
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 29, 1993                   TAG: 9304290019
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

4 HOKIES GET NFL TRYOUTS

For the first time since 1988, Virginia Tech didn't have any football players taken in the NFL draft, but four Hokies will attend pro mini-camps as free-agent invitees.

Jerome Preston of Martinsville has hooked up with the New York Giants, receiver Bo Campbell with the Miami Dolphins and tailbacks Vaughn Hebron and Tony Kennedy with the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, respectively.

Preston was voted Tech's most valuable player last year, getting 70 tackles and seven sacks after overcoming off-season reconstructive knee surgery. The knee may have been one reason Preston, 6 feet 5 and 288 pounds, wasn't drafted.

"It's been in the back of some people's minds, whether I can still play on it," he said. "I know I can play on it."

Hebron excelled as a pass-catcher for Tech and finished sixth on the all-time rushing list with 2,327 yards.

"I'm feeling pretty positive," said Hebron, who has reviewed the Eagles' running backs outlook. "I get a shot, and I think it's a positive shot because of the situation."

Kennedy, with 2,259 yards, is seventh among Tech rushers. He scored the fourth-most touchdowns in Tech history (26). Campbell led the nation in

punt returns in 1991, averaging 18.2 yards.

by CNB