Howdy, Hokies. I know some of you have been frothing at the mouth the last couple of weeks, wondering where the Blog Boy was. I saw your message-board posts, read your e-mails and even saw a letter sent to my boss, pleading for bloggage.

Loyal blog readers, I come bearing good news. I’m not certain, but I think I’ll be the first to tell you (EDIT: Just realized that, in fact, I was beaten by a bit on this one. Nevertheless ...)
 
Vince Hall is going to start in tomorrow night’s Orange Bowl against Kansas. Just spoke to team trainer Mike Goforth and he said Hall practiced today, did all the work that the rest of the team did.
 
“He felt good,” Goforth said, “and he said he’s ready to go, so we’re going to put him out there.”
 
Goforth said the rest of the Hokies are 100 percent healthy.
 
That’s really all the news of the day. Tech’s preparations are complete. The showdown starts in just shy of 24 hours.
 
Based on these other abysmal bowl BCS bowl games, the Orange might turn out to be the peach of them all. Seriously, whatever happens, the Battle of the Birds couldn’t possibly be any worse than Hawaii-Georgia or USC-Illinois.
 
Sadly, just imagine a six-team playoff (with the top two seeds getting a bye) that pitted Tech-Georgia and USC-Oklahoma in the first round, with the winner of Tech’s game facing LSU and the USC winner getting Ohio State in seminfinals!!!
 
Ugh. Never gonna happen. I should just stop dreaming.
 
So we’ll move on to tomorrow night’s opponent. Below, you’ll find some parting shots from the Jayhawks and their coach heading into the game.
 
Read for yourself, but is sure sounds like Kansas is feeling good about its chances of pulling off the upset. They’ve seemed solidly certain of themselves all week.
 
I, for one, am looking forward to finding out what’s really what. Until then …
 
 
*** KANSAS HEAD COACH MARK MANGINO
 
ON HIS PLAYERS’ PREPARATION AND WHETHER MIAMI HAS BEEN A DISTRACTION: “They seem focused. In meetings, everything is good. The kids are focused in and the practice field has been good. There’s been no difference. The tempo is the same, just like when we’re at home. I don’t see any changes.”
 
ON THE MAGNITUDE OF THE ORANGE BOWL: “It’s a big game. Our kids are smart. We’re not going to try to fool them and just tell them that this is just another game. But it’s still football. The field is a hundred yards. They have 11. We have 11. It’s the same concept just a few more people will be paying attention to it.”
 
ON VIRGINIA TECH HAVING MORE BIG-GAME EXPERIENCE: “The only thing that we are concerned about them is what we see on videotape, their talent, their skills, their personnel. That’s the depth of our analysis of them. You just can’t go by who’s played in more big games and that type of thing over the years, because time and time again, those teams don’t always win the games. It’s seems as though they have an advantage. People would tell you that, but I don’t see that.”
 
*** KANSAS WR DEXTON FIELDS
 
ON THE TEAM’S ATTITUDE HEADING INTO THE GAME: “We’re pretty confident. We know all of our assignments and all we have to do now
is execute. Go out and execute and play our game.”
 
ON COACH MARK MANGINO’S PREPARATION FOR THE GAME: “He’s been a little more focused. He tries to keep us focused. It’s kind of easy to come
down to Miami and worry about having fun … because it is Miami. He’s tried his best to keep us focused and I think he’s done a pretty good job.”
 
ON HOW MANGINO HAS ACCOMPLISHED THAT: “He’s reminded us every day before practice that this is a business trip. It’s not vacation. We can have fun, but there’s a time to have fun and there’s a time to get down to business.”
 
*** KANSAS DE JOHN LARSON
 
ON THE TEAM BEING FOCUSED: “It’s been great being down here getting a little vacation time, hang out, and get to see Miami. But right now we’re focused on the game and it couldn’t come soon enough. We’ve seen every game of them two or three times, every cut up, so no stone has been left unturned. At this point we have everything covered.”
 
ON THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING ABOUT TECH ON OFFENSE: “They’ve got a dual quarterback look. No. 5 can really run, scramble, he’s a great athlete. No. 7 has pretty strong arm, so the different looks that they can give you like that is pretty impressive.”
 
ON HIS OWN COACH’S PERSONALITY, COACHING STYLE: “He’s really good with a work ethic. He keeps everything regimented and he stays true to his word. Anything that he … says he’s going to do, policy-wise, he sticks to his guns. We all know what to expect from him and I like that, consistency from a coach.”
 
ON WHETHER HE’S DIFFERENT ON AND OFF THE FIELD: “No. It’s pretty much even keeled. He’s ready to work every day and game day is the
same deal. We just go out there and do our job.”
 
ON THE HYPED MATCH-UP OF THE JAYHAWKS’ OFFENSE VS. TECH’S DEFENSE: “Va Tech has a great defense and I love out offense. I would definitely say that our defense has to go out there and do our job. That’s pretty much all I can control. If we get out there and force turnovers, stop them … give our offense a short field, that’s definitely going to help them in the game.”
 
ON WHETHER THERE’S PRESSURE TO WIN TO PROVE THEY BELONGED IN THE BCS OVER MISSOURI: “No. There’s not more pressure. We think we’ve had a really good season and we’re just looking to finish up strong, get our 12th win and show the country what we can do.
 
ON THEIR LAST BIG-TIME GAME, PLAYING MISSOURI (LOSING) AT ARROWHEAD STADIUM: “I think everybody learned a valuable lesson from that. It was a real frustrating game. A couple missed plays here and there, but we’re all excited to get out there and show everybody what we can do.”
 
ON TECH HAVING MORE “BIG-GAME” EXPERIENCE: “I don’t think so. It’s another game. It’s great that it’s the Orange Bowl. It’s great that it’s a January game. But for us, it’s still Game 13 and win No. 12, and that’s what we’re
really focused on accomplishing.”
 
*** KANSAS LB MIKE RIVERA
 
ON THE TWO-QB SYSTEM BEING PREDICTABLE MAYBE: “Yeah, definitely after watching them, we’ve studied all their film, every game they’ve played this whole year and we’re definitely picking up on tendencies and little things they do. It’ll help us in the game.”
 
ON EACH QUARTERBACK DOING A SPECIFIC THING: “That can work to their advantage or to their disadvantage.”
 
ON WHETHER THE DEFENSE NEEDS TO BE DISCIPLINED, NOT TO LOSE CONTAIN WHEN TYROD’S IN THE GAME: “Yeah, he’s a phenomenal player. He’s so fast. But we just do our responsibilities, and when he’s in there, we definitely have to be aware, be ready for him to run around. As long as we do that, we’ll stop them.”
 
ON STILL FEELING LIKE THERE’S SOMETHING TO PROVE: “I feel like we’re not going to be done proving people wrong until the clock’s at 0:00. So until then, we’re going to fight to the finish. We still have to prove everything, have to prove our whole season on this one game.”
 
ON HIS OWN QB, TODD REESING: “He’s been awesome this year. He’s been a great asset to our team. He’s made a huge difference, playing with a lot of energy and playing hard every week. I love having him as my quarterback.”
 
ON WHAT HE THOUGHT THE FIRST TIME HE SAW REESING ON CAMPUS: “He’s a little guy, but man, he plays hard and he can throw it around. He can run, scramble and see over those big linemen. I didn’t really know what to think (the first time he saw him) but I played catch with him a little bit and he had an arm. He could throw it.”
 
*** KANSAS DT JAMES MCCLINTON
 
ON VIRGINIA TECH’S GUARDS BEING BIG: “They are HUGE. My dude’s like 6-5, 355. So I’ve got to really bring it to him. That’s the biggest guy I’ve ever faced. Man, 355? Come on, man. Those the size guys you see in the league. He’s a Goliath, but I’ve got my slingshot.”
 
ON HOW PRACTICES HAVE GONE: “It’s cool. We wanted to get on some grass. We haven’t been on grass since we practiced for Missouri. And it’s good weather, but we still have to get used to it. It’s hot out there. We’re running a lot. And we really haven’t practiced in warm weather since … I’m not sure. It kind of feels like camp. It kind of do the defense kind of bad. You be tired.”
 
ON BEING IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: “It’s a blessing. We just thank the Lord. It could have easily been Missouri, but thank the Lord he allowed us to have it. We’re out here enjoying it, but we’re also here to take care of business, to go out here and win this bowl game.”
 
ON HIS OWN QB, TODD REESING: “He’s a baller, man. Not only that, he’s a smart guy, and he likes to have fun. If it’s third and 15, he still thinks we’re going to get the first down. He doesn’t let stuff like that get to him. He throws an interception, he’s still going to come back on top. He’s going to be poised.”
 
ON REMEMBERING THE FIRST TIME HE SAW THE 5-10 REESING: “I knew he broke the record in Texas for passing yards, so he was a pretty good passer. But probably when he got in that Colorado game, you could see something spectacular coming. I thought Kerry Meier was going to win that job, man. (Reesing) doesn’t look like an athlete, but looks can be deceiving.”
 
ON THE TWO-QB SYSTEM: “You’re basically preparing for two different offenses. We think Tyrod’s probably a bigger threat, because he’s Vick-like. I saw some tough spots that he should have been tackled in, but he made a way and got out of it. It’s a challenge. Vince Young, in the past, killed us. So yeah, it’s a challenge.”
 
ON WHETHER THE SYSTEM MAKES TECH A LITTLE PREDICTABLE: “Yeah. We know that we want to blitz probably, when Tyrod’s in there … well, I can’t say all this stuff. But yeah, we have two different plans when each quarterback comes out there. It helps you out a lot.”
 
ON HOW TECH HAS MADE IT WORK THEN: “I don’t know, but they really haven’t played a defense like us.”
 
 

Happy New Year, blog dawgs. What a tremendous day of college football! Without question, the coolest day of every year in my book.
 
Virginia had its heart broken, but that was a fun game to watch. Some of the things Simpson does are just silly, and I took the afternoon to appreciate one heckuva career by Chris Long.
 
Yes, I know those Cavaliers are your rivals, Hokies, but Long is an animal. Rarely have I ever enjoyed focusing on a defensive end for an entire game the way I did today.
 
Well … not COMPLETE focus … since my remote was going back and forth between that fantastic Tennessee-Wisconsin finish and the shootout between Florida and Michigan.
 
What was that about the Big 10 not having the speed to run with an SEC team? Yeah, well, I’ve been of that belief for some time now, too. But I’m just not sure that’s fair.
 
NOBODY, though, was as fast as Gator Percy Harvin. He was wicked good today, and I’m glad I got to cover him in high school (before I took over the Tech gig four years ago). If it weren’t for Tebow being on his team, I’d think Harvin has to be a Heisman finalist before he’s done.
 
Mark my words, though: Harvin will do more in the NFL than Tebow.
 
But ENOUGH of all this non-Hokie stuff, huh? That’s not what you came for, is it? You want the latest on the battle of the birds, right?
 
OK … well … that jet ski injury to Vince Hall’s knee will leave him listed “questionable” for Thursday night’s game. I expect he’ll play, as does trainer Mike Goforth, but he sat out today’s practice.
 
Other than that, the team is healthy. And no one violated curfew last night celebrating 2008.
 
So now it’s time to talk about Tech’s offense. I’ve got a story running tomorrow on offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, who took a lot of heat in the first half of the season, but has begun to reap some deserved praise down the stretch.
 
The Hokies’ offense is not only no longer a liability, in some games it has become a legit threat – even the REASON Tech has won. It’s been awhile since that could be said.
 
I know Stiney pretty well, and he’s a pretty emotional guy … and I can tell you that the struggles of the offense were hard on him. And rip him though you might, he works tirelessly trying to be good, and make his players good.
 
It seems that work is paying off.
 
Here’s a little preview of tomorrow’s story, with a complete transcript of my Stinespring interview, as well as a couple of his players talking about their coach and some other things related to the Orange Bowl match-up.
 
I’ll be back tomorrow with more. Until then …
 
*** OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRYAN STINESPRING
 
ON SEAN GLENNON LOOSENING UP WHEN HE CAME BACK FROM HIS DEMOTION: “Sometimes you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders. This arena we play in with the lights and the cameras … there’s already that pressure that surrounds this game. I think Sean Glennon taught us all something. He had fun. He enjoyed the moment, enjoyed the opportunity.”
 
ON THE TWO-QB SYSTEM: “It’s not an easy venture. I can assure you of that. But it forces you to try to stay a little bit ahead in a series, from snap to snap. It forces you to do that. In some regards, that’s a benefit. The further you can stay ahead, the better off you are.”
 
ON GLENNON SAYING STINEY WAS MAYBE BETTER NOW CALLING PLAYS BECAUSE IN THE TWO-QB SYSTEM HE HAS NO TIME TO SECOND-GUESS HIMSELF: “I think when you call a play, you’ve got to concern yourself not only with the play that you’re calling, but the defense you’re calling it against. And in the back of your mind you have to be keenly aware of what you’re asking each individual on your offense to be able to do. What task are you asking them to perform? So if there’s any type of concern or questioning, I think you’ve got to take all those into account. When you take all of those things into account, it can be a little nerve-racking back there sometimes. When we got healthy up front and had the two quarterback situation, you have to call the play. And I think the scripting part of it has helped, because it’s getting the play in, the quarterback in, the situation in. When you’ve got it going that way, you’re not so worried, ‘Can a right guard do this, left guard do that, tight end do that?’ You’ve got to call the play and go.”
 
ON SOME OF THE EARLY PERSONNEL ISSUES AFFECTING HIS PLAYCALLING IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON: “You had to be careful early in the season, because every time we were going to drop back and throw it and spread the field, we had issues with protection.”
 
ON PLAYERS BEING AS KEY TO AN OFFENSE AS THE SCHEMING: “You’ve got to put your players in position to be successful. Whatever you’re asking a guy to do, is he good enough to do those things? And as the season progressed and certain things developed for us, we were able to press on the gas a little more. At first, we had to proceed with a little bit of caution. Going into the Duke game, we felt like it was time to go ahead and push on the gash, go play the rest of this season like we expected to play the beginning of the season: play with confidence.”
 
ON HOW FULFILLING THIS SEASON HAS BEEN: “I think as a staff, we’ve gotten more satisfaction from this year than any before. The opportunities earlier in the season to start pressing, lose confidence were there. Things weren’t working out. There was frustration. And I’m proud of the fact that we were able to hang in there, keep pounding away. We were able to find a way to keep everybody together and not panic. And to see it unfold and you can say, ‘Boy, we got better!’ .. that’s a good feeling for any football coach.”
 
ON WHETHER THIS IS HIS BEST COACHING JOB: “I’m proud of the way we were able to keep our football team, our offense in a position to continue to practice with a purpose and to hold it together. I think it was a nice job of coaching from a lot of people. More than just x-ing and o-ing.”
 
ON IGNORING THE PUBLIC CRITICISM EARLY ON: “It’s not ignored. I don’t hear it. If you think for one second that anyone on this staff is going to sit behind a computer and click on a message board … no way. I won’t waste a minute of my life looking at that stuff. It’s not a part of my life, and I won’t let it be. But I was upset because I knew how much better things could be. I didn’t need anyone else to tell me.”
 
ON FRANK BEAMER, HIS BOSS BEING THE ONLY ONE HE NEEDS TO PLEASE, AND WHETHER BEAMER EVER VOICED DISPLEASURE: “Is there times I felt like he wasn’t pleased? Sure. But I wasn’t either. I don’t think anybody was. But we’ve been successful before. It was a tough stretch when we were struggling. But it hasn’t always been that way. The focus was what do we need to day in and day out, to be good again. We’ve done this a long time, and there are going to be some peaks and valleys. That valley we got in, we got in it pretty deep early in the year. But that just made the climb a whole lot better.”
 
ON SOME OF HIS PLAYERS SAYING THEY NOTICED THAT THE OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES EARLY WERE GETTING HIM DOWN: “I didn’t realize they knew. I tried to make a conscious effort to always be upbeat. But, yeah, it did wear on me. I tell them all the time that my goal is to put them in position to be successful. And when they’re not, I hurt, because I know they hurt. This year, we were supposed to be better. When I look at those guys and all the questions they had to answer … For a while, everyone involved with that offense felt like our first name was What’s Wrong With. Because every time you picked up the paper or turned on the radio, people wanted to know, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ They were questions that could have fragmented us.”
 
ON WHAT KIND OF HOURS HE WORKED DURING THOSE DAYS: “7 a.m. most days to about 11 most nights. Wearing myself out? No. But I can tell you this: I wasn’t leaving any stone unturned to get things fixed.”
 
ON HOW MUCH IT MEANS, THEN, TO SEE THIS RECENT SUCCESS KNKOWING ALL THE STRESS AND HOURS AND STRUGGLE THAT WENT INTO IT: “I’m proud of our players. I can’t emphasize this enough. When I talk about how proud I am, it’s not about being proud of myself. I’m proud to witness a group of guys hang in there through a tough time and continue to believe that we’re closer than what we’re showing, that we’re traveling a road leading to better things. There were a couple bumps in the road, a few wrong turns, a flat tire or two. But now that we’ve gotten here, boy, was the trip worth it.”
 
*** WR JUSTIN HARPER
 
ON HIS COORDINATOR, BRYAN STINESPRING: “People are always going to give the coordinator heat when things are going wrong. He’s always called the same plays, and it’s always been up to us to execute and make the plays. Stinespring, he’s always done things the same. Lately, we’ve just been making the plays.”
 
ON WHETHER HE THINKS STINEY IS A GOOD Xs and Os COACH: “I think so, but when we’re not getting it done as players, he doesn’t look too good. But right now, 40 points a game, you know he’s on an all-time high. So we’re just trying to keep this rolling for him.”
 
ON THIS GROUP OF SENIORS: “We feel like we’ve left our mark, but this is the game right here. This would be our first BCS victory. So what better way to go out than to have a helluva game against Kansas.”
 
ON WHETHER THIS CLASS IS TECH’S BEST EVER: “Oh, yeah. It’s not even a cocky thing. I always say to the older guys that were here before us, ‘There’s not too many classes that can say anything to us. We’re two-time ACC champions – yeah, y’all helped us with that – but we’re also the winningest class in the history of Virginia Tech and we have a chance to win the first BCS game. This senior class has a swag and we’ve had swag since freshman year. We’re going to carry it into this Kansas game.”
 
ON WHETHER THIS CLASS NEEDS TO ACTUALLY WIN THE GAME TO CEMENT ITSELF IN SCHOOL HISTORY: “Definitely. We’ve got to win this game. Me and Xavier always talk about it. We can’t just get here. We need to win or it won’t seem right. We’re going to win this game to top our four years off.”
 
ON THE PROGRAM STRUGGLING IN THE TWO SEASONS BEFORE THIS CLASS CAME IN: “We had some great senior classes when we got here that laid the foundation for us. It was just a matter of us taking it to the next level. Now we’re trying to lay the foundation for the new young guys, show the our ACC titles and that we won 10 games every year, so why can’t they?”
 
*** WR EDDIE ROYAL
 
ON THE RECEIVERS TAKING NOTE OF THE CHANCE TO GO AGAINST AQIB TALIB, THE JAYHAWKS’ STAR CORNER: “It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be good to match up against an All-American. It lets you really see where you’re at. You never know if you’re really the best unless you play against the best. So this is a good opportunity for all of us to go out there and show everybody that we are true playmakers.”
 
ON THE GROUP OF SENIOR WIDEOUTS LIVING UP TO THE HYPE FINALLY THIS SEASON, ESPECIALLY LATE: “Maybe it hit us that we better take advantage of these last few games, because this is it. I don’t really know what was the turning point in our careers, but I’m happy it’s happening now. This is the best season I’ve been a part of – just the way the team came together and rallied around each other after a couple of tough losses.”
 
ON WHETHER THIS IS THE BEST CLASS IN SCHOOL HISTORY: “I think so. We’ve got a lot of great athletes, a lot of NFL prospects. And you just look at the wins and you can tell this is one of the best classes ever.”
 
ON THIS CLASS TAKING THE PROGRAM BACK TO THE TOP AFTER TWO SLUMPING SEASONS BEFORE THEY CAME IN: “I don’t think it ever fell off. You look at those teams and they had so much talent. It was just something went wrong. And we knew we were going to have a talented group my freshman year. We just had together as a family. And we had a great leader in Bryan Randall to pull us all together.”
 
ON HAVING THOSE ROLE MODELS AS FRESHMEN: “Oh, definitely. You had Bryan Randall on offense and Jim Davis on defense. Two real leaders and competitors, guys that you could really learn from them how to win and how to carry yourself. We were lucky to have them.”
 
ON OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TAKING SUCH RELENTLESS HEAT AND NOW GETTING SOME LOVE: “He’s a great coach. He’s done a great job of keeping us together. The offensive line was a key part, and we had some injuries. But now everybody’s healthy and you can really tell in the play calling. I don’t think you can ever really blame a coach. The coach isn’t out there playing. It’s the players. Whenever somebody blames the coach, I don’t’ agree with it. It’s the players.”
 
ON WHETHER HE THINKS HEAD COACH FRANK BEAMER MAYBE FREED UP STINESPRING TO BE MORE CREATIVE WITH THE OFFENSE THIS SEASON: “I don’t even know what it was. The main thing for us was whether the offensive line was healthy. Could they maintain a block long enough to let the quarterback look down the field. He’s always had a lot of faith in us. He told us just to be patient, that our time would come. It’s come now, and he was right in the end.”
 
ON WHETHER THE OFFENSE IS SUDDENLY FUN TO PLAY IN: “This year has definitely been the most exciting. You go out there and never know what’s going to happen every play. We’re throwing it around, taking deep shots a lot. It’s an exciting offense, the type of offense I love playing in.”
 
ON WHETHER STINESPRING IS UNDERRATED MAYBE: “I definitely think he’s an underrated coach. These last few games have put him on the radar, but if anybody’s still got questions, just tune in to the bowl game.”

Blog Nation, it’s time to say goodbye to 2007. What a year, huh? Thanks for another season of sticking with me, clicking here often and nearly doubling the numbers from last year.
 
I expect 2008 to be full of interesting moments, starting with the Orange Bowl in three days and continuing right on through a whole other football season – one in which Tech will be trying to replace A LOT of talent and experience.
 
Don’t think too hard on that tonight, because it’ll drive you to drink. Oh, wait …
 
Well, you should just raise a glass to a pretty impressive bunch of seniors, and at least one stellar underclassman who might be leave … but all of whom have contributed to what I think is a surge in Tech’s program.
 
In fact, I’ll have a story on game day about what these seniors have meant to the Hokies. Remember, before they came in and many of them started playing right away in 2004, Tech had been on a disappointing skid.
 
Collapses of 2002 and 2003 had some wondering if the program had leveled off after the 1999 national title run. This group, though, sparked a streak of success that was unprecedented in Blacksburg.
 
42 wins. Two ACC titles. Another title game appearance. Two BCS bowls. Time in the top-10 national rankings every season. With that success, recruiting has also seen a spike. The Hokies are getting more top-tier prospects than ever before.
 
It’s an amazing period of prosperity at Tech, and I’d say this senior class has a lot to do with it.
 
As for the most likely non-senior to leave the fold (sorry, I know it’s a sore subject) … I’ll have a story on corner Brandon Flowers tomorrow. Until then, ring in the new year with some of the interviews for that story.
 
And some quick stuff from QBs Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor – including their thoughts on Kansas players saying Tech’s two-QB system is predictable. Interesting …
 
*** CB BRANDON FLOWERS
 
ON KANSAS’ DANGEROUS SCORING CAPABILITIES: “Some people just drive down and don’t have a good red zone offense, they get threes. But put 76 points on Nebraska just shows what they’re capable of. They can put points up quick, and we don’t want to get behind early. So we have to come out ready to play in the first quarter.”
 
ON PREVENTING TOUCHDOWNS: “If they get down there, just don’t let them get in the end zone. That’s our territory. We’ve got to man up and protect it. We pride ourselves in that, even in training camp and in practice, we don’t want the offense in the end zone, because seven and three is a big difference.”
 
ON WHAT IT MEANS TO PLAY THIS GAME IN, ESSENTIALLY, HIS HOME TOWN: “It feels real good. Some of my family weren’t fortunate enough to drive to every game like my dad. So just to have the rest of my family here with my dad, it’s going to feel like a homecoming. It’s going to feel real good to look up in the stands knowing my whole family’s supporting me. I can’t wait until Thursday.”
 
ON HOW MANY FAMILY MEMBERS WILL BE THERE: “I’m not even sure. I need like 60 tickets, but I haven’t gotten near as many as I need. Hopefully a couple guys will have extra tickets for me later on this week.”
 
ON WHETHER HIS FAMILY WILL WITNESS HIS FINAL GAME AS A HOKIE: “I don’t know if this is going to be my last game or not. I haven’t talked to my family about this decision yet, and I haven’t talked to the coaches.”
 
ON GETTING HIS PAPERWORK BACK FROM THE NFL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH SLOTTED HIM AS A SECOND-ROUNDER IF HE COMES OUT: “I don’t know if they were grading hard, or if that was my exact grade, so I didn’t really pay attention to it. I’m just going to go out here and try to make plays like I always make plays, and everything will fall in place.”
 
ON PLAYING A TOP OFFENSE ON A BIG STAGE LIKE THIS BEING A GOOD NFL AUDITION: “Definitely. If I wanted to go out, I would want to go out playing against an offense like this, to see where I’m at. The best always want to play the best, and I feel like Kansas is one of the best offenses in the country – if not the best. All of us are looking forward to taking the field, just to see where we’re at.”
 
ON THINKING ABOUT HOW A BIG GAME COULD AFFECT HIS DRAFT STATUS: “I’ve thought about it, but I’m not trying to think about it too much. I don’t want to press, like I have to make this play, I want to make this play here. If plays come, I’m going to try to make them.”
 
ON THIS PROCESS BEING A DISTRACTION: “It could get distracting but … my mom, she tells me just settle down, take it one game at a time, and we’ll get through this after the season, when you’re done. So I’ve just been listening to her, keeping my head on my shoulders. I owe it to my brothers on this team to be focused all on the game, not whether I’m going to leave or not.”
 
ON WHETHER HE’LL SIT DOWN WITH BEAMER AND/OR FOSTER: “I will. I want to discuss it with my coach. I want to discuss it with my family. I want everybody there at one time. I’m just going to try to figure out what’s in the best interest for me and for my family.”
 
ON BEING HAPPY IN BLACKSBURG, THOUGH: “Definitely. That’s why I’m not really rushing to get out of here. My grades are fine, I’m close to getting my degree, I love my coaches, I love the way the team plays. I’m definitely not rushing to get out of Blacksburg. I love it in Blacksburg. I wouldn’t have any problem coming back if I had to.”
 
ON WHETHER THERE’S APPEAL TO COMING BACK FOR ONE MORE YEAR TO STUDY UNDER SECONDARY COACH TORRIAN GRAY: “Definitely. With Coach Gray, you know every year you’re going to get better and better. He’s definitely going to be hard on me next year if I decide to come back, and that’s what I like.”
 
ON THE EVENTS OF APRIL 16TH: “You don’t expect stuff like that to happen in Blacksburg. You’ve probably heard that a million times, but you just don’t. Once it happened, reality set in. We just started thinking every day is not promised. Spirits were down around there, and we felt like it was on us to pick the spirit back up. Winning this game in the Orange Bowl, topping it off with a BCS bowl game, I think we could raise the spirit even more around Blacksburg.”
 
ON A DREAM GAME TO WRAP UP THE SEASON: “Just playing in Dolphin Stadium, period. I used to come to the games down here when I was young and watch the Dolphins play. Just going out on a big stage, playing against a high-powered offense let’s you know where you’re at. I’m looking forward to it.”
 
ON A FAVORITE GAME HE WATCHED AT DOLPHIN STADIUM: “I used to just love when the Raiders would come to town. Most of my family were either Dolphins or Raiders fans. So it was just a rivalry our family had.”
 
ON TALKING TO HIS PARENTS ABOUT HIS DECISION TO GO PRO, AND WHAT THEY SAY: “They’re going to be alright. Whatever decision I make, they’re going to support me 100 percent. We said we’re going to pray, and God’s going to make the decision clear about it, whatever I should do. When it comes time to make my decision, I’m going to be 100 percent with it, because all I’m going to do is pray about it and everything should fall in place.”
 
ON RELISHING THE CHALLENGE OF THIS GAME: “I think anybody in the secondary who loves to take on challenges … I just love playing against real good competition. I can’t wait to go out there.’
 
MORE ON DOLPHIN STADIUM: “It’s crazy. For us, a dream come true. Just knowing that I’m playing in the stadium where I used to go as a little kid to watch football. It’s definitely special. I used to go to two or three games every year. I think my dad wanted to take me to Dolphins games just to see what the atmosphere was like, keep me driving, trying to get where I want to go. Just to see it in person, I think that just stuck with me forever. I just loved it. Everybody dreams about going to the NFL.”
 
ON BEING GLAD HE NEVER HAD TO DEFEND DAN MARINO: “Oh, yeah, Marino could thread the needle. But I love playing against the best, so I’d have loved to see how it worked out.”
 
*** MACHO HARRIS
 
ON NOT CUTTING HIS HAIR UNTIL A NATIONAL TITLE, AND WHETHER HE’LL BE HERE NEXT YEAR TO CHASE ONE: “That’s my plan. I was just trying to see where I stand (with the NFL). Other than that, I’m looking forward to playing for Virginia Tech next year.”
 
ON WHETHER FLOWERS WILL LEAVE: “You know, he’s got his own situation. Whatever he needs to do, he’s got to do. I don’t know what he’s going to do. He can’t make a bad decision.”
 
*** BUD FOSTER
 
ON FLOWERS, SUPPORTING HIM IF HE GOES TO THE NFL: “Without a doubt, I’m going to support him. He’s been an All-American for us, he’s been a consistent player, a playmaker. We’re going to miss that.”
 
ON SAYING HE’LL MISS HIM, AND WHETHER THAT MEANS HE THINKS FLOWERS IS GOING TO LEAVE: “I think he is. I don’t know that. We have not sat down and talked about it. But from everything I’m hearing, it wouldn’t surprise me if he does that. If not, I’m going to be happy as heck to have him back.”
 
ON HOW READY FLOWERS IS: “It’s hard to say. Do I think he’s an outstanding football player for that level? Yes, I do. There’s a lot of factors that go into being able to continue to play at a high level at that level, but he has all the tools to do that.”
 
*** QB SEAN GLENNON
 
ON HIS LATE-SEASON SURGE, AFTER BEING BENCHED IN WEEK 2: “I’ve never doubted my ability to play at this level. How I’ve been playing lately is how expected to be playing. I don’t look at it as this magical performance. I’m blessed to be out there playing well, but it’s definitely not a surprise to me.”
 
ON SUBMITTING PAPERWORK TO THE NFL ADVISORY COMMITTEE: “I think people make a big deal … I was just curious to see where I stand with the NFL, to see my current status and how much harder I need to work to get where I need to be. That’s all it really is, to know where I stand, maybe know what their critiques are for me. I have a goal for myself, so let’s see how close I am to that goal.”
 
ON THE DRASTIC REDUCTION IN INTERCEPTIONS THIS SEASON: “Just evolving as a quarterback. Last year was my first year starting. I’m going to make some mistakes. But the key is to learn from them. Since I came back, it feels like all the pieces of the puzzle are falling in place.”
 
ON LOOKING AT KANSAS’ DEFENSE ON FILM: “They’re an underrated unit. The whole season, all I knew is everybody keeps talking about their offense. But you never heard anything about their defense. Come to find out, they’re top-15 in the country in scoring defense. They’ve got an All-American corner, an All-American defensive tackle, and to be honest, their other corner covers almost as well as Talib. They’re just so solid. They’re definitely an underrated unit. When people talk about Kansas, they should give a little more props to their defense.”
 
ON KANSAS CORNER AQIB TALIB SAYING IT WAS EASIER TO PREPARE FOR THE TWO-QB SYSTEM BECAUSE EACH ONE ONLY DOES SPECIFIC THINGS, ONE A RUNNER, ONE A PASSER: “(Grinning) If they want to think when Tyrod’s only going to use his feet, and when I’m there, I’m only going to use my arm, that will work to our advantage. Both of us have shown that, although we might be strong in one area, we can do both. If they want to defend only the run on Tyrod … I think he can complete a pass or two (grinning). If that’s how they want to prepare for us, that’s fine.”
 
ON HAVING TO GUARD AGAINST PREDICTABILITY, THOUGH: “Obvioulsy, there are certain plays you’d classify as Tyrod plays and certain plays you’d classify as plays for me. But the key is to not give them a 100 percent dosage of it, keep them on their toes. If they want to defend 100 percent against the run on Tyrod, that could come back to bite them.”
 
*** QB TYROD TAYLOR
 
ON KANSAS CORNER AQIB TALIB: “Reminds me a lot of a guy we have on our team, Brandon Flowers. A good playmaker. Just have to watch out for him.”
 
ON THE TWO-QB SYSTEM: “It’s very difficult to prepare for us, because we’re two totally different quarterbacks. He’s more of a pocket passer and I can run around a little bit. Game time, we don’t know when we’re going in and they don’t either.”
 
ON TALIB FROM KANSAS SAYING THE TWO-QB SYSTEM IS ACTUALLY EASIER TO DEFEND BECAUSE THEY’RE PREDICTABLE: “I’m very glad they think that. Some people could look at it like that, but certain games I did go in there and pass for a lot of yards.”
 
ON HAVING TO GUARD AGAINST PREDICTABILITY: “Yes, we do. And that’s what we’re practicing on this week, and we’ll continue to practice to throw off the Kansas defense.”
 

The blog is back up and running … for at least the next five days. I should be able to provide a pretty solid Orange Bowl fix each evening.
 
In fact, if I become overly ambitious tonight … you might get a second helping tonight. This first blog is heavy on Kansas stuff, but I figured you’d like to know about this semi-anonymous team from the Midwest that your Hokies are facing.
 
And … they had a few interesting things to say about Tech. Also, you’ll find an interview with Hokies DT Carlton Powell, who I wrote a story about that appeared in today’s Virginian-Pilot.
 
Then some stuff from and about Kansas QB Todd Reesing – who looks nothing like a big-time college quarterback, rather somebody’s little brother – and his unlikely journey to the Orange Bowl.
 
As for updates from sunny Fort Lauderdale – odd that the Orange Bowl as known as a Miami event, but almost nothing leading up to the game actually takes place in Miami – here are a few:
 
* The weather is ridiculous here. Warm, but not hot, and blue skies all the way.
 
* The gambling – at nearby Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino – is good. Unless you’re me. I played like a fool early and lost my stack last night. But … one of my Landmark Communications brethren was a big, big winner last night. FYI: There’s a lotta poker novices at the Hold ‘Em tables down here … and they’re more than happy to hand over their cash. Last night, I was one of those dummies.
 
* Kenny Lewis Jr. is fired up about his chance to start the Orange Bowl in place of starter Branden Ore, who’s suspended for the first quarter. He was grinning from ear to ear at today’s press conference, calling this “the greatest moment in my sports career” and saying that this is why he gave up a pro baseball career. He is, by all accounts, a great guy. You have to like seeing someone like him get a shot to shine.
 
* Kansas has a linebacker who scares me. And he would scare you. He’s got a little bit of Lattimer in him (the CRAZY, roided out guy on the wonderful, over-the-top college football flick, “The Program”). Now, I am in no way saying Jayhawks linebacker Joe Mortensen is on steroids. Not at all. I’m just saying, he looks crazy and scary. He’s got traps (those muscles up on the tops of your shoulders) that look like stacks of bricks. And … he has a Mohawk. With a dark, thick beard, lines shaved into his eyebrows and a chipped front tooth. He has the essence of a man who runs into walls for fun. Or on a dare. The guy said that last night, one of his teammates dared him to eat a ball of wasabi (that red-hot stuff that’s popular, in small doses, at Asian restaurants). “I ate it. Then went outside and puked.” This is apparently common with Mortensen. “They’ll be like, ‘I bet you won’t eat that food off the ground.’ I’ve eaten live bugs. I’m just getting ready for Fear Factor. I want to go on that show. I think I would just dominate.” I stepped away from him slowly.
 
OK, I think that’s enough for now. On to the Qs and As …
 
*** VIRGINIA TECH DT CARLTON POWELL
 
ON FINISHING HIS CAREER AT THE ORANGE BOWL: “Oh, man, what a beautiful thing,” he said. “What a great finish. To end my career in Miami, in a big-time bowl, it’s a great blessing. I’m just glad to be here. But I always knew it would end this way.”
 
ON FLYING UNDER THE RADAR COMING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL: “I’m definitely kind of an under-the-radar guy. Just one of those hard workers that gets stuff done. But I don’t mind being under the radar. When you humble yourself, you’ll be exalted later on.”
 
ON COMING FROM A LOSING HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM AT GREAT BRIDGE TO A TRADITIONALLY WINNING COLLEGE PROGRAM: “Yeah, we were probably .500 our best year. It was definitely a difference, because there winning wasn’t expected. When we lost, it really wasn’t a big deal. Here, where winning is a tradition, it was quite a turnaround.”
 
ON WHETHER HE HAD TO CHANGE HIS MINDSET COMING TO TECH: “Oh, no. I always played to my best ability. It’s just that we didn’t have a lot of other players that weren’t so good.”
 
ON THE PROGRESSION OF HIS CAREER: “I just came in, redshirted the first year. My redshirt freshman year I got a few starts in there. And actually my redshirt sophomore season, I began the year as the starter, but I got hurt. And I had a senior behind me, Tim Sandidge, who ended up starting some games. Then after that, I’ve started every game.”
 
ON HIS GOAL AS A DEFENSIVE TACKLE DURING GAMES: “Just to wreak havoc, make them have to double-team me every time so someone else will get free to make the play.”
 
ON HIS NICKNAME: “Causing Problems. Actually, when I came here on my visit during high school, I came into one of the dorm rooms and got introduced to Marcus Vick and Mike Imoh. They were in there playing video games and they asked me what my name was. I said Carlton Powell, but I guess I kind of mumbled it under my breath. Imoh was like, ‘What? Causing Problems?’ It was just a misunderstanding, but it stuck with me.”
 
ON DT BEING AN UNHERALDED POSITION: “I just play my role on the team, helping everybody else out. I might not have the most tackles, but I definitely cause the most plays to be made.”
 
ON THE BIGGEST CHANGE FROM HIGH SCHOOL: “Well, actually, I played linebacker in high school, so coming here and playing on the line was a big change. But it was something I knew I had to do. A lot was different when I got here, getting used to the speed of the game, getting bigger, stronger, dealing with more offensive linemen than usual.”
 
ON HOW MUCH WEIGHT HE HAD TO PUT ON: “Probably about 10 pounds. That’s it. I was like 290 in high school. I was a big linebacker. People were definitely scared. They didn’t ever run the ball on me. The passing game was different. They could throw the ball on me all day.”
 
ON TECH TELLING HIM ALL ALONG THAT HE WAS TOO BIG TO BE A LINEBACKER: “Oh, yeah. They said right away that I’d have to put my hand on the ground. I had to learn to use my hands a lot more and understand what blocking combinations I was going to get and how to get off blocks in general.”
 
ON HIS CURRENT WEIGHT-ROOM NUMBERS: “Right about now, I’m benching about 430, squatting around 600, power cleaning about 330, push-jerking 330.”
 
ON TAKING PRIDE IN “CAUSING PROBLEMS” EVEN IF HE DOESN’T PILE UP STATS: “Oh, yeah. I kind of consider that an assist. It might not get written down like that, but people who really know football look for things like that and appreciate it.”
 
ON WHETHER THESE LAST TWO SEASONS HAVE GIVEN HIM A CHANCE ON THE NEXT LEVEL: “I definitely think I have a chance. Because anybody that can cause a team to have to have extra blockers on them, leaving someone else free, is a valuable commodity.”
 
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION IN HIS LIFE: “I definitely was brought up in the church. My mom and my dad had Bible study at the house about three times a week. We have Bible study with some of the fellas (on Tech’s team) probably once a week. I’ve got to say with The Word. It will always lead you in the right direction. I’m going to have it with me my whole life.”
 
ON HIS MOTTO: “My motto is do whatever it takes, no water, no breaks.”
 
*** KANSAS CB AQIB TALIB
 
ON THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF PRACTICE IN MIAMI: “It’s wonderful. We’re in Miami, out here working hard. It’s hot, like two-a-days, but we’re working hard and it’s going to pay off.”
 
ON HIS IMPRESSIONS OF TECH’S TWO-QB SYSTEM: “It kind of helps us out, because each quarterback is going to have his tendencies. It’s like game-planning for two different offenses. It’s kind of difficult, but at least it gives us a heads-up on what to expect.”
 
ON WHETHER KANSAS HAS EVER FACED AN ATTACK LIKE TECH’S: “I don’t think so. Not that I can remember.”
 
ON WHETHER THE TEAM IS FEELING ANY EFFECTS OF THE TIME OFF SINCE THEIR LAST GAME: “No, I don’t think so. The first practice, we came out here and had one of the best practices we’ve had. I didn’t see any effects, no rustiness or nothing.”
 
ON HOW DIFFERENT TECH’S TWO QUARTERBACKS ARE: “They’ve got a runner and a thrower. It’s kind of just like that.”
 
ON WHAT HE’S SEEN IN HIS OWN QUARTERBACK: “He’s just smart, makes good decisions. He doesn’t really force a lot of stuff. He prepares himself well for the game.”
 
ON HIS LOCKER ROOM PRESENCE: “His locker’s right next to mine … so we’ve got a loud corner over there. We get it poppin’ over in that corner. We joke around.”
 
ON WHETHER HE’LL RETURN PUNTS IN THIS GAME: “Yeah, this week I will.”
 
ON USING A GAME LIKE THIS TO SHOW PRO SCOUTS WHAT HE CAN DO: “Nah, man. I use these extra games for my team. That’s what we’re here for. I could care less about pro scouts right now. I’m worried about the Orange Bowl. That’s what we’re here for.”
 
*** KANSAS COACH MARK MANGINO
 
OPENING REMARKS AFTER PRACTICE: “We just finished our second practice here, and it’s been good. We went full-contact here for two days. Practiced roughly two hours a session. The kids had a three-day layoff. They all went home for Christmas. And we had no effects of them going home. They understood the task at hand here, to practice and get ready. I’m pleased with our first two workouts here. They’ve been heavy workouts, but that’s the way we do it.”
 
ON WHY HE HASN’T PLAYED TALIB ON OFFENSE MORE BEFORE NOW: “Well, you have to be fair to kids. He’s settling in at that corner position, and he’s learning. We felt now, this year, that he had a good grasp on that position and he was capable of taking on more responsibilities.”
 
ON REESING BEATING OUT VETERAN KERRY MEIER AT QB, AND THE DECISION TO PLAY MEIER AT WR: “Well, when Todd won the quarterback position, I sat down with our offensive coordinator and I said, ‘Ed, we’ve got one of the most talented guys on the team who’s going to be standing next to me every day, and I’m not comfortable with that.’ We’re talking about a young man that’s got good size, strength, power, speed, great hands, very intelligent. It would be a waste just to have him signaling plays all year. I had Ed present it to him and he was all for it. Kerry Meier, he is a microcosm of what our team is all about: unselfishness, play together, let’s do what we have to do to help the team. He’s become a very popular figure in the Big 12 region because of that. He could be the starting quarterback for a lot of Division I schools, but he unselfishly took this role on and he has the respect of his teammates and our fan base because of it.”
 
ON TALIB SERVING A ONE-GAME SUSPENSION LAST SEASON AND HOW MUCH HE’S GROWN SINCE THEN: “He has grown a lot. He really has. Sometimes kids come into your program, and it takes a while. Sometimes it takes a couple years, really, to get a grasp of what it’s all about. He was a young kid, a little bit immature when he got here. But I can’t say enough positive things about the way he handled his suspension, how he learned from it … and he has become not only one of our best players, but one of our most-respected kids. He’s all team. He’s about winning. He doesn’t care about all these accolades he’s received. He deserves them. We’re proud of him, but he wants to win.”
 
ON QB TODD REESING BEING OVERLOOKED, EVEN AS THE TEXAS STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, BY MOST COLLEGES: “I’ve told the story before. He sent us a tape. His tape, he just looked phenomenal. He not only made plays throwing the ball, he made them running. His decision-making was very, very good for a high school quarterback. I really liked the tape, but he looked kind of small on the tape. I wanted to see him. So he came through with his dad the summer before his senior year. I guess it was one of those barnstorming tours that juniors like to do. But in his case, he knew he had to sell himself. He was being turned down by a lot of Division I schools because of his size. So I met him, talked with him, and while he was taken on a campus tour, the coaches came running down to my office and said, ‘What do you think about him?’ I said, ‘Well, he’s small. He’s really small. But I like him.’ He looked me in the eye. He was confident. Not cocky, but confident. Very sure of himself. I really took a liking to him. You take his videotape and his personality … We knew that a lot of schools were jumping off of him, and we felt that he could play for us, that he could be a good player. And now you know the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say.”
 
*** KANSAS QB TODD REESING
 
ON PRACTICING AND PLAYING IN THE HEAT OF MIAMI: “It’s going to take us a couple days to get used to the warmer temperature, but we went through hot two-a-days and we played a lot of games when it was hot, so it’s nothing we’re going to be worried about. We just need to stay hydrated and we’ll be fine.”
 
ON TOURING COLLEGES WHILE HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, TRYING TO PROVE HIS SIZE DIDN’T MATTER: “I visited a few schools. Probably about five or so. I was going to camps and just trying to get noticed.”
 
ON GROWING UP A TEXAS FAN AND MAYBE A SENSE OF REDEMPTION WITH HIS SUCCESS NOW AFTER THE LONGHORNS DIDN’T OFFER: “No, there’s no redemption or trying to get revenge on someone. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m not mad because people didn’t recruit me. It happens, and I’m glad I ended up at Kansas. I love the coaches, love all the guys on the team, so things worked out the way they should have for me.”
 
ON WHETHER THERE WAS A TURNING POINT FOR HIM THIS SEASON, WHERE HE KNEW HE WAS REALL IN CONTROL: “Well, I felt like I had control all season long, but I think our first Big 12 game when we played at Kansas State. We played on the road, where we hadn’t won in about two decades, and for us to come out of there with a win … I think at that point, everyone on this team knew we had a real good team.”
 
ON THE COLORADO GAME BEING ONE WHERE HE REALLY TOOK A LEADERSHIP ROLE: “Another road game, a tough place to play. Oklahoma went in there earlier in the season and they lost. We faced a similar situation … playing a good team on the road. We battled some adversity in that game. We had a few struggles on offense … but at the end of the game, we scored when we had to.”
 
ON MANGINO SAYING THAT WHEN HE MET HIM AS A HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER, HE WAS STRUCK BY REESING’S CONFIDENCE: “I was just being myself. I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself. You tell me I can’t do something and that’s just going to be more reason for me to go do it. So I’ve always believed in myself. My parents raised me that way, to think whatever I want to do, I can do it. I guess he just saw that.”
 
ON WHETHER IT WAS TOUGH NOT TO GET THAT TEXAS OFFER: “It wasn’t really tough. If you’re born in Austin, you’re probably going to be a UT fan. My dad went there. But I came in expecting not to be recruited by a lot of people because of my size. I was just going out hoping someone would give me a shot. Luckily, I got my shot, and it’s turned out pretty well so far.”
 
ON THE FIRST TWO ORANGE BOWL PRACTICES: “We’ve had two really good practices. I feel great coming off the field today after the work we’ve had so far. Guys are getting out here practicing hard and competing. I think it’s the right way to start this week off.”
 
ON VIRGINIA TECH’S DEFENSE: “From watching them on film, it may not be that far off to say this is the best defense we’ve faced. They have a lot of great players. They have All-Americans, all-conference guys, guys that are going to be playing at the next level. I have a lot of respect for them. It’s going to be a challenge. But at the same, I have confidence in our offense. I know we have a good game plan. So we’ll be ready to go.”
 
ON TECH’S PASS RUSH, AND WHETHER HIS MOBILITY WILL COME INTO PLAY: “Well, I’ll do what I have to do. That’s kind of what a quarterbacks supposed to do … whatever he has to do to get the job done, whether that be running it, throwing it, or pulling something out of your sleeve. Whatever you have to do.”
 
ON FEELING LIKE HE WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO PLAY AT KANSAS ALL ALONG: “I felt that way from Day 1, when I came on campus. I expect a lot out of myself. You don’t have to tell me when I mess up. I know. And you don’t have to tell me when I did good. I’ve always carried myself that way and I think the guys know that. I think that’s why they respect me as a leader and a quarterback.”
 
ON HIS PERCEPTIONS, AS A TEXAS FAN GROWING UP, OF THE KANSAS PROGRAM: “I really didn’t know much about them. When I was growing up, Kansas never really had a lot of great football teams. I never knew much about them until I started talking to them in high school.”
 
ON KANSAS BEING IN AN ORANGE BOWL SEEMING UNTHINKABLE BACK THEN: “Maybe back then, but once I started to meet the coaches and meet the guys they were recruiting, learning the things they wanted to accomplish as a program … if you asked anybody on this team before the season if we thought this was possible, we would’ve said yes. All the success and the season we’ve had is something we’ve earned and we’ve worked for. It didn’t just happen by chance.”
 
ON BEING HAPPY TO PLAY IN WARMER WEATHER: “You’ve gotta love the heat. Growing up in Austin, it was always hot. Some I’m happy to be here, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
 

While I don’t have anything new to report on the West Virginia situation, I just spoke with Tech AD Jim Weaver and have some news on that raise for Foster.
 
“It’s definitely going to happen,” Weaver said. “His base salary will go to $350,000.”
 
Weaver said Foster’s base this year was roughly $277,000 and with bonuses for Tech playing in a BCS bowl he made about $300,000.
 
“We think he’s an outstanding defensive coordinator, if not the best in the country,” Weaver said. “And we want him to stay.”
 
Weaver said he has not considered giving Foster a Jimbo Fisher-type deal. Fisher, Florida State’s offensive coordinator, was recently named Bobby Bowden’s successor as the Seminoles’ head coach – whenever Bowden decides to retire.
 
“I think that’s a different situation,” Weaver said. “I think it’s very premature to do that at Virginia Tech, because I expect Frank to be our coach for a long time yet. Frank is 60-ish and Bobby is close to 80. I can understand why they did that, to provide consistency for recruiting, so kids know who will be there.
 
“But Bud might be the head coach somewhere else next year, or the year after, so something like that is premature for us at this point.”
 
On the subject of Foster throwing his name in for the West Virginia head-coaching job: “We want Bud to stay, but people work very hard in the business to advance. I did. Coach Beamer has. And if that’s what Bud wants, we want him to accomplish that at some point in his career.”

OK, folks … I’m doing my best to monitor this Bud Foster situation. As I told you Saturday, Bud’s agent said that things would “get interesting” if Rich Rodriguez left West Virignia for the head-coaching gig at Michigan.
 
Well, that’s a done deal now. So … how interesting have things gotten?
 
Just spoke to Bob Lattinville, Bud’s agent, who said he has not officially put Tech’s defensive coordinator into consideration for the Mountaineer’s head-coaching gig. But he's in the process of doing so.
 
“I’m trying to find out if they’ve got a search committee and find out what protocol is,” Lattinville said. “I’ll talk to the AD, Mr. Pastilong, which is something I plan to get done today.”
 
He said he spoke briefly with Foster yesterday and “Obviously, that’s one of the best jobs in the country, in a conference and at a school he’s very familiar with. He’d love an opportunity like this.”
 
I’m planning to speak with Lattinville later tonight for an update. You’ll be the first to know what I hear. One thing Lattinville did say, though, is that if Foster doesn’t land this West Virginia job – and at the moment it seems like a longshot with some of the names being thrown out there (both Bowden brothers, etc.) – he’d almost certainly be back at Tech next season.
 
“Right now, I don’t see any other job out there that would interest him,” Lattinville said.
 
Not to mention the pending raise from the Hokies. Lattinville said that exact numbers hadn’t been worked out on a bump in pay from Tech, but “Bud’s very happy and appreciates that consideration. He’s in a great situation right where he is. And there might be a great head-coaching situation, too. So in a sense, either way, he’s got the best of both worlds.”
 
I’ve left messages with Pastilong and Tech AD Jim Weaver. Stay tuned.

Hello, Blog Nation. I know some of you are furious (as always) that I’ve stepped away for a couple of weeks to move all my earthly possessions back from Blacksburg to Norfolk and to transition into covering high school wrestling (no, Tech football is not yet a 365-day-a-year gig).
 
But is there any better way to break back into blogging than to give you the full scoop on defensive Bud Foster and those pesky rumors of his impending departure to South Carolina?
 
Well, let’s dive right into it then. Foster told Beamer yesterday that he’s not going anywhere. At least not to South Carolina. It’s pretty clear now that there is absolutely no coordinator job anywhere that Foster’s going to take and leave his friend and mentor, Frank Beamer.
 
But he still burns to be a head coach. And his agent, Bob Lattinville, told me something interesting today. He said that things will get interesting if Rich Rodriguez leaves West Virginia and takes the head gig at Michigan.
 
“West Virginia is a program Bud is very familiar with,” Lattinville said. “I think they might be interested in him, and I’m sure Bud would have some interest.”
 
So stay tuned on that front. But as for Foster trading bird logos, from Hokie to Gamecock … not happening. And here’s what he had to say after today’s practice.
 
*** DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BUD FOSTER
 
ON BEING OFFERED SOUTH CAROLINA’S D-COORDINATOR JOB: “I’m staying here. You know, it’s flattering to be offered a position, but I’ve got a great job here and I work for the best head coach in the country. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished here, but as good as it’s been, I think we can continue to get better. I’m excited about being here and we’re going to move on.”
 
ON DEFINITELY BEING BACK NEXT YEAR AT TECH: “Yeah, unless somebody comes in here … Michigan or somebody like that calls me. This is home, and it’s been home for 21 years. Like I said, I’m excited about the opportunity to start anew next year. We’re going to lose some outstanding players, so I’ve got my own challenges right here.”
 
ON HOW FAR THE TALKS GOT: “To be honest, I talked to Coach, it’s been about a week. You get at a point in your career, ‘Do I need to take another job to be a head coach, to spread my roots a little bit.’ I went through a lot of scenarios. And obviously the money was a factor. But at the same time, money’s not everything. The people you work with, the people you work for, and what we have right here … you kind of think the grass is greener on the other side, and it’s pretty green where you have it.”
 
ON SPURRIER PURSUING HIM: “This is the second time he’s offered me a job. I talked to him today and told him thanks. He said, ‘Bud, I appreciate it. I didn’t think I was going to get you anyway. You don’t need to make a lateral move, but I was going to throw it out there and see.’ I’ve talked to him several times, and I appreciate him considering me. He’s an outstanding football coach in his own right. I told him I was flattered and honored to be offered. Thanks, but no thanks.”
 
ON OTHER POTENTIAL OFFERS: “I tried to get in on a couple head-coaching jobs. But it didn’t work out. I threw my name in at Georgia Tech. I threw my name in at Arkansas.”
 
ON WHETHER, AS AN ILLINOIS NATIVE, HE CONSIDERED THE OPENING AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS: “No. Those are rumors. It’s home, but I like competing at the highest level. And that’s what I want to do. I think I’ve got the ability to lead a program at that level. I feel like I don’t need to take a step back to take a step forward. I’ve been doing it too long, and I feel like I’m ready whenever that opportunity comes. Coach Spurrier and I were talking, and I guess it was a heckuva a compliment, he said, ‘If Bo Pelini can get that job, you can get that job.’ I appreciate him saying that.”
 
ON WHETHER LSU TALKED TO HIM ABOUT ITS D-COORDINATOR VACANCY: “No, no. I wish we would’ve played a little better, maybe they would’ve (laughing). That rumor mill … that stuff is crazy. It’s going to be the death of all of us.”
 
ON WHETHER SPURRIER TALKED OF MAKING HIM THE HIGHEST-PAID DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR IN THE COUNTRY: “There were some words of that nature. The contract, and we didn’t sit down and talk a whole lot of numbers … but the contract was going to be a nice one. But Coach Beamer and Coach Weaver, they stepped up to the plate yesterday, too. I was really excited about that.”
 
ON WHETHER THAT MEANS A RAISE IS COMING: “I hope. They’re talking. In today’s day and age, the head coaches are getting paid. And the assistants, our salaries are better than they’ve ever been, but there’s still a big discrepancy. When you start seeing the Jimbo Fishers and some of these guys getting paid what they are, I think it’s fair you get paid your fair-market value. It’s just the nature of the beast. You better get it now, because it may not be here down the