A Virginia Tech Tackle, Barred From Bowl, Admits Steroid Use

Jim Davie, a starting Virginia Tech offensive tackle, said Saturday that the detection of steroids in his system was the reason he was suspended from the team and will miss Wednesday’s Peach Bowl game at Atlanta.

Davie and another Virginia Tech starter, defensive end Morgan Roane, were barred from the bowl game against North Carolina State. No reason was given for Roane’s suspension, and he was not available for comment.

The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. has tested all 22 starters on each bowl team, plus 14 others on each team picked randomly, as part of a new program to combat drug and substance use.

University of Miami Coach Jimmy Johnson, whose football team meets Penn State Friday in the Fiesta Bowl at Tempe, Ariz., said Saturday that two of his players didn’t make the trip, but he refused to say whether they had failed the drug test. However, Johnson did say: “All the regulars made the trip.”

Friday, Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said: “We were tested 10 days ago, and nobody showed up with anything.”

Virginia Tech’s Davie, a 6-foot 3-inch, 261-pounder, said of his steroid use: “I did it this summer while I was at home. The last time I took one was late June, early July. It was a very minute bit.”