The Daily Tar HeelThursday, August 31 , 1 9891 9A FoDroeir UNC fiootba II players a hot In the pros ' . iillWLiw.WJjjli.iiiuwj iiiiiiiim j1yinMUHMJ) ,., ,. in mm in ii. limn Jt'U'Wln .wiwiin jin.nn mMKW'V" fH' f'WIW"" imwhimuuuhi "' By ERIC WAGNON Randy Marriott signed with the Staff Writer Chicago Bears but was released on The best football team in the Monday. Defensive back Howard Atlantic Coast Conference year in and spent August in Feggins this the 1 year out can be found in Clemson, Patriots' camp. He was released on X4v , 4 j" p- - jL X S-C- fj v ., yet NFL scouts seem to have Tuesday, so that the Patriots could X quite an affinity for Chapel Hill. UNC meet their first cut limit of 60. 1 ' ' ranks 1J 71' fzL. 10th nationally in the number of While the Patriots released K ilA rs former players on NFL rosters. No Incorminias and Feggins, the New X ( jr? other ACC school even Clemson England defensive line, at least, still in IGSV Vi T rans in the top 20. has a tint of Carolina blue. In the 'That statistic places North fourth round of the 1987 draft, the Carolina's football program in a Patriots selected former Tar Heel nose group with such traditional powers as tackle Tim Goad, and the pick proved Southern Cal the top school on the to be a steal. list Penn State, Oklahoma, Goad turned out to be an All-rook- ie Alabama and Notre Dame. performer, starting from game three Lawrence Taylor of the New York after Brent Williams, a four-ye- ar vet- Giants and Kelvin Bryant of the eran, was moved to left defensive Washington Redskins have made end. Among a host of seasoned veter- probably the most publicized impact ans, a major national football maga- on professional football among for- zine ranked Goad as the sixth-be- st mer UNC players. While Taylor and nose tackle in the NFL. Bryant have not worried over the last Another defensive lineman from month about making their respective the Class of 88, defensive end clubs, numerous recent UNC stars Reuben Davis, also ended up exceed- have been working in various NFL ing expectations. As only a ninth-roun- d camps to make some team's 45-m- an pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs, roster. Davis was a longshot to even make Former UNC running back Derrick the team. He not only made the team; Fenner has also received significant he exceled for the Bucs, especially publicity over the last three years. against the run. Davis finished his Unfortunately for him, the publicity rookie season with 61 tackles, three has been negative. Fenner's fall from sacks and an additional 12 stops grace started with an academic sus- behind the line of scrimmage. pension for the 1986 Aloha Bowl, Eric Starr, North Carolina's 1987 then his UNC career quickly ended in leading rusher with 550 yards, had a April 1987 after a cocaine and much more inauspicious rookie debut weapons charge. Fenner was charged last season, spending the entire year two months later with first-degr- ee on Chicago's injured reserve list. murder. The murder charge was later Under the NFL's Plan B free agency dropped, but Fenner was sentenced to system in which teams can only pro- four years of probation for the former tect 37 players, Starr was left unpro- charge. tected and was subsequently picked The Seattle Seahawks apparently up by the Miami Dolphins. thought that a lOth-roun- d pick was After three exhibition games, worth the possibility of Fenner's story Miami decided that Starr was not the DTH file photo finally ending in a riches-to-rags-to-rich- es answer to their rushing woes and UNC pro saga. At this point, Fenner released him on Monday. Recent graduates of the Tar Heel football program, such as Tim Goad and Rueben Davis, make a favorite stop for scouts looks as if he may play up to the potential he showed in 1986, when he set an ACC single-gam- e rushing record with 328 yards vs. Virginia. How Ryan me lookin .While Fenner has taken a long road Nolan struck out, to the NFL, last year's All-AC- C Tar Heel center Jeff Garnica has simply I stood in the Arlington Stadium Yes, it started raining. Hard. The sky Rangers' third baseman. follow-throug- h. He had a lot of had to prove himself on the field. parking lot on Aug. 10, 1989, with a Dave Glenn was dark, very dark. Black, in fact. It "STEEEEEEEVE BOOOOOOO-SHELLLLLLL- ," walks. And a lot of strikeouts. That task has proved very difficult as look of unbridled joy and amazement was the opposite of the glorious scene came the call from And he had allowed no hits, zero, he first went to Tampa Bay, then to on my face. Sports I witnessed from the outside. above. He is also known simply as through eight innings. Indianapolis. Garnica's quest ended Finally, I was there, the home of Editor At that very moment, I felt like a Steve Buechele in print to the The story I was going to tell my there after the Colts released him on the Texas Rangers. It didn't matter combination of Ziggy, Charlie Brown Rangers faithful, who affectionately grandchildren whether they like Monday. Obviously an extremely tal- that the Rangers were mired in fourth and a Columbia football player. yell "BOOOOOOO" every time he baseball or not, of course immedi- ented lineman, Garnica, listed at 256 place in the American League West, history in the hours to come in the As we raced to protection, I inno- steps to the plate. I couldn't help but ately changed. Not only did I see pounds during his senior year at or that they were playing the woeful center field bleachers as I walked out- cently spotted a wonderful-lookin- g wonder if he ever gets confused. Nolan Ryan pitch, but he pitched a North Carolina, was hampered in the Detroit Tigers. side the stadium. young blonde selling programs. "How Then, it was simply "Nolan Ryan." no-hitt- er. And he was 42 years old. pro ranks by his relatively small size. It was a special moment in the life I could see the bright lights. I could much?" I asked, in a unique display Yes, the simple good ol country And it was just days before his histor- Size is one concern the Denver of a baseball addict. I was getting to see the popcorn vendors. I could of intelligence. "Two dollars," she boy he of 100 m.p.h. fastball fame ical 5,000th strikeout. And Sparky Broncos do not have with their third-roun- d see another major league baseball sta- smell the real green grass and hear the said, eyes sparkling. So I handed the was closing in on his 5,000th Anderson was there, too. draft pick, former Tar Heel dium. It was my seventh such intro- crowd abuzz. money over and, meaning every strikeout. From Hank Aaron to Paul . But there was Ryan, a man who offensive tackle Darrell Hamilton. At duction, and the most impressive for Here I was, an old man by college cheesy word of it from the bottom of Zuvella, victims came, saw and went, has taken the ball every fifth day for 6-- 6, 292 pounds, Hamilton adds a someone who was weaned on a circu- standards at 21, a kid again. If I had my heart, said, "Thanks, you don't beating a path of frustration to and 22 years and counting, firing away. behemoth presence to any offensive lar concrete cocoon otherwise known my beat-u- p old Little League glove know how much this means to me." from the opposition's dugout. One out in the ninth. line. He is also touted as an extremely as Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. with me the same one that caught She smiled. I smiled back. Five thousand strikeouts. Heck, Two more outs and he would have fine pass blocker. However, he may Nolan Ryan, a living legend of a home run off the bat of Houston It had stopped raining. A deep even if you went to He's Not Here his record sixth no-hitt- er. My two-doll- ar need to develop his overall technique baseball, was on the mound. A former Astros' star Cesar Cedeno when I was voice rattled through the names of every night, it would take you almost program felt priceless. to compete effectively in the NFL. pitcher myself though of the left-hande- d, six years old I would have Cecil Espy, Rafael Palmeiro, Ruben 14 years to reach that kind of magic Then, it happened. Hamilton was the only graduating junk-ballin- g variety I was demanded to bring it inside. Sierra and Harold Baines as we number. Dave Bergman punched a shot to senior from the 1988 squad to be beaming in anticipation of the hard-throwi- ng I paid eight dollars for two general returned to our new seats, better ones. I didn't see number 5,000 that shallow left field for a single. It was picked in the NFL draft. Several other right-hande- r, baseball's all-ti- admission tickets (OK, so I'm a cheap Of course, we did race past a couple came two starts later, in Arlington over, with the quickness of a 100 mile 1988 Tar Heels, including Garnica, strikeout king. But, for now, the date) and wandered wide-eye- d toward of old ladies in "Don't Mess With but I did enjoy one of the most excit- per hour fastball.