Virginia Tech Hokies

Head Coach

Frank Beamer	22nd year
07-08	11-3
ACC	7-1
FCR	0

Previous Season Wins

Head Coach - Frank Beamer enters 22nd year at Tech and he simply knows how to win, the Hokies were 11-3 last season and played in the ACC title game for the third time in four years and expectations in Blacksburg are to do so again. Make no mistake Virginia Tech has numerous holes to fill this season; they must replace twelve starters and including the tailback and two wide-outs. The talent level is top notch at Va Tech so the belief is they’ll simply fill in the blanks, we’ll see.

Quarterback - The Hokies used both senior Sean Glennon and sophomore Tyrod Taylor at quarterback last season, but Glennon appears to have the edge coming out of the spring. Glennon has excellent size, a strong arm and showed improvement as the season progressed, Taylor on the other hand is the better runner and more of a dual-threat option. Glennon threw for 1,796 yards and 12 TD’s with only 5 interceptions and Taylor had 927 yards through the air with 5 TD’s and was the teams second leading rusher with 429 yards. If Glennon is the choice this fall than Taylor will be the future and both options are excellent.

Running Backs - The top two choices at running back are junior Kenny Lewis and Jahre Cheeseman but both were injured this spring and the fall camp will determine the starter. Lewis is the quicker of the two and Cheeseman will excel between the tackles. Redshirt freshman Darren Evans and true freshman Ryan Williams will compete for time this fall. At fullback junior Kenny Jefferson gets the call, he’ll lead the way for whoever is the opening day starter.

Receivers - Complete unknown would be the best way to describe the Hokie receivers this year. Based on their spring performance look for junior Brandon Dillard at flanker and lining up at split end will be Zach Luckett, Dillard has the speed to stretch the field and Luckett the size to roam the middle. In the rotation will be junior Ike Whitaker and redshirt freshman Danny Coale, Victor Harris is a cornerback who might be asked to do double duty. At tight end Va Tech has a couple of juniors in Sam Wheeler and Greg Boone basically a 6th O-Lineman.

Offensive Line - Four starters return but the Hokies are looking for more this year from the O-Line, the unit leader will be junior right guard Sergio Render, he’s has the potential to contribute greatly to the rushing attack. The left side returns with junior Ed Wang at left tackle and along side will be seniors Nick Marshman at guard and at center Ryan Shuman, the lone newcomer to the unit will be at right tackle where redshirt freshman Blake DeChristopher has earned praise coming out of spring. If Glennon is calling signals they’ll need to be improvement in the pass blocking to give him time to see the field.

Defensive Line - Statistically always one of the nations better defenses and last year was no different as the Hokies finished 4th in total defense, but seven starters must be replaced and three alone on the defensive line. The lone returning starter is defensive end Orion Martin, the senior had 58 tackles and 6 ½ sacks last season; he’ll be joined by sophomore Jason Worilds who was dominant this spring. Inside look for sophomore John Graves and junior Cordarrow Thompson to get first shot at the defensive tackle positions, they’ll need to use their size to plug the inside.

Linebackers - The Hokies return only one starter at linebacker in junior Cam Martin, who’ll be on the outside where he contributed 78 tackles last season and added 4 ½ sacks. In the middle it’ll be senior Brett Warren and senior Purnell Sturdivant will be the other outside linebacker. They’re solid against the run but lack a real proven playmaker, incoming freshman Quillie Odom has the hype coming in and could be in the mix from the start.

Defensive Backs - The secondary is led by senior “Macho” Harris who’ll be at one corner, he had five picks a year ago and he possesses excellent bal skills and could emerge as the conferences premier cover man. At the other corner sophomore Rashad Carmichael and redshirt freshman Cris Hill will battle through the fall camp for the starting assignment. At the Rover this fall will be junior Dorian Porch and at free safety junior Kam Chancellor, who was the Rover a year ago will start. Chancellor has the size to man handle opposing runners and the speed to cover the pass.

Special Teams - At punter junior Brent Bowden returns following a solid sophomore season when he 42.5 yards and had 28 punts downed inside the 20. Senior Dustin Keys is the frontrunner coming out of spring to handle the placekicking this fall. Handling the kick returns could be senior Victor “Macho” Harris, but his plate is already pretty full, junior Brandon Dillard will also get touches.

Schedule - For Virginia Tech who usually has a tough non-conference slate this is a relatively soft schedule. Out of conference they get East Carolina, Furman and Western Kentucky at home and play at Nebraska, they also avoid Clemson and Wake from the Atlantic division. They won’t be the dominant team that may expect but the pieces are in place to reach the ACC title game, another bowl game an end the year with 9-11 wins.