ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 22, 1997 TAG: 9704220078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: UVA NOTES
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY THE ROANOKE TIMES
A school record for draft choices could be viewed either as an endorsement of Virginia's football program or an indictment of the Cavaliers' 1996 football team.
With six players selected in the NFL draft, including five in the first three rounds, how did UVa manage to lose five games?
``That's come up before,'' head coach George Welsh said during the past weekend. ``I've had a couple of alumni meetings now, and I think mostly it was a question of we turned the ball over too much.''
The Cavaliers had 33 turnovers, up from 20 in 1995, when they recorded the second of back-to-back nine-win seasons.
It should be noted that five of the NFL-bound Virginia players were on defense. The only offensive player to be drafted from UVa was running back Tiki Barber.
``With all those defensive players, it seems like maybe we should have shut people out,'' Welsh said, ``but that's hard to do these days.
`` I think our defense played well enough to win almost every game, but we gave teams good field position and didn't take care of the ball. We couldn't score touchdowns at the end.''
The draftees join five players from UVa's 1995 team that made NFL rosters this past season, three of them as free agents. One of those, offensive tackle Jason Augustino, spent the entire season on Chicago's injured reserve list.
``It bugs me in a way,'' Barber said of the Cavaliers' drop-off in 1996. ``I think we were a better team [than 7-5], but things never seemed to click for us. But, it's over now. It's in the past.''
While Virginia committed 33 turnovers, the Cavaliers also forced 33 turnovers. However, their turnover margin dropped from plus-13 in 1995 to zero in '96.
OUT OF THE BLUE: How surprised was Virginia defensive end Jon Harris to be selected in the first round? Harris had gone to a friend's house to watch the draft because he did not have ESPN2 on the television at his home.
The ESPN coverage of the draft ended at 7 p.m., with the second round still in progress. Harris, thinking he would be drafted no earlier than the second round, wanted to make sure he was watching when the draft was on ESPN2 from 7 to 10 p.m.
Jamie Sharper, the only one of UVa's draftees who was chosen later than expected, was able to rationalize his second-round selection. Sharper was rated the third-best linebacker before the draft, and that's where he was picked, No.3 behind teammate James Farrior and Alabama's Dwayne Rudd.
BACK TO THE POINT: The Virginia men's basketball staff has made an inquiry regarding the status of Robbie Reid, who has spent the past two years on a Mormon mission. Reid started 32 games for Brigham Young when it was 22-10 and made the NCAA Tournament in 1995.
Reid, who averaged 10.1 points and 4.8 assists during the 1994-95 season, decided not to return to BYU after his father, Roger, was fired as the Cougars' head coach early in the past season. Illinois, Minnesota and Utah are some of the teams pursuing Reid, a pre-med student with a 3.9 grade-point average.
The Cavaliers signed 6-foot-1 Chezley Watson from Gainesville, Ga., during the fall, but have been looking to add a second point guard. Donald Hand, an all-state guard from Paterson, N.J., is one target. Watson has been rated among the top five prospects in Georgia by one publication.
BASEBALL HOPES FADING: A failure to beat in-state opponents has proved costly for Virginia (26-19) in its bid to return to the NCAA baseball tournament. The Cavaliers were 23-12 before losing three games to Richmond and James Madison during an eight-day span.
UVa has victories over two nationally ranked opponents, Florida State and Georgia Tech, and won three games in an early series with North Carolina State, which has moved into the polls. However, the Cavaliers are 6-12 in the ACC after going 11-13 in conference play last year.
UVa's team earned-run average has risen from 3.72 last year to 5.51, at least partly because of the loss of underclassmen Seth Greisinger and Jason Sekany, pitchers who were drafted in the first and second rounds. Also, closer Andy Lee broke his right (non-throwing) arm in a collision.
OAKEY TO SIT: Virginia lacrosse standout Henry Oakey, who had rehabilitated a torn anterior cruciate ligament, decided after meeting with his parents and coach Dom Starsia that he would redshirt this year. Oakey, son of former Roanoker Ted Oakey, had 23 goals in 1996 as a sophomore.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. No one was more surprised that he wasby CNBtaken in the first round of the NFL draft than Virginia defensive
end Jon Harris. color.