid. However, recruiters have known since mid-summer that Boyd wasn't staying in the state.
* Of the top eight prospects on The Roanoke Times list, five will sign with out-of-state programs, including No.8-ranked James Whitley, a defensive back from Norview High School in Norfolk who committed to Michigan this week. The other three are uncommitted.
* As expected, All-Northern Region linebacker Brian Welch from Oakton High School made an oral commitment to Virginia Tech. Welch was rated the No. 31 prospect in the state before the season. Wide receiver Ricky Hall, who committed to Tech this fall, was selected first-team junior college All-American this week.
WOOD LEAVING MARK: Cave Spring High School graduate Lissa Wood, a freshman swimmer at Emory University in Atlanta, already has qualified for the NCAA Division III championships in four events.
``Lissa's time was one of the fastest we've ever had from a freshman in the 100 [butterfly],'' said coach Pete Smith, whose women's team finished ninth in Division III last year. ``We're delighted to have her in our program.''
SOUMA BREAKS RECORD: Mike Souma, a junior tight end from William Fleming High School, broke the Ferrum College record for career receptions. Souma had a team-high 32 receptions this season, giving him 80 for his career. The old mark of 77 was set by James Williams between 1990-93.
LOCAL UPDATE: Ex-William Fleming standout Keath Hampton, named freshman of the year in the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference, was academically ineligible to play as a sophomore this year at Bluefield College.
Bluefield coach Walt Ayers reports that Shawsville alumnus Kenny Dow, who missed the 1995-96 season after reconstructive knee surgery, was involved in a car accident on the eve of preseason workouts and will not play as a senior.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 linesby CNB