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

DATE: MONDAY, August 30, 1993                   TAG: 9308300043
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

OFF-SEASON WORK PAYING OFF FOR TECH'S DESHAZO

This fall, most of the scrutiny has focused elsewhere. And DeShazo?

"People will say, `By the way, I heard you're having a hell of a preseason,' " DeShazo said. "I say, `Well, I guess I am.' "

He is. In three scrimmages, DeShazo has completed 25 of 39 passes for 385 yards and six touchdowns - including a 13-for-20, 176-yard, three-touchdown effort in last Thursday's final full scrimmage.

His 64 percent completion rate in the fall is 16 points higher than last year's mark. Even though much of the preseason work is against second-string or scout-team defenders, offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle sees a difference. Part of that is because of the new job title for Bustle, formerly just the quarterbacks coach.

"There has to be a genuine trust between the two of us," Bustle said. "[He knows] I'm going to call the things he feels comfortable with, and when I call something, I feel he can execute that."

Steve Marshall, formerly the offensive coordinator, called most of the plays and Bustle called some last season. At one point, DeShazo was frustrated and lashed out at the play-calling.

"The biggest change comes from us being 100 percent on the same page," Bustle said of the play-calling. "He knows now where they're coming from. But the easiest thing that's made our relationship bond so much better is his understanding of what we're doing.

"He's finally realizing he has to learn," Bustle said. "He's got a great personality, kind of lives by the seat of his pants, and he found out the hard way that to be a Division I quarterback, you've got to put more time in than the time I require of him."

DeShazo credits better conditioning, the offensive line and an emphasis on passing fundamentals for his fall improvement, but admits a lot of off-season film-watching and skull sessions with Bustle have paid off.

\ PUNT RETURNS: Receivers coach Terry Strock has decided junior Antonio Freeman will be Tech's top punt returner, backed up by receiver Steve Sanders and cornerback Tyronne Drakeford.

"He's catching the ball all the time, in all kinds of ball drills," Strock said of the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Freeman. "He has that knack of good running ability, and he certainly has the speed to get on the corners and the size to break tackles."

\ LINING UP: Tech's offense has been effective in preseason, meaning its offensive line - despite the unexpected defections of Mike Smith and Mike Cox - must be working well. Offensive line coach J.B. Grimes agrees but wants to see better pass protection. The question mark of the line, redshirt freshman Billy Conaty, has been steady as a first-time first-teamer.

"I've been real pleased with the way Conaty has reacted to everything," Grimes said. "It's business as usual for him, and that's unusual [for a newcomer]."