THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060608
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: 111 lines
If Will Brice had been a quarterback, running back, or even a defensive end with the same credentials, he would have been swarmed by recruiters during his senior year at Lancaster High School in South Carolina.
Chances are he would be playing for Clemson, too, instead of Virginia when the two ACC rivals meet Saturday in Charlottesville.
But Brice is a punter/kicker, a position where recruiters have a difficult time trying to evaluate a prospect.
Most colleges recruit kickers and punters as walk-ons so they don't have to gamble a scholarship on them.
``As far as punters, you don't know who is keeping their stats, or if his kicks were in the air or rolling,'' says University of Virginia recruiting coordinator Danny Wilmer.
``And you can't see on film how fast place-kickers are getting the ball up, and you don't know how they will do in college kicking off the ground.''
Still, Brice was the No. 1 prospect in the state at his position, the most valuable player on his team, and he could do things that recruiters had never seen before, like punting the ball 50 yards with his left foot and place-kicking it through the uprights from 50 yards out with his right foot.
``He was a great kid, too, with solid grades,'' Wilmer adds.
But Virginia was the only school to take the gamble of offering Brice a full scholarship.
Clemson, the school that almost everyone in his family followed, courted him for awhile, but was willing to take him only as a walk-on.
Duke sent a couple of letters but no offers, which was fine since Brice held a grudge against the Blue Devils for beating ``his'' Michigan team in basketball.
``Virginia was it,'' Brice says.
``But that was fine with me. Once I came here to visit, Virginia was the only place I wanted to go. Everything worked out for the best.''
Virginia certainly thinks so.
Brice, who last year joined former defensive end Chris Slade as the only two Cavaliers to be named first-team All-Americans as juniors, is leading the ACC in punting for the third straight year with a 44-yard average, which ranks third nationally.
He is everything Wilmer thought he would be, and almost certain to become what his high school coach, Johnny Roscoe, predicted - a future NFL kicker.
It was that prediction that caught the attention of Wilmer, a recruiter with more connections than AT&T. Roscoe was someone Wilmer trusted because he didn't oversell his players.
``When he tells you a kid can play, he can play,'' Wilmer says.
But a future NFL punter?
Wilmer had to see for himself to be convinced, and he was convinced the first time he saw Brice kick.
``I have seen three NFL punters in my life,'' Wilmer says.
He played against former Redskins punter Mike Bragg in college. He tried to recruit Detroit punter Mark Royals, who attended Chowan Junior College and Appalachian State.
Brice was the third.
Wilmer says the first time he saw Brice send a football toward the clouds, he nodded and said to himself, ``I got one here.''
``He just killed it, whether it was punting with his left foot or place-kicking with his right foot,'' Wilmer says.
``I went after him hard. I felt we had to have him.''
Brice has done little place-kicking for the Cavaliers, mainly because of the presence of record-breaking field goal kicker Rafael Garcia, but he is used occasionally for kickoffs on windy days because of his towering ``pooch kicks.''
Brice thinks he might have the opportunity to kick field goals in the pros, too.
``Rafael is probably more accurate, but I kick farther,'' Brice said.
``We kick against each other in practice and I have the record at 67 yards. But that is just playing around.''
It is his punting, though, that makes Brice special and puts fear in the hearts of opposing coaches.
In last year's win over Florida State, he averaged 47.1 yards per punt and he planted punts at Florida State's 7, 9, 14 and 15-yard lines.
``I have all the respect in the world for (tailback) Tiki Barber, but Brice is the Virginia player I fear the most,'' Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said before this year's game.
Cavaliers coach George Welsh believes Brice is the best punter in the NCAA, not only because of his distance and hang time, but because he is capable of burying teams inside their 20.
``Ive never seen anyone like him,'' says Welsh.
While at Virginia, Brice, a civil engineering major, has perfected a way to make his punts bounce sharply to the right and roll out of bounds when they hit the turf.
He's also worked on spiraling the ball downward like a drill, making it more difficult to catch.
``He is a very cerebral type,'' Wilmer says, ``always trying to think of ways to improve.''
Tackle Todd White said the defense feels much more secure because of Brice.
``When Coach tells him to put the ball on the 5, he puts the ball on the 5,'' White says.
``It makes it much easier on the defense if the other team has to go 90 or 80 yards to score. It is a big plus to have a punter like that.''
Brice says he's ``heard the talk'' that he has a chance to become the first punter drafted in the NFL first round since Ray Guy.
``I think the pros are interested in me, but I don't think about how high I might be drafted,'' Brice said. ``I don't want to get my hopes too high and get disappointed.''
That can be difficult, though, considering the mail and calls Brice receives from agents hoping to represent him.
``It is something I am going to have to deal with sooner or later,'' Brice said. ``But right now I just want to stay focused on this season.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
LAWRENCE JACKSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Will Brice leads the ACC and ranks third nationally in punting with
a 44-yard average. He can even use either foot to boot the ball over
50 yards. by CNB