Injuries sideline 2 Virginia Tech linemen

BLACKSBURG

Virginia Tech hasn't even started preseason football practice and the Hokies have already suffered a setback at a key position. Two starting offensive linemen will be sidelined when camp opens Thursday.

Left guard Greg Nosal, a senior from Kellam High who has started 15 games, is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and will be held out of full-contact drills this week. Hokies athletic trainer Mike Goforth is unsure when Nosal will be cleared for full contact but doesn't expect him to miss any games.

Right tackle Blake DeChristopher, a senior who has started 37 games, could miss more than a month with a strained left pectoral muscle, which he injured during recent weightlifting tests. He was a preseason All-ACC pick and is on the Outland Trophy watch list.

Goforth said team doctor Marc Siegel estimated 4-6 weeks for DeChristopher's recovery, but Goforth thinks it'll be closer to 2-4 weeks. Goforth is hopeful that DeChristopher will be available for the Hokies' opener against Appalachian State on Sept. 3.

Nosal's backup is redshirt sophomore David Wang, who played just 61 snaps last season but was named Tech's most-improved offensive player in spring practice. He bench presses 410 pounds and was tops among Hokies linemen in winter testing for the power clean, push-jerk, vertical leap and NFL shuttle time.

DeChristopher's backup is redshirt junior Vinston Painter, a former four-star recruit from Maury High who coaches hope turned a corner this spring.

Painter is 6-foot-6 and 312 pounds, has single-digit body fat, runs a 4.8 40-yard dash and bench presses a team-high 465 pounds. The question has always been whether Painter, who has played just 43 career snaps, can translate that ability into production on game days. He made progress this spring, but if he's still not ready, the Hokies have options.

Michael Via is a 6-7, 285-pound redshirt junior, who, despite exiting spring practice as the No. 2 center, has worked at tackle. He has played more than 300 career snaps and started three games.

Nick Becton, a 6-6, 313-pound redshirt junior, has played nearly 300 snaps as well and finished spring practice with coaches referring to him as "a second starter" behind left tackle Andrew Lanier. In a pinch, he could perhaps slide to the right side.