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A new football season is upon us. It's as good a time as any to take stock of where we've been, where we are, and where we're going.

The Past

The past 105 years have seen some highs and lows on the gridiron at Tech:

• The great team of 1905 with C. Hunter Carpenter that defeated Army at West Point and outscored the opponents 305-24 with seven shutouts.

• The 'Champions of the South' in 1909 that only lost by just 2 at then traditional powerhouse Princeton.

• The 1932 'Champions of the South' that won games at Georgia and Maryland, lost by 3 at Alabama and had 5 shutouts.

• The only undefeated team in school history of 1954, whose only blemish was a tie against William and Mary, and who finished the season ranked number 16 in the final AP poll.

• The Claiborne teams of the mid to late sixties that went bowling twice in three years and produced many faces that are still associated with Tech sports.

• The Dooley teams of the early to mid 80's that gave us our most heralded superstar and our first bowl win in the 86 Peach.

After 1986, the next 'Golden Era' started in the recent past. In 1993, Tech started its most successful run in College Football to date. These last five teams have given us more wins and success for a longer period of time than any other of the 'Golden Eras.' It could be argued that these teams have more big wins than the other groups combined.

Names like C. Hunter Carpenter, Herb Thomas, Bruce Smith, Carroll Dale, Frank Loria, Bob Schweikert, Sonny Utz, Frank Peake, Tony Paige, Cyrus Lawrence, and many others are part of our Hokie Heritage.

Recent teams have added names like Jim Druckenmiller, Jim Pyne, Cornell Brown, Antonio Freeman, Ken Oxendine, Brandon Semones, Torrian Gray, Antonio Banks, JC Price, Bryan Still, Jermaine Holmes, and Keion Carpenter to our Hokie memories for specific plays or for their contributions during their careers.

The Present

This year's team has a few question marks as we start the season. Will they mark the end of one Era, be a bridge to another, or a continuation of the present one? A sixth straight bowl appearance would be a good place to start to continue, in my opinion, THE Golden Era of Tech Football.

The question marks are well known and discussed. Every preview points out the offensive line's inexperience and lack of cohesiveness during the spring practice. Then there is "the knee." I can't recall a body part of one player being more talked about and speculated about than Al Clark's knee.

Will they come together as a group? Is Al's knee all right? Eleven games will write the story.

This team has the talent and leadership to cause some trouble for the high powered teams on the schedule that might overlook us a bit. There might also be enough firepower to cause trouble for those same teams that look us square in the face. Talent and leadership will carry you a long way in life, but the one thing that is lacking the most in this team is the lack of meaningful playing time and game experience for many of the new starters and their backups. How they react as individuals and as a group will shape my recollections of this team.

What names from this team will be added to the Hokie lexicon? Pierson Prioleau, Shayne Graham, Al Clark, or some unheralded player who rises to the occasion and is hero for a few moments? There might even be some players of the future who, starting September 5 against ECU, toss their name out to be included in the here and now and with the future.

The Future

This freshman class is the most heralded set of recruits ever to set foot on campus in the history of Tech football. Can they live up to the lofty goals that many of us have set for them and that some of them have set for themselves? Time and a look back in a few years will answer this question.

Is there a consensus All-American in this group? I think there could be more than one. Who? No predictions from me, as to name one is to name them all. Any of this group has the potential.

Some of these recruits already have their names in our Hokie Lore. Michael Vick, Jake Houseright, and Ronyell Whitaker will at least be remembered for the recruiting circus that seemed to follow them. I look forward to seeing them and the rest of the class play, so that I can remember them for their playing skills, and not just the honor and integrity that they showed during the recruiting process.

I won't make a bold prediction about a National Championship. I will say that I look forward to the future with zeal and confidence that our football future will be bright.

No matter what happens this season or in the coming seasons I will be Hokie Proud.

As Always ... Go VT

Go VT's Homage to All Things Orange and Maroon

Copyright 1998, Go VT

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