THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9512300496
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
Virginia Tech views Sunday's Sugar Bowl as the potential breakthrough in the program's quest for national attention.
But an oddity amidst the Hokies' cries for recognition is that their most recognizable player wants no part of it.
All-American defensive end Cornell Brown - the best player at Tech since Bruce Smith - repeatedly has dodged the media this week since doing a brief interview when the team arrived at the airport Tuesday.
``That's his prerogative,'' said Tech coach Frank Beamer, adding that Brown gets ``embarrassed'' to receive more attention than his teammates.
Beamer takes a similar view of a nonverbal statement Brown is making in practices. Brown has taped over the ``VT'' school logo on his helmet, and has written the number 8 on one side, 13 on the other.
Those numbers represent Virginia Tech linebacker Tony Morrison (8) of Chesapeake and receiver James Crawford (13). The two players were suspended indefinitely by Beamer earlier this month after being arrested by Blacksburg police in separate incidents.
``That's just in a practice situation,'' Beamer said. ``He's friends with those kids.''
There's no way of knowing whether Brown is protesting the decision to leave his teammates behind, or just showing support for them.
``He shocked me when he came out like that,'' free safety William Yarborough said. ``I don't know what the idea is behind that.''
Brown undoubtedly will be heard from Sunday night when Tech meets Texas. The question is, will it be his finale in a Tech uniform?
The junior acknowledged in an interview earlier this month he is mulling an early jump to the NFL.
``I always say it's a possibility because everyone thinks about it,'' Brown said before leaving Blacksburg. ``If you're in a situation where you have a chance to fulfill a lifetime dream, you have to consider it.''
Brown, Beamer and defensive line coach Todd Grantham will discuss it sometime after the bowl. They likely will be armed with information from the NFL's College Advisory Committee - a group of NFL player personnel directors that provides underclassmen with projections of how high they can expect to go in the draft.
Letters from underclassmen declaring themselves eligible for the draft must be received by the NFL by Jan. 10.
Beamer and Grantham said they would advise Brown to do what is in his best interest, and both seem to think that is for him to return.
``Some of the pro scouts I've talked to have recommended that,'' Beamer said. ``I feel a little bit more weight and a little bit more strength would help him.''
Brown is 6-foot-2, 246 pounds - a virtual lilliputian compared to most NFL defensive ends.
``I may add a few pounds, but I ain't going to get no taller,'' Brown said.
Though NFL scouts and player personnel directors won't talk about underclassmen, Joel Buchsbaum of Pro Football Weekly said Brown's size is a minus.
``He's a good football player, but I don't know where you play him,'' said Buchsbaum, who prepares a draft preview. ``He's a defensive end, but he can't play defensive end in the NFL. He's too small. He doesn't drop into coverage and do the linebacker thing.
``If he stays in school and gets bigger it will probably help him.''
Buchsbaum said Brown is quick - he runs a 4.6 40 - and makes plays, ``but pro tackles are as quick as he is and 50 pounds heavier.''
Buchsbaum said he could not project where Brown would go in this year's draft until he sees him work out at linebacker. But he did say Brown is definitely not a first-round pick - unless he were to have a phenomenal workout before scouts.
Brown said he will consult his brother, Reuben, a starting offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills who was a first-round pick out of Pittsburgh last spring, before deciding upon his future.
``He'll give me an honest answer,'' Brown said. ``With nothing to gain or nothing to lose, he'll tell me what he feels.
``I feel I've accomplished everything I came into this year trying to accomplish. The only thing that would be better than this would be getting in the national championship game.''
That's not likely to happen for the Hokies, who will lose five seniors from their nationally ranked defense. Two carrots for Brown to return are competing for the Outland Trophy and the Football Writers' defensive player of the year honor - an award for which he was one of five finalists this year.
But the reality is with tackles J.C. Price and Jim Baron and linebacker George DelRicco departing, Brown can figure on seeing a lot of double- and triple-teams next year. That could make it difficult for him to repeat as Big East defensive player of the year and a first-team selection on five All-American teams.
Brown said he asked last year to play outside linebacker because that's his best shot at the pros, but the coaches didn't let him.
``I think he's at the right position,'' Beamer said. ``He needs to be out there on the edge. I think it's in Cornell's best interest to be a pass rusher. He has a lot of tools for that.
``They pay those guys a lot of money for that. He maybe isn't as tall as some of them, but when he's got his helmet through the quarterback's chest it doesn't make any difference.''
Brown met plenty of quarterbacks this season. He had 14 sacks, and his 25 combined sacks and tackles-for-loss tied for third nationally. Brown's 103 tackles were the most for a Hokies end since the school began keeping the stat in 1977.
``He gets out there and gets crazy on the field,'' DelRicco said. ``He's just wild; he's so intense, but he has a smile on his face.
``He just seems crazed at times. Once he gets a sack and gets going, he's unstoppable.''
Grantham said Brown's quickness, reaction to the snap of the ball, hip flexibility and use of leverage make him hard to stop. And he's durable. Grantham estimates Brown, a starter since his freshman year, has played on 98 percent of the defensive snaps the past three seasons.
``He's a very strong guy who uses his hands,'' Grantham said. ``He does a good job of escaping blocks and making plays.''
Brown signed with the Hokies out of Lynchburg's E.C. Glass High School following Tech's 2-8-1 1992 season. Tech sold him on the idea of coming in and helping turn the program around.
It happened quickly: three bowls in three years, with defense leading the way the past two seasons.
``His play and his leadership have been very significant in that process,'' Beamer said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
Virginia Tech defensive end Cornell Brown is strong and quick but
doesn't have the size NFL scouts prefer in a down lineman.
by CNB