The prospect was Cols Colas Jr., who was making his mark as a running back at South Plantation High in Plantation, Fla. He was a kid who had 1,064 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

He was a 6-foot, 200-pounder who could really, really run. He became Florida’s state 100-meter champion in the spring. He clocked a 10.49 for 100 meters, which is moving. He could last, too. He went 21.3 in the 200 meters and 41.2 in the 400 meters.

Wiles coaches Tech’s defensive linemen. Conventional wisdom might lead one to believe that he wouldn’t be paying too much attention to a running back. Conventional wisdom would be wrong in this case.

One play in particular got Wiles’ attention.

"There was an interception, a fumble, some kind of turnover," Wiles recalled. "Cols came from the other side of the field. He just ran by everybody and looked really good doing it.

"He went and tackled the guy. You could look at his body, he’s built well. He showed speed, he showed power. I thought right then he’d make an excellent defensive end."

Three years later, Colas is proving Wiles correct. A redshirt sophomore for the Hokies, he became a starter at defensive end nine games into the 2001 season. He looks as if he’ll be difficult to dislodge.

His education as a football player is far from complete. But Colas has made more than enough progress already to show that the tag of "future star" that was hung on him is probably not wrong.

Dare we say it? Corey Moore.

"Well," Wiles said, "he does have a lot of the same attributes as Corey Moore."

Colas is still 6-0. He’s no longer 200 pounds. He’s packing 240 now and guess what? He’s faster, not slower. Thanks to some serious dedication to strength coach Mike Gentry’s program, Colas sounds like a campaign for the Olympics.

"I’ve gotten bigger, stronger and faster," Colas said.

Dan Marguriet, Colas’ high school coach, noticed. "The size he has now has to be a bit scary for an offensive lineman," Marguriet said. "He’s gotten so much bigger without losing his quickness. Virginia Tech has honed his skills up pretty good."

To understand just how far Colas has come, a look back is required. Football hasn’t been part of his life for very long. He’s a lifelong Floridian with an "Islands" background. Listen closely when Colas talks, and you can pick up a trace of that wonderful lilt. His father, Cols Colas Sr., is from the Bahamas. His mother, Evelyne Colas, is from Haiti.

Colas was fast from the start. Track was his thing. "He knew how to run," Marguriet said. Colas played around with a soccer ball, though he was never big into organized soccer. He wrestled and "was a heck of a wrestler," Marguriet said. "He’s just go in and be so quick he’d be all over you in a second."

He decided to give football a serious try his second year of high school.

"He had almost no knowledge of the game, but he was real receptive, a very hard worker," Marguriet said. "He had terrific instincts, and you could tell he was going to be a very good player. He was always willing to work."

Marguriet knew Wiles’ assessment of Colas’ best position was correct, because he’d used Colas as an end during Colas’ junior year before moving him to offense as a senior. He felt all along defensive end would be Colas’ collegiate position "and it’s to Charley’s credit that he saw it that way, too, and to Cols for being receptive to it.

"I had no doubt Cols would be successful. I was a little worried someone would pick him up as a running back. I didn’t think that was his best spot for the future."

Colas’ transition to end didn’t happen right away. He spent his redshirt season working as an outside linebacker before moving to end during spring practice. He proved to be a tireless worker. He added 80 pounds to his bench press his first year at Tech. The weight went on, and the speed improved. During the spring of 2001, he posted a 4.41 time in 40-yard testing. "I’d been 4.5-something before," Colas noted.

Colas didn’t play too much as a redshirt freshman. He finished the year with 20 tackles. He continued his hard work in the weight room and returned for preseason drills as an integral part of the Hokies’ defense.

By the middle of the 2001 season, it was clear to most observers that Colas and fellow "backup" Jim Davis were outperforming "starters" Lamar Cobb and Nathaniel Adibi. After the Hokies suffered back-to-back losses to Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the change was made. Colas and Davis became first string, Cobb and Adibi became backups.

The switch only made Colas more determined, more aggressive. During the Hokies’ 31-17 victory over Virginia – the second game as starters for Colas and Davis – it looked like they were harassing Cavalier backs on every play.

Of Colas’ 33 officially-credited tackles through the Virginia game, 14 were behind the line of scrimmage. He also had been credited with a dozen quarterback hurries, a number that seems very low.

"We have to play better," Colas said. "They told us whoever is playing better is going to start, and I want to start. Me and Jim know we have to keep playing better if we want to keep on starting."

Colas is quickly picking up the technical aspects of the game. He knows talent alone doesn’t cut it at the collegiate level. Marguriet sees the difference when he catches the Hokies on television. Colas, when he first started playing, would put himself in position to make a play but wouldn’t have the knowledge to finish it off. Not anymore.

"He’d overrun it, not break down quickly enough, things like that," Marguriet said. "He found out that the game was a little more than just watching it on Sunday. He found there was a lot of responsibility involved. Then it was just a matter of adjusting his talent."

He has learned a lot.

"Right now I’m doing much better because I’m knowing what everybody else on the defense is doing," Colas said. "In high school, I didn’t know the whole concept. I was just out there trying to make a play. That’s why it was so difficult for me at first, until I learned the whole game. It came piece by piece."

He has a lot more to learn.

"I think I can get a lot, A LOT better than I am now," Colas said. "It’s pretty exciting to think about. Right now, I think I’m good but I don’t think I’m that good, especially with the tradition Virginia Tech has at defensive end."

And that brings us back to Corey Moore, the ringleader of the Tech defense that made the national championship game after the 1999 season. Moore was the physical and spiritual leader of that team. Tech coach Frank Beamer called Moore "the great disrupter." Moore was the national defensive player of the year in 1999. He was so fast, so strong that offenses had to adjust much of what they did to account for him.

Colas’ redshirt season was 1999, so he saw up close what Moore was all about and finds any comparison flattering – if a bit over the top. "I want to become that type of player," Colas said. "If I could be that successful, I’d be really happy."

Those who know Colas wouldn’t put it past him. He’s still young as a football player. He has two full seasons ahead, plenty of time to grow physically and in his knowledge of the game.

"Cols is a super kid and a hard worker," Marguriet said. "He’s gotten much better every year he’s played the game. He’s awfully competitive, just hates to not be the best at his spot. He was in a group here that were all like that. They refused to lose a drill, lose a race. Those kids would go in the weight room and leave the bar on a guy’s chest if he couldn’t get it off."

All of Wiles’ ends have at least one more year. Cobb is a junior. Davis and Adibi, like Colas, are sophomores. That’s plenty of competition to push Colas in his continuing quest to be a complete player.

"Speed, instincts, power, Cols has everything you want," Wiles said.

Throw in some more knowledge, and look out.