Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
It's only fitting that Virginia Tech tailback Ken Oxendine will make his first start of the 1995 season Saturday at Virginia.
In Charlottesville. In Scott Stadium. Where Oxendine and most others figured he would land all along.
``Yeah, Virginia was where everybody thought I'd wind up,'' Oxendine said. ``After all, my best friend's dad had gone to UVa and I had grown up going to UVa games. Another thing was I had gone to UVa's football camp the summer before my senior year of high school.''
If anybody ever had Cavalier orange and blue painted all over him, it was Oxendine. Just put the guy on the bus with ``Charlottesville'' lit in the destination window, and it's see you in four years, baby.
Well, it was supposed to be that way. Then, a twist of fate altered the script.
When Oxendine and Thomas Dale High School lost to Annandale in overtime in a Group AAA Division 6 semifinal in 1993, he suddenly had a free Saturday to take one final recruiting visit - to Virginia Tech.
``I already had visited Tennessee and Virginia,'' he said. ``To tell you the truth, if we had gone to the state finals, I would have never visited Tech because I had planned my visit to Blacksburg the weekend the state finals were being held.''
After ``enjoying the atmosphere'' during his tour of Tech, Oxendine weighed his decision for more than two months before making up his mind on Super Bowl Sunday, Jan.30, 1994. The Buffalo Bills couldn't pull a monumental upset that day, but Ken Qwarious Oxendine did.
Billy Hite, a Tech assistant coach, remembers the scene as if it was yesterday.
``Our whole coaching staff was at a big Super Bowl party at [then-Tech assistant coach] Phil Elmassian's house,'' Hite said.
Then the phone rang. It was The Ox. The high school All-American was heading to Blacksburg.
``We were coming off a great year [a 9-3 season capped by an Independence Bowl romp over Indiana], then to get a prospect of this caliber to commit ... it was a super Sunday for us, no question,'' Hite said.
Oxendine acknowledges he was ``scared to call'' the Virginia coaches.
``I called UVa after the Super Bowl,'' he said. ``I was sort of hoping I could just leave a message on the answering machine. I talked to [UVa] Coach [George] Welsh. He said he understood.''
The Hokies understood they had pulled one of the greatest heists in their heated recruiting wars with their archrivals.
``It was huge for us, no doubt,'' Hite said.
Oxendine, the state's 1993 Group AAA player of the year, has been as good as advertised since his ``heart led him to Tech.''
As a freshman last season, he ran for 258 yards on 33 carries. Included were Tech's two longest touchdown runs of the season - a 53-yarder against West Virginia and a 62-yard pop vs. Syracuse.
This season, Oxendine was penciled in as Tech's starting tailback, ahead of senior Dwayne Thomas. But the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Chester native broke a bone in his right hand during a preseason scrimmage, forcing him to the sideline.
While Oxendine missed Tech's first two games - the Hokies' only two losses in an 8-2 season - Thomas regained his starting role, which the senior held until this week. Thomas suffered a severely bruised left buttock Saturday against Temple and is questionable for the UVa game.
As far as some Tech backers are concerned, it's about time Oxendine got the starting nod.
Unquestionably, Oxendine has displayed more of a penchant for making the big play than Thomas. Oxendine is averaging 5.8 yards per rush (97 carries for 567 yards), while Thomas is averaging 4.1 (157 for 636).
Hite has heard the cries for The Ox, but Tech's veteran running backs coach makes a strong point.
``No.1, Dwayne Thomas is the fourth all-time leading rusher [2,658 yards] at Virginia Tech,'' Hite said. ``I think that says an awful lot.
``Playing time has never been a problem with those two. It's been a problem with everybody else. For everyone that wants Oxendine, there's someone else who wants Thomas. It's a good problem to have, no question.''
It has been no problem for Oxendine. This Ox is not bullheaded. He has waited patiently in line, not wanting to create a distraction for a Tech team on a roll.
``If you want to be a team player, you can't be that way. You can't be selfish ... because when you do that, that's when things don't go right,'' Oxendine said. ``I'm helping out our team and I'm getting yardage to be looked at, so it's nothing bad.
``I'm getting my chances. It's not like I'm just coming in in the fourth quarter. Hey, I've learned a lot watching Dwayne Thomas.''
Hite likes Oxendine's attitude.
``Ox has never complained ... he's never said a word about playing time,'' Hite said. ``He says, `I'm still learning,' and he thinks it's good. I appreciate his patience on it.''
Hite also appreciates the fact that he's got The Ox for two more years. The coach knows Oxendine's biggest show has yet to come.
``This is a guy who every time he touches the ball has a chance to score,'' Hite said. ``Not only does he have good speed, he has unbelievable strength. He can run over people, he can run around people.''
Oxendine would like nothing more than to run over and around some Cavaliers come Saturday.
``Yeah, this one's going to be special,'' Oxendine said.
On his first call to Charlottesville since that '94 Super Bowl Sunday, The Ox would prefer to leave Welsh & Co. speechless again.
``I know a lot of Virginia's guys and people who go to school there,'' Oxendine said.
``Plus, I've got this cousin who is always going, `UVa this, UVa that, UVa this' ... man, I'd sure like to shut him up a little.''
by CNB