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| Tuesday, January 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.
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. | ALSO SEE A-Train not ready to depart from Michigan Harig: No quit in Bowden Florida State returns nucleus for shot at a repeat Sweet perfection: Florida State wins Sugar Bowl Weinke gets it done, no doubt about it Nokia Sugar Bowl AUDIO/VIDEO Chris Weinke says he is too old to sit at the next level. wav: 210 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 |