THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 17, 1994 TAG: 9409170462
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Interspersed with the Virginia Tech coaches' normal offseason agenda - vacations, alumni outings, running football camp and preparing for practice - was one specific bit of summertime business:
Boston College.
Today's game at the Eagles' sold-out Alumni Stadium (noon, WTKR) is the third one for the 18th-ranked Hokies, but coach Frank Beamer indicated BC was primary on Tech's list of priorities in recent months. He called preparation for the Eagles a ``summer project.''
``We've spent a lot of time on this one,'' Beamer said.
Rightfully so. Tech and Boston College are considered the top challengers to Miami for the Big East title. This early season game could put one in contention, the other in pursuit.
Last season the Eagles gave Tech plenty to think about, rolling up 617 yards of total offense - the fourth-most ever allowed by the Hokies - 448 yards passing and scoring 48 points. It was the low point of the season for Tech's defense.
That produced summer huddles between new Hokies offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill, fresh off three years as the Cleveland Browns quarterback coach, and defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian for discussions on how to stop BC's pro-style attack.
The characters and constructors of that offense have changed, but the philosophy hasn't. Glenn Foley, a 10,000-yard career passer at BC, is gone, and so is head coach Tom Coughlin and his staff. In their place are sophomore Mark Hartsell, who threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns against Michigan in the best quarterback debut in BC history, and 52-year old rookie college head coach Dan Henning.
Henning is a 1964 William and Mary graduate, Hokies offensive coordinator in 1971 and '73 and onetime Norfolk Neptunes quarterback. He is known as one of football's great offensive minds and guru of quarterbacks, and has two Super Bowl rings as a Washington Redskins assistant.
But he hasn't known a winning season in seven years as a head coach with the Atlanta Falcons (1983-86) and San Diego Chargers (1989-91).
Henning's first season as a college head coach likely will erase that stimga from his resume. The Eagles, 9-3 and Carquest Bowl victors over Virginia in 1993, don't look much different to Beamer with the new parts. Tech coaches feel Hartsell is better as a sophomore than Foley was, and Boston College tight end Pete Mitchell is possibly the best tight end in college football.
``If Hartsell plays like he did against Michigan, I think Boston College is a better football team than they were when we played them last year,'' Beamer said.
Fortunately for the Hokies, their defense appears better, too.
Since getting riddled by Foley and BC, Tech has won five in a row and held those five opponents to an average of 16.4 points and 249.6 yards per game. After wins over Arkansas State and Southern Mississippi, Tech ranks second nationally in total defense with 160.5 yards allowed per game.
``We realize we haven't played against the greatest offenses, but I think we're prepared to take on the pro-style offense Boston College runs,'' Hokies linebacker Brandon Semones said.
The Hokies also haven't played great offense, which was expected to be their calling card. So far, they've folded their cards too often, setting up opponents' three touchdowns by turning the ball over three times inside their own 12. But Henning is aware of Tech's offensive capability.
``They have arguably one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the country in (Maurice) DeShazo,'' Henning said.
``Offensively, we haven't hit on all cylinders yet,'' Beamer said.
The Hokies haven't shown everything they can do offensively either. Perhaps in the summer sessions, they decided to save a few things for BC.
NOTES: Tech will be trying to open the season 3-0 for the first time since 1981, and to win consecutive road games for the first time since 1986. ... Today's game is not only Henning's home debut, it's the unveiling of renovated Alumni Stadium, where 12,000 seats were added to increase capacity to 44,500. by CNB