THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 28, 1994 TAG: 9412280537
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: JACKSONVILLE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
Virginia Tech linebacker George DelRicco, who is accustomed to playing hurt, will be in a rare healthy state for Friday's Gator Bowl against Tennessee.
One pain that DelRicco experienced after the season ended, however, has not subsided.
DelRicco tied Boston College linebacker Stephen Boyd for second among Big East tackle leaders this season with 130.
Boyd made first-team all-conference as well as one All-American team. But DelRicco's list of postseason honors was as short as his list of injuries the past two seasons is long.
DelRicco, a junior from DeMatha High School was overlooked on the all-conference first and second teams selected by league coaches. Six more linebackers who recorded fewer tackles than DelRicco were accorded postseason recognition.
``I had a funny feeling I wasn't going to be on there,'' DelRicco said. ``I'll use it for motivation in the offseason when I'm working out.''
The Big East was loaded with quality senior linebackers like Boyd, Syracuse's Dan Conley and Virginia Tech inside linebacker Ken Brown. Those three plus Miami sophomore Ray Lewis - the league's top tackler - made up the first team, while two of the three second-teamers were also seniors.
``I felt better about it when guys on the team came up to me and said, `You got robbed,' '' DelRicco said.
``Having my teammates know I should have been on the team means more to me than actually being on the team.''
DelRicco has been overlooked before. Playing alongside Brown has limited his exposure if not his tackle numbers. He's not the quickest (4.66 seconds in a 40-yard dash) or most physically imposing (6-foot-1, 220 pounds) member of a Tech defense that ranked 20th nationally in total defense, eighth nationally against the pass. And DelRicco's pass coverage is a liability.
But his 130 tackles are the most for a Hokie since Scott Hill had 177 in 1987, tying Rick Razzano's school record. As a sophomore he tied for the Big East lead with 11 tackles for loss and was fifth in total tackles with 101.
``He's not a real flashy player,'' Tech linebacker coach Bud Foster said. ``He's just a hard-nosed, work-ethic type player.''
What has made DelRicco's work the last two years at middle linebacker impressive is he plays hurt every outing. Barring an injury in practice this week, the Gator Bowl will be the first game he has played healthy in two seasons.
DelRicco played his entire sophomore season with a broken wrist, and in the second game he suffered a separated shoulder injury that hampered him all season and caused him to miss two starts. Postseason surgery was done on his shoulder and his wrist.
DelRicco missed spring practice, but came back this fall to start the season in a familiar state - dazed and injured.
He suffered a broken thumb before the season began that was repaired with the insertion of a pin and required a cast to protect it. Then DelRicco got his bell rung in the season opener with Arkansas State, suffered from blurry vision and doesn't remember much of the game. After that he also has sprained a knee and both ankles and been hampered by a nagging neck injury.
``Let's see,'' DelRicco said pensively. ``That's been it, thank God.''
Tech trainer Eddie Ferrell said DelRicco is never healthy, but he's as comfortable right now as he has been in years.
``Sometimes he aches from head to toe,'' Ferrell said.
DelRicco became acclimated to pain at a young age. When he was 5, he accidentally slammed his bike into a parked car on Mother's Day. A stranger delivered him to his door, bloody-faced and with two teeth knocked back into his gums.
Upon reporting to Tech his first day as a college freshman, DelRicco said he tore two ligaments in his ankle playing pickup basketball. He redshirted that season.
``A crazy Italian,'' teammate J.C. Price said in describing DelRicco. ``George is out there. Sometimes he's in his own little world.''
Despite his injuries, DelRicco has not missed a game in three seasons. Last season he only played on special teams against Temple because of the shoulder problem, which often prevented him from lifting his arm after games.
DelRicco sometimes watches films during the offseason and ponders how he played with certain injuries.
``It will take a lot to get him out of the ballgame,'' Foster said. ``He's got a tremendous pain threshold to be able to play through some things other people couldn't.
``I'd like to see him in a game healthy.''
Providing DelRicco holds up in practice and Tech can keep him off bikes and basketball courts, Foster will get that chance Friday night. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
FILE
The Gator Bowl will be the first game linebacker George DelRicco has
played unhurt for Virginia Tech in two seasons.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
George DelRicco had 130 tackles. BC's Steven Boyd had 130 and made
all-Big East, unlike DelRicco.
by CNB