NCAA violations in Blacksburg? Hokies say not likely ...

Ah, tense times. I see you Hokies are burning up the Internet, wringing hands and fearing the worst in regards to the Collegiate Times story about Kam Chancellor and Tyrod Taylor appearing in promotional fliers, and the potential for NCAA violations.

The story is here: http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/13744

So, let’s just address this, shall we? I just caught up with Virginia Tech’s NCAA compliance guy, Tim Parker, who answered all my questions and probably put to bed any fretting you folks are experiencing.

I’m covering an LPGA tournament in Williamsburg at the moment, about to head back out on the course, so forgive the raw nature of the below comments. I hung up about five minutes ago, and I’m just posting the Qs and the As exactly as they came flowing through the phone and out of my fingertips. Hope there are not too many typos.

Just thought you fanatics would want quick answers ...

* TIM PARKER, VIRIGINIA TECH DIRECTOR OF NCAA COMPLIANCE

ON THE COLLEGIATE TIMES STORY ABOUT QB TYROD TAYLOR AND FS KAM CHANCELLOR APPEARING IN PROMOTIONS FOR SOME HAMPTON ROADS CLUBS AND PARTIES, A POTENTIAL NCAA VIOLATION: “Our staff has had conversations with both players, and we’ve been assured that they were unaware of the use of their image or their name prior to these events. And that’s really the key element. The names and images were used without their permission. That’s what we know right now. I’m going to have a more extensive conversation with them tomorrow. We run into this type of situation a couple times a year, where a promoter will use an athlete’s name or likeness to promote an event. If the event hasn’t occurred, we send out cease and desist orders. It’s not uncommon. Most major programs have to deal with this every year. If the event has already happened, we’ll get in touch with the promoters and make them aware of the NCAA rule so this doesn’t happen again. It’s pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. The Collegiate Times was really looking for something to grab a hold of and make a story.”

ON TOMORROW’S CONVERSATION WITH THE PLAYERS: “There are other things I need to find out. We’ll find out if they were at the event, whether they received anything. We just have to make sure they didn’t give their permission. If it had turned out that these guys knew about this in advance, we would have to submit that as violation. We would self-report. But based on what I’ve been told, I have no reason to believe a violation occurred.”

ON THE POTENTIALLY MORE SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM, WHETHER THE PLAYERS WERE PAID TO BE USED IN THE FLIERS: “We will ask them that. We will go through everything, just to do our due diligence. But right now, that appears to be a mute question. Everything else is a dead issue, since our guys didn’t give their permission for any of this.”

ON THE CT STORY SAYING THE PLAYERS MIGHT’VE BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED TOGETHER AT THE EVENTS IN QUESTION: “If they were there, that in and of itself is not an indication of a problem. But if they were, I would just ask to make sure they didn’t receive anything while they were there.”

ON HOW COMMON THIS PROBLEM IS: “When Mike Vick was here, we ran into this all the time. Every ACC, SEC school, we all face this. It’s so easy now to pull photos off the Internet. You just toss it up on the flier. It’s really easy to use anyone else’s image without them knowing about it. Hopefully after tomorrow, we can go ahead and put the whole thing to bed. As a department, right now, we feel very confident that there’s no issue. Just another normal, minor headache. It’s actually amazing to me that we don’t have to do this more, honestly.”

So there you have it. It’s Tim Parker’s job to be worried about such things. If he isn’t worried, doesn’t sound like Tech fans should be either.

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment to alert an editor. Update on new comment functions.

Spring Bloggin', Volume 6 ...

Howdy, Hokies. Just a quick report today. Gotta hit the highway back through the mountains to the beach.

BUT ... on July 1, I will be moving to Blacksburg full-time. I’ll cover Tech sports year-round. So this blog will become much more regular. Until then, let’s finish up the spring game stuff.

Before I get to the rest of the post-game interviews, here’s a rundown of the spring awards:

* Top newcomers: RB Ryan Williams, WR Xavier Boyce * Outstanding leaders: QB Tyrod Taylor, FS Kam Chancellor * Most improved: C Michael Via, OT Andrew Lanier, OG Greg Nosal; LB Jake Johnson * Hustle in off-season workouts: C Beau Warren, LB Cody Grimm * Team-first player: OT Ed Wang, DT/DE John Graves * Exceptional spring: TE Chris Drager, DT Demetrius Taylor * Most valuable player: QB Tyrod Taylor, DE Nekos Brown

With that out of the way, I’ll finish emptying my spring game notebook. Keep checking back, though, this week for extended one-on-one interviews with RB Ryan Williams and DT Demetrius Taylor and D-line coach Charlie Wiles. (Stuff I gathered last week but have been delinquent in posting. Sorry!)

Enjoy ...

*** TE CHRIS DRAGER

ON WHETHER HE’S TRYING TO STEAL GREG BOONE’S JOB: “I’m just trying to compete with myself. I just need to get myself better. I’m not really worried about the depth chart right now. We’ve both been competing. We’ve both been pretty good.”

ON SOME TALK AFTER LAST SEASON OF MOVING HIM TO D-END: “There was talk, but it was never finalized. I prefer tight end, just because I’m more comfortable there, but I wouldn’t mind playing D-end.”

ON THE APPARENT CHEMISTRY BETWEEN HIM AND STARTING QB TYROD TAYLOR: “We came in together and we’ve been working together since we got here in ’07. We’ve got a lot of reps together, and it helps us. I don’t normally get that many passes, so it surprised me, but I just tried to take advantage of it. And I think I blocked pretty well, so it was a solid day.”

ON THE OFFENSE SEEMING TO HAVE SEVERAL MORE VIABLE WEAPONS THAN LAST SEASON: “Yeah, I think we have a lot weapons. We’ve got a compliment of running backs. Darren is more power, and Ryan has power and can fake people out. And then Boone and some young receivers coming up. Not to mention Tyrod.”

*** WR MARCUS DAVIS

ON NOT SULKING WHEN THEY TOLD HIM HE WASN’T THE BACK-UP QB ON MONDAY AND MOVED HIM BACK TO RECEIVER: “In my mind, I knew that Ju-Ju was going to be the better second quarterback, simply because he’s been there, he’s been through practices, he’s learned the system, he has that edge over me. So I was working at quarterback, doing my best, trying hard, competing and making him better. But at the same time, I was just trying to make myself better as an athlete. So when they told me they were going to move me back to receiver, it wasn’t anything down for me. That was just telling me that I can get out there and make plays now.”

ON HOW HE MADE THE MOVE SO SMOOTHLY: “It’s just going out there and playing football. That’s something I like to do. I haven’t played football in over a year (actually, just a few months) with my injury. This is my first time playing in front of all those fans. This is like my first game to me. So I just couldn’t wait to get out there and do what I do best.”

ON SPENDING SOME TIME BEFORE HIS INJURY LAST AUGUST WITH THE RECEIVERS: “That helped a lot, because when it came back time to run routes and know formations, I still remembered it from the summertime. It’s really come natural.”

ON SEEING THE MOVE AS A POSITIVE, BECAUSE EVEN IF HE’D WON THE BACK-UP QB JOB IT’S STILL JUST A BACK-UP JOB, BUT NOW HE HAS A CHANCE TO PLAY IMMEDIATELY AT RECEIVER: “Yeah, I’m very thankful. I’m a big team player. Whatever the coaches wanted me to do, that’s what I was going to do. If they wanted me to play third-string quarterback, I would’ve done that.”

*** QB JU-JU CLAYTON

ON HAVING A GREAT SPRING BUT STRUGGLING IN THE SPRING GAME AND WHETHER THE BIG CROWD WAS A FACTOR: “No, I really didn’t pay attention to the crowd. On that interception, instead of putting it to the back of the end zone where only the tight end could get it, I guess I tried to put it on him more and the DB got his head around quick and intercepted it. That’s just a mental error. I’ve just got to learn from that and know where to go with the ball in certain situations.”

ON WHAT HE TAKES FROM THE EXPERIENCE: “I take this as a learning curve. The spring game, that’s real important, but I know this is just preparing me for the season coming up. So I’m going to watch the film later this week and learn from my mistakes.”

ON THIS HICCUP BEING A WAKE-UP CALL AFTER A PRETTY SMOOTH, ERROR-FREE SPRING: “I know there’s still work to do. Like me reads, going through the mental stages. We have a lot of athletes here, so I know there’s still going to be competition at the quarterback position, from guys that are here and guys coming in. So I know I can’t just sit around. I still have to improve.”

ON WHETHER HIS FAVORITE, EASIEST PASS IS THE 2-YARD DUMP-OFF TO RYAN WILLIAMS: “Oh, yeah. Ryan’s real explosive. He said before he wants to be the most dangerous player on the field. He showed that to everyone out there today. Ryan is a big attribute to your team.”

*** CB RASHAD CARMICHAEL

ON THE OFFENSE HAVING A BIG DAY, WHEN THE DEFENSE USUALLY DOES: “We’re a full team. If the offense is getting the shine, the defense has to go out there and do it the Hokie way, keep fighting, do what we’ve been doing for years. It’s OK. It’s all good.”

ON HE AND FELLOW CB STEPHAN VIRGIL MISSING PRACTICES DURING THE WEEK TO WORK ON SCHOOL STUFF AND COMING OUT ONLY ON WEEKENDS: “I feel like I would’ve been a little bit sharper or more in shape physically (if he’d been there), but mentally not being at practice, it just makes me want to be on top of my game even more. So I was studying more, watching more film. I was a little winded, that was the only thing. But other than that, I think I did pretty well.”

ON DYRELL ROBERTS’ LEAPING CATCH OVER HIM IN THE END ZONE: “Coach Gray came over after that and he told me, ‘Look, you did what you had to do. You played the ball well. It was a good ball, good catch.’ ”

ON HOW MUCH BETTER THE RECEIVERS ARE THIS SPRING: “They’re a lot more mature. That’s the biggest difference I see. Those jitters are gone. Everybody wants to make plays. Everybody wants it. Everybody’s talking about this national championship thing. Man, we’re just worried about getting out to the first day of camp.”

ON THE RECEIVERS SEEMING MORE CONFIDENT: “Oh, yeah. Especially going against Coach Bud’s defense every day. After a long practice, they’re confident. They’re getting better. I like those guys, man. I like them.”

*** CB CRIS HILL

ON WHETHER THE BATTLE FOR THE STARTING FIELD CORNER JOB CONTINUING: “I wouldn’t be surprised if the battle still goes into August. All of us did a good job this spring. I think I did a solid job. We’re just pushing each other to be the best secondary in the country.”

ON THE RECEIVERS’ IMPROVED PLAY AND CONFIDENCE: “I think since they got that one year of experience, they’re much better. They’re more confident out there. You can see it. I think they’ll be pretty darn good this year.”

ON THE DEFENSE USUALLY GETTING THE ATTENTION: “It’s always a pleasure when the offense gets the job done as well. Tech is always known as a defensive team, but I don’t know: We could be known as an offensive team this year, too. We’ve got some good players over there now.”

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment to alert an editor. Update on new comment functions.

Spring Bloggin', Volume 5 ...

How ‘bout that? The OFFENSE steals the headlines in today’s spring game. Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? Be honest? REALLY? No. You’re a liar.

And while it’s still too soon to declare the Hokies an offensive juggernaut – the best defenders were scattered between two units – one thing was overwhelmingly clear in today’s quasi-game: Tech no longer lacks playmakers on offense.

Ryan Williams ... well ... nothing really needs to be said. He’s legit. He is hype fulfilled. He ran 10 times for 85 yards. He caught two passes for 66 yards. He scored on his first touch, shaking free for a 56-yard score on a little dump pass (sprung in part by spring surprise Greg Nosal at right guard).

Williams averaged 12.6 yards per touch (not counting his one punt return, on which he really never had a chance). For the entire spring, he averaged just shy of 12 yards per touch. Folks, you have a game-breaker.

Make that two, perhaps. There have been lots of questions about whether Dyrell Roberts can really handle the move from running back to receiver. His route-running and hands were suspect last season. Not anymore.

Roberts flashed his big-play potential several times today. He broke loose for a 41-yard kickoff return. He snagged a 15-yard pass at the sideline from Tyrod Taylor and broke two tackles (one by star Kam Chancellor) and turned it into 40 yards. He made a ridiculous, leaping 3-yard touchdown catch over likely starting corner Rashad Carmichael on a pretty fade from Taylor. Afterword, secondary coach Torrian Gray consoled Carmichael. There was nothing you could do, he told him. Just a great catch.

For the day, Roberts touched the ball six times. He had 115 yards. That’s 19.2 yards per touch. Folks you have game-breakers. With an ‘s.’

QB Tyrod Taylor was solid. He went 16 of 33 for 188 yards and a touchdown. He ran nine times for 39 yards (before touch-sacks were deducted). Those numbers are misleading. None of his sacks would’ve been real ones. They were all pats on the back. But he’s in the yellow jersey to keep him from getting hurt. All it prevented Saturday was a handful of potential scrambles to free up deep throws and what would’ve been, without a doubt, a 22-yard touchdown run that would’ve won the game for Taylor’s White team in the final 10 seconds.

A couple of other notables: Kam Chancellor is a beast, as previously mentioned in this space. The proverbial light has come on for him at free safety and he is turning the proverbial lights out on offensive players. He clobbered Xavier Boyce on one play, the destroyed RB Zac Evans on a run up the middle, popping the ball loose and resulting in a 20-yard touchdown return by DT Antoine Hopkins, who added two “sacks” to his big day.

Lastly ... watch out Greg Boone. The tight end job seems very much up in the air all the sudden. And what a surprise. Chris Drager has had a big spring, capped by a stellar spring game. He hauled in four passes for 41 yards and looks like one of Taylor’s favorite targets. That will be interesting to see develop in the spring. The Hokies appear loaded at tight end.

OK, enough from me. Here are the first three post-game interviews. More will be posted in the morning. But these are the three you really want to hear from.

By the way ... how’s this for telling: Six of the eight players requested by the media today were offensive guys. Every question asked of Frank Beamer was about the offense’s outburst. WHEN was the last time that happened?

Enjoy ...

*** COACH FRANK BEAMER

OPENING REMARKS ON THE SPRING GAME: “No. 1, we need to have a talk with that special teams coach (grinning, because that’s himself). I thought we were very sloppy today. What that tells me is we need to settle on people and get them in there working. In the spring you kind of work everybody, but it’s not going to be that way in the fall. We’re going to make some quick decisions and go, and make sure we’re a lot better special-team wise, kicking and snapping, than we were today. The encouraging thing is we’ve got some playmakers out there (on offense), some guys that can do it. I think we continue to grow. Dyrell Roberts had a good day. Ryan Williams had a good day. Tyrod can make plays with his arm and his feet. I’m eager to see Marcus Davis continue to work. And we haven’t changed. He’s going to work to get his arm stronger, but I really thing he’ll be a big factor if he stays at wide receiver, too. Xavier Boyce, I want to see him continue to get better. I really think we’ve got some good playmakers. We were short tailbacks today – (Josh) Oglesby didn’t play and (Darren) Evans didn’t play. Defensively, I think we’ve got to keep going. Right now we may be a defensive end short and a linebacker short. But we’ve got time. The good thing is you’ve got a whole summer here and some guys can get with (strength) coach (Mike) Gentry and get themselves physically better. And get themselves mentally better. We’ve got time. We understand we have a lot of work to do, too.”

ON DYRELL ROBERTS’ BREAKOUT GAME AND WHETHER THEY’LL EXPAND HIS ROLE THIS SEASON: “Well, I think he’s going to expand it. Last year, he came here as a running back, we moved him to wide receiver, and it was just a learning process. He’s always had ability. You knew that the way he could run the ball in high school. Now he’s turning that into a threat. He continues to learn, but now he understands the position and when you put the ball in his hands, you’ve got a chance of having a good play.”

ON THE ESTIMATED CROWD OF 41,000 AT THE SPRING GAME AND THE EXCITEMENT OF THE FANS OVER THIS TEAM, WHETHER HE SHARES THAT EXCITEMENT: “I think it’s the biggest (crowd) ever. Yeah, I do (share the excitement). I understand perfectly that we’ve got work to do. We’ve got a couple areas that’s concerns. A couple positions we’d like to have one more guy. We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to get that one more guy. Is it going to be a freshman? Is it going to be a guy (already) here? I think we can be a good football team, but like I said: I think every team in the ACC is going to be better. Most of us were young (in 2008). And when you start talking about it – when I first came here, they talked about improving your schedule. When you’re opening up with Alabama, then playing Nebraska, and then you’ve got Miami there in the first four ballgames, we’ve certainly upgraded your schedule. That’s tough, but it’s good. We’re playing good people and I think we’ve got players in this program that want to play good people.”

ON BACK-UP QB JU-JU CLAYTON, WHO PLAYED WELL ALL SPRING BUT HAD ONE INTERCEPTION (ALMOST TWO) AND A FUMBLE, WHICH WAS RETURNED FOR A DEFENSIVE TD: “Ju-Ju just needs time. You’ve got to take care of the football, don’t give it to them. Don’t throw it if you don’t like it. But he will do that. I have great confidence that he will do that. He will learn from what happened out there today. It was the first time for him with some people in the stands. I guess the largest crowd he’s ever played in front of. But he’s solid, he work at it, and he will be better.”

ON R-FROSH RB RYAN WILLIAMS’ BIG DAY (12 OFFENSIVE TOUCHES, 151 YARDS): “I though Ryan showed a lot of explosiveness. I think explosive is kind of the word for him. He runs with a quickness, but the pile kept moving there a couple times. One guy doesn’t usually bring him down. I think he’s an explosive guy.”

ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE’S OVERALL SOLID PLAY THIS SPRING: “I feel better. I think we’re more athletic. We’ve just got to continue to work and continue to get tougher. But I think our offensive line is better. I think we’ve got a chance to be a good offensive line.”

ON R-FROSH MARCUS DAVIS’ BIG DAY AT RECEIVER AFTER ONLY WORKING THERE THREE DAYS THIS WEEK SINCE HIS MOVE FROM BACK-UP QB: “He played wide receiver before. Before he was a quarterback his senior year (at Ocean Lakes High), he was a receiver. But he came out there Monday and made a couple great catches, went up and got it. You can tell Coach Gentry’s been with him. He looks different now than he did in the fall. He’s bulkier, stronger, runs stronger. He runs with a lot of power. He needs to be on the field somewhere. He’s got a good future here.”

ON TIGHT END CHRIS DRAGER EMERGING, CATCHING FOUR PASSES FOR 41 YARDS AND APPEARING TO BE A FAVORITE TARGET OF STARTING QB TYROD TAYLOR: “Drager has had a good spring. He was tied going into today’s game with Greg Boone. He’s blocking well. He’s getting himself open. He’s catching the ball well. Very dependable. I mean, a good football player.”

*** WR DYRELL ROBERTS

ON WHETHER THE SPRING GAME WAS HIS COMING-OUT PARTY: “I guess you could call it that. I’m a year older, got a year under my belt. When I first got here, I really wasn’t used to the receiver role. Now I understand the receiver part better and now I can use my athletic ability. I’m comfortable with it, but I know I still have a whole lot to learn. But overall, I’m comfortable with the position.”

ON WHETHER THE OFFENSIVE GUYS WANTED TO SHOW THE BIG SPRING GAME CROWD THAT THIS OFFENSE ISN’T LAST YEAR’S SAME STRUGGLING BUNCH: “Yeah. We were looking forward to showing everybody the type of offense we have. Last year, we had to hold back a couple things. The receiving corps was new. We couldn’t do a whole lot of things because we didn’t know how to pick up on things. But now they know they can open the offense up and can depend on us more.”

ON RYAN WILLIAMS’ BREAKOUT DAY: “I seen him in high school and I knew he was a special player. Coming in, he didn’t pick up on the blocking schemes, but he was still running the ball hard. Now that he’s got a year in the weight room, stronger, faster, y’all seen what he can do today. We’re excited to get the ball in his hands.”

ON THE BIG CHANGE FOR HIM: “The approach I brought last year: I didn’t even know the receiver spot. I was watching film and things like that, but didn’t have a clue what I was watching. I was just looking at corners doing what they do and I’m like, ‘OK, what do I do?’ But this year, I’ve got more understanding. I know if a corner do this, I need to do this. I need to stem in or whatever. I have a way better understanding. I can play way faster, because I don’t have to think about what I need to do.”

ON WHAT THE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE DID FOR THE RECEIVERS: “Coming into the spring we had a lot of confidence in ourselves. We knew we weren’t scared to go out there and let it all loose. During the season, we were trying to hold things back. We didn’t want to make mistakes. But now we know that even if we do make mistakes, if you do it full speed you can correct it.”

*** RB RYAN WILLIAMS

ON BREAKING OFF A 56-YARD TOUCHDOWN ON HIS FIRST PLAY: “It felt great. I said after the first scrimmage, when I took the 80-yarder to the house, that was the best feeling I’ve had so far. But that play right there was the best feeling. In front of all these people. My mom hasn’t really seen me play since my junior year of high school. And I always find her before the game. I make sure every time I score, I point to her. Just seeing her jumping and getting all excited, it made me feel like I’m back to being me. She was sitting right behind our bench. I’d say about three or four (rows back). I pointed right to her. I looked at her. She was all excited, jumping. She pointed to me, blew me a kiss. I blew her a kiss back. That’s just how me and my mom roll. There’s going to be a lot more.”

ON 41,000 FANS SHOWING UP, THE EXPECTATION THAT THIS TEAM CAN CHASE A NATIONAL TITLE, AND WHETHER THE TEAM FEELS THE SAME: “Oh, yeah, no doubt. We talk about it non-stop. We feel like we have the team to take us there. We have a shot at the national championship. I think our team is kind of tired of going to the Orange Bowl. We want something different. So hopefully we can get everything settled, work even harder during summer camp, and get rolling. Get rolling.”

ON WHETHER THIS WAS HIS COMING-OUT PARTY FOR TECH FANS WHO’VE BEEN EAGER TO SEE HIM: “Yeah, this is the coming-out party. I feel like the best is yet to come. It was a little sample, because I still feel kind of slow when it comes to the game. Maybe a lot of people don’t feel that way from the outside looking in, but I know what I’m capable of doing. Once I get everything down pat, it’s going to be a lot more coming. I can’t wait. I’m excited. I’m anxious. Words can’t describe. I’m just so happy right now.”

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment to alert an editor. Update on new comment functions.

Spring Bloggin', Volume 4 ...

Not sure why I’m even typing this right now. We’re 20 minutes from the Spring Game kickoff and it looks like most of you folks who care about Tech football are ... here.

Parking around Lane Stadium was a nightmare. Tailgating is in full force. I eventually just jumped a sidewalk, drove up a grassy hill and made my own parking space about 30 feet from the stadium’s front doors.

So I’m here now in the press box, looking down on several thousand people. I’m guessing once the tailgaters get in here, the crowd could reach 30,000. Very impressive.

As is the weather. This is a perfect day for a football game (or a pretend football game). So enjoy, and I guess you guys will read this afterward (if you’re in any state to read).

Here’s some more from the two young guns battling Rashad Carmichael for the starting field corner spot. Check back tonight for more from the spring game ...

CB EDDIE WHITLEY

ON WHETHER HE’S GUNNING FOR THE STARTING FIELD CORNER JOB: “I’m coming for it, but everybody is still looking equal. We all have different types of games, but I feel like we’ll be productive with any one of us (him, Cris Hill or Rashad Carmichael) in there at any time.”

ON WHO HE’D GUESS WILL WIN THE JOB: “Right now, he still might pick Rock (Carmichael) because of more experience. He’s been in the game, knows his keys. We’ll just have to see. But I’m anxious to know.”

ON HOW BIG THE SPRING GAME IS THEN: “This is real big, not only for the spot, but just to let all the fans know that: OK, Macho’s gone, but we’ve still got young playmakers behind him that are going to do the same things he did. We want to give people the idea that we’re still here. There’s not going to be any drop-off. We’re still going to fight, be ruthless, be animals like we are.”

ON HOW MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE HE IS THIS YEAR: “Much more. I know the defense now. This year, it’s not so much thinking. It’s just playing. I’m in my element, comfortable, playing the ball.”

ON WHETHER HE GOT BIGGER IN THE WEIGHT ROOM SINCE HIS FRESHMAN SEASON: “Yes, sir. I gained about 12 pounds. On a good day, I’m at 190. Usually I’m around 187.”

ON THE THREE-MAN RACE: “We are neck and neck. But when it’s that close, there’s no drop-off. So whoever gets the job, there will be no drop-off. We’re all family, and we’ll encourage whoever gets the spot.”

ON WHAT DB COACH TORRIAN GRAY IS LOOKING FOR: “He wants us to attack, play downhill, play sound in technique and play consistent.”

ON HIS OWN STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS AT THIS POINT: “My strength is coming up and laying the boom. I feel more comfortable hitting this year. My weaknesses is probably just getting out of my breaks. I feel like I still don’t have the burst like I did. But it’s going to come in time. I’ve got this summer to work on it. There’s a competition now, but there’s going to be another competition this summer. If we push each other, we all get better. When the season starts, we’ll all be playing like animals, playing wild.”

ON MACHO HARRIS TAKING HIM TO DINNER LAST SEASON: “Yeah, he took me to MacAdoos for 29-cent wings. He was little cheap, but I took the meal. (laughing) He just told me to keep my head up, that he sees a lot of potential in me. Hearing that from him, an All-American, that gives me confidence. Now I’m even more hungry. Last year, I had to learn everything, and with the playmakers we had I knew I wasn’t going to move up. But this year, I know the defense and we’re all even right now. So I’m ready.”

CB CRIS HILL

ON THE TIGHT FIELD CORNER RACE: “It’s a pretty tight race. It’s very close, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we go into fall camp still battling for the position. My mindset is just trying to stay consistent. That’s the big thing with Coach Gray, because at our position, one play can cost us the game.”

ON HE AND WHITLEY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CARMICHAEL’S MISSED TIME THIS SPRING: “I think it gives us an advantage. Rashad had more experience last year, so this gives us more reps to figure it out.”

ON WHETHER HIS PATH TO PLAYING TIME HAS TAKEN LONGER THAN HE THOUGHT IT WOULD: “If I’d gone to another school, I probably would’ve gotten more playing time. But it’s an advantage, because here you have to be technically sound with everything you do. So it might take some time, but in the long run I think it’ll pay off. It hasn’t been hard for me. Last year, I didn’t really have an experience. Going into spring, I would blank out on a play, let one of my guys go. But now I feel more comfortable and it’s coming more natural to me now.”

ON WHETHER HE PLAYED MORE ON RAW TALENT IN HIGH SCHOOL: “Coach Gray, he wants everything to be perfect. Coming out of high school, I was basically just an athlete. Now it’s more mental. With every rep, I’m gaining confidence and just trying to take that next step. There have been some moments that I felt like, ‘Yeah, I’ve really got it now.’ So I’m just trying to keep the ball rolling.”

ON WHETHER THERE WERE TIMES LAST SEASON WHERE HE’D HAVE BEEN NERVOUS IF THEY STUCK HIM IN AT A CRITICAL MOMENT: “Back then, I was afraid to make a mistake. I was too worried about trying to be perfect, rather than just doing my assignments.”

ON WHETHER THE CORNERS HAVE EXTRA MOTIVATION WITH STAR WR JULIO JONES WAITING IN GAME 1: “Yeah, I’m really excited. It should be a great challenge. I’ve thought about it ever since I found out we were playing Alabama. I saw some of their spring game. I think (Jones) is very physical. It’s a great challenge.”

ON GETTING ADVICE FROM MACHO HARRIS, HIS FORMER HIGHLAND SPRINGS TEAMMATE AND TECH ALL-AMERICAN: “He said this is a great program, so just wait for your time. You can’t always just go in and play right away. He told me to wait my turn and it would be worth it.”

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Spring Bloggin', Volume 3 ...

Greetings, gang. I’ve been here in Blacksburg since Wednesday gathering info and interviews. Finally got it all typed up, so look for a steady stream of stuff over the few days.

I thought we’d begin this evening with a few (hundred) words from the corners – and their coach. Senior Stephan Virgil is taking over for the beloved (and wildly talented) Macho Harris at boundary corner. Playing opposite Harris last fall, at the field corner position, Virgil had one heckuva a season himself, with six interceptions – including one each in the ACC title game and Orange Bowl victories.

So ... I think the Hokies are set there.

The bigger issue? Finding a starting field corner. I say issue, but really it’s not an issue. Tech has three very quality players battling for the job, and right now, they are all nearly dead even.

How’s it all going to shake out? Here’s my best guess: Rashad Carmichael wins the field corner job. Cris Hill becomes his back-up. Eddie Whitley becomes Virgil’s back-up and, quite possibly, the No. 2 at free safety. More on that below.

All that said, I really am just guessing. Lucky for you fine folks, though, corners (and their coach) are the best talkers on any team. This team is no exception. These guys talked so much, in fact, that I’m only going to give you Virgil and coach Torrian Gray in this installment. There's some great analysis in there.

We’ll save Hill and Whitley for later. Maybe even later tonight. If not, it’ll but up first thing tomorrow. Stay tuned.

And now, I give you ... a whole heap of secondary stuff ...

*** CB STEPHAN VIRGIL

ON HIS UNIQUE SET-UP FOR SPRING PRACTICE, SKIPPING THE WEEK-DAY STUFF AND ONLY JOINING THE TEAM FOR SATURDAY SCRIMMAGEES: “Yeah, I’m doing the same thing I did last year, just to get my books straight. They just let me come on Saturdays.”

ON TAKING MORE CLASSES, A HEAVIER COURSE LOAD, IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER AND THEN LIGHTER DURING THE SEASON IN FALL SEMESTER: “Yep. That’s what I’m doing now. I’ve got 18 credit hours and on Mondays and Wednesdays, those are the days when I have the majority of my classes. It conflicts with practice. So that’s why they give me that option. This summer I’m going to load up Session I and II. I’m taking two classes both sessions. I was trying to get my hours so I could graduate in December, but three of the classes I need are only offered in the spring, so I’ll have to wait.”

ON CLARIFYING, THEN, FOR FANS ... THERE’S NOT A CURRENT ACADEMIC PROBLEM: “No, no problems. Just staying ahead.”

ON WHETHER IT’S WEIRD TO NOT BE IN PRACTICE ALL WEEK, THEN COME SCRIMMAGE: “It is this year, because last year I was behind (with school). This year, I’m on top of my books, but they just want to keep me eligible for the fall. I want to be out there during the week. Sometimes I come out there on Saturdays and I feel like I’m missing a little something. But I still try to keep up mentally, what I have to do with my assignments. I still go to the meetings and watch everything on film.”

ON PEOPLE WONDERING HOW GOOD THE SECONDARY WILL BE WITHOUT ALL-AMERICAN MACHO HARRIS: “We’re going to be alright. We look real good out there, especially during the scrimmages. On Saturdays, playing with Chancellor, Porch and Davon and Rock ... we look real good. I think we’re more of a disciplined group than we were in the past.”

ON WHO HE THINKS IS THE FRONTRUNNER FOR HIS OLD FIELD CORNER SPOT: “I don’t know. Rock is doing a good job. Eddie, Cris, they’re all three doing a good job. It’s up to Coach Gray. Any one of those guys is a good player. Rock, his technique is good, his press game. Eddie is more of a hitter. Cris is a fast guy, a speed guy. So they all contribute different things to the secondary. With any of them, we’ll be fine.”

ON HOW BIG THE SHOES ARE THAT HE HAS TO FILL AT TECH’S BOUNDARY CORNER, WHERE DEANGELLO HALL, JIMMY WILLIAMS, BRANDON FLOWERS AND MACHO WERE ALL, CONSECUTIVELY, ALL-AMERICANS: “Watching those guys, yes, I have big shoes to fill, but I’m just trying to wear my own shoes out there, blaze my own trail in the boundary corner. Those guys brought a different aspect to the position. I’m just trying to bring that level up, take it to a different level.”

ON WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT HIS STYLE THAN THE OTHER GUYS: “I think I’m more disciplined. Those guys before me, they’d take a lot of chances. I take chances, too, but I think I’m more disciplined than they are. I’m going to try not to give up a big play. I don’t like being scored on or guys getting behind me. When that happens, I take that as a loss, that’s on me, and I take credit for it. Not those other guys didn’t do that. They held themselves accountable. But I think I’m going to take it more to heart if I mess up.”

ON HOW MUCH, THEN, IT BOTHERED HIM THAT TIGHT END GREG BOONE SCORED ON HIM IN THE PREVIOUS SCRIMMAGE: “It really bothered me. I started thinking about it, and I was like, ‘Dang, that’s the first guy that’s scored on me since before last season.’ But at least it happened in practice. I don’t recall any (real) points being scored on me. I take that to heart.”

ON WHO HE’D PREDICT, FROM THE YOUNGER PLAYERS, WILL BECOME A STAR: “Eddie, he’s a more physical guy than Cris. He’ll come up and hit you. If you hear any noise out there, if it ain’t Kam Chancellor, it’s probably Eddie. Pads popping. But they all bring different things to it. Rock has good technique. Cris has the speed. Any of them could be the guy.”

ON THE PRESSURE OF THE BOUNDARY CORNER TRADITION, WHETHER THERE’S A GREATER SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY: “Oh, yeah. The boundary corner has to play the short side of the field. You have limited space to work with. You are needed against the run a lot. And you’ve got to be that shut-down corner because most people like to put their best receiver to the short side of the field ... then throw to the weak side. You’ve got to be great back there with your technique, your fundamentals, you’ve got to be disciplined. I think I’ve got all those. I think about how Dot (Brandon Flowers) would come out of his breaks – being behind him my freshman and sophomore years – how he’d come out of his breaks with the receiver and attack the ball and just make plays in practice and the game. I’d just watch Macho with his savvy and how swift he was. Jimmy was more physical and DeAngelo had it all. I try to take a little bit from all of those and mix it up.”

ON MACHO GETTING ALL THE ACCOLADES WITH A SIX-INTERCEPTION SEASON, BUT VIRGIL ALSO HAVING SIX PICKS LAST SEASON: “I turned into a competition after the Duke game when we both had two. I told Macho: I’m going to catch you. You aren’t going to run away from me with these picks now. At the end of the season, I got one in the ACC title game and the bowl game. I told him I was going to catch him.”

ON FREE SAFETY KAM CHANCELLOR TAKING SOME TIME TO FIGURE OUT THAT POSITION LAST YEAR, CLICKING LATE, AND THE CONFIDENCE CHANCELLOR IS PLAYING WITH THIS SPRING: “He’s more comfortable out there. He’s flying around. He’s checking calls, making plays left and right. Last year, he was just feeling his way. He was doing everything he was supposed to do, but coming from rover, being that run-stopper, then being a pass-defender, that was a transition for him. From the bowl game to now, I think he has clicked. It’s going to be scary out there, first game with him back there. Making plays in the passing game and then coming up to hit you, too, it’s good to have him on my side of the ball.”

ON THAT FIRST GAME, AGAINST ALABAMA, AND THE MATCH-UP WITH WR JULIO JONES, ONE OF THE NATION’S BEST WIDEOUTS: “We’ve watched Julio Jones a little bit. We’re getting on ‘Bama right now. We’re ready. Alabama is in our thoughts right now. We win that game, we’re on our way to a special season. Julio is their main target, but they’ve got other good receivers, too. One can’t beat 11 on the field. We’ve got to take that one guy out and make the other 10 try to beat us. We’re going to work hard this summer, this fall, to make that happen.”

ON THAT MATCH-UP ADDING FUEL TO OFFSEASON WORKOUTS: “That motivates me even more. I like competition, and he loves competition. It’s going to be a good match-up come Sept. 5.”

ON THE POSITIVES OF PLAYING MAYBE THE TOUGHEST GAME ALL YEAR IN THE FIRST WEEK: “If it happens that you have a loss, you can learn from that loss earlier than at the end of the season, where if you lose the big one, you can’t get it back. And especially being a senior, you can’t get that back, come back the next week and improve. At the end of the season, it’s over for the senior. So we’re going hard every day, since we got back from the bowl game. We don’t want to have to think about that big ‘if.’ What if we had done this? What if we had done that? We don’t want to wonder.”

ON HOW EXCITED HE IS WITH THIS SEASON’S SCHEDULE: “Very excited. Very excited. We’ve got a great schedule with Alabama, Nebraska, Miami. Our conference schedule is stacked. It’s an A-plus schedule to me.”

ON PLAYING THE BOUNDARY CORNER EARLIER IN HIS CAREER: “I played it as a back-up my freshman and sophomore year. It’s not new. Last year, being to the field was new to me. Boundary feels more like home. You get more physical action in the boundary than at field corner. Last year, sometimes I didn’t even make a play, didn’t get any opportunities. We’d come back on Monday looking at film and who made plays and I’d feel left out sometimes. Now I have the runs coming, short passes, plays to make in the boundary. I like to be in the mix, to be in there to make a play.”

ON TAKING PRIDE, THEN, THAT HE MANAGED SIX INTERCEPTIONS FROM A POSITION WHERE THERE’S LESS ACTION COMING HIS WAY: “I was in the right place at the right time. Coach Gray and Coach Foster do a great job putting us in position to make plays. I remember the Duke game, the pick I got, the first one, Coach Foster said the play before that to watch out for this certain play. They came with it and I picked it off. Anybody could have made that play.”

ON WHETHER HE REALLY CONSIDERS FOSTER A DEFENSIVE GENIUS: “Um, yeah. It’s hard to explain, really. He does such a good job with us. He demands so much from us, and we give him everything we’ve got because we love him like a father. What he says, we do. Whatever your father says is hardly ever wrong. My father tells me stuff, and he says, ‘Just do it for me.’ That’s what I get from Coach Foster: ‘Just do it for me. I won’t ever tell you wrong.’ So we go out there and believe in Coach Foster and all our coaches out there. When he tells you something and you miss the play, he gets so upset, you’re scared to look over there. It’s just, ‘Oh, my fault, my fault, Coach.’ ”

ON HOW MUCH HE’S LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SPRING GAME, GIVEN HIS LIMITED CHANCES TO SHINE THIS SPRING: “I can’t wait. I told my whole family I want everybody to come. It’s like an actual game for me. I’m really looking forward to showcase what I can do as a boundary corner. They’re expecting a lot out of me, so I have to go out there and give them what they want.”

*** SECONDARY COACH TORRIAN GRAY

ON STEPHAN VIRGIL MISSING MOST SPRING PRACTICES TO FOCUS ON ACADEMICS AND VIRGIL SAYING IT WASN’T BECAUSE HE’S BEHIND: “He’s not in any dire straights. We had success doing that with him last spring, and he’s taking 18 hours. He’s very ambitious as far as trying to get his classes done and graduate. And that’s a big load on him, so we just want him to make sure he takes care of that. We’ll have him in the fall for all those practices. He got enough experience and reps, and knowing he did it last spring, we feel confident he can handle it.”

ON VIRGIL’S MOVE FROM FIELD TO BOUNDARY CORNER: “He’ll be playing a lot more man. Can he hold up? You don’t know just yet, but from an assignment standpoint, he knows what to do. With a four-man rush, that guy (boundary corner) is really hung out to dry a lot of times. That’s something Brandon (Flowers) and Macho (Harris) excelled at.”

ON VIRGIL SAYING HE FEELS MORE COMFORTABLE AT BOUNDARY, WHERE HE WAS A BACK-UP FOR TWO YEARS, THAN AT FIELD CORNER WHERE HE PICKED SIX PASSES LAST YEAR: “That’s interesting, because I thought he played a more consistent field corner than Macho played it (in 2007). Macho could make flashes and just do some wow, wow, wow plays. But from game in, game out, Virgil played that position great. I kind of wanted to leave him, because I think he’s that good at the field corner spot. If we had another guy who I felt confident could do the boundary, (Virgil) is such a good field corner that you’d like to keep him there. (But Bud’s philosophy is ...) The best corner needs to be in the boundary. I’m glad he feels that way (comfortable at boundary), because we’ll need him to produce that way. I just remember him a couple years ago, backing up Brandon ... against Josh Morgan and those guys in practice ... he wouldn’t have been able to get in a game and do what we needed that position to do. Two years later, I’m glad he feels that way. He’s physical better, mentally confident, and that’s what it’s going to take.”

ON HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR HIM TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL YEAR LAST SEASON LEADING UP TO THIS TRANSITION: “It’s huge. He made some wild interceptions. He played with a consistency that the position hadn’t been played at since I’ve been here. When you can be consistent, fundamentally sound, and he was very disciplined, you can only have confidence. You’ve got to have a certain mentality. What he did last year is going to allow him to start out at that position with confidence.”

AN EXPLANATION, AS IF GIVEN TO A THIRD-GRADER, OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TECH’S FIELD CORNER AND BOUNDARY CORNER POSITIONS: “Usually, the game of college football is played with the ball on the hash. So you’ve got a big field and a short side of the field. The field corner is to the big field. To the big field, we play a lot more zone coverage. And it’s a lot longer throws, so you’ve got time to adjust on mistakes. You’ve got the free safety that can be over top of you. You’ve got the whip linebacker that can buzz in the flat and be underneath you. You can be protected out there a little more. All those things work to your advantage. The boundary corner is to the short side of the field. You’ve got shorter throws. You’re playing a lot more man coverage, which is tough. You only have a four-man rush with the base defense that we do. So you’ve got to contest quicker, shorter throws from the quarterback. You don’t have guys buzzing out to help you. That’s the biggest difference.”

ON A ONE-SENTENCE EXPLANATION: “In the field, you have as many as two other defenders helping you cover a larger space, but in the boundary, you’re on an island, on your own.”

ON THE SEARCH FOR A STARTING FIELD CORNER, BETWEEN CRIS HILL, EDDIE WHITLEY AND RASHAD CARMICHAEL: “It’s very tight. Last year, you could say Stephan Virgil really separated himself, with limited practice time, from Rashad Carmichael and Cris Hill. This spring you’ve got Rashad, Cris and Eddie all really bunched in there. And you don’t get to see enough of Rashad Carmichael (who is missing several practices because of academic conflicts) but I like enough of what I see to say if we played a game tomorrow, he’d start off the game. Cris Hill, before (Wednesday’s) mini-scrimmage, I would’ve said is the second corner. But Eddie Whitley had a better scrimmage and right now is going into the summer as the second of those three guys. But it’s all so tight that all of those guys give us an opportunity to be successful. It’s just who’s going to be the guy.”

ON WHETHER THIS IS A CASE OF THREE SUB-PAR GUYS NOT SEPARATING OR THREE GUYS THAT HE FEELS GOOD ABOUT ACROSS THE BOARD: “It’s a very good situation. You see enough in practice that ... whoever ends up winning that battle, it’s going to be a pretty good guy. And we’ll have more depth at that position. We’ll have four good guys for the first time. The years I’ve been here, we had a great boundary corner, good field corner and very little depth. This year, we’ll have four good corners. All those guys are being taught to play both sides except Virgil.”

ON FEELING, THEN, THAT HE’LL HAVE FOUR GAME-READY CORNERS BY SEPT. 5: “Correct. The way they’ve practiced this spring and if they pick it back up in the fall, I will have four guys.”

ON WHETHER THE SPRING GAME EVEN MATTERS IN THIS RACE THEN: “It can. Because (Wednesday) changed my mind between Eddie Whitley and Cris Hill. Eddie does not have as many tools as Rashad or Cris, from a speed standpoint. But what he has over those guys is intangibles to think the game. He makes a mistake, you tell him once, he corrects. Whereas the other guys, they can run, but the mental part of the game, they don’t pick it up as quick. I just don’t think they grasp the concepts. It’s gotten better for those guys, but that’s where Eddie excels.”

ON WHITLEY BEING A BIG HITTER, TOO: “You know, all those guys are pretty good tacklers. They can all come up. But Eddie is a guy who ... he may be your next free safety. If Lorenzo Williams doesn’t progress the way you want, Eddie has that kind of versatility. (Said Whitley could play every position in the secondary, as could Kam Chancellor and Dorian Porch, according to Gray).”

ON KAM CHANCELLOR SETTLING INTO FREE SAFETY: “You thought the Kam that played in the Cincinnati game was the Kam you were going to get all year, because that’s how good of an athlete he is and that’s how hard he prepares. Unfortunately, it just didn’t show up the way you wanted it to. But it got better as the year went on. Now, he hasn’t really missed a tackle all spring. He’s been great in all the scrimmages. He has made sensational plays. When you have success, it builds confidence. He got better at the end last year, had a great bowl game. He has committed this spring to practicing with a purpose each day. And I know his confidence has to be very high. Now you feel he can be the guy we though we would get all last year.”

ON CHANCELLOR ARRIVING AS A PLAYMAKER: “I think so. He’s had that kind of spring. He’s mature enough to not get complacent in his mind: OK, I’m there. If you’re ripe, you rot. If you’re green you’re still growing. Maybe last year he thought he was there, then boom, you’re not making the plays, then your confidence drops. But with the success he has had now, he understands if I keep my mindset right, I can be this game-changer, this intimidator-type force. To look like it and play like it.”

ON HOW MUCH A SIGH OF RELIEF IT’S BEEN FOR HIM, THAT CHANCELLOR HAS FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT: “You know, I wouldn’t call it a sigh of relief, because I always expected it. It just never came. Saying that, it sounds like I should take a sigh of relief. But I’m not surprised. I just thought it would always be there. What he’s doing is what I expected. Because I’ve never seen a guy his size as talented as he is, so it’s great to see him playing at the level you thought he could.”

ON WHAT HAPPENS IF CHANCELLOR GOES DOWN, WHETHER BACK-UP LORENZO WILLIAMS (A TRUE SOPHOMORE) IS READY TO STEP IN: “Lorenzo is not there right now. And that’s not a crime. I thought he would be further along coming into the spring. I would like him to be further along. That’s not where we are right now. He’s got fall practices to get better. He can watch himself in the summer. But if we had to play a game right now, we know we’ve go the guys in our program. We know Eddie Whitley can go to free safety and we’ll have depth at corner. We know we’ve got depth at rover and we can bring Dorian Porch to free safety. We’ve got the guys in our program that if Kam went down, we could plug in and keep going.”

ON WHITLEY IMPRESSING HIM AT FREE SAFETY IN ROUGHLY A MONTH OF PRACTICE THERE LAST FALL WHEN TECH HAD SOME INJURIES: “The most impressive thing was that he was in the meeting rooms but he’d never played a snap. Then Lorenzo goes down, you put him back there and, boom, just like that, he’s got it. He’s a quick study. There’s not a lot that you don’t like about the kid.”

ON WHETHER WHITLEY’S ULTIMATE FUTURE IN THE PROGRAM COULD BE AT FREE SAFETY: “Wherever we can get our best guys on the field the quickest ... yeah, that’s a natural move.”

ON HOW GOOD HE FEELS ABOUT THE STOCKPILE OF SECONDARY TALENT THE HOKIES ARE BUILDING: “(Evil laughter) I keep a little smirk on my face. I think it’s the first time we’ll have four good corners. You know you’ve got Kam Chancellor. You know you’ve got other safeties in the program. And then you’ve got, probably on paper, the best group of defensive backs that are coming into the school since I’ve been keeping up with it. I came here in ’92. I don’t think there’s been a group this good with the three corners and Antone Exum and Theron Norman at safety. That’s as good a group as you’ll probably ever have – on paper. So I’m a little giddy with it right now.”

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment to alert an editor. Update on new comment functions.

Spring bloggin', Volume 2 ...

By now you’ve all heard the news: That redshirt freshman Ju-Ju Clayton has “won” the back-up QB job. At least for this final week of spring practice. Fellow redshirt freshman Marcus Davis will move to wide receiver for this last week.

Coach Frank Beamer said the move is in part because Clayton is simply further ahead, more polished, at QB. And partly because Davis has shown himself to be too dynamic and explosive not to find a place for him to make plays for this team.

Sounds like a smart move all the way around to me.

And in light of this development, now seems like a good time to roll out a Q&A with the quarterbacks coach. Keep in mind, these questions and answers were presented on Saturday, immediately following the scrimmage.

Also, after the QB talk, I’ll got ahead and empty my recorder of a quick-hit interview with leading PK candidate Matt Waldron. So far this spring, former Penn State transfer looks solid.

Check back tomorrow for some extended interviews with RB Ryan Williams and RB coach Billy Hite from a story I wrote today on the talented tailback. All signs point to Williams being very, very special for Tech. Very, very soon.

Until then ...

QB COACH MIKE O’CAIN

ON DRAWING OUT THE DECISION ON A BACK-UP QB: “I think we’ve got to make a hard and fast decision and live with that decision, because you keep trying to get both of them work and neither of them can get as good as they need to be. Both of them continue to get better, but you’re not improving either one of them enough to where that guy can become a solid second-team player. You don’t have to have him coming out of spring practice ready to play, but you need to have a No. 2 guy that you feel good about, then you have three weeks in August to get him ready to play in that first ballgame.”

ON WHETHER THE DECISION GOT HARDER SATURDAY: “I don’t know yet. It’s been hard the whole time. There’s really been very little separation. They both have strengths and weaknesses. Ju Ju started a little bit ahead, just because of the mental aspect, having gone through it in the fall when Marcus did not. Obviously Marcus is a very talented athlete. Now we’ve got to weigh does he throw the ball consistently and well enough to be the No. 2 guy. Obviously he can do things in the running game well enough. It’s now does he have the knowledge and the wherewithal in the passing game to be that No. 2 guy. And can he (eventually). That’s the other thing you do: You’re trying to project, and that’s tough.”

ON WHETHER CLAYTON, AT THIS POINT, IS SLIGHTLY AHEAD: “Yeah. Just because he’s done it. Marcus is a year and a half (removed) from playing quarterback at all. So yeah, (Ju Ju) is ahead from that standpoint.”

ON WHETHER IT LOOKED LIKE JU JU HAD SOLIDIFIED THE NO. 2 SPOT WITH THAT 95-YARD DRIVE BEFORE DAVIS BROKE THE LONG TD RUN: “Well, not necessarily, because it’s not based on one day. It’s based on 11 days. And then the hardest thing we have to do is: Where can he be on Sept. 6 or 5 or 4 or midway through the season. That’s the hard part. If you took it on what both of them have done today, I know what I’d do. But what would it be three weeks from now. Where could it be two months from now.”

ON THE OTHER FACTORS: “You’re not only looking at the two of them. Just like we did with Tyrod and Sean, you have to look at the make-up of the football team. What do we need? Who fits? What do we need in a second quarterback?”

ON WHETHER CLAYTON AND DAVIS’ STYLES ARE VERY DIFFERENT: “Right now they are. Marcus is more – I don’t like to use this word, but I’m going to – talented athlete. He’s a 4.5 in the 40 and he’s 6-3, 6-4, 220 pounds. Ju Ju is 5-11, 200 pounds and runs a 4.85 40. So athletically, yes, there are differences. But that’s not always the key. You saw Ju Ju pull it down out there today and make two or three nice runs. It was kind of like slow motion out there, but they weren’t tackling him. He was making people miss. So he has a little bit of a knack, a little savvy to him, which I like. There are a lot of things you weigh into it and put into the hopper to make the decision.”

ON WHETHER THE BATTLE OPENS BACK UP IN AUGUST: “You don’t want it to. But if the No. 2 guy that we decide is the No. 2 Monday doesn’t come out and perform to those standards, yes, it could be different. You want to do it to try to put yourself ahead, but at the same time, it’s not written in stone. A lot can happen between April and August.”

ON WHAT MORE HE NEEDS TO SEE FROM DAVIS: “He’s got to see things quicker. Got to get a little bit more on his throws. His throws are not quite crisp enough. Timing. All of those things have to improve before he’ll be ready to play. He’s just late with some throws. That’s part mental and part physical. He doesn’t know exactly where to go, and he hasn’t done it enough to when we call a certain protection and a certain route, I know I’m taking a five-step drop or a seven-step drop. Those things he hasn’t done enough for it to be automatic.”

ON THE THING THAT CAN BE LOST IN ALL THE BACK-UP TALK ... HOW STARTER TYROD TAYLOR HAS PROGRESSED: “I think he’s made tremendous strides. It didn’t look it today. He missed a couple balls that he’ll normally hit. I don’t worry too much about that. He’ll be fine. He’s improved his throwing motion. He’s throwing the ball quicker. He’s delivering the ball quicker. For the most part this spring, he’s very accurate. He’s still going through some ... any time you change something you’ve been doing over a period of time, it takes time to get the timing exactly right. That’ll continue to improve the more he goes this summer. But the thing I like about him: He understands what’s going on on the other side of the ball. He’s pulling the trigger faster. He’s seeing things better. Those are the things you wanted to see this spring. You began to see it toward the end of the year last year. The game was slowing down for him. For Ju Ju and Marcus right now, it’s a thousand miles an hour. Tyrod now, he sees that safety move a little bit. He sees the ends or linebackers adjust and shift and do those little things that give you a pre-snap advantage. It takes a couple years for that. It’s just repetition. You can’t speed it along.”

K MATT WALDRON

ON OFFSEASON PREPARATION TO COMPETE FOR THE JOB: “I’d ride a lot of the bike up the hill to kind of get the stamina going (in his leg). I’m getting a lot more height on the ball. That’s helped a lot. That’s what grabs (Beamer’s) attention. The biggest thing with Coach is you’ve got to grab his attention. If you don’t grab his attention, you’re just going to kind of fall to the back.”

ON WHETHER HE WAS A FORMER SOCCER PLAYER THAT MOVED TO KICKING: “No, never played soccer. Never really liked soccer. My dad got me a little set of plastic pipes in the back yard. Now I have a big set, but I always used to kick little footballs around. I injured my neck as a kid. Somebody slammed head against the roof of the bus when I was in kindergarten. i always had a bad neck. It doesn’t hurt anymore, but that’s why I never played football. I used to always get headaches from contact, so that’s how I became a kicker.”

ON WHETHER, AS A FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR, HE IS INSPIRED BY THE STORIES OF JUD DUNLEVY AND DUSTIN KEYS, WHO WON THE JOB THEIR FINAL SEASON AND HAD RECORD SEASONS: “Yeah, they’re my good friends and I kind of hope it can work in that same progression, me being a fifth-year senior and hopefully getting my opportunity this year. I’m pretty old. This is my last time. We’ve got a long time left. There’s months and months until the game. I just have to keep my consistency, my head on straight, got to keep focused.”

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment to alert an editor. Update on new comment functions.

Spring Bloggin', Volume 1 ...

Greetings, Hokies. The rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. I do apologize for my long absence. Thanks to newspapers’ incredible shrinking budgets, along with some new recent media restrictions in Blacksburg, our decision-makers didn’t think it feasible to cover the early part of spring practice.

But we’re back with lots and lots of stuff for you. I’ve been in the ‘Burg since Wednesday evening gathering notes and quotes. And now I’m ready to start spilling some of it here.

Stay tuned over the next few days for further updates. Let’s start, though, with Saturday’s scrimmage. First, some of the plays that got extra scribbling in my notepad. Then some post-scrimmage reaction from coaches and players.

Enjoy ...

* Ju Ju Clayton wasted no time stating his case for being the back-up quarterback. His second pass of the day, against the first-string defense, was perfect. He floated a fade to the back of the end zone, down the left side to Dyrell Roberts. Clayton dropped it over Roberts’ shoulder, beating projected starting corner Rashad Carmichael, for a 12-yard TD.

* Tyrod Taylor, your obvious starter at QB, remains fast and elusive. He scrambled in for a 3-yard touchdown against the first-team defense early in the scrimmage. In the passing game, Taylor was spraying the ball a little high and wide early on, but he settled down late. More on that in a moment.

* The Hokies really are, it seems, developing some depth on the offensive line – for the first time in my six years covering the team. The back-up blockers opened a gaping hole for RB Josh Oglesby to race through, untouched, up the middle for 4-yard TD. Oglesby is looking like a legit option in the backfield. Sadly for him, Ryan Williams and Darren Evans are going to be very difficult to wrestle carries away from.

* FS Kam Chancellor loves to deliver big hits. And he is, well, good at delivering them. At one point, WR Xavier Boyce – who ran with the first string most of the day – caught a screen from Taylor and ... KABOOM. Chancellor sniffed it out and destroyed Boyce. Biggest hit of the day ... by a defensive player. More on that in a moment.

* RB Darren Evans loves to deliver big hits. And he is, well, REALLY good at delivering them. With the first-string offense operating from the opposing 7-yard line, Evans ripped off a run up the middle. LB Quillie Odom came up to meet him. The meeting was unpleasant. Evans leveled Odom, putting him flat on his back, bouncing off and lunging forward to the 1-yard line. Afterward came the line of the day by RB Kenny Lewis, who remains sidelined but chirpy: “Quillie! You know we’ve got counseling for that!” To quote Frank Beamer’s favorite comic: I don’t care you are, that’s funny.

* We all know RB Ryan Williams can run. The big question has been whether he can block. Um. Yeah. Williams sprang Ju Ju Clayton for a 23-yard scramble by first blocking A.B. Latif, then releasing him and cracking back on DT Kwamaine Battle in the backfield. The 210-pound Williams sent 283-pound Battle flying. It was nasty. I think Williams has been trying to prove a point this spring and, well, point taken.

* Williams followed that up with a sweet little move. Clayton, under pressure, dumped a pass off to Williams, who was engulfed by DT Antoine Hopkins when he caught it. Despite what looked like a certain tackle, Williams ducked under the big guy, somehow slipped out and picked up 11 yards. The guy is the definition of slippery.

* Welcome back, Sam Wheeler. Once Tech’s most promising tight end, Wheeler has spent more than a year hampered by a knee injury. But he has looked good in my limited exposure to him this spring. Never better than on a 23-yard grab from Clayton, who rolled out left and floated one down the field. Wheeler adjusted to the slight underthrow and made a leaping catch between two defenders. He also clobbered the safety (not sure who) on the way down. Nice grab.

* Great play call on an 8-yard TD pass from Clayton to FB Kenny Younger. Clayton sold the play-action to the right, then connected with a wide-open Younger in the left flat. This completed a very surprising 11-play, 95-yard drive on which Clayton was 4 of 4 for 51 yards and rushed three times for 34 yards. If I’m picking this race, Clayton is the Hokies’ back-up. But as you’ll read later ... Marcus Davis’ potential is difficult to predict. He’s one heckuva athlete. More on that in a moment.

* Brent Bowden is the best punter in the ACC. That’s all. He was bombing it Saturday.

* Ah, yes, back to Davis. Sensing that he was losing that back-up QB competition, Davis ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run. It was against the third-team defense, but this guy has some good shake and some great giddyup. Whether he wins this particular competition or not, methinks Marcus Davis will be a major player for the Hokies somewhere at some point in his career. He followed the TD run with a pair of 8-yard runs against the first-string D. One was pretty special, spinning out of a near-sack by Barquell Rivers.

* Confession time: I kinda stopped paying attention at this point. BUT ... Tyrod Taylor, who was erratic throwing it for most of the day, finally put something together. He connected on three straight throws against the No. 1 defense, including a 10-yard TD strike to Greg Boone. A perfect throw and a great, leaping grab by Boone over starting CB Stephan Virgil.

QB JU JU CLAYTON

ON LEADING AN IMPRESSIVE, 95-YARD DRIVE IN THE SCRIMMAGE: “I was just trying to move the ball down the field the best way I could. Coach Stinespring called good plays and some plays I just had to make something out of nothing.”

ON WHAT SPECIFIC PROGRESS HE SEES HIMSELF MAKING: “I’ve been able to read coverages better because of a lot of film work with Coach O’Cain. Then being able to pick up certain blitzes and working on my sights more for my receivers on corner blitzes and safety blitzes.”

ON BEGINNING TO GET COMFORTABLE: “Oh, yes, I feel myself settling in. I’m just making sure on my play-actions to flip my hips around quick and get back quick on the drops, make proper reads. I feel like I’m getting better at all that.”

ON HOW FAR HE’S COME SINCE SPRING STARTED, WHEN BOTH HE AND MARCUS DAVIS WERE STRUGGLING WITH THE SNAP COUNT: “The first day was pretty awkward, because that was the first day for both of us. After that, we went back to the dorm and practiced going over our cadence. It was new for him, so I told him the key points. We just went over certain plays and made sure we called out the right formations.”

QB MARCUS DAVIS

ON HIS PROGRESS: “I came a long way from Day 1, thanks to Ju Ju. We’ve got classes together. He’ll be telling me cadences and I recite them back to him during class. With his help, with Ty’s help, with Coach O’Cain’s help, I’ve come a long way from Day 1.”

ON WHAT CLASS THEY DO THIS IN: “Intro to acting. It’s not a big class, but she can’t really focus on all of us. It’s a class where we’re allowed to talk and interact with each other, warming up before the start of class. We’ll go around and he’ll say something to me and I’ll say it back, so it’s not like we’re interrupting anything.”

ON WHETHER JU JU’S 95-YARD DRIVE WORRYING HIM: “Yeah. When he had that drive, the first thing that came to my mind was: I’ve got to go out there and do something to show I’m ready to play also, so the coaches wouldn’t say he can’t handle the pressure. That really fueled me.”

ON HOW LITTLE HE KNEW ON THE FIRST DAY: “I didn’t know anything. I knew routes because I played receiver. I knew maybe a couple of drops. But my footwork was bad. My reads were bad. I was just going out there trying to make plays. The first day, you could see I was throwing to the tight ends, the check-down, because I didn’t really know how to make reads back then.”

ON WHEN THEY EXPECT TO FIND OUT WHO IS THE OFFICIAL NO. 2: “Monday, I guess before practice.”

ON HIS 62-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN: “Like I said, I had to do something to counteract what he did. I felt good after that.”

ON HOW MUCH HE STILL DOESN’T KNOW: “Mostly it’s just some things I doubt myself on. It’ll be a motion or a movement and that kind of confuses me sometimes. But I re-say it to myself before I get under center and then it comes back to me. So maybe sometimes it’ll be a little slow, but as long as I get it off.”

TRAINER MIKE GOFORTH

ON OL JAYMES BROOKS’ ANKLE INJURY DURING THE SCRIMMAGE: “Oh, he’s just got an ankle sprain. It’s a high-ankle. X-rays were negative. Nothing I’m worried about for the summer or next fall. We’re good. (Likely sit out for the final week of spring ball, though.).”

ON DT COURTNEY PRINCE’S INJURY: “Just a right knee sprain. The ACL feels good. All the major ligaments are fine. He might not be out there next Saturday, but he’s going to be fine.”

ON LB JERON GOUVEIA-WINSLOW: “A right knee and right ankle. He had surgery on that knee back in high school. We’ll go back and look at the records of that, but we don’t expect that to be anything either.”

HEAD COACH FRANK BEAMER

ON THE BATTLE FOR BACK-UP QB: “We’re going to look at video then talk about it. I thought both of them did some good things. Both of them, you can see them just getting a little bit better all the time. Both great kids, and both of them give you something. We’re going to take a look at this video and make a decision from there. But I don’t that we’re in position to make a definite decision right now. Both of them kind of had their moments.”

ON JU JU CLAYTON’S BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE: “Yeah Ju Ju was 6 for 7 wasn’t he? (Yes, during one stretch). But then Marcus gives you something, too. And Marcus has only been playing quarterback here this spring. He wasn’t doing it in the fall. You see some good things. What I see is hope – that we’re going to have a pretty good back-up here before it’s all over.”

ON WHETHER THE COMPETITION RE-OPENS IN AUGUST: “Well, I think we go through the Spring Game. Right now, we’re going to get both of them a lot of work in the spring game. In the end, at some time, one of them needs to get most of the second-team work. That’s just the bottom line.”

ON WANTING TO NAME A NO. 2 BY MONDAY: “Well, that was the plan. You’ve got by what you see on the field and what I saw on the field was both of them give you something. I think both of them need to continue to develop that for a while before we make a final decision.”

ON WALDRON AT KICKER: “Waldron’s doing well. He has all spring. He’s been the most consistent all spring. We do a kicking contest every day just about, and he’s won most of them. He’s been the most consistent kicker we’ve got. But you know the other thing is both Hazley and Meyer both kicked the ball well today. We’re fortunate to have some good kickers here at Virginia Tech. But I think Waldron’s been, overall, the best this spring. He’s got good technique. He’s really worked at kicking. And his is the one that stays in the middle most of the time.”

ON RYAN WILLIAMS’ BIG BLOCK IN THE SCRIMMAGE: “He’s had a really good spring. He’s had some good runs. He’s got real toughness. He’s bigger and stronger than he was in the fall. I think he’s got a bright future.”

RB RYAN WILLIAMS

ON HIS FAVORITE PLAY IN THE SCRIMMAGE: “When I set to blocks for Ju Ju. I don’t remember who I blocked first, but they were coming Ju Ju’s way. I want to say A.B. Latif, but I’m not sure. But I slowed him down. Then I saw Kwamaine and I released off A.B. because I knew he wasn’t going to get Ju Ju. Then I made a block on Kwamaine and I was looking for more. I was having fun out there. It was like a big play field for me out there.”

ON SAYING HE ‘MADE A BLOCK’ BEING AN UNDERSTATEMENT, CONSIDERING HE DE-CLEATED BATTLE: “(Laughing) It felt good. After the situation, I heard the crowd, the coaches and everybody. I take pride in that. Any little thing I can do that will help this team, I’m all for it.”

ON THE KNOCK AGAINST HIM LAST YEAR BEING HIS BLOCKING: “My high school coach was here and he actually said, ‘They said you can’t block but you just put a big defensive lineman on his butt.’ It was cool. It felt good knowing what I was doing and didn’t have to ask the coach, didn’t have to be reminded by anybody. Just get the play called, go about my business and just work.”

ON ITCHING FOR THE SEASON TO START: “Very anxious. I feel like everybody’s put me on a high pedestal, and I love it. I never shy away from high expectations. I always try to be above what’s expected of me. I can’t wait. Everybody’s labeling me as the X-factor, the big-threat player. And that’s what I’m going to be.”

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BUD FOSTER

ON HIS LIKELY STARTING LINEBACKERS: “I don’t know yet. Right now, I’ve been real pleased with Barquell (Rivers). He’s played very, very well, played very consistent, understands his position and the expectations of it. I just like where he is right now. Jake Johnson has really showed a lot of improvement. Some little things he needs to continue to improve on, but he’s a very willing kid, wants to please. I’ve been real pleased with his work ethic and how he’s responding. He’s going to be alright. Bruce Taylor’s really done some nice things. Today he missed a couple plays in space that he made a week ago. But he and Quillie (Odom), both those guys have gotten better and continue to improve. I just think Jake and Barquell are ahead of the curve a little bit. But I really feel much better about those kids, those four guys, now than I did.”

ON HIS BIGGEST CONCERN AT THIS POINT: “Right now, I still feel like our field corner is a concern, finding another corner. Chris Hill has done a great job out there. Him and Eddie Whitley have been the two that have been out there on a consistent basis. Rashad Carmichael has missed time (for class conflicts) and sometimes he comes out and doesn’t look like his technique and fundamentals are up to par. But we understand that, and he’s going to have a fall and two-a-days to do that. Same as (Stephan) Virgil. He should’ve played that play a little better that Boone scored on at the end. But he comes out one day a week, on Saturdays and scrimmages. He gets no technique or fundamental work.”

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment to alert an editor. Update on new comment functions.

Hokies hitting the weights. Hard ...

Greetings, Hokies. There obviously hasn’t been much from me in quite a while. I’ve been off in wrestling land the last couple of months. In fact, I’m heading to cover the NCAA championships next weekend, where I’ll be bloggin’ on takedowns and pins, so help a fella out and click on that coverage a few times, wouldya?

In fact, in exchange for your readership of wrestling next week (don’t worry, I’ll post about the Hokies in the tournament as well as a large “757” contigent), I’ll bribe you today with some coveted offseason football info.

Today’s topic: Winter workouts. The gist: It looks like the Hokies – perhaps motivated by a season opener against Alabama, or maybe in preparation of handling the weight of great expectations for next season – have taken their offseason workouts VERY seriously.

The 11 position records and 11 Super Iron Hokie winners (Tech’s top weight-room honor) have been widely publicized already at Beamerball.com and techsideline.com. So far, though, I think the only way to get more detailed info is to pay for it at Beamerball. Until now.

Below, you’ll find the team leader in every winter testing category. You’ll also find a list of standouts, guys who rate top-five on the entire team (not just at their postion) in more than one category.

Not mentioned on any of the below lists are QB Tyrod Taylor and FS Kam Chancellor, but both guys are Super Iron Hokies who are athletic freaks at their positions. Chancellor’s 380-pound bench is simply absurd for a free safety. But he is, after all, an unsually large safety at 6-4, 225 pounds. Scary. And the fact that Taylor, known for his speed and agility, set QB records on the front squat (385) and power clean (310) is also plenty impressive.

But you’ve heard plenty about both of those guys before. We all know they’re silly-good specimen. Let’s turn our attention for the day to some other folks who are making their name in the weight room. SS Dorian Porch appears to be the most well-rounded gym rat. He’s top-five on the entire team in FIVE different areas, from sprinting to leaping to lifting.

DT Demetrius Taylor remains a beast. He’s top-two on the team in FOUR lifts. To put it perspective, if you put receivers Danny Coale and Dyrell Roberts on either end of a bar, Taylor could (in theory) bench press them, push jerk them, power clean them and back squat them. In fact, for that last lift, you could add a linebacker to the bar. CRAZY.

Other notables: OL Greg Nosal’s conversion from tight end is, at least physically, complete. He’s throwing around silly weight. WR Patrick Terry’s blazing speed and kangaroo leaping ability might not surprise you, but his strength sure might. Meanwhile, one of this fellow receivers, Coale, is clearly not satisfied with his team-leading rookie season. Coale, a redshirt freshman, turned in the most impressive all-around workout numbers at his position. Finally … LB Cody Grimm never ceases to surprise. The guy who looks to little to play as big as he did last season ... was among the leaders in several workout categories.  

But that’s enough from me. Let’s let the numbers do the rest of the talking. Enjoy, Hokie addicts …

TEAM LEADERS

Power Clean: Greg Nosal (361)

40-yard dash: Rashad Carmichael (4.26)

NFL shuttle: Cody Grimm (4.02)

Bench press: Demetius Taylor (430)

Back squat: Greg Boone (620)

Front squat: Dorian Porch (450)

Vertical jump: Marcus Davis and Patrick Terry (40.5”)

Push jerk: Demetrius Taylor (400)

10-yard sprint: Danny Coale, Tony Gregory, Dyrell Roberts, Stephan Virgil (1.62)

WORKOUT WARRIORS

(Players who are top-five on the entire team in three or more tests)

SS Dorian Porch: No. 1 in the front squat (450), No. 1 in the 10-yard sprint (1.62), No. 2 in vertical jump (39.5”), No. 2 in NFL shuttle (4.03), No. 5 in the 40-yard dash (4.43).

DT Demetrius Taylor: No. 1 in the bench press (430), No. 1 in the push jerk (400), No. 2 in the power clean (360), No. 2 in the back squat (600).

OL Greg Nosal: No. 1 in the power clean (361), No. 3 in the bench press (410), No. 3 in the push jerk (351).

WR Patrick Terry: No. 1 in the vertical jump (40.5”), No. 4 in the 40-yard dash (4.38), No. 5 in the front squat (410).

WR Danny Coale: No. 1 in the 10-yard sprint (1.62), No. 2 in the front squat (420), No. 5 in the 40-yard dash (4.43).

LB Cody Grimm: No. 1 in NFL shuttle (4.02), No. 2 in 10-yard sprint (1.64), No. 4 in vertical jump (37”).

OTHER GUYS WHO ARE NOTABLY FASTER AND STRONGER THAN ME

(Players who are top-five on the team in at least two tests)

LB Jake Johnson: No. 3 in the power clean (351), No. 4 in the back squat (560).

CB Stephan Virgil: No. 1 in the 10-yard sprint (1.62), No. 4 in vertical jump (37”).

CB Rashad Carmichael: No. 1 in the 40-yard dash (4.26), No. 4 in NFL shuttle (4.09).

CB Chris Hill: No. 2 in 40-yard dash (4.3), No. 4 in vertical jump (37”).

OL Ed Wang: No. 2 in the push jerk (360), No. 5 in the power clean (341).

OL Blake DeChristopher: No. 3 in the bench press (410), No. 3 in the push jerk (351).

FB Josh Call: No. 2 front squat (410), No. 3 in bench press (410).

WR Tony Gregory: No. 1 in the 10-yard sprint (1.62), No. 3 in the 40-yard dash (4.33).

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment to alert an editor. Update on new comment functions.

Hokies claim Signing Day success ...

Well, Tech fans, the ink is dry. The Class of 2009 is a done deal. Tech's latest recruiting class numbered 21 prospects today, of which 17 or 18 are expected to actually enroll this fall. The others will greyshirt, meaning they'll arrive in January 2010 and count against that class. Of course, there's always the possibility of some fellas needing to attend prep school, too.

So ... with everyone signed, sealed and delivered, what can we make of this class? Not a whole heckuva a lot. This looks like a very solid and versatile group for Tech -- on paper. But if championships were won on paper, we’d have to go back and hand Florida State a whole bunch of trophies.

The Seminoles reeled in the No. 6 class in the country today, according to Rivals.com, marking their fifth top-10 class in the past six recruiting seasons. How many ACC titles have they won in that span? One. National titles? Not even a sniff.

So who really knows? Grades and behavior and “coaching ‘em up” isn’t taken into account, for the most part, in these rankings. Mostly, they’re just fun for fans to talk (and dream) about.

For the record, Tech’s class this year ranks 24^th according to Rivals – fourth in the ACC behind FSU, UNC (8^th) and Miami (11^th).

The only people who know exactly what a team got this year are that team’s coaches. And even they, the real experts, routinely miss. We’re talking teenagers here, folks.

But in the spirit of (slightly) educated guessing, I’ll give you my five picks for players to watch for immediately, fellas I think could play as true freshmen. Remmber, 10 guys from last year’s class saw action this year.

1.) TE LOGAN THOMAS – For what it’s worth, Rivals rates him the No. 1 tight end, No. 1 “jumbo athlete” and No. 71 overall prospect in America. The Hokies rate him as an athletic freak who, at 6-6, 230 pounds, could play WR, TE, QB, DE, LB or SS. Thomas’ high school coach said Notre Dame big whistle Charlie Weiss marveled at Thomas, saying he truly had no idea where he’d use the giagantic athlete – and that he loved that. Check back later tonight for Q&As with Thomas, his coach and Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, who says Thomas will start out at wide receiver, then eventually be used as an H-back, probably in the Wild Turkey like Greg Boone, and that QB is not out of the question. Thomas will play next season. That is not a question. Where, or how many places, is the only mystery.

2.) ONE OF CB JERRODD WILLIAMS AND CB JAYRON HOSLEY – I doubt both will play as true freshmen, but I’d be shocked if one of them didn’t. Tech needs depth at corner and playmakers in the kicking game. Williams and Hosley, both four-star corners, fit those bills. Hosley is rated the No. 11 corner in the country. He picked off five passes as a senior and returned five kicks for TDs. Williams is the top corner in South Carolina and has eight INTs and five kick return TDs over the past two seasons. The future of the Hokies’ secondary (and return game) appears to be bright.

3. WR D.J. COLES – He signed last year and spent this year prepping at Fork Union, but Coles is a big target (6-3, 215) and a big-time prospect. Rivals rates him the No. 9 prep school player in the country. The extra year helped him make his transition for stud high school running back to college-ready receiver. Last year’s freshmen receivers blossomed late in the year for Tech, but Tyrod Taylor still needs more playmakers around him. If Coles and rising sophomore Jarrett Boykin are on the field together, Hokies opponents will have to stop a pair of imposing, tackle-breaking wideouts.

4. RB DAVID WILSON – This one will be a VERy difficult decision, I’m guessing, for Tech running backs coach Billy Hite. He’s going to be loaded at tailback this fall with Darren Evans (who set a freshman record this season) returning and budding star Ryan Williams coming off his redshirt season. If Hite could sit Williams, who Tech’s starting defense said was the quickest back they faced all season (and he was playing on Tech’s SCOUT TEAM), then logic would say Wilson will have to redshirt, too. BUT … the kid might just be too darn good to keep on the sideline. Rivals rates him the No. 4 RB and No. 40 overall prospect in the country. He has elite sprinter speed and rushed for 2,291 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior. He averaged more than 10 yards per carry over his final two high school seasons. He’s simply a game-changer and I have to think he’s got a chance to dazzle enough during practice to get a shot on gamedays in 2009. Maybe even if it’s just to address the previously mentioned need for an explosive player in the return game.

5. K CODY JOURNELL – The Hokies will be trying to replace Dustin Keys, who set a school record for made field goals this season, and Frank Beamer thought enough of Journell to give him a full ride. Kickers for Beamer (and nearly every program) typically start out as walk-ons and earn their scholarship when the win the job. So this should tell you something. Journell is rated anywhere from the No. 3 to the No. 13 kicking prospect in the country by a variety of recruiting services. He hit six field goals as a senior Giles, but three of those were 42 yards or longer. Word is, he’s got a seriously big leg. Among his 10 field goals as a junior, Journell nailed one from 54 yards. He’s also quite and athlete, rushing for 1,060 yards and 13 TDs – and returning a kickoff for a score – in his senior season. Maybe Beamer will get crazy and try some trickery that utilizes the incoming freshman’s speed on a fake.

OK, that’s enough speculation from me. I could be totally wrong. ATH Antone Exum could be a kick returner and back-up QB. OL Andre Miller might very well work his way into the two-deep. DE Lanford Collins could come in and wow the coaches, taking over the No. 2 spot on the edge of Tech’s D-line.

As I said to start: Who the heck knows?!?!?!

One guy, though, who thinks he knows that he’s got a good group of prospects is the Hokies’ big whistle. So I’ll shut up now and let you see what he had to say about this group after the fax machines finally stopped spinning today.

Come back later for more …

FRANK BEAMER

OPENING REMARKS ON THE 2009 RECRUITING CLASS: “I think we got a terrific recruiting class. Not just a good class, but I think really a terrific class. I like our athletic ability, but I really like the academics and the character of this class. I think that’s very, very strong. We got some defensive ends, which were important to us. Lanford Collins, James Gayle, Duan Perez-Means, and then we’re hoping Tyrel Wilson is going to get big enough to put his hand on the ground. These are all kids that can really run. They’ve got to grow into the position a little bit, but they all can really run. I think overall it’s very good.”

ON THE LATE PICK-UP OF FLORIDA CORNERBACK JAYRON HOSLEY: “I think it says something about our former players and their opinion of our program. (Former Tech CB) Brandon Flowers (from the same high school as Hosley) was a key guy here. He informed us about him. Brandon spoke very highly of him. And then when we got involved, we got him up here for a visit here last weekend, and I think everything just hit. I think probably having Brandon Flowers in that position – and Brandon knew the kid well, had a good relationship with him – that was part of that.”

ON WHETHER HE WAS SURPRISED THEY PULLED HOSLEY TODAY: “Well, again, I’ve said for a while, if we can get them to visit, I think we’ve got a pretty good shot. This year, we signed 20 of the 22 people that visited here that we offered. That’s not wasting much money there. I think that makes a statement about Virginia Tech and what we try to sell. If we get you here, we’ve got a pretty good shot of you coming to school here.”

ON INITIALLY THINKING THEY’D HAVE 12-15 SCHOLARSHIPS TO GIVE IN THIS CLASS AND SIGNING 21 TODAY, AND HOW THOSE NUMBERS WORKED OUT: “We have some people that’s not in the program that were here earlier. And then some of these guys that signed with us today, they’ll greyshirt. They’ll come in January. So when you say there’s 21, not all 21 of them are going to start next fall.”

ON HOW MANY OF THE 21 WILL BE THERE IN THE FALL: “I’m not sure exactly. We’ve got it worked out with each situation, when we expect you to come in, and if we can bring you in before, we will. I think it’s a few.”

ON WHY HE SPENT A SCHOLARSHIP ON A KICKER, CODY JOURNELL: “You’ve got a guy here that’s 30 minutes away from you that we think is an excellent kicker and if we don’t sign him, I think somebody else will. I didn’t want to lose Shayne Graham, who was right here close, and I didn’t want to lose Cody Journell, who’s right here close. That was the thought process on that.”

ON SAYING FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY THAT GREG BOONE WAS MAYBE THE MOST VERSATILE ATHLETE TECH HAD EVER SIGNED AND WHETHER THAT’S TRUE TODAY OF LOGAN THOMAS: “I think that’s an accurate statement. I think Logan could play any athletic position on the football field, probably – including quarterback, which he played this year. I was very impressed with him there. I think Logan is a terrific athlete, and what I like: a terrific person. We’re really pleased he’s going to be part of our program.”

ON WHERE THOMAS PROJECTS RIGHT AWAY: “I think he’s a guy that you want to move around. I think he’s going to be athletic (enough) to do a lot of things for you. I think he’s got possibilities at a lot of places. We’re very, very excited about him.”

ON WHETHER ATHLETE ANTONE EXUM WILL GET HIS FIRST SHOT AT QB: “I think our quarterback situation, I think we’ve got some excellent athletes in our program that have the ability to play quarterback. Two of them would be Exum and Logan Thomas. I think when you put that and JuJu Clayton in there and Marcus Davis, and we’re going to work Greg Boone some at quarterback here this spring, I think our quarterback situation will be OK.”

ON WHETHER, THOUGH, HE WOULD’VE LIKED TO GET A PURE QB IN THIS CLASS: “I’m not sure these guys are not pure quartebacks. But yeah, we missed on a couple. But we think we’ve got a couple good ones in our program, too.”

ON HOW MUCH WEIGHT HE’D LIKE D-END TYREL WILSON TO GAIN: “We visited not too long ago. I think he can play linebacker, but I really like it when he’s got his hand on the ground, coming off that corner with speed. I think he does that well. I think a few more pounds will help him out. I don’t get into: You’ve got to be a certain size or a certain height or a certain weight to do something. We haven’t set an exact pounds. We just talked about getting heavier and see if we can’t get big enough to put your hand on the ground.”

ON CHRIS ELLIS COMPARISONS WITH SIGNEE JAMES GAYLE: “Absolutely. A guy that’s tall and fast and athletic. I think he’s got a great future in front of him.”

ON WHETHER THE STAFF GOT AHEAD ON 2010 RECRUITING WITH MOST OF THIS CLASS SEWN UP EARLY: “I think we’re ahead. We’ve watched probably more video and we’re more ahead than we’ve ever been on next year’s class. And really think we’ve got a shot to have another terrific class next year. I think everything’s kind of moving up in college football and we’ve got some names on the board and have watched a lot of video for next year.”

ON HOW, EXACTLY, TECH PULLED HOSLEY AT THE VERY END: “The thing with him: he kept it open until the very end. Us having the last visit, it turned out to be a good thing. That’s a risky thing, too. But he was a kid that kep it open. And David Clowney (also from his high school) having a good experience here, and particularly Brandon Flowers was so high on this kid. We don’t get down into Florida on a regular basis much anymore, but how highly he spoke of the kid got our interest. It was one of those things that just worked out well. Maybe it was meant to work out. We liked him and he liked us, so this was a good deal.”

ON A LOT OF LAST YEAR’S CLASS PLAYING THIS SEASON AS TRUE FRESHMEN AND WHICH OF THIS CLASS’ STARS COULD PLAY RIGHT AWAY: “I think we go into it and give them all a shot here, but I think an offensive lineman could play. I think the skilled athletes … some of those guys could play. The field goal situation is open right now, so we’ll see where that goes. I hate to get into names, but I can tell you … if they’re ready to play and we can play them enough plays, then I like playing freshmen. I think the excitement and the enthusiasm they bring is all good.”

ON STAR RUNNNG BACK RECRUIT DAVID WILSON AND WHETHER, WITH ALL THE RB DEPTHY, HE’S COMING IN PLANNING TO REDSHIRT: “Nah, come in here with the idea that you’re going to work for playing time. We’re going to put the best players out there on the field, and that’s just the deal. It’s up to him and how he does when he gets here. What I like, Wilson and Logan Thomas both … They’re not only terrific players, but they’re terrific people. They were the homecoming king at their school. That kind of makes a statement … people from the school like them and respect them. I like that. I like having those kind of people in the program.”

ON WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT WILSON: “He’s the kind of guy that gets your attention pretty quickly. He’s fast, that’s for sure. He’s a stocky guy. He just has a nice running style. It’s just a very natural gift for him. He’s such a great player … but such a good person.”

ON NEXT YEAR’S STACKED BACKFIELD: “Yeah, there’s some talent back there. Coach Hite’s had to work here for a couple years. (Now) he can slack off a little bit. Nah, but there’s some talented kids. We’re going to let the compete and work out the playing time.”

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Hokies snag a Signing Day surprise ...

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment to alert an editor. Update on new comment functions.