NFL Draft Tidbits

As most of you probably know, the NFL draft was last weekend. The popularity of the draft has skyrocketed over the last 10 years so that they are now even considering moving it to primetime television for next year, or possibly even to a format with the first round in primetime on one night, the second round in primetime the next night, and the rest of the rounds on the weekend. I hope it doesn't come to that because I really love spending a saturday afternoon hanging out and checking in on the draft as I do other things. I know you feel the same... so much so that you just gave me a knowing wink. *WINK* Right back atcha slick.

This year's draft wasn't so great if you are a Virginia Tech fan. The Hokies only had two players who were projected to go in the draft, and only one of those players (Victor "Macho" Harris) actually did get selected. Macho went in the 5th round to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he was an absolute steal. An All-ACC caliber cornerback going in the fifth round is an abomination, and every single NFL team will hear from my lawyers. Macho was projected to go 1-2 rounds earlier than his actual selection, and the bad news continued to pile up for Macho as Philadelphia went out and got Ellis Hobbs to fill their 2nd/3rd cornerback spot along with Sheldon Brown. Asante Samuel is already their clear number 1 corner. That leaves nothing but special teams duty for Macho, who isn't anticipated to be used for punt returns like he was for VT. I'm not sure what it was about Macho that caused his draft stock to fall so far, but I'd be ecstatic if my NFL team (The Cleveland Browns) traded for him or better yet, landed him off of the free agent wire after the preseason.

The other VT player who was expected to go in the draft was defensive end Orion Martin, but he was never selected. I can kind of understand this one because Martin is a tad undersized at 6'2" and 260 lbs to play defensive end in the NFL, and he hasn't shown to anyone (yet) that he is capable of playing the defensive end/linebacker hybrid that is necessary in 3-4 defenses. Martin was given an invite to the Miami Dolphins' training camp and will get a chance to show Bill Parcells and company what he is capable of doing at the outside LB position.

Other Hokies who were given invites to participate in training camps were quarterback Sean Glennon with the Minnesota Vikings, center Ryan Shuman with the Green Bay Packers, and fullback Devin Perez with the Cincinnati Bengals. I don't anticipate any of those 3 making a roster by the end of camp though.

I want to take this last paragraph just to laugh at the Oakland Raiders and officially declare that franchise "defunct". For starters, their owner, Al Davis, is an absolute moron who seems to get stupider as he gets older. To add to the fun, let's also consider the fact that Al Davis makes it a point to meddle with the NFL draft and the personnel on the field, effectively cutting the balls off of his puppet-coach. How is a franchise like that supposed to compete? The culmination of the ineptness of the Raiders seemed to happen on Saturday during the draft when the Raiders selected Darrius Heyward-Bey with the 7th overall pick when Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were just sitting there waiting to be selected. Heyward-Bey is thought to be a raw and unrefined receiver in spite of his blazing 40-yard dash time of 4.3 (best at the NFL combine for WRs). Once again, it looks like Al Davis got distracted by the shiny paint on the car without noticing that the engine is on fire. It must suck to be a Raiders fan.

17, if you know what I mean

I went and saw the movie "17 Again" over the weekend with my fiancee. I'm going to be completely honest with you here... I didn't hate it. Was that my manhood that I just saw walking out the door? Probably, but there are some redeeming qualities to the movie despite the fact that it was made to appeal to teenagers. I left the movie with the warm fuzzies, which is pretty much what you're looking for from a romantic comedy. I also found the characters to be very likable. Okay, I should probably grunt, spit, and adjust myself a few times to get some of that man-swagger back. Done.

One of those bright spots in "17 Again" is Thomas Lennon, who plays the short-shorted and sexually-ambiguous Lt. Dangle on Reno 911. I've been a fan of Thomas Lennon ever since he was a cast member on MTV's The State way back in the early 90's. In this movie, he is the childhood best friend of the main character (played by Matthew Perry when he's older and Zac Efron when he's younger). Just like in every high school movie, Lennon's character Ned Gold is the nerdy sidekick of the popular Mike O'Donnell (Perry/Efron's character). Ned grows up to be a computer genius (absolute shocker) who makes tons of money and never really had to grow up because of it. In one scene he's playing multiple video games on his cushy gamer's chair with built-in speakers while staring at 3 flat-panel TVs and manages to talk trash to some middle school kid while he's at it. His obsession with the high school principal is a riot.

I want to be Zac Efron. It's probably a little too late for that, but the guy is just cool. He can dance and play basketball and look good all at the same time. I want to be him. It gets a little creepy when Efron's character kisses his 30-something wife as a 17 year old, and their interactions are a little too flirtatious for my stomach to handle, but I think that was done on purpose... or at least I hope it was, otherwise it'd seem that Zac Efron, like Ashton Kutcher, is into cougars. We'll skip right over the obvious question here (What about you, P@? Are you into cougars? Shut it).

I'm not going to give away the plot in case some of you want to take your girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband/fiancee/fiance/lover/widow/cat, but I will say that it's not a complete loss and you'll probably leave the movie feeling better than when you came in. And I don't know about you all, but that's exactly what I'm looking for when I go to a movie.

Fin.

Notes from the Spring Game

Feel free to enjoy these notes from the spring game provided by James Williams:

Hot, 41000 people, free, exciting.

I was late getting there so I missed Ryan Williams taking Ju-Ju’s screen pass 56 yards for the TD on his first touch of the game. Let me break it down per player that I tried to follow (I didn’t have a program so I couldn’t tell who was who very well). A couple of things you need to know the white team was mostly the #1 offense with receivers Dyrell Roberts, Marcus Davis and running backs Zach Evans and Tony Gregory and the #2 defense. Maroon was #1 defense and #2 offense with Ju-Ju, Ryan Williams, Danny Coale and Brandon Dillard.

Tyrod: He looked poised and in command. Made a lot of good throws on the run after protection had broken down, however standing in the pocket he missed a couple of easy throws to open receivers. At the end of the game when his team was down 6 with 20 seconds left inside the 10, he used his feet to make a play and probably would have scored if he didn’t have the yellow jersey on.

Ju-Ju: Definitely not ready right now. It looked like he had a good pocket presence, he never panicked and knew how to move around in the pocket. His accuracy and decision making was pretty bad though. missed a lot of passes, a full summer as #2 should help.

Recievers: Dyrell Roberts looked faster and more confident. He was the clear #1 on Saturday. He made an amazing catch over Rashard Carmichael in the end zone. Marcus Davis is huge and looks like he will contribute at receiver right away. Coale, Dillard and Boone were on Ju-Ju’s team and didn’t really have a chance. Chris Drager had a bunch of nice possession receptions from Tyrod.

O-Line: Looked great. I didn’t really notice them which I guess is a good thing. I only saw one sack and that was the #2 D and O. Most of the time if Tyrod was running it was because no one was open, not because someone was in his face.

D: I had a hard time keeping up with the defense because I didn’t know who anybody was. Kam Chancellor had a big hit on Zach Evans that caused a fumble which was returned for a TD. Tackling looked good for the most part. Carmichael spent most of the time in between plays with his head down, which I thought was weird, not sure if he was still thinking about the TD he gave up.

Running backs: Ryan Williams never stops moving and he is always moving really fast. There were 2-3 times he would have 3 guys on him and still move the pile an extra 5 yards. He’s shifty and quick and will be a great change of pace for Darren Evans (who didn’t play). Olgesby didn’t play either. Zack Evans looked pretty good for a walk-on he’s a small quick guy like Williams and had a few good runs.

Kicking game: Was terrible. Of the first 4 punts I saw two were blocked, one was a 20-30 yard duck and one was a bad snap that led to a big loss. Luckily Bowden was the victim of the bad snap and the backup was the guy getting harassed by the defense. Kickoff guys were only getting the ball to the 10 yard line. I’m sure Frank was not pleased.

I think that’s it. One other cool thing was how many old hokies were in town and recognized during half time. There were about 20 alums including Eddie Royal, Andre Davis, DeAngelo Hall, Pierson Prieloau, Jake Grove and a bunch of other big names.

Spring Game

Oh, hello Hokie fans. I didn't even see you there. Me? Why I was just thinking about the annual Spring Game tomorrow at 2pm in Blacksburg! Virginia Tech will take on Virginia Tech in Lane Stadium in what is sure to be the end-all-be-all contest of the century. Maroon v. White! Hokie v. Hokie! Brother v. Brother!

Okay, that all might be a little over the top, but this game is key for figuring out who has progressed since last year and who has more work to do. You probably won't see too much of Darren Evans at running back since he seems to have the number one slot locked up, but expect to see a good amount of Josh Oglesby and Ryan Williams, the latter being an electric player who can bring some new blood to our usually lackluster offense. Williams injured his finger earlier in the week, but is expected to play in the game.

If you are planning on going to the game, here are some story lines to follow:

1) How will our second-string defenders do? Bud Foster is excited about the first stringers, but beyond them it seems to be a crapshoot.

2) Can Tyrod Taylor complete passes? He has been working nonstop on his throwing motion to release the ball higher and to get rid of a hitch in his arm motion, but accuracy has lacked in the previous scrimmages.

3) Can the offensive line buy time for the quarterbacks to throw? In the past several years, that answer has been a resounding "NO", but could this year be different?

4) Who is Ju-Ju Clayton? I know the answer is "our backup quarterback", but beyond that I don't know what he can do or what he's about. QB Coach Mike O'Cain is pretty excited about him, but we'll see what he brings to the table. I hope it's bbq ribs.

5) Will the defensive line create pressure on the QBs? With Jason Worilds out until the fall due to injury, and Orion Martin entering the NFL draft after his senior year, who will be the guy to step up and get in the face of Taylor and Clayton? My best prediction is that it will be a defensive tackle. I like Demetrius Taylor and Cordarrow Thompson to be a handful tomorrow.

So go put on your maroon and orange and get out to the game if you live anywhere semi-close to Blacksburg... it's going to be 80 degrees and sunny, with ticket prices being forecasted as $0.00. That's right, the game is free! So buy yourself a turkey leg and cheer on the Hokies... all of them, regardless of race, creed, or uniform color.

I love VT.

A Rant

As many of you know, I am an absolutely huge fan of Arrested Development, a show that was only on FOX for 3 seasons. However, because the majority of America was too stupid to understand the humor, the show was cancelled. Like most of FOX's cancelled shows, it immediately became a hit on the DVD market, so the head writer and executive producer, Mitchell Hurwitz, is currently working on a screenplay for an Arrested Development movie that is likely to feature the entire cast of the show. This news turned me into a teenage girl, who immediately squealed with delight and starting texting all of her friends (OMG, new AD movie, IAGTPM). For those of you unsure of what IAGTPM means, it is text talk for "I Am Going To Piss Myself."

Now let's fast-forward to yesterday where I learned that Mitch Hurwitz created ANOTHER show for FOX that had just aired this week! It's an animated series called "Sit Down, Shut Up" and the voice actors include a bunch of AD favorites like Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler. I quickly began to hyperventilate at my desk. THIS WAS GOING TO BE AWESOME!! That afternoon I sat down to watch the show on Hulu, and got ready for what had to be the most hilarious animated comedy in the history of television.

Horse s#$%. I never laughed even once. I'm not even sure I cracked a smile. Every bone in my body wants it to be possible that Hurwitz only lent his name to this show and had nothing to do with the writing or creation of it because I could not have been more disappointed. The only cool thing about the show is that it's animated characters are put against live backgrounds, which is an interesting twist. The show's writing is lazy and unimaginative. The characters, unlike the Bluths, are completely unlikeable. The writers try WAY too hard to make political points to their audience, which to me, absolutely ruins a show.

Usually writers wait until the show has become a big success before they try to force their views on you (see South Park and Family Guy for current examples). Sit Down, Shut Up waited all of two seconds before introducing as many purposefully stereotypical characters as possible, including a vain, meat head English teacher and a supposedly Christian science teacher who has bumper stickers all over her car and a baby she had out of wedlock. The content of the show was written for shock value and nothing more, so you have all of these character stereotypes doing things at the extreme of what their stereotype might be expected to do (like the bisexual drama teacher who hides in the boys locker room). At the end of the day, there is nothing inventive or intriguing happening and the show feels like it was thrown together during a couple lunch breaks.

I understand that pilots are usually the worst episode of a show's first season, but this one won't be getting any better. There are just too many problems with it, and I won't be surprised when the show gets cancelled. And to Mitchell Hurwitz, you stole 30 minutes of my life, so you had better make up for them with a sweet Arrested Development movie. Just don't get lazy.

Penn State's New Recruit

Penn State recently landed a coveted transfer student-athlete from Alabama in the form of Lee Hannah. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, Hannah has not used up any of his eligibility during his 1 year at Alabama and 4 years at Virginia Tech, so he is likely to remain at PSU for a minimum of 4 years (unless NFL GMs are knocking down his door). When asked for comment, VT's coach Frank Beamer said, "Who? Okay I'll sign a ball for him." Alabama's coach Nick Saban refused to comment, but did admit to scouting the intramural fields for talent. Penn State was unavailable for comment, but we can only find 3 professors in the political science department that know of him. Hannah currently resides in Tuscaloosa and is training at least twice a week.

To further your reading pleasure, we were able to obtain this exclusive interview with Lee Hannah...

HH.com: "Lee, what attracted you to Penn State?"

LH: "I just realized that coaches are no longer sticking with programs, they're about as reliable as a Brett Favre retirement speech. But then I realized that Coach Paterno will never leave, so I rejected Coach Bowden's offer and caught the first plane to State College, which took approximately 3 days connecting in 8 airports."

HH.com: "How do you envision playing in the Big Ten will be different from playing in the SEC?"

LH: "Well anyone who has played intramurals with me will admit that I'm amazing, however I am constantly criticized for being slow and white. Then I realized that most slow white guys have gotten their shot in the Big Ten, so here I am!"

HH.com: "There have been reports that you are a me-first player who doesn't care at all about the concept of 'team'... care to comment?"

LH: "I felt shunned by Coach Beamer for redshirting me for four seasons, I mean who am I? Tyrod Taylor!? And then Saban kept me on the sidelines also, I didn't even have a seat for every game! So I spoke out, but I'm ready to get in there and put up some stats, win or lose."

HH.com: "What do you think you bring to the Nittany Lions?"

LH: "Mainly I'm just bringing some transfer credits. I'm also much heavier since my freshmen year. I'm really excited to work with the OC!"

HH.com: "Don't call him that."

"Last summer before attending Alabama there was a minor recruiting scandal involving you and a brand new Lincoln Navigator... what really happened there?"

LH: "They had great interest rates and I didn't have to start paying for a year. I was under the impression that I would leave alabama after a year to enter the draft. My agent said the same thing."

"By the way, do you know how to file for bankruptcy?"

HH.com: "I think you kind of just do it... like farting in public."

VT's Spring Defense

I wrote the first half of my Spring update yesterday, so let's get to the second half today. I'm talking about everybody's favorite half of the Virginia Tech football team... the defense! Bud Foster has lost some key starters, but also has some fresh, young meat to plug the holes. Get your minds out of the gutter, you cretins... if we're going to talk about defense, we're definitely going to have to talk about the Hokies' ability to fill the gaps. Quit snickering.

John Graves has moved from defensive tackle to defensive end to fill in for Jason Worilds, who is out with a shoulder injury until practice resumes in the fall. Defensive Line coach Charley Wiles wants the ability to put Graves in at both defensive tackle and defensive end when the season starts because we are currently deeper at tackle than end. Graves has stepped up to the challenge so far, although at this point he's obviously a better DT. Some of the other young guys are showing that the'll be able to contribute including Antonie Hopkins, Kwamaine Battle, and Stephen Friday. Nekos Brown should give us quality starting DE, and Cordarrow Thompson and Demetrius Taylor are showing that they can be a force up the gut.

The two linebacker positions are both going to be filled by new starters, Barquell Rivers and Jake Johnson. They both have had some playing time as second stringers and they both are ready to step up to the plate when the season rolls around. I get the feeling that Rivers has another level for games compared to his efforts in practice. In his limited playing time last year, he always seemed to be in the right place. We have two excellent whips in Cody Grimm and Cam Martin. Martin is out with an injury now, but should be back for the start of fall practice. At any rate, I really want Cody Grimm to win this battle. He's a smart player who always seems to be around the football, and I never got that impression from Martin last year. I got that impression from Martin two years ago, but maybe the injuries have slowed him down.

In the secondary, Kam Chancellor could easily be an All-ACC player if not an All-American free safety. He's fast, intelligent, tough, and late in the 2008 season showed a penchant for disrupting plays. The knock on him has always been his seeming need to hit guys as hard as possible, leaving him open to abuse. I think he got his feet under him in the second half of the 2008 season though. Stephen Virgil is the heir apparent to Macho Harris at the boundary corner spot and Rashard Carmichael will be a good field corner. Dorian Porch and Davon Morgan are both adequate strong safeties. In fact, I feel like they're virtually interchangeable. They both need to show more of a desire to be a stopper on that defense though. They seem to get caught out of position more than our other defensive backs. There is also some good depth in this group with Eddie Whitley really impressing the coaches this spring.

If anyone in this game can be called "consistent", it's Bud Foster and I have no doubt that the new starters will be ready to go for the season opener. The only question is "who will make the biggest leap?" I think that player will be Barquell Rivers and I fully expect him to lead the team in tackles this season. Bold prediction from the middle linebacker spot, I know, but I think he'll show us a lot this year. I also think we REALLY need Jason Worilds to come back strong and healthy for the start of the season. That guy is our best chance at producing sacks by a longshot, although I'm really hoping our improved defensive tackles will help out in that area as well.

That's all I've got. Summer is fast-approaching and I can't wait to get out there and play some sand volleyball (I refuse to call it "beach volleyball" when there isn't a beach within miles of here). Now don't worry, I don't have any plans to go all Top Gun on you guys with no shirt, jeans, and homo-erotic action sequences, but you can guarantee that I'll be spiking just like tiny Tom Cruise and his hidden trampolines. I may even blast some Kenny Loggins for good measure. Believe that.

VT's Spring Offense

I apologize for the inexcusable hiatus. I am going to attribute it to "writer's block", but that's really just another way to say that I was being lazy and couldn't think of anything significant to talk about. However, Virginia Tech football is in the middle of spring practice and that's got to count for something. I get updates from beamerball.com courtesy of an unidentified brother-in-law, and I like what I've been hearing. Ju Ju Clayton (great name) is looking to be the slight leader in the race to be dubbed backup quarterback. He put forth an excellent effort in the latest scrimmage completing a lot of passes, but Marcus Davis also played well despite his offensive line having protection issues. QB coach Mike O'Cain and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring will put their heads together today to try and determine a pecking order (although I feel like I've already heard that several times this Spring). I still think Beamer is nuts for sticking with Bryan Stinespring for yet another season and I have to believe that if the offense continues to stumble this year with all of the returning players that this would be Stiney's last hurrah.

Starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor has modified his throwing motion to get rid of a hitch that he had in past games. The hitch only slowed his throwing motion down by a little bit, but in football even a split second can be the difference between a successful pass and a forced fumble. So far, Taylor has been adjusting well to the new motion but his accuracy still has plenty of room for improvement. O'Cain has praised the way he has run the offense, however.

Right now we are looking to have four excellent options at tight end when fall practice starts up. Greg Boone, Andre Smith, and the recently healed Sam Wheeler are all players who can make acrobatic catches and make the appropriate block. Two years ago, Sam Wheeler (a local boy from Blacksburg) caught everyone by surprise with some stellar offensive play, but an injury last year kept Wheeler on the sidelines for all of the '08 season. He's back now and ready to reclaim a starting spot. Chris Drager is also getting in the equation with an outstanding effort this spring. Drager might be our best blocking tight end. I think we can expect to see a lot of two tight end formations this fall because of our talent at that position. We also have one of the best fullbacks in the ACC in Kenny Jefferson. Jefferson is a do-it-all fullback who can block, catch, and run.

Darren Evans continues to look like an All-ACC player at running back and will get the majority of the snaps at that position when the season starts. He really seems to show a desire to own that starting job and show what he can do... I love what he's about. Josh Oglesby has played well and will also receive some snaps, but the player to watch is Ryan Williams. Williams has the ability to break your ankles, burst through your tackle, or take one all the way to the house in the blink of an eye. He's a special player and will return punts and kickoffs this year. He'll also see a few snaps per game at running back, although RB coach Billy Hite wants to see him improve his blocking before committing him to too many snaps.

Our wide receiver corps has a crucial year of experience under their belts and I think you will see them be more productive this year. Danny Coale is a true possession receiver who runs crisp routes and catches anything that is thrown close to him. Dyrell Roberts is still our speed guy and he gets better with each practice. Jarret Boykin continues to look like an excellent option and Brandon Dillard is back from injury to give our receiving group even more experience. There are also some young guys who are being given a chance to make a name for themselves. Xavier Boyce, Tony Gregory, Prince Parker, and Patrick Terry are all guys who could force their way onto the field this season if they continue to produce in the scrimmages. Boyce is especially intriguing because the guy is a beast... he's 6'4" and 223 lbs.

And finally, the offensive line is looking like it could be improved from a year ago. The two losses on the line (Nick Marshman and John Shuman) were not catastrophic and there is plenty of talent coming up. Jaymes Brooks went down with a high ankle sprain this week, but he'll be back in the fall and had been playing very well. Ed Wang continues to improve, as does Blake DeChristopher. Nick Becton and Will Alvarez are both pushing for playing time and Beau Warren looks like a very competent center. Greg Nosal and Andrew Lanier have also been pushing for playing time. Starting guard Sergio Render should also be back from shoulder surgery in the fall. The offensive line underperformed in 2008, but there is a lot of hope for this group in 2009.

There's quite a bit to be excited about this spring on the offensive side of the ball, and the more reps they have against our talented defense, the better they will be in the fall. If your nipples are getting hard, I can totally relate.

Arrrrrrgh! Pirates!

No not those kind of pirates, but the ones with guns who rob ships around Africa and in the Persian Gulf. A US Navy SEAL team sniped 3 pirates, but what is most impressive is the way it was done. 3 shots from 3 seals from 75 feet away as the boat rocked up and down over 3 foot waves. You would think the pirates' response would be something along the lines of, "Okay, we won't try to steal from your ships anymore... you just kicked our ass pretty hard." Instead the "head pirate" located in Somalia vowed revenge and said that they would deal more harshly with American hostages from now on.

Now I'm not a terribly smart man. After all, there's plenty I don't know about both astrophysics and astrology (yes I mean astrology, not astronomy), but I know that if I'm the head of a small group of pirates, I don't go making threats against a government with the power to find me and kill me in a matter of hours. That'd be like me walking up to Mike Tyson and vowing to punch him in the face if he didn't let me have his pudding. Anyone with any sense knows that I'm about 2 seconds away from getting my face punched in, and I think that's exactly what these pirates are doing. The American politicians are looking for just about anything to distract the people of this country from remembering our economic woes, and this little pirate scandal is the perfect thing. As long as this stays a story in the public eye, these pirates are going to face an epic smackdown, from the Bay Area and back down, Cali is where I lay my mack down... California knows how to party. Whoops, I got off track there for a second, but I think you get my point.

In short, pirates shouldn't take drugs. Say no to crystal meth, pirates.

Hokies in the Draft

There really isn't a whole lot going on right now in the world of Hokie sports, and that has me sad and depressed. Football season is still months away and basketball season is over. Seth Greenberg was a candidate for the Arizona coaching job, but it sounds like he was never really considering it. Basketball recruit Erick Green was asked to play in the Reebok All-American Game. He is playing in the preliminary game though, not the main one with the big-time recruits. So with so little news happening right now, let's turn our eyes forward to the NFL Draft!

This year's class of Hokies entering the NFL draft is nowhere near as impressive as last year's crop, and there are only a couple players who could end up making NFL rosters. The first of those players is obvious, and that's cornerback Victor "Macho" Harris. He will definitely get drafted, although it's not likely that he'll be taken before the third round. If you were to ask me, I would say that I don't see much of a difference between Macho Harris and Brandon Flowers, but Flowers was considered a better talent for whatever reason and was drafted in the early 2nd round last year. Personally, I think Macho is a steal in the third round. The draft analyzers aren't impressed by his size, speed, or really anything else about him, but the one thing he does have going for him is his production on the field, and it's hard to argue with those numbers. Macho is a playmaker and that kind of attitude is necessary for cornerbacks in the NFL.

The only other player who I think stands a chance at getting drafted this year is defensive end Orion Martin. Martin is another player who doesn't have strong physical attributes, but he's an incredibly intelligent player and always produced on the field. I can't imagine he will be drafted before the 6th round, but he might be a surprising pickup for a team looking to take a risk late in the draft. Martin is fairly useless in coverage, so he'd need to go to a team that employs a 4-3 defense. The 3-4 defense is not a good fit for our man.

The other Hokies who will throw their hats into the ring are John Shuman, Brett Warren, Nick Marshman, and Sean Glennon. None of these guys is an NFL caliber player... Shuman might get a look late in the draft because of VT's history of producing decent offensive linemen, but it's not likely. Ditto for Nick Marshman. Brett Warren was a backup caliber player in college, so no NFL team will draft him. Sean Glennon had plenty of chances to impress NFL scouts while he played at Virginia Tech, and he never took those chances. He'll be selling insurance a year from now.

The batch of poor NFL prospects is great news for our college team though. We are losing two key players in Harris and Martin, but nothing of substance beyond them. The Hokies are in a good position to fight for a BCS bowl again this year, and it's not absurd to think we'll be in the national championship picture, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This 2009 team needs to win the ACC Championship for this year to be considered successful, and I think they can do that. Go Hokies!

Recruit Highlights

I found some highlights of VT 2009 recruits on Youtube... Enjoy!

Erick Green (#32 in Black)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6XT3Rm7M4M

Cadarian Raines (#44 in White, then Red)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUtQNBjlSxk&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsZ6XjhNAB4&feature=related

That's all I could find. Nothing for Ben Boggs or Manny Atkins.