The question, in this case, came from his father, who thought it would be fun to put his son on the spot in a national forum. But the comparison is one Rhino has faced for as long as he has been playing football.

His father, Randy Rhino, returned punts and played defensive back for the Yellow Jackets from 1972-74. He is the program's only three-time, first-team All-American. Chappell Rhino, Kelley's grandfather and Randy's dad, also was an outstanding return man for Georgia Tech from 1950-52.

"I've been measured against them forever, especially since I got here," said Rhino, a 5-foot-7, 179-pound senior whose diminutive stature scared off most Division I programs. "Some people said the only reason Georgia Tech took me was because of my dad and granddad. But [my family] never said anything about it. They've never put any pressure on me at all."

At any rate, Rhino is measuring up quite nicely to his predecessors and is adding to his family's legacy at Georgia Tech.

Last year, he set the school and ACC record for single-season punt return yards with 515. His father held the previous Yellow Jacket mark of 441.

Earlier this season Kelley broke another of his father's records, this one for career punt return yards. That has left Randy Rhino with just one remaining record, for longest punt return - a 96-yarder for a touchdown against South Carolina in 1972. That one is probably safe, as Kelley mentioned in response to his dad's question during the chat.

"First of all, the record you broke for the longest punt return in Tech history shouldn't even be in there because you shouldn't have caught the ball inside the 10-yard line," Kelley wrote.

"Secondly, mom thinks Randy Jr. and I are better at everything than you are. There's no question in my mind that she would say me."

One thing Kelley has not done is return a punt for a touchdown. But he has been extremely consistent in catching the ball and picking up yards.

He averaged 10.7 yards on 48 returns last year and has averaged 10.8 yards on 22 returns this season.

He doesn't have the speed of other ACC return men like Wake Forest's Fabian Davis and Clemson's Derrick Hamilton. But Virginia coach Al Groh said Rhino has one trait that makes him special in that role: "Guts."

Rhino never calls for a fair catch unless his coaches make him. He says his goal is to elude the first tackler and then head north. That strategy has allowed him to have at least one return of 10 yards or more in 22 of 27 games.

Rhino, the 2001 All-ACC return specialist, presents a challenge for the Cavaliers (6-2, 4-1 ACC) in their matchup with the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 1-3) on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Virginia allowed five punt returns of at least 10 yards in its second game against Florida State. But during its current six-game winning streak, only one of Tom Hagan's 26 punts has been brought back more than nine yards.

Some of those punts have been unreturnable - shanks out of bounds or short kicks that roll dead. But much of the credit has to go to UVa's punt coverage unit, which has converged on returners and not allowed them to escape.

"It's been great. Everyone's flying down there, trying to make a play, make a tackle," said Alex Seals, one of several players added to the punt coverage team after the third game against South Carolina.

Virginia's cover men have watched film of Rhino. "He's supposed to be a really tough kid," Seals said. "He's the kind of guy if you let him, he can hurt you."

Just like his father and grandfather.

"It can be pretty nerve-wracking out there, you know?" Rhino said. "As a punt returner, you're in the spotlight. The balls coming at you, guys are coming at you, you have to judge the wind. But it's exciting for me. I love it. I guess maybe it's in the genes."

Top targets Jermaine Dias (New Jersey linebacker), Chris Ellis (Virginia defensive end from Bethel High School), Vince Redd (Tennessee defensive end) and Chris Johnson (Virginia defensive tackle from Charlottesville High School) among others were in attendance.

Dias, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker from Hackensack High School, stayed overnight at Virginia was impressed as the Cavs defeated another of his finalists, UNC, with a spirited second-half comeback and fine defensive effort.

Meanwhile, the 6-2 UVa start has the Cavaliers just outside of the top 25 and close to locking up a guaranteed bowl trip, something that few recruits expected in Al Groh's second season.

Speaking of Johnson, the big tackle prospect is still deciding between a commitment to Virginia or taking an official visit to Maryland. The Terps are the only other team to offer the 6-foot-6, 275-pounder, although North Carolina and Virginia Tech have been showing interest as well. Johnson, who plays in the shadow of UVa at Charlottesville, is considered a huge lean to the Cavs.

His father attended UVa and his mother loves the academics and proximity to home. Johnson could be the next commitment to Virginia or this could drag out until December. Either way, I have to assume he'll be in a UVa uniform next season.

Ellis has scheduled his official visit with Tennessee for Nov. 30 and will visit Virginia Tech on Dec. 13 and UVa on Jan. 17. He hopes to take a trip to Maryland as well on Jan. 10 although that hasn't been scheduled yet.

The good news is that Virginia will seemingly get the final visit from Ellis. The bad news is that Virginia Tech still leads, although UVa is closing the gap with its recruiting efforts. Ellis, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound rush end, said that the Cavaliers are recruiting him harder than anyone else and he's starting to see how he could fit into the 3-4 defense that Virginia employs.

N.C. State is still in the mix, but Ellis said he thinks that UVa will get his final trip if he hasn't committed already. He's coming back to Charlottesville for an unofficial visit when the Cavs take on Maryland. However, the Virginia coaching staff might want to get Ellis on campus for an official visit sooner than Jan. 17 because he might not be on the open market after his trip to Tech.

Redd, who at 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds is also a talented power forward prospect in basketball as well as a standout football player, made the trip from Elizabethton, Tenn., where he is a star defensive end. He currently favors Tennessee and has shown a great deal of interest in Virginia Tech as well, but Virginia is now clearly in the picture.

The official visit from Pompano Beach (Fla.) Ely running back Tyrone Moss was bigger news in Blacksburg than the Hokies' game against Rutgers. Moss was greeted by a local television station as he got off the plane in Blacksburg, was recognized everywhere he went Friday night and heard his name called more than those of Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones while on the field before the game.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound superstar broke Emmit Smith's long-standing Florida high school record of 28 consecutive 100-yard rushing games the day before his trip to Virginia Tech and the Hokies would love to make him the next "Untouchable" and team him up with Jones next season.

However, stiff competition comes from Miami and there are a few factors working against the Hokies in this battle. Miami is obviously closer to home for Moss and his buddy and teammate, 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive guard Andrew Bain, is a silent commitment to the Canes and has been since June. Moss had a great time in Blacksburg and the Hokies moved into a virtual tie with the Hurricanes in the race for his services.

While he says that the Virginia Tech-Miami game on Dec. 7 could be the deciding factor in his decision, inside word says that if Miami running back Willis McGahee declares for the NFL Draft as rumored, that Miami becomes his clear choice. However, if McGahee decides to stay and with budding star Frank Gore still having three years of eligibility left, Virginia Tech would be his best option.

Everyone expects Jones to declare for the NFL Draft following his junior season if he continues to develop as he's done in his first 1½ years and that would leave Moss as the main man in Hokie-land. McGahee has to make his intentions clear to the NFL by mid-January so a decision from Moss could come shortly thereafter.

The weekend of Jan. 17 is quickly turning into a big visit weekend for the Cavaliers. Four of their top New Jersey targets, defensive tackle Nate Robinson (6-foot-4, 319 pounds out of Irvington High School), wide receiver James Townsend (6-foot-1, 180 pounds and an ex-teammate of UVa freshman running back Wali Lundy's at Holy Cross High School) and defensive back/running back Cory Boyd (6-foot-1, 186 pounds out of Orange High School), will be on campus as well as Dias, Ellis and hopefully defensive back Phillip Brown (5-foot-11, 175-pounder who is my No. 1 player in Virginia) from Phoebus.

More Jersey recruits will likely make the trip as well, but there's always a risk in getting the last official visit for players. After all, not all of them take all of their officials before they decide and guys like Ellis and Robinson could be long gone before Jan. 17.

Mike Farrell is the East Coast recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and provides daily updates on Virginia (http://virginia.rivals.com) and Virginia Tech (http://virginiatech.rivals.com) football recruiting.

The Cavaliers are going to be facing one of the most desperate teams in the country Saturday when they take on Georgia Tech. Coach Chan Gailey's Yellow Jackets are badly in need of a win because after playing Virginia, they meet N.C. State and Florida State.

That's not exactly what a team that stands 4-3 is excited about, but Gailey isn't treating this as a "must" win game.

"If you panic, you lose," said Gailey, former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. "To me, that's the worst thing in the world you can do. You've got to stay the course, do what you know is right and keep fighting."

Gailey doesn't have as many weapons to fight with these days. The Jackets lost the nation's leading rusher, Tony Hollings, a few weeks ago. Then they lost star defensive end Greg Gathers to injury.

Now, linebacker Keyaron Fox, who leads the team in solo tackles and tackles for loss, will not play against Virginia due to a high ankle sprain in last Thursday's lopsided loss at Maryland. Freshman tailback Ace Ezimefe is questionable with a sprained ankle and so is cornerback Marvious Hester, who has a hamstring.

Walk-on P.J. Daniels and fifth-year senior Gordon Clinkscale will play if Ezimefe can't go, which makes Tech awfully thin at tailback. If Hester can't answer the bell, then redshirt freshman Reuben Houston would start, while kick returner Kelley Rhine would be added to Tech's nickel package.

The Jackets have been producing yards but not points. They piled up a season-high 485 yards against Maryland but couldn't get the job done in the Red Zone, where they had gone 16 for 16. Tech went 2 for 4 inside the 20 against Maryland.

Meanwhile, the inconsistency by place-kicker Luke Manget, who is now 1 for 5 from beyond 40 yards, is making Gailey think more about fourth-down situations.

Speaking of stress

North Carolina coach John Bunting didn't go back to his office in Chapel Hill and review game film of his Tar Heels' second-half collapse at Virginia last Saturday night.

Instead, Bunting got in the car with his wife and took a drive to Pittsboro, south of Chapel Hill. They took their two dogs with them and listened to Willie Nelson on the car stereo. Bunting said he particularly enjoyed Willie's rendition of "Stardust Memories." ...

And what's it like at Duke these days? The Blue Devils have now lost 21 straight ACC games, tying the conference record held by Duke from the 1995 season through the '98 campaign.

One more biscuit

A lot of people scoffed when they heard that Duke kicker Brent Garber tried to kick a 65-yard field goal at the end of the game as the Devils lost a 24-22 decision to N.C. State.

Garber was full of confidence when he was called upon to try for the game-winner after Duke tried a trick play and two other passes that all fell incomplete on its last drive. You see, Garber had made a 71-yard field goal in practice with no rush coming at him and hit a 56-yard kick in the rain against ECU in the opener.

After that one, he had said, "I think that one might have been good from 66."

Bargain prices. Getting Notre Dame to come to Tallahassee for the first time ever didn't cost as much as FSU officials originally thought.

FSU has to shell out a $300,000 guarantee to Notre Dame, which is about $150,000 less than what Florida and FSU exchange. It is also $250,000 less that what Florida State will pay Colorado to come to Tallahassee next season.

Meanwhile, Bobby Bowden is having a hard time wondering how his team is favored by so much over the undefeated Irish. The oddsmakers opened up the week by making FSU a 12-point favorite but by the end of the day Monday, the line was down to 10 points.

"I can't believe we are favored like we are this week," said Bowden. "I really can't. I watched the first half of the Notre Dame and Air Force game. They looked solid as heck. They are as good as their record.

"I didn't realize they has as many seniors as they got. They have seven on defense, eight on offense. The whole offensive line is seniors. The whole defensive line is seniors. They play like it. They come in here with an unblurred record."

Uh, Bobby, don't you mean unblemished?

Short yardage ... Virginia has the second-toughest remaining schedule in the country as the Wahoos' five remaining opponents are a collective 29-7 (.806). ... Minnesota has the toughest remaining schedule. ... Florida State has rushed 101 times, while attempting only 40 passes in the last two games. ... Disciplined Wake Forest had a meltdown last week as the Deacs turned over the ball on five of their final six possessions and were penalized 14 times for 125 yards. ... Cavaliers' QB Matt Schaub has thrown TD passes in eight straight games. ... Chuck Amato is 23-9 in his third season as N.C. State's coach. ... Twenty-two of Wake's 24 TDs this season have come on the ground. ... The home team has won the last seven games in the UVa vs. Georgia Tech series. ... Duke is allowing only 83 yards rushing per game. ... Georgia Tech has outscored its opponents 103 to 56 in the first quarter this year. ... Former Albemarle High kicker Nick Novak has made 12 of 15 field-goal attempts this season for Maryland.

The picks. Last week: 3-1. This week: N.C. State 34, Clemson 24; Wake Forest 28, UNC 24; Florida State 27, Notre Dame 21; Maryland 42, Duke 17; Virginia 33, Georgia Tech 27.