ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 20, 1997 TAG: 9704210138
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY THE ROANOKE TIMES
Quarterback Jim Druckenmiller is Virginia Tech's third first-round NFL draft pick.
As expected, Virginia Tech quarterback Jim Druckenmiller and two defensive players from Virginia were selected Saturday in the first round of the NFL draft.
But nobody expected the second UVa player would be Jon Harris, an unheralded defensive end whom the Philadelphia Eagles took with the 25th pick.
The Cavaliers' James Farrior was selected by the New York Jets with the eighth pick. Fellow outside linebacker Jamie Sharper was projected to follow shortly thereafter, but slipped to the second round and 34th overall to the Baltimore Ravens.
A fourth Virginia player, running back Tiki Barber from Roanoke, was taken by the New York Giants with the 36th pick. The second Tech player to be drafted, safety Torrian Gray, was the second-round choice of the Minnesota Vikings, who had the 49th pick. Virginia cornerback Ronde Barber, Tiki's twin, was taken in the third round (66th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It was hard to find a draft report that had Harris going any earlier than the third round. Mel Kiper, doing commentary on ESPN, said he thought Harris would be ``a bargain'' in the fourth or fifth round.
Farrior was the first first-round pick from Virginia since 1992 and joined Harris to give the Cavaliers two first-round selections for the first time. No UVa player had been drafted higher than eighth since offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski in 1986.
``To tell the truth, when I woke up this morning, I told my [younger] brother, `I just might go to the Jets,''' Farrior said. ``I said it out of the blue, [because] I really did feel that it would be a long shot. They didn't show that much interest in me.''
The Jets began the day with the sixth pick, but dropped to eighth after a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. Most forecasts had Farrior going to Arizona, which had the ninth pick.
``We probably would have taken him at [No.]6,'' said new Jets coach Bill Parcells. ``I think this guy is a good player. He's a class kid. He's smart. He's aggressive. He's from a good program. We try to collect those kind of players and let them fight it out in camp.''
Farrior, who was at The Theater in Madison Square Garden for the draft, said he was just happy not to be booed.
``Hello,'' said ESPN anchor Chris Berman in announcing the selection. ``The Jets take a linebacker from Virginia. I think we've done this dance before.''
Jets fans booed lustily in 1989 when their team used the 14th pick in the first round to draft another Virginia linebacker, Jeff Lageman. Kiper, who panned that pick, was more critical Saturday after the selection of Harris.
``I definitely look forward to proving Mel Kiper wrong,'' said Harris, whose size (6 feet 7 1/2, 280 pounds) caught the attention of many pro teams. ``Not that I care what Mel Kiper thinks, but I want to show people I can play.''
Harris' college career ended ignominiously when he was ejected after two plays of the Carquest Bowl, but he worked out for two weeks before the NFL scouting combine and was timed in 4.75 seconds for 40 yards.
Eagles coach Ray Rhodes said he was sure Philadelphia surprised a lot of people, ``but Jon's a young man we've been studying quite a bit. We looked at all the defensive linemen and also the tight ends, but this was a pick we really liked.''
As the commentators were starting to wind down from Philadelphia's selection, San Francisco used the 26th pick to select Druckenmiller. It had been widely reported that Druckenmiller, the only quarterback chosen in the first round, would not slide past the 49ers.
``They said I was their first choice,'' Druckenmiller said. ``They didn't think I'd be there at 26. The first half [of the draft] went pretty fast, but after that it went kind of slow. I was a little restless. But, truthfully, I had no idea San Francisco was up until they called.''
Druckenmiller was the third first-round draft choice in the history of the Tech program, joining Bruce Smith in 1985 and Eugene Chung in 1992. Smith was the first pick in the draft.
The only player from Tech or Virginia who had reason to be disappointed in the first or second rounds was Sharper, a linebacker some analysts predicted would go by the midpoint of the first round.
``During the process, it was disappointing,'' said Sharper, headed to Baltimore, ``but, after [player personnel director] Ozzie Newsome called, I wasn't disappointed at all. I would have waited until the third round if I had known I would get to play this close to home.''
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. (headshot) Farrior. 2. (headshot) Sharper. 3. AP.by CNBVirginia linebacker James Farrior (right) and NFL commissioner Paul
Tagliabue hold a Jets jersey after Farrior was selected with the
eighth pick in Saturday's NFL draft. 4. AP. Virginia defensive end
Jon Harris was the biggest surprise in the first round of Saturday's
NFL draft. The Eagles picked him 25th. color. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL