The bad boys from Blacksburg may have finally found the winning combination to get them back to national championship contention, and it comes back to what Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer has stressed all along — hard work and grit.
It’s only fitting that Tech has had a long and arduous trip back into the discussion. Despite three ACC championships in the modern era of college football, the Hokies are 1-2 in BCS bowl games. Off-the-field complications, like the expulsion of Marcus Vick from the team in 2006, have also lowered the Hokies’ stock in recent years.
Through it all, Beamer hasn’t given up and is ready to fight his way back to the top with a tough out-of-conference schedule in 2009. It includes an opener at Alabama and a week-three trip to the Big 12 North’s resurgent Cornhuskers. Those two games sandwich a home contest versus Marshall University, an expected bowl contender this season that Tech may ignore at its own peril.
Add in a rematch against Eastern Carolina — the team that started the Hokies’ 2008 campaign with an embarrassing 27-22 home loss — as well as a daunting Atlantic Coast Conference full of Top 25 talent and you can see why many are calling the Hokies’ schedule an unnervingly difficult one.
“Not just beat Alabama … we’re going to have to beat every opponent we play,” tight end Greg Boone told The Roanoke Times during this week’s ACC media day. “Being in the ACC, we’ve got to make sure we win every game.”
Boone is so adamant because without some serious marquee wins, the ACC could slip into non-contention come BCS time. It comes down to offense, where the Hokies lacked a certain flare last year. Luckily they return their starting quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, and running back Darren Evans. Evans, a redshirt sophomore from Indiana, is especially exciting for the Hokie faithul as he is the most likely successor to Georgia Tech’s Jonathan Dwyer as the best legs in the conference.
Regardless, offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring has not been able to return the Hokies into the scoring machine they were under Michael Vick in the early part of this decade.
But Boone was quick to defend his coach.
“It’s not really the coach’s fault, it’s the players’ fault,” he said. “We’ve just got to show we’re taking the extra efforts, we need to focus better and practice better.”
That brings us back to defense, where the Hokies return a fair amount of experience with eight starters suiting up in orange and maroon. Stephan Virgil will replace cornerback Victor Harris, the team’s lone representative in the last NFL draft, and it looks like Davon Morgan will be back after a serious injury halfway through last season.
A robust secondary will help the younger linebackers and defensive front, where leadership will have to come from end Jason Worilds. But defensive coordinator Bud Foster is now in his 23rd year at Tech and knows a thing or two about consistency.
“Those guys are always strong defensively,” said Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis. “They always find a way to replace the guys they lost. In my eyes, they carry the team every year.”
The task now left up to Beamer and his staff is making sure all of the pieces come together. If the Hokies can avoid off-the-field complications, they should have a fair shot at fulfilling expectations, which according to a media poll at this week’s ACC media day is a conference championship. Reporters voted on Monday that Virginia Tech is the most likely team to take the title by a count of 69-7.
Team name: Virginia Tech Hokies
Head coach: Frank Beamer
Conference: ACC
2008 record: 10-4
Key players:
- Darren Evans - Sophomore - RB
2008: 1,265 yards rushing, 11 TD, 4.4 Avg.
Evans will dominate the rush-oriented Hokie offense. If he can continue to have standout games, like he did in last season’s Orange Bowl, he should be able to push his team into the post-season. - Stephan Virgil - Senior - CB
2008: 41 tackles, 6 INT
Virgil actually shared last year’s team high of six interceptions with star Victor Harris. Virgil will need to cement himself as the same kind of speedy, high-flying boundary corner that Harris was in order to anchor the Hokie defense.
Game to watch: Oct. 17 v. Georgia Tech
A win in week one against ‘Bama could bring attention, praise and respect to the Hokies and their conference, but the entire season would fall apart if Virginia Tech does not defeat their Coastal Division rivals in October.
The word on Virginia Tech: Expect a more level defense, a higher producing offense and a scary-determined head coach. With Georgia Tech the only real threat to the Hokies in the ACC’s Coastal Division, they should have plenty of time to rest and think about a shot at one of this year’s BCS bowls.
Be the first to comment on this article!