THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602110266
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jim Ducibella
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Those who don't believe college football in Virginia has never been better should have seen the lobby of the Crown Plaza Hotel Saturday morning at the NFL Scouting Combine.
At one point, there were maybe 12 player agents and media members gathered. Three of the agents had significant ties to the commonwealth.
There was Rick Clark of First Round Personnel Consultants. He's a Pulaski native headquartered in Charlotte and representing an ever-growing stable of Virginia Tech athletes.
This year's class includes wideout and Sugar Bowl MVP Bryan Still and running back Dwayne Thomas, both of whom are ``combining'' this weekend. Last year, Clark signed Hokie quarterback Maurice DeShazo and Ken Brown.
Clark, whose son just signed a scholarship to play football with North Carolina State, said the combine was tailor-made for players like Still.
``He's one of those kids with the ability to really enhance his value here,'' Clark said. ``He has shown wide receiver ability. He has shown punt and kickoff return ability. A lot of teams are interested and a lot more will be should he do what I think he can and post one of the top 40 (-yard dash) times.''
Then there's Ivan Schwartz, a former Richmond TV sports anchor who joined Joe Sroba's Sports Development Limited 16 months ago. Schwartz hopes to add Norfolk State receiver James Roe to a client list already headlined by ex-U.Va. stars Terry Kirby (Miami) and Ray Roberts (Seattle).
He says when it comes to signing football players, Sroba's 10-peson staff hopes never to leave the state.
``We think we've got a great crop of athletes in our own stomping grounds,'' Schwartz said. ``Being that we're close to home, we can service the needs of our clients much better than from far away.''
And there was Deryle Daniels, Sr., vice-president for Bob Woolf Associates out of Chapel Hill, N.C. Daniels represents former Cavalier fullback Charles Way (Giants) and ex-Wahoo receiver Tyrone Davis (Jets). Senior guard Chris Harrison and tight end Bobby Neely are expecting to join them.
``For a long time, the top states in the country in high school football were Florida, Texas, with Virginia right there,'' Daniels said. ``Bill Dooley, when he was with North Carolina, used to raid Virginia for a lot of his talent. Colleges from across the country recruit Virginia hard - and it's just getting better and better.'' by CNB