THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 5, 1997 TAG: 9702050673
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 99 lines
They are having a party at Norview High School today to celebrate blocking and tackling and reading and writing.
At 3 p.m. in the media room James Whitley, David Martin, Larry Austin, Hannibal McFarland and Joe Jordan, five young black men from the inner city, four from single-parent homes, will sign football letters-of-intent with Division I schools.
Whitley (Michigan), Martin (Tennessee) and Austin (Virginia Tech) head a group of eight South Hampton Roads high school seniors who have orally committed to Division I-A teams. The others are Indian River's James Boyd to Penn State, Tallwood's Gilbert Harris to Maryland and Travis Mazyck to East Carolina, Deep Creek's Arnie Powell to East Carolina and Lakeland's Darius Bryant to N.C. State.
Anthony Cason of Indian River (N.C. State) and Plaxico Burress of Green Run (Michigan State) are 1996 graduates who also have committed after spending a year in prep school.
That's three more Division I-A signings than last year, which was considered a banner recruiting campaign.
So strike up the band, pass out the pompons and let out a hearty cheer.
But don't tarry too long at the party. These guys have homework to do.
``The coaches here have a philosophy of no athletics without academics,'' said Norview's Whitley. ``That's their first priority.''
All five scholarship Pilots have either met or are close to meeting the NCAA's academic guidelines for freshman eligibility.
``Norview High School has long recognized the importance of academic excellence first for its students,'' principal Marjorie L. Stealey said. ``And on this day we proudly celebrate these students for their academic as well as their athletic achievement.''
Norview may long have recognized the importance of academic achievement, but its athletes didn't.
Before Dwayne Potts signed last year with West Virginia, the last Norview football player to commit to a Division I-A program was Terrell Simmons at Wake Forest in 1986.
``When I came here 13 years ago we were stacked with good athletes,'' Norview athletic director Doug Townsend said. ``But they went to Division II schools like Norfolk (State) and Hampton (Institute).
``Now we have student-athletes. These signings are witness to that.''
So who fired the engine of change?
Townsend credits the administration for creating an atmosphere of learning and the football and basketball coaching staffs for providing the tools necessary to achieve in the classroom.
Those tools include mandatory study halls, private tutoring, computer training and SAT preparation.
Austin, who turned down Duke to sign with Virginia Tech because he wants to major in engineering, first took the SAT as a sophomore and scored 950. Whitley, Martin, McFarland and Jordan took it as juniors.
``I saw seniors taking the test three and four times and making 660,'' Austin said. ``I took it early because I wanted to see how hard it was.''
Austin's early success motivated him to try again and he eventually scored 1,020.
``Everyone who scores over 1,000 gets his picture on the wall,'' Austin said. ``I wanted that.''
Martin lived in Germany before moving to Norfolk.
``I've always done well in school,'' he said. ``Before I moved here sports were an extracurricular activity, something to keep me off the streets.''
Martin credits former Norview football coach Will Robinson along with current football coach David Heath and basketball coach Darnell Miller for taking an interest in his future.
``The coaches here always check our schedules to make sure we're taking the right classes'' for college, Martin said. ``If you're taking two or three electives they'll take you out of one and put you in a core class.''
It's up to the athlete after that.
``A lot of guys don't want to do the work,'' Martin said. ``When I feel that way I think about the future and what got me here. That was my education.''
Heath is in his third year at Norview. He served previously as an assistant with Robinson at Bayside where they got a first-hand look at the recruiting process.
The Marlins produced several outstanding teams and players when Robinson and Heath were there.
``But I was thinking the other day,'' Heath said. ``We had 16 kids at Bayside who had a chance to play college football and only one of them, Jeff McGowan, is still at it.''
A lack of institutional support could have played a role in that. But the schools can only do so much, Heath said.
Ultimately it's up to the athletes and that's what today is all about.
``All of us can look at our families and see that not that many have gone to college,'' Austin said. ``We want to be the special ones to make our Mommas proud.''
This is the second consecutive banner recruiting season in South Hampton Roads. Nineteen area players have committed to Division I-A and I-AA teams, including Burress, the former Green Run All-American who prepped last fall at Fork Union Military Academy. He said he will honor his previous commitment to Michigan State.
Nineteen players, including Burress, committed to Division I-A and I-AA teams last year. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photos
[Players orally committed to division I-A schools]