NORFOLK Jason Fuller has a message for Old Dominion fans wondering why he's not being honored with a Senior Day sendoff this afternoon: Don't cry for me, Monarch nation. "If I'd have been the only guy out there at midfield, it would have been uniquely awkward to say the least," the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder said.

NORFOLK The jury is still out on the season. At 4-4, Norfolk State needs to win two of its final three games to finish with a better record than last year's 5-6 mark. But barring an offensive collapse, the verdict is in on NSU's new spread attack: It's an improvement over last year in virtually every statistical category.

By Doug Doughty
The Roanoke Times
When he spoke this week about his team's inability to find an offensive identity, Virginia coach Al Groh didn't appear to be foreshadowing a change at quarterback.

GREENVILLE, N.C. The details didn't matter. While Tech's issues - struggling to score early and an occasional dearth of defense - didn't end Thursday night at East Carolina, the Hokies' nasty little losing streak did.

GREENVILLE, N.C. Virginia Tech linebacker Lyndell Gibson, a Salem High graduate and two-time Beach District Defensive Player of the Year, made his first collegiate start against East Carolina, taking the job of sophomore Jake Johnson.

NORFOLK Donovan Cotton didn't exactly come out of nowhere, but he came from outside the Norfolk State locker room. "I didn't even have a locker my first two years," the junior tailback said. "I dressed in the P.E. locker room."

BLACKSBURG To call Virginia Tech's offense impotent in its two-game losing streak would be only half true. The Hokies have been plenty productive - except when they've been in opposing territory in the first half.

For a neat freak, George Howard sure enjoys making a mess on the football field. Howard has been known to shower two or three times a day, gets his hair trimmed just so once a week and never had to be told to straighten his room as a child.

NORFOLK Donald Smith was thrust into a starting role for Old Dominion when cornerback Ricky Nichols broke a bone in his hand the week before the season opener. Smith delivered from the first snap. And while Nichols has returned to the starting lineup, Smith has still found a way to get on the field a lot, notching more plays than all but two teammates: safeties Devon Simmons and Craig Wilkins.

BLACKSBURG This guy's not hurt. That's what the eyeball tells the brain when processing the image of a man with the muscle mass of a linebacker and the body fat of a distance runner. No way is this guy hurt. That's what Darren Evans' sturdy legs told Virginia Tech's trainers Aug. 7 when they examined his left knee. The star tailback had gone down in that day's practice.