ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 28, 1995 TAG: 9512280043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
UVA TIGHT END has played in just five games this year, but thinks scouts got a good look.
The 1995 football season had little redeeming value for Bobby Neely until the Peach Bowl pairings were announced.
``I felt like a soldier in Bosnia and they said I was about to go home,'' said Neely, a Virginia tight end from Atlanta.
``Even before they said it was an option, I was really pushing for it. It's not like I wanted us to lose, but I was hoping that everything would fall into place.''
Neely and walk-on place-kicker Jeremy Bird, who has not played in a game, are the only players from Georgia on UVa's 102-man roster. Neely's former teammate at Mays High School, quarterback Symmion Willis, left the team during the summer.
``For me to go out in my hometown, against my home state university and in front of my home fans ... I couldn't ask for anything more,'' Neely, a senior, said.
Neely certainly expected more out of the regular season, particularly after he had six receptions for 73 yards in UVa's near upset of Michigan in the opener.
Neely was injured in practice the next week and missed five games with a ``high'' ankle sprain. When he made his long-awaited comeback against North Carolina, he suffered a separated shoulder.
``To come back and have what happened to me at Carolina, I was like, `Somebody doesn't want me to play,''' Neely said. ``For me to go through what I had to go through this season, this had to be worse than losing.''
The year wasn't a total loss. Neely played in only five games, starting three, but he finished with 16 receptions. That's as many catches as the All-ACC tight end, North Carolina's Freddie Jones, had in 11 games.
``C'mon, please,'' Neely said. ``Freddie Jones is not a bad tight end. I'm not about knocking anybody, but I know Freddie Jones knows I'm better than he is. I can only imagine what I could have done in a full season.''
Neely finished his career with 50 receptions, but he was scoreless until he caught a two-point conversion pass in the Cavaliers' 36-29 loss to Virginia Tech. After four years, he does not have a touchdown.
``It's not like I haven't talked to [quarterback Mike] Groh,'' Neely said. ``Groh's talked to me. That's why I'm going all-out at the bowl. I want at least two touchdowns.''
Georgia was one of the schools that recruited Neely, who was one of the top two tight ends in Georgia in 1992, along with Adam Meadows.
``I came to find out he had committed to them early and I was like, `Hey, ho, hold on just a minute,''' Neely said. ``The next time they called, I finally said, `What's up with this Meadows kid?'
``They said, `He gave us a commitment' and I told them, `You shoulda told me earlier.' They told me there was still a scholarship available, but I felt there were other places I could play sooner.
``I was always a die-hard Clemson fan. I loved Clemson since Day One. But I saw the surroundings and I saw the university and, besides Clemson University, there wasn't much there.''
Neely caught only three passes as a freshman at Virginia, where he spent two seasons as the back-up to Aaron Mundy. It could be argued that Neely could have been redshirted either in 1992 or this season.
``If I had a chance to redshirt I would have taken it,'' Neely said. ``There came a time this year when I went to George, uh, coach Welsh, and talked to him about it.
``He told me he felt, if I came back for Florida State, I'd be in just as good a situation. I felt sure he would not lead me into believing something that was not true.''
If he had not been injured for a second time, Neely would have gotten into seven games. Anybody who questioned his toughness should be advised that Neely played in the second half at Carolina with an injury that would sideline him for the next three weeks.
``It's just a shame he's been hurt,'' said Danny Wilmer, who coaches the UVa tight ends. ``He has as much talent as anybody we've ever had here. With another year, there's no question he would be better than any tight end in America.''
Neely, who is a chiseled 6 feet 4 and 254 pounds, has received so much attention from agents that he has considered changing his phone number. He has been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
``I see a lot of tight ends out there and I don't see any with the size, strength, speed, catching ability and blocking ability that I have,'' Neely said. ``I saw where I was rated ahead of [Michigan's] Jay Riemersma, which was a true compliment.
``The agents say the Michigan game was the best thing that could have happened to me. It was a free scouting opportunity for all the [NFL] coaches and, even though my name was out there, that sort of put it on the map.''
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Neely. color. Graphic: Chart by staff.by CNBcolor.