Brooks leaning toward staying at U.Va.?
Linebacker's father says star planning to return, but that could change
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Dec 21, 2004

NFL or college? Like several of his teammates at the University of Virginia, inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks has a decision to make. Nothing is definite, but U.Va. coaches and fans have cause for optimism, according to Brooks' father.

"Right now, Ahmad Brooks is planning to come back to school at the University of Virginia," Perry Brooks said Sunday night by phone from his home in Woodbridge.

"Anything could change," the elder Brooks acknowledged, "but there are so many things Ahmad can work on and get better on."

U.Va. (8-3) plays Fresno State (8-3) on Monday in the MPC Computers Bowl at Boise, Idaho. Once the season ends, Perry Brooks said, family members will discuss Ahmad's options with each other and with Cavaliers coach Al Groh, who has strong ties to the NFL.

"It's going to be a whole combined thing with everybody trying to pitch in and make the right decision for Ahmad," said Perry Brooks, a former Washington Redskins defensive lineman who played for seven years in the NFL.

"By no means do we want him to go up [to the NFL] for two years and get cut," the elder Brooks said. "I hope that none of these kids at U.Va. or around the country do that. If you're not ready, don't go. That's the worst thing that could happen to any of them."

After all the input is considered, though, the "final decision is going to be Ahmad's," his father said.

A 6-4, 255-pound sophomore, Ahmad Brooks graduated from Hylton High in 2002, so he's eligible to enter the upcoming NFL draft. Brooks enrolled at U.Va. in January 2003 after spending a semester at Hargrave Military Academy.

An extraordinary athlete who's one of the 18th-ranked Cavaliers' fastest players, Brooks leads the team in tackles and was one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's top linebacker. He was named to the all-ACC first team and to The Associated Press' All-America second team.

"Right now Ahmad is enjoying himself at U.Va. and trying to become a complete football player," Perry Brooks said. "As talented as he is, there are still things he needs to work on. Whenever Ahmad decides to go [to the NFL], we want him to go someplace he can make an immediate impact. We don't want him sitting on the bench for three years."

About a dozen U.Va. players met with reporters Saturday night at University Hall. Brooks wasn't among them, but Groh, earlier that day, spoke in general terms about underclassmen who could leave for the NFL.

Brooks, 20, almost certainly would be a first-round pick next spring. But whether Brooks or Darryl Blackstock or any of the Cavaliers' other talented underclassmen would be ready to contribute in the NFL next season, Groh believes, should be the most important issue.

Groh spent 13 seasons on NFL coaching staffs - one as the head man - and remembers meetings at which rookies were discussed.

"Usually," Groh recalled, "the position coach will say one of two things: 'Coach, this guy's got a lot of talent, I really like him, he's going to be a good player, he's not ready to help us now.' Or, 'Coach, this guy's really coming on fast, he gets it, I think this guy can help us win this year.'

"Rookies usually fall into one of [those] two categories, and to some degree I think if they know the road map they have a better chance of falling into the latter category."

Also, Groh said, a player must be mature enough to "handle the whole [NFL] lifestyle. Sometimes the player's unreadiness to handle the 24-hour-a-day lifestyle holds the player back as much as on-the-field issues. I know. I've seen those circumstances."

Perry Brooks said his son and Groh "have a very, very good relationship." The elder Brooks and his wife Vergie trust Groh's judgment, too.

"We respect his ideas and what he says," Perry Brooks said. "He knows if a kid is ready."

 

Harris' choice seems scripted
Virginia's top prospect picks the Hokies after a perfectly timed visit from Frank Beamer.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

There's no telling what will happen if Hollywood ever gets hold of the Victor "Macho" Harris story.

Less than a week after suffering third-degree burns in a fire that coincided with a visit from Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, Harris committed to the Hokies on Monday.

Harris, a 6-foot, 180-pound running back and defensive back from Highland Springs High School, is rated the No.1 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times and various other services.

"It's almost like somebody scripted this thing," Highland Springs coach Scott Burton said. "Coach Beamer, who is a burn victim himself, arrived with Coach [Jim] Cavanaugh probably within 60 seconds of Macho carrying a burning skillet out of the house."

Harris subsequently returned to his home to make sure the fire had been put out and that all relatives were safe.

"The home visit and fire had nothing to do with his decision," Burton said, "and he's very cognizant of making people aware of that. That may have put him over the top. He just told me for the first time today that it solidified his decision and allowed him to connect with Coach Beamer on another level."

Harris' finalists were Tech, Southern Cal, Michigan, Miami and Virginia. After earlier taking visits to Southern Cal, Michigan and Virginia, he was scheduled to go to Blacksburg this past weekend before the fire interfered. He will undergo skin grafts today.

Harris led the Richmond area in rushing and scoring this past season, finishing with 2,346 yards and 34 touchdowns, but he is expected to begin his Tech career at cornerback.

"They're also talking about using me on punt returns and kickoff returns and a little bit on offense," Harris said.

That kind of set-up may remind Tech fans of another Hokies cornerback, DeAngelo Hall, a first-round draft pick last year by the Atlanta Falcons.

Harris will be fine with those comparisons, "as long as people remember that he's DeAngelo Hall and I'm Victor Harris," he said.

It may be difficult to confuse the two because almost everybody knows Harris as "Macho," who was so rambunctious that he was given the nickname when he was 1.

"My dad named me 'Macho' because that was a popular song back then," said Harris, who has been made aware that "Macho Man" was performed by the Village People.

Harris, the 17th player to commit to Tech this season, joins a Highland Springs contingent that included Jim Davis, Noland Burchette and Maurice Revey on this year's team.

"A lot of people were saying I was going to Virginia Tech because there was like a pipeline from Highland Springs to Virginia Tech," Harris said. "I didn't like that. It was kind of pushing me away.

"There were a lot of rumors about Coach Burton pushing his players to Virginia Tech when that's not true. Coach Burton gives a player a chance to think on his own, and I just followed my heart. This was my decision."

Cavs tackle speculation about draft
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published December 21, 2004

With continued recruiting success comes a flip side, as Virginia is discovering. Though the Cavaliers have a bowl game to play, talk has centered around who may not be returning next year.

Virginia has four underclassmen - linebackers Darryl Blackstock and Ahmad Brooks, tight end Heath Miller and offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson - who probably would be early-round picks in the 2005 NFL draft. Ferguson said last week he plans to return for his senior season, but he's the only one who has said anything definitively.

Miller reiterated what he has said all season: that he hasn't really thought about it. Brooks declined to attend the team's media day last week in Charlottesville. And Blackstock, whose market value rose at least slightly with a solid November, is playing it somewhat coy.

Blackstock hasn't closed the door on applying early for the draft, nor has he said that he will return for his senior season. But he did offer what could be a hint. After wearing number 56 in his first 38 games for the Cavaliers, he is switching to No. 1 for the MPC Computers Bowl next Monday at 2 p.m. against Fresno State in Boise, Idaho. And, he added, "I don't plan on wearing it for one game."

Blackstock's number switch has been a long time coming. When he came to Virginia in August 2002, he asked for 11 - the number he wore for Heritage High. But Cavaliers coach Al Groh nixed that request, telling him that 11 was not a linebacker number. He assigned Blackstock No. 56, which not by coincidence is what Lawrence Taylor once wore.

"Believe me, it felt good to be compared to somebody that great," Blackstock said. "But at the same time, you know, I'm still Darryl at the end of the day and I wanted to leave my own mark."

Also the subject of much speculation last week was defensive coordinator Al Golden, who the Boston Globe reported was joining Charlie Weis' staff at Notre Dame. But through the media relations office, Golden released a statement that called the report "baseless" and reaffirmed "my commitment to being the defensive coordinator" at U.Va.

OTTOWA UPDATE

Continuing the next-year theme, Groh said he expects to have wideout Ottowa Anderson back in 2005. Anderson, who caught 33 passes as a junior in 2003, is serving a one-year academic suspension.

"That's his intention," Groh said when asked if Anderson would be returning. "I get the sense that if he continues to do the things that were asked of him that he'll return to school, just as all students who go on a year's academic suspension are allowed to do."

ODDS AND ENDS

Freshman cornerback Philip Brown is back after not playing in the regular-season finale at Virginia Tech. Brown has been practicing and is expected to be on the team plane that departs for Boise today. ...

Blackstock's jersey switch led to a question: What about once-promising wideout Ron Morton? He is still wearing number 1, which is permitted as long as he and Blackstock aren't on the field at the same time. Nobody can remember the last time Morton was on the field. ...

A victory Monday would give the Cavs a bowl win in three consecutive years, which would be a first for the program.

Aching Vick may sit vs. Saints
By MATT WINKELJOHN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/21/04

Quarterback Michael Vick and tight end Alge Crumpler are nursing ailments and are not likely to play Sunday at New Orleans, the Journal-Constitution has learned.

Fullback Stanley Pritchett probably is out, too. Vick sprained his left — throwing — shoulder late in Atlanta's 34-31 overtime win Saturday night against Carolina.

Matt Schaub might be about to make his first NFL start.

"Mike's fine," Falcons coach Jim Mora said Monday. "His shoulder is sore, but nothing is structurally wrong."

Crumpler sprained his right knee in the game.

The Falcons (11-3) are locked into the NFC's No. 2 playoff spot.

So with a fair poker face — and rookie quarterback Matt Schaub staring at his first NFL start — Mora tried Monday to balance the best interests of his team with those of the NFL. You could almost hear the late Johnny Cash in the background, singing, "I walk the line."

On one corner of his desk, Mora has a long list of beat-up players.

It includes Vick, Crumpler, Pritchett (broken right thumb), running back T.J. Duckett (minor left knee surgery), wide receiver Dez White (sprained ankle), nose tackle Ed Jasper (broken left hand) and cornerback Jason Webster (groin pull).

Pritchett is almost certainly out after surgery to place pins in his thumb, and others are in various states of disrepair, some in the "could-play-if-he-had-to," category.

But they don't have to play, placing Mora in a semi-pickle, because on another corner of his desk (figuratively speaking) is an annual NFL memo reminding teams to put their most competitive foot forward every Sunday.

The Falcons (11-3) have nothing to gain or lose in terms of playoff positioning in games at New Orleans (6-8) or Jan. 2 at Seattle (7-7) — against two teams scratching for playoff spots.

The Falcons cannot pass the Eagles (13-1), who own a tiebreaker edge, to become the No. 1 seed, nor can No. 3 Green Bay (8-6) catch Atlanta. Yet the Falcons have plenty to lose otherwise in what promises to be a physical game on a relatively hard artificial surface.

Asked if the injured ankle suffered Sunday by Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens served as a reason to hold some players back, Mora said, "No. Play to win."

Yet when Eagles coach Andy Reid was asked a similar question, he said player personnel decisions "will be strictly what is best for our football team."

A follow-up question wasn't necessary to determine that he wasn't talking about Sunday's game against the Rams. He was talking about the playoffs.

In baseball, it causes a stir when teams competing for playoff spots get to face minor leaguers when playing teams out of contention as they evaluate prospects for the next season.

But while Falcons officials will be interested in evaluating their rookie quarterback for the distant future if Schaub starts Sunday, they're more interested in protecting their prospects for the near future — the playoffs.

So what did you expect Mora to say?

"We have not yet sat down as a staff and decided exactly what our strategy will be," he said. "We have an obligation to try and win every game we play, and we're professionals and get paid to do that, and so that's what we're going to do."