■ 19 December 2008 | 5:32 PM
Blogging in a hurry here before hitting the highway back from Tennessee to Blacksburg for tomorrow’s bowl media day. No poetry today, but I will say: How ‘bout that opener next season?!
Virginia Tech and Alabama are both in BCS bowls this year and both could quite likely be top-10 in the preseason rankings. The Hokies have almost everybody back on offense and a good nucleus back on defense. Bama should have its most talented roster yet under Nick Saban ... BUT the Tide will be breaking in a new QB, who will be playing without stud left tackle Andre Smith, too.
TVs all over America will be tuned in to that intriguing match-up and I’ll be watching it in person, which will no doubt be one of the moments when I think to myself: This is, without a doubt, the only thing I ever want to do for a living.
I expect thousands of you fine folks will be there with me. So ... cheers to a great, great kickoff to the 2009 college football season.
But first, here’s a few thoughts on THIS season’s finale. Check back this weekend for more from the Hokies ...
C RYAN SHUMAN
ON HAVING HIS RIGHT FOOT IN A BOOT: (Said it was plantar fasciitis, a painful inflammatory condition in the foot caused by weight-bearing strain) “I’ll be back. Just a little sore. I’ll be back to practice in a couple of days (said that on Monday night). Just was playing basketball, got a weird feeling in my foot, went down. It hurt, they said we’ve got to boot it up. That’s the first time it’s ever happened to me.”
ON BEAMER SAYING THAT HE WASN’T GOING TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO HIS STAFF AFTER THIS SEASON: “Winning fixes everything. We won an ACC championship. They’ve done a great job with a lot of inexperience this year, so I don’t think any changes need to be made. It’s not up to me in the first place. We won a championship, that’s all that matters.”
ON THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE … TO THE PREPARATION FOR THE BOWL GAME: “We’re practicing more, not focusing on conditioning. We’re out there hitting, in pads, preparing for Cincinnati earlier. Obviously more film work, more meetings during exam week.”
ON COMING BACK TO PRACTICE A WEEK EARLIER THAN LAST YEAR: “I don’t remember practicing or having to lift. I remember we just had to run. We had more time off. But we’re trying to win this game. We haven’t won a bowl game in a couple years. We want to put a cap on the season with 10 wins. It’s all about winning games.”
ON SENSING THAT THIS YEAR’S BOWL IS LESS OF A VACATION: “Yeah, I mean curfew’s cut down. That’s disappointing. Nah, I’m just messing around. But we’re trying to win a game, and definitely it’s a business trip. We’re going down there trying to beat Cincinnati.”
ON THE BIGGEST TANGIBLE DIFFERENCE IN THE PREPARATION: “We’re hitting the practice field. We’re not at home. We’re talking about it a lot more, talking about what they’re trying to do. A lot more scheming. They’re getting on the game plan early and trying to execute it.”
ON SENSING WHEN BEAMER TALKS ABOUT THE GAME THAT THIS IS HUGELY IMPORTANT TO HIM, WINNING THE BOWL: “Yeah. He wants to win. We want to win. He’s raising the bar. He’s scheduling more practices, scheduling more meetings. Our preparation is a little bit different, a little bit tighter, to make sure we go down there with the right frame of mind.”
ON WHETHER HE’S GLAD THINGS TIGHTENED UP THIS YEAR, AS A SENIOR TRYING TO GO OUT WITH A WIN: “I want to win my last game in a college uniform. So I’m down for the preparation. Whatever we have to do to try to execute better, play better.”
CB VICTOR “MACHO” HARRIS
ON BEING BACK AT PRACTICE EARLIER THAN LAST YEAR: “We had a pretty successful season, and we don’t want it to end on a loss. Coach Beamer is doing a great job of getting us ready for the bowl game. Last year, unfortunately, didn’t end the way we wanted it to end. So it’s time for a change. Coach Beamer and the coaching staff, they’re doing a great job. As players, it’s a little rough, because we want a little bit more time at home, or we’re trying to get time to relax. But at the same time, we’re in football season for one purpose, to win. Whatever it takes to win, we’re going to do.”
ON THE HARDER WORK BEING WORTH IT TO ERASE THE STING OF THE LAST TWO BOWL LOSSES: “Oh, yeah, definitely. I think of the seniors when we lose like that. All year, and their whole college career, they put in … and then for them to go out with a loss, I really feel their pain. Especially after the Georgia game (in 2006). I mean, man, I really thought we had that game. Then when we lost, every senior in there, I could feel their hearts. So we definitely ain’t trying to let it slip this year.”
ON HIM SAYING TWO WEEKS AGO THAT TECH GETS LITTLE RESPECT, AND HOW MUCH OF THAT IS TIED TO BOWL STRUGGLES: “That makes sense. That’s why we made a change now. It was time for a change. So Coach Beamer is coming up with a great game plan. We as players are going to attack it and hopefully get better results.”
ON WHAT FEELS MOST DIFFERENT ABOUT THEIR PREP: “Last year, we just had that big break. I mean, really a break. And when we got back, it felt like we were kind of sluggish on the field. Now, we’re always practicing. We still feel like we’re in game mode. So I don’t think we’re going to miss a beat.”
ON THE GOAL BEING TO KEEP THEM IN GAME MODE: “It showed in the past, when we get that vacation, that lull to sleep, we don’t perform as well as we did in the previous game. So right now, just having our minds right, having our eyes on the prize, going down there focusing on winning – we’re really thinking that.”
ON THE EARLY CURFEW THIS YEAR: “It don’t bother me. Yeah, the curfew is earlier, but we’re down there for one purpose. Whatever the coaches say, we as players have to respect them. We’re going to follow the steps, because we know he ain’t going to lead us in the wrong direction. We’re going to believe in Coach. If he says 10 o’clock curfew, so be it. We’re going to be in there at 10 o’clock.”
ON PLAYERS’ REACTIONS TO THE EARLY BED TIME: “A lot of us, when we first heard the news, we were like, ‘Man, we don’t really have no time to have fun.’ But then if you really think about it from a maturity level, you’re down there for one purpose: to win. We’re in Miami, and yeah we’re going to have fun. But after 12 o’clock, bad things happen. We’re just keeping our heads straight and doing what Coach do.”
ON HOW MUCH THE PROGRAM AND THE CONFERENCE NEEDS THIS TEAM TO WIN THE BOWL: “We need it, definitely. What are we, 1-9 (in BCS bowls)? We definitely need it, for the program, for the conference. Just to show that the ACC is an elite conference as well as the SEC or the Big 12. We’re definitely an elite conference, so this is going to show a lot.”
ON THE NEW ATTITUDE: “Now, it’s like more of a ‘We want to win this game’ attitude. You can feel it. You can look at the coaches and tell. Practices aren’t just going through the motions. It’s very intense. The coaches are still coaching hard. Players are still practicing hard. We want to go down there and win.”
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No bowl win without an offense!!!
This year will be the same o same o!! Until FB gets the guts to rid VT of Stinespring..we will NEVER be a real candidate for a National Championship!!! An up swing in the economy won't save VT in the future with Stiney in charge!!! God help us!!! Only reason we won ACC was because of Bud Foster and our "D"..