ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 19, 1996 TAG: 9612190030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: College Notebook
It has been almost four weeks since reports surfaced that Virginia Tech's football program had a commitment from Centreville High School standout Jason Hatala.
``Somebody called my coach and said, `It's on the Internet,''' said Hatala, who rushed for 1,380 yards this season and is considered a college prospect as a running back or wide receiver. ``So, I went home and looked and there it was.
``I have no idea how it got there. I've been talking to a lot of schools, but I haven't made any visits yet and my plan is not to make any visits until I get any [scholarship] offers. That could come this week.''
Of the schools who have contacted him, Hatala said he has the most interest in Virginia Tech, Virginia, Northwestern and North Carolina. But he would consider other schools at this point.
``It makes me kind of upset,'' said Hatala, who has close to a 3.0 grade-point average and a 1,000 on the Scholastic Assessment Test. ``What if a coach from another school sees that and decides not to recruit me?''
A growing number of recruiting services have gone on-line, providing one more source for the recruiting ``junkies'' who feed on such rumors. Plus, there are ``chat'' rooms for most major football and basketball programs in which the fanatics can send messages to each other.
Hatala would have informed people of his availability via e-mail, ``but I'm not sure how to do it,'' he said.
Josh Lawson, a promising offensive tackle from Dale City High School, was amused last week to hear the Internet had him committing to Virginia.
``Nobody asked me,'' said Lawson, who was not offered a scholarship by the Cavaliers until Dec.6. ``I haven't even visited there.''
Although Lawson subsequently committed to the Cavaliers, it wasn't until he took an official trip to Charlottesville this past weekend and canceled visits to Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
SIGN OF THE TIMES: The NCAA next month will review proposed legislation to limit e-mail contact between coaches and prospects. The NCAA ruled last year that e-mail was viewed as general correspondence and should not be subject to the same rules as phone calls.
CAVS GET `SCOOTER': Virginia's 10th commitment is from William ``Scooter'' Clark, who had 49 receptions for 782 yards and seven touchdowns and was named first-team all-state this year at Perth Amboy (N.J.) High School.
``He has phenomenal hands and a lot of experience in a pass offense,'' said Perth Amboy coach Joe Stinson, who uses a run-and-shoot attack. ``If I can compare him to a type of receiver, I would say he's a Michael Irvin-type receiver because he's so physical.''
Clark, who had 119 receptions in his career, was named all-county on defense and has the frame (6 feet 3, 195 pounds) to play linebacker. He was pursued by two programs that have made coaching changes, Boston College and Maryland, but ultimately picked UVa over Wake Forest.
MORE RECRUITING: Kenny Kelly, rated the No.3 quarterback prospect in the country, was at Virginia Tech on a recruiting visit this past weekend. Kelly, from Tampa, Fla., repeatedly has denied rumors he has committed to Miami. He passed for more than 3,000 yards and 38 touchdowns as a junior.
Rohan Davey, generally mentioned with Kelly as the top two quarterbacks in Florida, also has an interest in the Hokies. Tech also is in the top two with one of the top quarterbacks in Virginia, 6-5 Arnie Powell from Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake.
nDavid Martin, who caught 27 passes for 494 yards and seven touchdowns this year for Norview High School in Norfolk, picked Tennessee over North Carolina and Notre Dame. His teammates, Larry Austin and James Whitley, earlier committed to Virginia Tech and Michigan, respectively.
COACHES' CORNER: One-time Virginia Tech linebacker Chris Cosh, most recently an assistant coach at Illinois, has joined the staff of new Maryland coach Ron Vanderlinden as linebackers coach. Cosh, from Hillcrest Heights, Md., is a former Washington (D.C.) Metro defensive player of the year.
The early line was that Vanderlinden would go after former Tech aide Lou Tepper, who was fired as Illinois' head coach, as his defensive coordinator. However, Tepper also could surface at Texas, where defensive coordinator Gary Darnell resigned to take the Western Michigan job. Tepper served under Texas coach John Mackovic when Mackovic was at Illinois.
nWilliam and Mary coach Jimmye Laycock confirmed he has spoken with Southern Methodist officials about the school's head-coaching vacancy. Laycock was coaching at William and Mary when current SMU athletic director Jim Copeland was the Tribe's AD in the 1980s. Copeland is searching for a replacement for Tom Rossley, who was fired in November.
nMark Richt, the offensive coordinator at Florida State, said he turned down the Pittsburgh job that went to Ohio State assistant Walt Harris. ``I didn't feel like I could serve two masters,'' said Richt, in the midst of preparing top-ranked FSU for its showdown with Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
IN THE ACC: ``We probably weren't picked in the top 100 by a lot of people,'' said Maryland coach Gary Williams, whose Terrapins could be 12-0 when Virginia visits Jan.4, if they can get past a Rainbow Classic Field that includes one other ranked team, Michigan.
CAVS, DEACS DUEL: Rafael Vidaurreta, a 6-8 Spaniard who is playing basketball at New Hampton (N.H.) Prep, could announce his college choice as early as this week. He has narrowed his choices to Virginia and Wake Forest, which could have an edge based on the experiences of its Spaniard, Ricardo Peral.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 linesby CNB