Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 15, 1990 TAG: 9004150069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Freshman Terry Kirby rejoined the football team so quickly, however, that Welsh practically had to tell him to stay away.
"I tried to come back on a Tuesday [March 27] and they told me to take some more time off," Kirby said. "I wanted to get hit that Thursday, but they told me just to go out and run."
Kirby missed the Cavaliers' first spring scrimmage March 31, but he appeared none the worse for his layoff Saturday, when he carried 17 times for 102 yards and one touchdown in UVa's annual spring game.
The teams were divided into home and visitor, with the home team quarterbacked by Shawn Moore and Bobby Goodman. The home team won 35-7 as Moore completed nine of 14 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
There scarcely was any mention of departed tailback Marcus Wilson, a 1,000-yard rusher who passed up his final season of eligibility to enter the NFL draft.
Kirby wasn't even the leading rusher. Redshirt freshman Jerrod Washington played for both teams and had 23 carries for 118 yards, although he lost three fumbles.
Rising junior Nikki Fisher, who shared most-improved honors this spring with defensive back Tyrone Lewis, was in street clothes after spraining his right ankle Tuesday afternoon.
"It's not that bad," said Fisher, from Martinsville. "I was 30 yards downfield when it happened, so things weren't going too poorly."
Fisher, who played sparingly in 1989, recently met with Welsh to discuss his status and said he is not considering transferring, as had been speculated earlier.
"They saw where I was coming from and I saw where they were coming from," Fisher said. "It opened up the lines of communication. I guess the main thing is, I'm still a part of the offense."
Kirby, who as a senior at Tabb High School was the national player of the year, said he was not concerned with winning the No. 1 job.
"But I didn't want to sit out any longer than I had to," Kirby said. "When I first got here, one of the things I wanted to establish was that I wanted to be treated just like any other player."
UVa's two other football-basketball players, Matt Blundin and Mark Cooke, missed spring drills. Cooke was hurt and Blundin cited fatigue and academic concerns.
"I think spring ball is where you earn a lot of respect," Kirby said. "It's also when you learn the system, so, when you come back in the summer, you can go all-out."
One way of demonstrating that was to come out for spring drills less than 10 days after the basketball season ended March 18. Kirby played in the Cavaliers' season-ending loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional.
"I think I was quicker when I came back [to football]," Kirby said. "I think basketball had a lot to do with that because mostly I would play in five-minute spurts.
"When I came back out, I had to get my body in shape to be hit. I'm a little lighter. I'm down to 206 [from a high of 215], but I'll get heavier once I start lifting [weights]."
Although nearly 20 players missed the scrimmage due to injury or other reasons, the first-team offense and defense both appeared sharp. The first defense did not allow a touchdown and recorded five sacks, three by defensive end Chris Slade.
"When we thought we were going up against Shawn [and the first offense], we said, `Yeah,' " Slade said. "We didn't want to beat him up. We just wanted the test."
The original plan was to play first offense against first defense, but Welsh struck that idea. Big deal, said Moore. The first offense and first defense do battle all the time in practice.
"But we can't tackle him," nose guard Ron Carey said. "Shawn has a red shirt on every day. He's not hurt or anything, but I guess they would like to have him around for Kansas [Sept. 1]."
H - Steele 1 run (McInerney kick)
H - Kirby 13 run (McInerney kick)
H - Steele 1 run (Husted kick)
H - H. Moore 62 pass from S. Moore (Husted kick)
H - Dooley 11 pass from S. Moore (Schrader kick)
V - Satola 8 pass from Riddlebarger (Fiveash kick) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Kirby 17-102, Steele 8-25, Washington 23-118, Hackenberg 7-(-26), Young 9-6, Goodman 1-(-1), Sweeney 1-0, Snead 3-9, Riddlebarger 1-(-5).
Passing - S. Moore 9-14-150-0, Hackenberg 1-6-14-1, Goodman 6-7-50-1, Riddlebarger 4-10-34-1.
Receiving - Kirby 3-20, H. Moore 4-106, Dooley 3-25, McGonnigal 2-12, Tomlin 2-16, Satola 2-15, Watkins 2-23, Young 1-3, Chaplin 1-16.
by CNB