Friday, July 30, 2010
Richmond O-lineman could be next domino to fall
But first, a review of Shenandoah Valley cuisine
Doug Doughty
Doug Doughty's College Notebook Plus is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Fridays.
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Instead, I took the lazy way out and asked if any of the Notebook Plus readers could help me.
It wasn’t 24 hours before I heard back from Tim Lewis, a resident of the Augusta County town of Mount Sidney. He said he believed that Curry’s announcement had come at Brooks Restaurant in Verona.
Just to be sure, I called Curry.
“I can’t remember where I did it,” said Curry, still the all-time leading scorer in Tech men’s basketball history.
Was it possible, I asked him, if the ceremony took place at a restaurant called Brooks’.
“Yeah, that was it,” Curry said.
I had done a Google search for a list of restaurants near Verona but there was no mention of a place called Brooks’.
That’s because it no longer exists. We have a new editorial assistant at The Roanoke Times, Michelle Skeen, who is a Fort Defiance High School and Virginia Tech graduate. Curry also went to Fort Defiance, as do Tim Lewis’ twin sons.
Skeen’s account, confirmed by Lewis, is that Brooks’ Restaurant changed hands and was known for a while as Kathy’s. Then it became a Mexican restaurant, the Don Juan, according to Lewis. Now it’s called Jalisco, but still specializes in Mexican fare.
Check out this link to a photo of the place. The steer on the roof is a nice touch.
The next time I’m on I-81, I may have to investigate. If I miss the Verona exit, there are other Jalisco locations in Front Royal, New Market and Harrisonburg.
MY WIFE WOULD be the first to say that people don’t care where I’ve eaten or where I plan to eat and advised me last week that I need to find meaning in life from something other than food.
Having devoted most of last week’s column to Virginia’s successful recruiting of basketball prospect Paul Jesperson, I’d rather not dwell on the Cavaliers this week, but an interesting UVa-related issue presented itself at the ACC Football Kickoff.
“How can Virginia expect to recruit any offensive lineman if their O-line coach is a GA?” I was asked by a coach from one of the Cavaliers’ rivals.
I didn’t even have to ask that question before new UVa head coach Mike London raised it himself.
The Cavaliers’ offensive line coach, Ron Mattes, is a former All-ACC defensive lineman who spent seven seasons as an NFL offensive lineman with Seattle and Chicago. He later coached the offensive linemen at James Madison but has operated a NASCAR apparel business in recent years.
“The people we recruit against always try to use that as, ‘Hey, he’s just a grad assistant,’ “ London said at the ACC Football Kickoff. “The fact is, the guy’s knowledge is as good as any offensive line coach that’s out there because the guy played the position in the NFL.
“Absent of having coached a lot of years in college, his experience as having played the position has been a very positive attraction to the players who are coming and the players we have right now. The term ‘GA’ in no way references the skill level that the coach has.
“It’s just the reality of college football nowadays that you take the [nine full-time] positions that you’re allocated by the NCAA and use those positions to best fit your coaching staff. As it worked out, Ron was able to come as a GA.
“Let’s just say, it’s been used by certain teams. But [prospects] look at it and they come and visit us and they talk football with him, then that part has quickly dried up as far as being a non-issue.”
As to whether he has second-guessed himself about the designation, London replied, “Absolutely not.”
Virginia has taken offensive-line commitments to date from 6-foot-5, 299-pound Ross Burbank from Virginia Beach; 6-8, 285-pound Kelby Johnson from DeMatha in Hyattsville, Md., and 6-7, 290-pound Tim Cwalina from Mount Lebanon, Pa.
The Cavaliers had pushed for a commitment from 6-9, 255-pound Sam Marshall from Chancellor High School in Fredericksburg but Marshall picked Duke.
IT APPEARS THAT UVA IS HOLDING open one spot for an offensive lineman, with Virginians Jay Whitmire from T.C. Williams in Alexandria and Jake Goins from Manchester in Richmond looking as the most likely candidates.
Virginia Tech has been seen as the leader from the start with Goins, particularly now that he has been upgraded to August 2011 enrollment after a brief period as a greyshirt candidate, which would have had him enrolling in January 2012.
The Hokies have eight commitments to date, none from an offensive lineman, and may have felt they could upgrade the offer to Goins (6-5, 275) after Indianapolis offensive lineman Kiaro Holts picked UNC over the Hokies.
Manchester coach Tom Hall said this afternoon that the Hokies “probably are the front-runner” and that he sees Goins making a decision by the end of the weekend.
Hall said that Goins is in Charlottesville today after a mid-week stop in Blacksburg, where he visited Tech for the fourth or fifth time.
“He’s just a kid who’s got so much upside,” Hall said. “I think he’s probably going to be able to carry 320 or 325 [pounds]. He’s still growing. He’s only 17. He’s a kid who can play guard or tackle. Being as big as he is, he can run, he’s super aggressive and he’s a worker.
“Wherever he goes, I think he’s going to be an outstanding college lineman.”
THE LAST MANCHESTER lineman to go Division I-A was Khalil Latif, who signed with the Hokies in February 2007 but was gone two years later. Hall said Latif has transferred to Division I-AA Liberty, where he will have two seasons of eligibility.
Latif will be one of three ex-Hokies at Liberty, along with senior defensive end Darryl Robertson and junior wide receiver Ervin Garner.
Other Liberty newcomers include defensive Brent Vinson, who was rated the No. 11 prospect in Virginia in 2007, when he signed at Tennessee out of Phoebus High School in Hampton. He subsequently spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy and a year at Tennessee before he was dismissed from the team.
One-time Virginia recruit J’Courtney Williams, expected to join the Flames this season, is not listed on Liberty’s preseason 2010 roster.
MARSHALL PICKED UP and oral commitment from Blake Frohnapfel, a 6-5, 210-pound quarterback from Colonial Forge High School in Stafford whose twin brother and chief receivinjg target, tight end Eric Frohnapfel, earlier had committed to West Virginia.
The Frohnapfels have West Virginia roots and their college choices leave them separated by just over 150 miles, but I’ve got to wonder if twins ever have been on the opposing ends of that rivalry.
An e-mail has been dispatched to Jack Bogaczyk, Mountaineer State bureau chief for Notebook Plus.
Speaking of which, 757 correspondent David “Ol’ “ Teel interrupted his wedding plans to report that UNC recruit Daquan Romero from Hampton Phoebus is not moving to New York, as was facetiously posted on Facebook.
Blake Frohnapfel is one of 24 in-state players known (by me) to have made commitments to Division I-A programs, including linebacker-fullback Cortez Carter from Liberty High School in Bealeton. Carter also committed to Marshall this week.
Oops, I now see where East Carolina has a commitment from defensive back Domonique Lennon (6-0, 189) from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. That makes 25.
JAMIE OAKES, WRITING for the cavscorner.com website that covers UVa football for rivals.com, wrote in his Friday War Room that one-time Cavaliers recruit Kyrrel Latimer is being recruited for immediate enrollment by Syracuse.
Latimer, a defensive back from DeMatha, committed to Virginia during the 2009 season but never signed. Although he was a qualifier academically, the Cavaliers wanted him to spend a year at Fork Union.
Oakes also wrote that New Orleans defensive back Matt Bailey, who had committed to the Al Groh, is no longer being recruited by the Cavaliers. Another Groh recruit, wide receiver Adrian Gamble from Charlotte, N.C., indicated to Oakes that he is considering January enrollment. That would free up another scholarship for 2010.
CAVE SPRING SAFETY Michael Cole will announce his decision Monday amid speculation that UVa is out of the running. Virginia Tech and Penn State are seen as the leaders for Cole, who is projected as an outside linebacker in college.
