2008 Virginia Tech Hokies Preview

Eleven Virginia Tech players participated in this year’s NFL combine, second only to USC’s 12. Tech coach Frank Beamer reminded reporters of that fact as he assessed his team on the final day of spring practice. He knows how much talent the Hokies must replace, and he knows it won’t be easy.

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A Quick Look at the Hokies

Tech’s offense must be better — especially the line, which was dreadful at points last season. With seven defensive starters gone, the Hokies can’t lean on that unit as much as they did last year. Regardless of the quarterback situation — Sean Glennon, Tyrod Taylor, both — Tech must be able to run the ball, long a key to its offensive success. The Hokies probably have five viable candidates to replace Branden Ore, booted in the offseason, but can any of them replicate Ore’s production (2,129 yards over the past two seasons combined)? Tech needs someone from its entirely new receiving corps to emerge, especially if the Hokies opt for Glennon, a pocket passer. You’d think the defense would be due for a down year, but remember that coordinator Bud Foster is one of the country’s sharpest assistants. The replacements for linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi and cornerback Brandon Flowers need not perform exactly like their predecessors, but they also can’t be the weak links for a defense that is used to having few. Sure, no team in Tech’s ACC Coastal Division seems imposing, but the Hokies have too many uncertainties to bank on a return trip to the conference championship game.

“I think it’s very obvious we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Beamer says. “We’re not a good enough football team right now. But I think we’ve got potential to be good.”

Tech’s defense, which ranked fourth nationally last season in yards allowed and third in points allowed, must replace seven starters — all of whom received invitations to the combine. The bright side for the Hokies is that they retained defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who declined Steve Spurrier’s invitation to accept the same position at South Carolina. Foster’s unit was the reason for most of Tech’s success last season, as the Hokies went 11–3, beating Boston College in the ACC Championship Game before losing to Kansas in the Orange Bowl. Tech’s offense ranked 100th of 119 FBS teams in yards per game. The Hokies’ 54 sacks allowed tied for third-most in the country.

With the offensive line a year older and both of Tech’s quarterbacks returning from last year’s two-man rotation, the Hokies’ offense ought to be better, though it does have major holes to fill at tailback and wide receiver. Those are just two of the spots where Beamer hopes he can turn potential into success.

Quarterbacks

Senior Sean Glennon and sophomore Tyrod Taylor split time last season. Glennon began the season as the starter. Taylor took over in the second game. Glennon regained the job after Taylor was injured in the seventh game. When Taylor returned three games later, Tech’s coaches opted to rotate him with Glennon — a system that helped the Hokies win four straight games before the Orange Bowl. Beamer and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring aren’t sure what approach they’ll use this season. But one option that they haven’t eliminated is redshirting Taylor to save a year of his eligibility. With senior Cory Holt moving to receiver, Tech’s only other scholarship quarterback this season will be true freshman Marcus Davis.

Running backs

Junior Branden Ore led Tech in rushing last fall for the second consecutive season. But Beamer tired of Ore’s off-field issues and decided to part ways with him in the offseason. Then Tech’s two most experienced tailbacks, juniors Kenny Lewis Jr. and Jahre Cheeseman, got hurt during spring practice, leaving redshirt freshmen Darren Evans and Josh Oglesby as Tech’s only options. “I think for a while, their mind was tying up their feet,” Beamer says of Evans and Oglesby. “I think they got better as spring went along.” Cheeseman’s broken left leg is less serious than Lewis’ torn labrum in his left shoulder. Cheeseman will be back by the start of preseason practice, while Lewis could be out until the end of September. So there is a chance that true freshman Ryan Williams, the top recruit in Tech’s incoming class, may contend for the starting job.

Receivers

This is the offense’s biggest question mark. The Hokies lost four senior receivers from last season: Eddie Royal, Justin Harper, Josh Morgan and Josh Hyman. Only two of their returning receivers, sophomore Zach Luckett and junior Ike Whitaker, have caught a pass in a college game. Luckett has two career catches, Whitaker three. And Whitaker is still learning the position after moving from quarterback midway through last season. Junior Brandon Dillard, a walk-on, was expected to be a key contributor to the receiving corps this season, but suffered an Achilles injury in the summer and is out for the year. Redshirt freshmen Patrick Terry and Danny Coale also are in the mix. Beamer expects at least a couple of true freshmen to contend for playing time. Dyrell Roberts is the most heralded of that bunch. And don’t be surprised if the Hokies line junior tight end Greg Boone up wide, as they did at points in the spring. Yes, that’s 6'3", 290-pound Greg Boone.

Offensive linemen

It has to be better, if only because of experience. It certainly can’t get any worse. The only starter Tech lost was left tackle Duane Brown. Beamer decided to fill Brown’s spot by moving junior Ed Wang from right tackle. Taking Wang’s spot is redshirt freshman Blake DeChristopher, one of four highly regarded linemen the Hokies signed before last season. Senior Nick Marshman struggled last season while filling in for the injured Wang. Marshman is more of a guard than a tackle, and he is slotted at left guard this season, which will be his second as a starter. Junior right guard Sergio Render has started from the moment he arrived in 2006. Senior Ryan Shuman enters his third year as a starter and second at center.

Defensive linemen

The bad news: Tech lost tackles Barry Booker and Carlton Powell and end Chris Ellis. The good news: Senior end Orion Martin, a former walk-on, proved his worth last season and now must provide steadiness for a group that will include three new starters in sophomore end Jason Worilds, sophomore tackle John Graves and junior tackle Cordarrow Thompson. Tech likes to rotate its tackles, so expect junior Demetrius Taylor to see time. Most Tech fans hadn’t heard of him before this spring. He began his career as a linebacker, then moved to end. He impressed the coaches this spring when they tried him at tackle. Junior Nekos Brown, who played in every game last season, will provide depth at end. One of Tech’s best incoming recruits, Leon Mackey, also plays end.

Linebackers

The defense suffered major losses here. Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi formed one of the nation’s best linebacker tandems, so seniors Brett Warren and Purnell Sturdivant have little chance to measure up to that standard in their first season as starters. Still, Warren played admirably last season when he started four games after Hall injured his wrist. Warren comes from good football pedigree, too. His father, Don, played 14 years with the Washington Redskins. Sturdivant, 5'10" and 234 pounds, is smaller than Adibi, whom he backed up, but Beamer was pleased with Sturdivant’s performance this spring. Linebacker is another spot where a true freshman — Quillie Odom, in this case — could contribute this season.

Defensive backs

Torrian Gray, Tech’s defensive backs coach, was not surprised when cornerback Brandon Flowers left a year early for the NFL. And considering how poorly Gray’s offseason could have gone, he has to be happy with his current group. His other corner, Harris, declared for the NFL Draft before pulling his name out. Harris will take over for Flowers at boundary corner. Junior Stephan Virgil and sophomore Rashad Carmichael will contend for the field corner spot. Corner Cris Hill was almost good enough to earn playing time as a true freshman last season before the coaches decided to redshirt him. Junior Kam Chancellor, perhaps Tech’s most athletic player, moves from the rover safety position to free safety, replacing D.J. Parker. In the mix at rover are junior Dorian Porch and sophomore Davon Morgan, who along with Taylor was one of two true freshmen who didn’t redshirt last season.

Specialists

The Hokies have had remarkable consistency at kicker. From 1996 through 2006, they used only three. Then Jud Dunlevy had a one-year stint last year as a fifth-year senior. Now fifth-year senior Dustin Keys is next in line. Junior Brent Bowden returns as Tech’s punter. Expect Harris, a standout running back in high school, to dazzle as a return man. Last year at Clemson, he ran back a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

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