ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
To think, East Carolina's football team thought it had personnel problems going into its Saturday night showdown at Virginia Tech.
While the Pirates (5-2) still had their fingers crossed Thursday on the availability of injured quarterback Marcus Crandell, the Hokies (6-1) already are assured of playing with a short deck.
Facing its toughest home game of the season to date, Tech will go without defensive star Cornell Brown and six other players who were suspended Wednesday as a result of indictments handed down by a Montgomery County grand jury.
``If I were ECU,'' said athletic director Dave Braine, ``I'd feel a whole lot better about my chances [now] than I did.''
The suspension list hit Tech's defense, particularly the line, hardest. Besides Brown, the Hokies' front wall will be without tackles Brad Baylor and Nat Williams. Baylor is suspended for the rest of the season.
Even before the suspensions, the line was somewhat short-handed because of injuries to starting end Danny Wheel and backup end Chris Cyrus.
Charley Wiles, Tech's defensive line coach, said Thursday he expects Wheel to see limited duty Saturday. Wheel, still recovering from a slightly separated right shoulder, had been listed as questionable earlier in the week by Tech coach Frank Beamer.
Cyrus, a redshirt freshman who is coming off recent knee surgery, will not play, Wiles said.
``Chris tried to get out and practice Wednesday, but he's just not ready yet,'' Wiles said. ``He can run straight ahead, he just can't bend and move and change direction. He's probably still a week away'' from playing.
Redshirt freshman John Engelberger, who has been impressive as a backup all season, and sophomore Jason Berish will make their first starts at end, Wiles said.
Senior Waverly Jackson and junior Kerwin Hairston, who started the past three games while Baylor was sidelined with an injury, will man the tackles. The loss of Williams, however, leaves the Hokies with freshman Carl Bradley as the only inside relief.
The sudden lack of manpower leaves Tech's trench fighters only one solution Saturday, Wiles said.
``Let's just get off the field, know what I mean?'' Wiles said. ``We don't want to play a bunch of snaps. When we get opportunities to get off the field on third down, we need to do that.
``It does really take a few more guys. I feel good about the kids we'll have out there. We just don't need to play a whole lot of downs.''
Especially if Crandell plays for East Carolina. The Pirates' record-breaking senior quarterback, who sustained a strained knee ligament Saturday against Arkansas State, practiced Wednesday and Thursday.
Steve Logan, the Pirates' coach, said Thursday that Crandell's status will be ``a game-time decision.''
Tech's offense won't be affected by the suspensions nearly as much as its defense. Brian Edmonds was one of the players indicted, but the senior fullback wasn't suspended for the ECU game. Frank Beamer, the Hokies' head coach, said Edmonds served his time when he sat out the season opener Sept.7 against Akron.
The only loss for the offense is sophomore flanker Angelo Harrison, who was suspended for the remainder of the season for his felony charge of attempted malicious wounding. Harrison had seven catches for 99 yards and was a valuable member of Tech's special teams.
Wiles said it will be interesting to see how the team reacts under adversity. He said the Hokies enjoyed a crisp workout under the lights a few hours after Wednesday's disciplinary moves.
``We've had a great week,'' Wiles said. ``We can't worry about stuff we can't control. We can control our attitudes and the way we prepare. And that's what the kids have done.
``Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers. They could have easily gone in the tank after that first loss and losing their bell-cow guy [Greg Lloyd]. And they're 7-2 or whatever. So it can be done.''
That's what the Hokies plan on doing.
``We have a tough mentality on this team,'' linebacker Brandon Semones said. ``I feel everybody will rally around each other for this game.
``And if we can go out and play well Saturday, maybe we can prove to some people that we've got things together.''
LENGTH: Medium: 82 linesby CNB