THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070545
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Since Virginia Tech's Sugar Bowl victory, coach Frank Beamer has noticed a difference in the way he and the Hokies are perceived just about everywhere he goes.
Even at the mall, where Beamer said a routine shopping trip turned into an autograph session the other day.
Didn't used to happen?
``Nah,'' Beamer said. ``They used to be throwing paper at me.''
Since the Hokies' 10-2 season, everyone's been throwing plaudits at Tech and Beamer, such as the award he was given at Tuesday's Norfolk Sports Club Jamboree.
Beamer said the last five weeks have been hectic, but among the best he's had during his nine seasons in Blacksburg.
Recruiting has been fruitful - the signing period begins today and Tech expects to sign 28 players - and Beamer said the attention the program has received and opportunities he's had to speak can only help the program.
``You want to build off of it,'' Beamer said. ``That's the key for us . . . to be consistent with this thing.''
ESPN consistently dissed the Hokies much of last season. ESPN analyst and Jamboree master of ceremonies Lee Corso got some mileage out of the irony that he and Beamer shared the dais Tuesday.
``You don't know how much money it took to get me to come to Virginia,'' Corso said.
After all the flak the Hokies took from ESPN this year, Corso's comments after a luncheon Tuesday might come as a shock to Tech fans.
``After watching them beat Texas in the Sugar Bowl, I think Virginia Tech is the only football team I saw last year that was good enough to have a chance to beat Nebraska,'' Corso said.
``I really mean that. Their defense was good enough to compete against Nebraska, and they could have taken them into the fourth quarter, and then who knows?''
Beamer said while recruiting he visited a high school coach in Milford, Conn., who had entertained Nebraska coach Tom Osborne the day before.
``The coach there at Milford said, `You know, Tom Osborne really paid you a supreme compliment last night; he said if there was one team they didn't want to play at the end of the season, it was Virginia Tech,' '' Beamer said.
``I said to him, `Well, let's make it unanimous, because we didn't want to play them, either.' '' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
After the Hokies' 10-2 season, coach Frank Beamer says life has been
good - if a bit hectic.
by CNB