THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602100400
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Long : 156 lines
Ask Aaron Sparrow, James Roe and Kenny McDaniel of Norfolk State and Hugh Hunter of Hampton University what they want now that their college football careers are done. Prepare for a surprise.
They don't say they want to play in the NFL. It's like they're holding the magic lamp in their hands, but can't bear to ask the genie inside for something so grand.
What they want is the chance to show they can play in the NFL. No matter what happens this weekend under the teflon cover of the RCA Dome - whether they run 5 yards and fall or 40 yards with wings on their feet during this thing called the Scouting Combine - their wish has been granted.
``Right now, I'm nervous, even kind of scared,'' says Roe, holder of three NCAA, 10 CIAA and 14 NSU receiving records. ``Everyone knows the combine can make or break you. If I have a good showing, things will be better. If I go there and I'm not myself, that can hurt me a lot.''
Today is The Day for McDaniel and Hunter, one a 315-pound man-mountain offensive lineman, the other a quicksilver defensive end from Portsmouth's Wilson High School. Roe and Sparrow, another Wilson grad and holder of 18 school records, must wait until Sunday.
They are part of 331 special guests of the NFL, college seniors gifted enough to warrant closer inspection. They'll undergo a series of tests, physical, emotional, intellectual and psychological, that general managers and coaches will use in April to draft the best and the brightest.
It won't be the only barometer by which they're judged. Scouts from various teams found their way to Norfolk State and Hampton often last fall. Many have returned more recently for private workouts. They've written copious notes on each player. They've shared almost none of their thoughts.
``This is the one day you can't be average,'' Norfolk State football coach Darnell Moore tells Roe.
In preparation for this weekend, the four have conducted near-daily workouts at their respective schools. Roe and Sparrow also have worked with NSU track coach Steve Riddick.
Last week, Moore put Sparrow and Roe through a series of tests, from running 10-yard sprints, to 40-yard agility drills around orange traffic cones, to having Roe run short pass routes across the floor at Echols Hall while Sparrow blistered his hands with pass after bullet pass.
In neighboring Gill Gymnasium, McDaniel stacks 225 pounds of iron weight onto a bar, then groans as he begins a bench-pressing drill that could lift him rounds higher in the draft. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. McDaniel's massive chest and arms hoist its load five, 10, 20, 25 times. His goal was 37, same as Nebraska strong boy Zach Wiegert did at last year's combine. Friday he did 29, one less than UCLA superstar Jonathon Ogdon who some say may be the first player drafted.
Hunter's game is speed and power. A mere 265, scouts see him as a Charles Haley-, Chris Doleman-type, a fierce presence who can whip past tackles the size of a salt truck to body-slam the quarterback. Hunter leaves with Hampton's career sack record of 48, 20 this season.
``You hear the same thing about him from everyone,'' Hampton coach Joe Taylor said. ``His motor never stops running. He's relentless. That's what's giving him this opportunity.''
Hunter, says one expert, may have the most potential of any of the four.
Taylor is more succinct.
``There isn't a team out there that can't use someone who puts heat on the quarterback,'' he boasts.
And there isn't a team that can't use another exceptional guard, a receiver who came within 225 yards of breaking Jerry Rice's NCAA record receiving yards, and a quarterback who eclipsed 400 yards passing seven times in his last 20 games.
What makes this weekend all the more intriguing is that none of these players is a lock for anything. All have flaws.
An NFC general manager told Moore that Roe may not quite be fast enough to include in the upper echelon. It's his rotten luck to be competing with the best class of wideouts in 20 years.
Roe's goal for Sunday: run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds.
``The scouts say they are impressed because I am a big guy who can catch,'' said Roe, who is 6-feet-1, 192 pounds and has so many acrobatic moves he should work with a safety net. ``They talk about how I'm kind of elusive. A lot of them still talk about my speed. But the way I look at it, I'm really not a clock guy. I do my best on the field.
``Jerry Rice was in the same boat. He never ran anything lower than a 4.6, but you rarely see anybody catching him from behind. I don't have clock speed. I have game speed.''
There's nothing NFL scouts like to do more than compare a player who hasn't yet made it to one who has. Roe's numbers may say Jerry Rice, but the player he reminds one expert most of is Chris George, who finished school at Glenville State as the NCAA's all-time leading receiver, but was a free-agent signee by the Eagles, was cut in training camp and spent last season in the Canadian Football League.
The expert admits, however, that Roe is larger and has more presence than George.
McDaniel reminds some scouts of Dallas guard/tackle Ron Stone. He's the Cowboys' sixth man on the offensive line, equally skilled at either position. McDaniel has what even NFL coaches can't teach - size - and is seen as a player worth taking a chance on because of his potential.
``He carries around 325 pounds like most people carry 190,'' Moore said.
McDaniel was almost lucky he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament last year. Moore moved him from tackle to guard and the scouts noticed he was versatile enough to handle both positions.
``Everybody liked me at guard,'' he said. ``I always played tackle and all the scouts this year wanted to see me at guard, but circumstances were that I had to go back to tackle.''
Speed is a problem for McDaniel. In high school, he ran a 4.9 40, but his best recent time was 5.0. He'll have to at least do that to remove the ``project'' tag from his dossier.
That leaves Sparrow, perhaps the most compelling story of the bunch.
For nine years, Moore has played Henry Higgins to Sparrow's Eliza Doolittle. They were together at Wilson. They've been together at Norfolk State. Moore proudly admits he has spent a fair chunk of his career preparing his pupil to throw passes in the NFL.
``I've groomed Sparrow for this day,'' he said. ``During his freshman and sophomore years, I wouldn't let him run the shotgun or run the option. There was a reason for that. Option quarterbacks don't go far in the NFL. Dropback quarterbacks do. I've watched Steve McNair. Sparrow's techniques are way better than his.''
Where does that leave Sparrow who, coming out of high school, was compared to the Browns' Eric Zeier and the Redskins' Heath Shuler as the top prep players in the nation? Right now, nobody knows.
``Aaron has nice size and good speed. Does he have the tools of an NFL passer? I'm not sure,'' one draft expert said. ``He has a Zeier's height (6-1) and an Alex Van Pelt arm and control. Of course, both of these guys are No. 2 quarterbacks on NFL teams.''
Zeier backs up Vinnie Testaverde with the newly transplanted Baltimore team. The second-year pro from Georgia was the rage of Cleveland early last season for his remarkable fast start in preseason. Van Pelt, an eighth-round pick in 1993, the last time the draft lasted that many rounds, plays behind Jim Kelly in Buffalo.
Moore puts Sparrow through a comprehensive workout, demanding he throw passes using three-, five- and seven-step drops. He has him drop straight back, then roll right and throw. He has him drop back, then roll left and throw across his body, one of the most difficult things for a quarterback to do accurately.
Moore knows scouts worry about Sparrow's lack of height and the increased chance that presents for his passes being batted down at the line of scrimmage. He shows a visitor tape from last season of Sparrow throwing every pass imaginable, all with pinpoint accuracy.
``I've seen guys like (Florida State's) Danny Kannell and (South Carolina's) Steve Taneyhill and the guy at Maryland (Scott Milanovich). Not to brag, but I have a lot of ability,'' Sparrow said. ``I can compete with those guys. I see some guys who are in the NFL that I can throw the ball better than.
``Seattle told me they liked the way I moved in the pocket, my escapability. But not many scouts have told me they were interested.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Richard L. Dunston
Norfolk State quarterback Aaron Sparrow, left, and wide receiver
James Roe hit the weight room in preparation for this weekend's
combine.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB