ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701310058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Yubrenal Isabelle, a Parade All-America linebacker who reportedly committed to Virginia Tech this week, said on television Thursday night that he will sign with Virginia.
Isabelle announced during an on-air interview at his basketball practice Thursday night with WVVA-TV in Bluefield, W.Va., that he felt most comfortable at Virginia.
Isabelle, the No.1 prospect in West Virginia, is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker who also rushed for 4,450 yards and scored 72 touchdowns in his Bluefield High School career.
According to WVVA sports reporter Mark Gruba, Isabelle's mother called the station Thursday and said her son had called Cavaliers coach George Welsh earlier in the day and told him he was coming to Virginia.
``I would say he's locked in," said Gruba, who has spent the past two weeks with Isabelle while working on an upcoming series. ``He's not going to change his mind."
Isabelle won the 1996 Sam Huff Award, given annually to the state's top defensive player by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
He finished second in the voting for the Kennedy Award, given by the writers group to the state's most valuable player.
Isabelle was named state player of the year by Gatorade, USA Today and the Morgantown Touchdown Club.
It was reported Tuesday that Isabelle committed to Virginia Tech. A television station in Huntington, W.Va. reported the same story Monday night during its 6 p.m. telecast.
Isabelle's football coach, Fred Simon, approached him after his basketball game Monday night and asked why he hadn't told him before he committed. According to Simon, Isabelle told him, ``Coach, I haven't decided yet. I haven't made up my mind."
Three Virginia coaches visited him the next day in Bluefield and Virginia Tech coach Billy Hite visited Isabelle on Wednesday.
Nebraska, Penn State, Tennessee and West Virginia were among teams that recruited Isabelle.
Isabelle has qualified academically.
The Hokies did get a commitment from a wide receiver.
When he gave up soccer last year and took up football, little did Andre Davis imagine that he would become a Division I prospect.
``I just did it for the fun of it,'' said Davis, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver from Niskayuna (N.Y.) High School.
The decision turned out to be a profitable one when Davis accepted a football scholarship from Virginia Tech.
The original plan was for Davis to enroll in 1998, but he learned this week that the Hokies want him to report in August as the 22nd member of their recruiting class.
Davis had 10 touchdown receptions this season - only his second year of organized football. He has continued to run track and last spring was clocked in 10.8 seconds for 100 meters.
The Hokies didn't become seriously involved with Davis until shortly before their trip to the Orange Bowl, but quickly attracted his interest. Some of the other schools on his list were Delaware, Massachusetts and Maine.
``I think I was late in getting on people's lists because I was playing soccer,'' Davis said. ``But, I also come from an area that doesn't send many players to Division I programs.''
Davis, whose high school is located 20 miles north of Albany, is fully qualified. He has a 3.2 grade-point average and a 1030 total on the Scholastic Assessment Test.
- Staff writer Daniel Uthman contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB