ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 22, 1996 TAG: 9612230138
SECTION: ORANGE BOWL PAGE: O-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
SHANNON TAYLOR has become accustomed to his role as a linebacker for Virginia after an All-Group AAA career as a passer at Patrick Henry High School.
With all the problems Virginia has had in its passing game this season, it might be comforting for the Cavaliers to know they have a former all-state quarterback on their roster.
The problem is he's playing outside linebacker.
``You always second-guess yourself and wonder what could have been,'' said Shannon Taylor, who was the All-Group AAA quarterback in 1992, his junior season at Patrick Henry High School.
``I hear about it all the time. The guys on the team won't let me live it down,'' he said. ``Every time they see me pick up a football, they say, `You still want to play quarterback, don't you?' I just shrug my shoulders, but right now I'm very comfortable at linebacker.''
Actually, Taylor could be in line for a position change during the off-season, but it would only require moving a couple of feet. Defensive coordinator Rick Lantz is toying with the idea of playing Taylor at defensive end.
``I'm just throwing that out,'' Lantz said. ``You know, all spring we practiced him at defensive end and outside linebacker. Shannon has so much more explosion when he comes out of a three-point stance than a two-point stance, it's unbelievable.
``He's the best pass-rusher we've had since [Chris] Slade.''
If that's the case, then Lantz is saying Taylor has more potential than Mike Frederick, now in his second year in the NFL's Baltimore Ravens organization, and current defensive end Duane Ashman. They rank 2-3 behind Slade on the Cavaliers' all-time sacks list.
Taylor has seen limited playing time this season as a redshirt freshman, although he did make his first start when the Cavaliers visited Virginia Tech in the regular-season finale. He took over for regular outside linebacker Jamie Sharper, who moved to the middle.
``At the start of the Virginia Tech game, I was very nervous,'' Taylor said. ``It was near my home and everything, but after the first contact I settled down and thought I got the job done.''
Taylor, who has displayed a knack for big plays, caused a fumble before the half that led to the field goal that put the Cavaliers ahead 9-7. He finished the season with 20 tackles - four for losses - and an interception while averaging fewer than 25 plays per game.
He could start in the Carquest Bowl if James Farrior is unable to rehabilitate a knee injury suffered in the Tech game, but no matter what role he fills, Taylor feels he has prepared himself for next season.
``I kind of figured, with two established linebackers coming back, that I needed to be happy with what I got this season,'' Taylor said. ``If next season had come along and I hadn't played any, we would have been left with a very inexperienced corps.
``I felt, if I could get a play here or a play there spelling Farrior or Sharper, that would be a big plus. I thought I would have to learn a lot from the sideline, but I found myself in the heat of the play a lot. It gave me a great feel for the defense.''
One of the things Taylor learned was that it isn't always easy to get to the quarterback. Sharper said he was just learning how to rush the passer when he had four sacks against North Carolina in the 10th game of his fifth year.
``It's very difficult,'' Taylor said. ``First, you have to get off the ball really quick and get up the field. And these tackles, they're not going to let you run right by them. They're going to knock you and push you and they might be 330 [pounds] or something like that.
``And then you might have to fight off a running back. And the quarterbacks nowadays, they're very elusive. If you get back there getting past the tackle and running back, the task is still not done.''
Taylor knows a little something about a quarterback's mentality after passing for 3,651 yards and 35 touchdowns at Patrick Henry. He then went to Fork Union Military Academy for a year, but was plagued by injuries.
``Looking at who [the Cavaliers] have at quarterback, I think he could be in the mix,'' said Fork Union coach John Shuman, who thinks UVa made a bigger mistake in moving another former quarterback, Derick Byrd, to wide receiver, ``but it also looks like Shannon's having a good time out there sacking people.''
At 6 feet 4 and 240 pounds, Taylor may have outgrown the quarterback position, although he looks considerably leaner than he did as a football and basketball player at Patrick Henry.
``I've come to grips with the fact that I'm a linebacker now and that I will not play quarterback at the University of Virginia,'' said Taylor, who turns 22 in February. ``When I first started playing the position, I was still a quarterback playing linebacker. I think I've become a linebacker playing linebacker now.''
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN Staff. Virginia's Shannon Taylor (9) onlyby CNBcarries the ball when he recovers a fumble or picks off a pass, as
he did against FSU. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL