Virginia Tech scrimmaged for the first time this spring Wednesday, and as expected was far from a finished product. "I thought the effort was great, I thought the hitting was good," head coach Frank Beamer said. "As long as you have effort, you'll get better. It was ragged, but it was our first scrimmage work. ... I thought we had our moments."

Virginia Tech moved its practice out to the Saints' practice facility in nearby Metairie because the NFL was in action in the Superdome today. The only news that emerged was that nobody on the team missed curfew on New Year's Eve. "I'll tell you, our kids have been great," head coach Frank Beamer said. "Since the first night, everything has gone really well."

Virginia Tech cornerback Jayron Hosley and running back David Wilson both submitted their paperwork for the NFL Draft advisory board, a group of NFL general managers and personnel directors who give underclassmen an approximate round of where they might go if they choose to put their names in the draft.

David Wilson was emotional. He was fiery, ticked off and even cried a little. He didn't take Virginia Tech's 23-3 loss to Clemson in October well. He told his teammates as much.

Virginia Tech had eight selections on the All-ACC teams released Monday, the second most in the league. Naturally, the Hokies wouldn't have minded a few more.

First it was Duke's spread passing scheme. Then it was Georgia Tech's spread option. The North Carolina's balanced attack. Finally, the Virginia Tech defense gets a similar look in Virginia. The Cavaliers run an offensive scheme not too different from UNC, one that features power running, lots of shifts and motion and plenty of passes to the running backs.

Running backs coach Shane Beamer doesn't harp on fumbles, the theory being it's best not to get it inside a running back's head. So you won't see David Wilson, who fumbled in each of the last two games, toting around a football between practices this week.

Virginia Tech quarterbacks coach and play-caller Mike O'Cain is running out of new ways to compliment quarterback Logan Thomas. Considering the competition and stakes, Thomas had perhaps his best game yet last Thursday, accounting for five touchdowns and 279 yards in the Hokies' 37-26 win against Georgia Tech.

Clemson punched its ticket to the ACC championship game with a 31-28 win against Wake Forest on Saturday. Virginia Tech is close to joining the Tigers. The Hokies eliminated the Yellow Jackets from contention with Thursday night's 37-26 win in Atlanta, moving one step closer to their fifth Coastal Division title in the game's seven years.

The winner of the Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech game has always won the ACC's Coastal Division. It's a fact the Hokies know well. "This is the one we’ve got to get," quarterback Logan Thomas said. "We say every (game) gets more and more important, and this is as important as it comes."