Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 27, 1994 TAG: 9401270083
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Tech began using the shotgun early last season and enjoyed some success with it - a key consideration, according to Tranquill. It is a formation used mostly in passing situations because the quarterback takes the snap approximately 5 yards behind center.
"We used it almost all the time with Bernie [Kosar]," said Tranquill, who most recently coached quarterbacks for the NFL's Cleveland Browns. "I've always had mixed emotions about the shotgun. It's like a lot of things in football: People will argue about it forever.
"Buffalo runs it well, maybe the best of anybody. Dallas [the Bills' Super Bowl XXVIII opponent] doesn't use it at all. I've never been the kind of guy to try to pound a square peg in a round hole. I wouldn't force it on anybody or I wouldn't automatically drop it."
Tech quarterback Maurice DeShazo and wide receiver Antonio Freeman spoke glowingly of the shotgun and even lobbied for it.
"Sometimes you'll put in something a little bit novel and it will get a team juiced up," Tranquill said. "I've always believed in listening to the guy behind center. There are things he likes to do and things he doesn't like to do, and you try to avoid the things he doesn't like to do.
"Bernie liked the shotgun. He was familiar with it. Some quarterbacks are faster at getting away from center. I don't think Vinny Testaverde [the Browns' starter after Kosar was waived] had a great affinity for it. It didn't matter with him. He was a real good athlete."
Virginia never used the shotgun with two-time All-ACC selection Shawn Moore as its quarterback, "but we kicked it around every year," Tranquill said. The Cavaliers started using the shotgun in 1991, when Matt Blundin was an All-ACC selection, but haven't been as successful with it lately.
Joe Gibbs, the former Washington Redskins coach, said he never would use the shotgun because he couldn't abide the thought of an errant snap skittering downfield behind the quarterback.
"That's a concern," Tranquill said. "We've all seen players go in motion and the snap hit them in the [rear end]. Plus, it isn't the easiest thing for the quarterback to watch the snap, catch the ball and fix it the way he likes it in his hand."
\ THE HOME STRETCH: One week before the signing date for football recruiting, four players among the Roanoke Times & World-News Top 5 remain uncommitted, including All-Group AAA quarterback Tony Morrison from Indian River. Morrison will visit Wake Forest during the weekend before deciding among the Deacons, Tech and UVa.
The other uncommitted players and schools they are considering, in alphabetical order, are Jefferson Forest defensive back Anthony Poindexter (North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech), Thomas Dale running back Ken Oxendine (Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech) and Ferguson quarterback Aaron Brooks (Clemson, Maryland, Missouri and Virginia).
\ MORE RECRUITING: Paul Pasqualoni, Syracuse's football coach, was at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke on Wednesday to meet with quarterback Shannon Taylor. Taylor, whose first trip was to Pittsburgh, visited Syracuse during the weekend and is scheduled to go to Virginia on Saturday. It is almost a foregone conclusion he will spend a year at prep school.
North Carolina, previously known for its basketball recruiting, has received football commitments from three Parade All-Americans: 6-foot-5, 290-pound lineman Jeff Wertalik from Wayne, N.J.; 6-4, 217-pound Mike Pringley from Linden, N.J.; and defensive back Greg Williams from Bolingbrook, Ill.
Torrey Veney, named sleeper of the year in the state by the Roanoke Times & World-News, has committed to Richmond. Veney rushed for nearly 4,000 yards the last two years at Rappahannock High School, which has 232 students. . . . Former all-state center Craig Tweed, a 1993 VMI signee from Salem High School in Virginia Beach, has transferred to Virginia Tech as a non-scholarship player.
\ NON-REVENUE: Andriy Shapowal, selected national soccer player of the year by Gatorade, will sign a letter of intent next week with Virginia. Shapowal, whose parents are Ukrainian, had 44 goals in his career as a midfielder at Kenston High School in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Shapowal has been training with the U.S. under-20 national team.
\ CALLIS UPDATE: Jonas Callis, who did not return for the second semester at VMI, said Wednesday he is likely to transfer to one of the basketball programs in the Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference, with Roanoke College heading the list.
Callis, a 6-7 post player on Patrick Henry's state championship team in 1992, said the Maroons were his second choice after his senior year in high school. He cited disenchantment with the military as his reason for leaving VMI.
"I could see, after 1 1/2 years, that it wasn't made for me," Callis said. "The basketball program is fine. There were no problems with the coaches and their relation to the players. I think, with all the young players, they're going to be all right."
\ AROUND THE STATE: John Smith, who averaged 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds as a sophomore at Wichita State, has transferred to Virginia Commonwealth. Smith, a 6-8, 260-pounder, was rated one of the top prospects in the country as a high school senior in Columbia, S.C., but was arrested three times while at Wichita State. . . . Jamel Grey, who left VMI before the season, has transferred to North Carolina A & T.
\ VETERAN HELP: Craig Farmer, a 24-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who signed a basketball scholarship with Louisville in November, has enrolled and is practicing with the Cardinals. Farmer, a 6-5 guard, averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds at Cairo (Ill.) High School in 1986-87 before joining the Navy for a six-year stint. He received his discharge Sept. 16.
by CNB