ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701100033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
If Virginia football recruit Dan Ellis isn't needed at quarterback next season, maybe he can serve as the Cavaliers' offensive coordinator.
Ellis played quarterback and did the play-calling this year for Downingtown (Pa.) High School, which capped a 14-1 season by winning the Class 4-A state championship.
Ellis was named player of the year in 4-A and 3-A, the state's two largest classifications, after passing for 2,568 yards and 30 touchdowns and rushing for 671 yards and 21 touchdowns.
He accounted for four touchdowns - two passing, two rushing - in Downingtown's 49-14 victory over Woodland Hills of Pittsburgh in the state championship game. The Woodland Hills quarterback, Madei Williams, has committed to Syracuse.
Ellis, who committed to Virginia in August, did not make any preseason All-America teams. However, he posted more impressive numbers against better competition than one-time UVa target Tim Olmstead, rated the No. 8 quarterback prospect in the country.
``If Dan Ellis were uncommitted at this point, he would be national news,'' Downingtown coach John Barr said. ``He certainly could have gone to a lot of different places. This kid's the real deal.''
Barr said he would signal a formation and a pass-run preference from the sideline and Ellis, a 3.8 student who has scored close to 1,200 on the Scholastic Assessment Test, would make the appropriate reads and call the play.
``We do a lot of the same things offensively that Virginia does,'' Barr said. ``I saw [the Cavaliers'] bowl game and I think he has a chance to contribute. It's a win-win situation; Virginia wins and Ellis wins.''
There are only two other scholarship quarterbacks among the UVa returnees - 1996 back-up Aaron Brooks and David Rivers. Rivers, a freshman, was redshirted this year.
``If I have a real good camp [in August], maybe I could be the back-up,'' said Ellis, who is 6 feet 3 and 215 pounds. ``I'm not really worried about it. The last thing I want to do is to waste a year.
``I'm going to go at it full speed. I think this year helped a lot. I called my own plays. I learned how to read defenses. I gained confidence in myself. It should be a big boost for me going into college.''
PERSONNEL UPDATE: Donald Harris, a 1996 Virginia Tech football signee who was injured in a postseason all-star game, has undergone reconstructive knee surgery and will enroll for the second semester.
Harris, a promising defensive back, will be joined by a pair of walk-ons hoping to earn scholarships, offensive lineman Troy Smith from Green Run High School in Virginia Beach and defensive lineman Ryan Smith, a transfer from Division I-AA Southern Illinois.
The Hokies gained a scholarship when center Jeff Dumbaugh, a 1996 signee, returned home to Florida this fall. Also, linebacker Jeremy Kishbaugh from Berwick, Pa., has dropped plans to enter school for the second semester after reconstructive knee surgery.
BY THE NUMBERS: The low power rating of the Big East, which was sixth among eight Division I-A conferences, accounted for Virginia Tech's relatively low finish in USA Today's computer rankings.
The Hokies, who were picked 12th by the coaches and 13th by The Associated Press, were 17th in USA Today. Of the teams ahead of them, only No. 16 Brigham Young had a lower-rated schedule.
Tech finished the season with four consecutive games against nationally ranked opponents, but Big East foes Rutgers and Temple were 100st and 103rd, dragging down the Hokies' power rating.
Virginia was 27th, consistent with the points it received in the final polls. Two surprises: West Virginia was only 32nd after its 8-4 season, while Clemson, with only one victory over a winning team, was 47th.
ACC HOOPS: Duke center Taymon Domzalski, named to the ACC All-Freshman team after starting 18 games last season, may seek a hardship ruling because of continued swelling in his knees.
Domzalski has played in six games, but could receive an extra season of eligibility if the injury prevents him from playing in more than 20 percent of the team's games, all before the midpoint of the season.
Unlike last year, when Domzalski averaged 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds, Duke has an abundance of frontcourt players. Freshman Nate James, who has not played since suffering ruptured ligaments in his right thumb, could be available within two weeks.
* Al Pinkins, who was playing more than 20 minutes per game for North Carolina State and averaging 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds, has been declared ineligible for the second semester by the NCAA.
Pinkins, a 6-7 forward, is in his sixth season out of high school. State tried to persuade the NCAA to give him a full season of eligibility because of knee injuries that kept him out of action in junior college and at State.
RECRUITING: Wake Forest is expected to receive a commitment from 6-8 Rafael Vidaurreta, who returned to New Hampton (N.H.) Prep this week after spending Christmas in his native Spain.
Virginia is the other finalist for Vidaurreta, whose father likes the Cavaliers, sources say. Vidaurreta has been impressed by the Deacons' back-to-back ACC championship and the success of another Spaniard, Ricardo Peral, for the Deacons.
FROM THE ODAC: Joe Davis, no stranger to Roanoke Valley basketball fans, notched his 250th victory as a college coach when Lynchburg College defeated Guilford on Dec.19.
Davis is close to the 400-victory mark overall, counting his days as a high school coach at Glenvar, Salem and Cave Spring. He also has coached collegiately at Ferrum and Radford.
* Abby Dickson, a sophomore from Roanoke Catholic High School, is a reserve post player for the women's basketball team at Guilford College.
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