Friday, September 28, 2007
UVa surprisingly well-represented in Sports Illustrated's top 500
Ronde Barber rated highest among Tech, UVa products
Doug Doughty
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Some time back, I made a mental note to check out a list of the top 500 players in the NFL compiled by Peter King of Sports Illustrated, figuring that it was obtainable only on the si.com website.
While fumbling through the dozens of media guides, old People magazines, unpaid bills and other reading materials that have turned the Doughty home into a major fire hazard, I stumbled across a Sports Illustrated pullout that had the entire list.
When I started to make a list of the list of the Virginia and Virginia Tech alumni on the list, I would have guessed that the numbers would have been fairly even, although Tech clearly has had the better teams over the past decade.
Can’t say I would have predicted this:
There were only three former Tech players on the list, one of whom, No. 214 Michael Vick, is sitting out the 2007 season while awaiting disposition of federal and state dog-fighting charges.
King’s comment accompanying Vick’s rating was, “Next stop: Mark Cuban’s League.”
The next-highest rated Hokie on the list was No. 133 DeAngelo Hall, Vick’s teammate (former teammate ?) with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons say that Hall has been punished for a meltdown Sunday in a 27-20 loss to the Carolina Panthers, when he had three penalties worth 67 yards on one series, but they haven’t said what the punishment is.
At No. 394 was oft-injured Detroit Lions running back Kevin Jones, whose return to action last week came none too soon for my Fantasy Football team. You could make a case that Jones has Top 100 potential if he ever could stay healthy.
Jones, a former first-round draft pick, didn’t turn 25 till August but has started 39 games in a four-year NFL career. Jones led the Lions in rushing in each of his first three seasons, was named an alternate to the 2005 Pro Bowl squad and had 61 receptions last year.
I don’t know if I would have expected there to be more than three Hokies on the list. I wasn’t thinking in those terms.
WHAT SURPRISED ME most was that there were 10 ex-Virginia players on the list: No. 95 Ronde Barber, No. 161 Matt Schaub, No. 162 Patrick Kerney, No. 213 Thomas Jones, No. 219 Heath Miller, No. 348 James Farrior, No. 352 Ahmad Brooks, No. 355 D’Brickashaw Ferguson, No. 464 Angelo Crowell and No. 484 Chris Canty.
Ex-coach George Welsh and his staff should take pride in that list. They recruited eight of those players.
Honestly, some of those players haven’t done much in the NFL (Ahmad Brooks comes to mind), so maybe it’s appropriate to cite King’s criteria.
“Importance of the position (I had quarterback, left tackle, pass rusher and cornerback at the top, but with room for the explosive player), talent level and age – with a nod to young players on the cusp of a breakout season,” King wrote.
THE ACC SPORTS JOURNAL published a list of all the NFL players from the ACC schools. Virginia had 20 and the Hokies had 18, not counting Vick. I was curious, in Tech’s case, if there were any notable omissions.
Jimmy Williams was a second-round NFL pick by the Falcons two years ago and started the final four games of the 2006 season at safety but currently is playing behind Marshall graduate Chris Cocker. Cocker played at Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, also the alma mater of DeAngelo Hall.
State players on King’s Top 500 who didn’t play at Tech or UVa were No. 87, Minnesota Vikings defensive back Darren Sharper; No. 242, New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress; No. 292, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Ronald Curry; and No. 386, Dallas Cowboys’ running back Julius Jones.
Sharper and Jones, coincidentally, had older brothers who played at UVa. The Cavaliers did not recruit Darren Sharper, who played at William and Mary, but were among the disappointed finalists for Julius Jones (Notre Dame). Curry committed to UVa before signing with North Carolina, and Burress went to Michigan State.
One of the conclusions that can be drawn is that Tech and UVa have done a good job of keeping the top prospects in the state, although five of the Cavaliers’ 10 players in King’s Top 500 are from out of state. Other conclusions would only perpetuate the old stereotypes that Tech overachieves and Virginia underachieves.
The other stereotype is that Tech players from the 757 area code – Vick, Hall and Williams – are too undisciplined to have a sustained impact at the next level. That does a disservice to Tech products like Darryl Tapp, who starts at the end spot opposite ex-Cavalier Kerney on Seattle’s defensive line.
Tapp also played at Deep Creek.
Make of it what you want. Virginia coach Al Groh, who doesn’t talk about the NFL as much as he once did, might reintroduce it to his recruiting spiel. To Tech coach Frank Beamer, it might reinforce his belief in a blue-collar, lunch-pail approach.
Most of all, it’s one man’s opinion, an educated opinion to be sure, but it’s not worth jumping to conclusions.
