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 Tuesday, January 11
Vols lose most underclassmen to NFL
 
Associated Press

 Virginia Tech reached another milestone on Tuesday: The Hokies will lose two underclassmen to the NFL draft for the first time a week after playing in their first national title game.

Tailback Shyrone Stith and cornerback Ike Charlton were among 26 players passing up a final year of college eligibility for the NFL.

Draft-eligible underclassmen
Player Pos. School
LaVar Arrington LB Penn State
Rodregis Brooks CB UAB
Plaxico Burress WR Michigan St.
Kwame Cavil WR Texas
Ike Charlton DB Virginia Tech
Cosey Coleman G Tennessee
Patrick Dennis DB La.-Monroe
Na'il Diggs LB Ohio St.
Jeffrey Dunlap DT Auburn
Shaun Ellis DE Tennessee
Daniel Franks TE Miami (Fla.)
Deon Grant DB Tennessee
Bud Herring LB Louisville
Jonathan Gray OL Texas Tech
Darrell Jackson WR Florida
Keith Jackson DT Cheyney
Sebastian Janikowski K Florida St.
Ronney Jenkins RB N. Arizona
Ben Kelly CB Colorado
Jamal Lewis RB Tennessee
Tariq McDonald WR Arizona St.
Lewis Sanders CB Maryland
Jacoby Shepherd DB Oklahoma St.
Marvel Smith T Arizona St.
Shyrone Stith RB Virginia Tech
Travis Taylor WR Florida
Hubert Thompson DE Michigan St.
Raynoch Thompson LB Tennessee
Dez White WR Ga. Tech
Others on the list released by the NFL include linebacker LaVar Arrington (Penn State); kicker Sebastian Janikowski (Florida State); guard Cosey Coleman (Tennessee); and wide receivers Plaxico Burress (Michigan State), Kwame Cavil (Texas); and Dez White (Georgia Tech).

The NFL draft is April 15-16.

The Volunteers had the most players on the NFL's special eligibility list with three -- tailback Jamal Lewis and defensive back Deon Grant joined Coleman.

Two other Vols -- linebacker Raynoch Thompson and defensive end Shaun Ellis -- are expected to be on the final list before the draft. Both could have returned to school as partial qualifiers but have elected to turn pro.

Last season, the final underclassmen list totaled 42 after originally being released with 35 names. The NFL also considers special cases and rules on them just before the draft.

The Seminoles, 46-29 winners over the Hokies in last week's Sugar Bowl, lost college football's best kicker in Janikowski, but will have 27-year-old quarterback Chris Weinke for another season.

Weinke, projected as a third-round pick and aware he'd end up on an NFL team's bench, opted for another title chase in Tallahassee.

"I want to play in as many games as possible," said Weinke, who threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns in the Sugar Bowl. "I don't want to sit on the bench making the minimum watching Florida State on Saturdays play on TV."

Weinke, along with returning quarterbacks Drew Brees of Purdue and Michael Vick of Virginia Tech, should start the 2000 season among the top contenders for the Heisman Trophy.

There were no underclassmen quarterbacks on the list. Among the top quarterback prospects for the draft are Chad Pennington of Marshall, Chris Redman of Louisville and Tim Rattay of Louisiana Tech.

The 5-foot-8, 210-pound Stith, Tech's 1,000-yard rusher, was one of three underclassmen running backs on the list. The others were Ronney Jenkins of Northern Arizona and the Vols' Lewis.

The senior running back class features Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne of Wisconsin, Thomas Jones of Virginia and Shaun Alexander of Alabama.

Charlton, a 6-0, 203-pound cornerback, also showed his talent as a punt returner in the Sugar Bowl. He returned one 46 yards to set up a third-quarter TD.

Charlton's early departure was expected; Stith's wasn't so certain.

"I told Shyrone all along that if it looked like he'd go in the first or second (round), `You don't have to ask, I'll boot you out of here,"' Tech assistant Billy Hite said.

Six wide receivers were on the early entries list: Burress, Cavil, White, Tariq McDonald of Arizona State and Darrell Jackson and Travis Taylor of Florida.

 


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