Editor's Note: With this News and Notes update, TSL welcomes new contributor Chris James to the fold. Chris will be working on many things for us, a lot of them behind the scenes, but he'll also be producing lots of content for the site, in our efforts to keep you better informed about VT football and VT athletics as the Hokies begin competition in the ACC. Welcome, Chris!

Starting with Sunday’s practice, the first in full pads, Virginia Tech began what could become the most important practice week of the 2004 football season. At this point in each season, Tech’s coaching staff begins to identify which players will see the field for the Hokies this fall. Many jobs are on the line this week, and for most players that are on the fringe of seeing playing time this year, this is the week that they will need to raise their game.

The Hokies have two-a-day practices three times this week -- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday -- and they practice once a day on the other days. They'll have their first scrimmage of the spring Saturday, and this week of practice and the scrimmage will answer a lot of questions.

The most important job on the line is the widely publicized quarterback controversy. Luckily for Hokie fans, the controversy is over who will serve as Bryan Randall’s backup. The choice will be between two true freshmen -- Cory Holt and Sean Glennon. Holt enjoyed the edge early on because he enrolled in college a semester early and was able to go through spring practice and summer conditioning. However, Glennon’s sharp mind rapidly closed the gap in the first few days of practice. To make matters worse for Holt, he is suffering through a painfully sore arm, which is very common among young quarterbacks, and has been unable to finish a couple of practices, including today's, in which he didn't participate at all. With the additional reps, Glennon, who is earning rave reviews from the coaches, is making a strong push to pass Holt on the depth chart during this crucial week.

Another position battle to keep an eye on is left guard, where Reggie Butler is currently listed ahead of Brandon Gore. This battle will probably be decided during practice this week. Also along the offensive line, the battle ensues between Danny McGrath, Mike Parham and Tripp Carroll for the backup center spot, behind Will Montgomery. It appears that McGrath holds a slight edge at this point. On the defensive side of the ball, Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi will continue to push Mikal Baaqee and Blake Warren for the starting spots. Adibi, who returned to full practice status after spending a couple days in a blue (limited) jersey due to a hamstring strain, is the best bet to crack the starting lineup.

The week will also be important for a few true freshmen who want the chance to play early. At this point, it appears the following true freshmen will definitely play: WR Justin Harper, TB George Bell, WR Eddie Royal, CB D.J. Parker, and either (or possibly both) Cory Holt or Sean Glennon. Looking to prove in the next few days that they deserve playing time are WR Josh Morgan, TB Brandon Ore, WR Jeremy Gilchrist, and ROV Kent Hicks.

On the injury front, a ton of Hokies are sidelined or limited with tweaked hamstrings. Bob Ruff, John Kinzer, Reggie Butler, Eric Green, Corey Gordon and Eddie Royal are all suffering from hamstring injuries. Fortunately only Corey Gordon’s injury is semi-serious, and everyone else is missing little to no time. Gordon is expected to miss about two weeks.

Other injuries include DT Kory Robertson (bruised quad), ROV D.J. Walton (sprained ankle), TB Mike Imoh (strained shoulder), LB Andrew Bowman (hip flexor, almost completely better now), DE Jordan Trott (back surgery, out indefinitely), and TB Cedric Humes (ankle). The Tech training staff is hopeful that starting tailback Cedric Humes’ ankle will be back to 100% by the USC game on August 28th.

Notable in the depth chart released by BeamerBall.com on August 9th:

1) Reggie Butler listed ahead of Brandon Gore at left guard.

2) Danny McGrath, Mike Parham and Tripp Carroll all listed as co-number 2 at center. McGrath’s name appears first, signifying that he has the slight edge, followed by Parham with Carroll bringing up the rear.

3) At this point, there is no #1 fullback. John Kinzer is listed as second string, with Jesse Allen and Carlton Weatherford as co-number 3.

4) Richard Johnson, Josh Hyman and David Clowney are listed as co-starters at flanker.

5) Jim Davis has pulled even with Darryl Tapp at the top of the depth chart at End.

6) Purnell Sturdivant has been moved to Whip, and is listed at 4th string.

7) Suspended wide receiver Brendan Hill has been moved to free safety, and is listed at 4th string.