Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511200093
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Kevin Sherman knows what it's like to be a wanted man.
When the Radford native and Ferrum College graduate gets near the football field, everyone seems to want him on their side. And he hasn't played the game in four years.
Earlier this fall, Sherman, the quarterbacks coach at VMI, went back to Ferrum to watch the Panthers play Methodist. Sherman was a wide receiver at Ferrum, but got his first full-time coaching job under Jim Sypult, Methodist's head coach.
When both teams asked him to give a pregame speech, Sherman knew he had a problem.
``Either way,'' he said, ``I was going to be a traitor.''
That day, Sherman went with the Panthers. On every other day for the past three years, he's gone with VMI. After one year at Methodist under Sypult, who once coached Keydets head coach Bill Stewart at Fairmont (W.Va.) State, Sherman joined Jim Shuck's VMI staff as a running-backs coach.
When Shuck's contract was terminated after the 1993 season, Sherman hoped to stay at VMI. But that was up to the new coach, Stewart. Stewart, just in from the Air Force Academy, called Sherman's high-school coach, Radford's Norm Lineburg, and his college coach, Hank Norton.
``When I was putting this staff together, I went to Hank Norton, and he said, `You can never, never go wrong with Kevin Sherman,''' Stewart explained. ``I hung the phone up and away we went.''
So Stewart made a commitment to Sherman, keeping him on as a restricted-earnings wide-receivers coach. Last spring, the 27-year-old made a commitment to Stewart.
Jim Grobe, a Ferrum graduate who was one of Stewart's fellow assistants at Air Force, had just been hired as the head coach at Ohio University. Grobe was looking for a wide-receivers coach. He called Stewart and said he wanted to hire Sherman.
But Sherman didn't go.
``Kevin Sherman had a chance to leave here for a friend of mine and be a I-A assistant,'' Stewart said. ``He chose to stay. I will never forget that young man's loyalty.''
``I weighed my options and said, `Well, I want to work with quarterbacks and this is a better opportunity to get where I want to be in this profession,`'' Sherman said.
Stewart knew he was lucky to still have him. And so he made yet another commitment. When Michael Clark left for the head coaching job at Bridgewater, it freed up a spot on the staff. Stewart took away the restricted earnings label and gave Sherman what he dreamed of - control of the quarterbacks.
It's been sort of a dream season for the Keydets offense, too. In the 10 games prior to today's Oyster Bowl against Georgia Southern, VMI has scored a school-record 256 points. The previous high was 251 in 1991. Under Sherman, quarterback Al Lester has improved his decision-making to the point that he's thrown just five interceptions this year, compared to 16 last season. Plus, three of those pickoffs have been desperation heaves at the end of the half. Stewart calls for those.
``Kevin must be doing something right,'' Stewart said. ``The proof is in the stats.''
Sherman's next task is to rebuild the recruiting pipeline from Southwest Virginia to VMI. He recruited the area while at Methodist, and Stewart sees Sherman as the key to re-establishing what the Keydets consider one of their most important areas.
``I wanted to put a good man in there and I chose Kevin,'' Stewart said. ``He just gets in the car and away he goes to work his butt off.''
The wanted man is doing what he wants.
KEYDET NOTES: Junior tailback Thomas Haskins needs just 6 yards to break Floyd Allen's career rushing mark of 3,569 yards. He needs 49 yards to break his own single-season record of 1,509. ... The Keydets are missing two starting linebackers with injuries. Mike Rogers has a broken right wrist and Franklin County native Mike Edwards has a shoulder separation. ... Senior Timmy Williams, a wide receiver/defensive back, is the grand marshal of the upcoming Covington Christmas parade.
by CNB