Posted by jaydawg on 10/2/2003, 7:45 am, in reply to "Easlick Returns" BLACKSBURG - It will be akin to a trip home for Virginia Tech fullback Doug Easlick this weekend when the fourth-ranked Hokies roll into northern New Jersey to face Rutgers. While Easlick is looking forward to seeing a group of about 50 friends and family members, the homecoming gathering he's most fired up about commences at noon Saturday at Rutgers Stadium. If Easlick has his way - he usually does - the Hokies (4-0) will quickly crash the party provided by the 3-1 hosts. "When I get to lay somebody out, that's what I like to do now," said Easlick, the 5-foot-11, 238-pound battering ram that opens holes for Tech tailbacks Kevin Jones and Cedric Humes. "I guess I'm known as like a hard-nosed guy. Off the field I'm pretty laid-back, kind of a happy-go-lucky-type guy, but when it comes down to football and it comes down to game time I get pretty serious and pretty intense. "I consider myself a throwback type of player ... not a guy who is too flashy, but a guy who plays hard and hits people every play. At fullback, I think you've got to be willing to get in there and bust heads every play." If there's a harder head-knocker on the Tech roster, quarterback Bryan Randall and split end Ernest Wilford haven't spotted him. "I think Easlick likes to go in there and go helmet to helmet," Randall said. "I think Doug gets enjoyment from clocking somebody. He just thrives from that," Wilford said. Good thing Easlick likes hitting folks and handling the dirty work. He has carried the ball only two times for 10 yards and caught four passes for 38 yards in Tech's first four games. "As a fullback here, you're expected to block, play hard every play, and maybe make something happen when those one or two chances a game come your way," Easlick said. Easlick, who got only 19 carries despite starting all 14 games last season, said he doesn't need to be a ball-hogging glory hound. "Anytime we hand it to him we call it a trick play," Randall quipped. BRINGING IN THE SHREVES: Fifth-year senior Chris Shreve (Grayson County High) will take over the starting flanker spot of injured Richard Johnson (left MCL) against Rutgers. It will be the first college start for Shreve, a hard-working walk-on who was rewarded with a scholarship for his final season. When asked which receiver besides Ernest Wilford could come up big Saturday, Randall gave Shreve a ringing endorsement. "I believe Chris Shreve, ... I think he will be our guy," Randall said. "I think he's been waiting for an opportunity. It's a bunch of reps, a bunch of opportunities to touch the ball. I think definitely if there's one guy who is capable of stepping up it's Chris Shreve. He's run a 4.3, so he's capable of stretching the defense." Link: 'Throwback' Easlick relishes dirty work
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'Throwback' Easlick relishes dirty work
By RANDY KING
THE ROANOKE TIMES
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