THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 23, 1996 TAG: 9604230463
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
As the TV guys kept squawking, Aaron Sparrow went walking.
The final selections of the NFL draft were unfolding on television Sunday afternoon when Sparrow excused himself from a family gathering at his aunt's home in Emporia, he says.
``I needed the fresh air,'' Sparrow says. ``I wanted to be by myself.''
Everyone was there to hear the Norfolk State quarterback's name called. To let out whoops of celebration when the Dallas Cowboys or somebody else claimed the rights to the quiet, strong-armed kid from Portsmouth who has set the standard for future Spartans quarterbacks.
Sparrow had told the Dallas scout he'd be at his aunt's place Sunday. The guy requested the phone number. So did officials from the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Entering the seventh and final round, however, Sparrow was still, as they say, on the board. That's when he left for the woods. When he returned, the name of the last pick was about to be announced.
It wasn't his.
Now, Sparrow's not one to boast. So you tend to sit up when he looks you in the eye and says, still somewhat in disbelief a day later, ``After that combine workout, I knew I was going to get drafted. I don't put any other guy's talent down, but I thought I was the best quarterback there.''
And by all accounts, Sparrow was impressive at that February NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. He had shown the strongest arm, a radar gun determined that much for sure.
But all the immeasurable heart, instincts and presence that Sparrow gave the Spartans the last four years could not prompt any scouting director, a conservative being by nature, to overlook Sparrow's supposed deficiencies.
One, says Spartan coach Darnell Moore, Sparrow is a Division II quarterback, and Division II's competitive level will always be questioned. Two, Sparrow, at 6-foot-1, is considered a short Division II quarterback. And three, Sparrow is a short black Division II quarterback.
``And as much as you don't want to believe that's a factor, you know it is, given the racial problems that still exist in this country,'' Moore says.
Anyway, could be it's for the best, Moore says. Getting drafted in the fifth round or beyond and getting stuck, perhaps, as somebody's fifth quarterback in training camp is ``asking to be cut,'' Moore says.
This way, Sparrow and his agent, Ben Wilson out of Washington, D.C. are free to forge a deal with any of the NFL's 30 teams. Preferably one with a true need for quarterback depth that might be willing to carry Sparrow as a developmental player.
This needs to happen quickly, though, because minicamps start later this week. But Moore and Sparrow, who began winning games together nine years ago when Sparrow was a freshman star for Moore at Wilson High School, are confident that Sparrow's hip-pager will finally buzz, if it hasn't already.
Then there is always the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders, who Moore says own Sparrow's rights.
``If he gets the opportunity, he'll make it in the NFL,'' Moore says, ``and I'm willing to say he'll start for somebody in three years.''
Sparrow exudes that self-belief, but he admits the weekend jilting rattled him and allowed doubt to dent his mental armor.
``To be honest, that passed through my mind,'' Sparrow says, smiling. ``I thought, am I good or average or what?
``I asked my mom, `Did I play football? Did I go to the combine?' That's life. You're going to have things that you want to have happen and they won't. God gave me the talent to do certain things; my arm strength is a God-given talent. He didn't do all that for me to give up now.''
So any time soon, don't even think that Sparrow will need that degree he's nearly attained in social work. Somebody's going to toss his man a free-agent bone, Moore says. And when they do, Sparrow won't be the only fortunate one.
In this life, ``It's great to be wanted,'' Moore says. ``But it's even greater to be in the right place at the right time.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Former Norfolk State quarterback Aaron Sparrow is free to forge a
deal with any of the NFL's 30 teams.
by CNB