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The Hokies held an NFL Pro-Scout 40-Yard Dash Timing Day Thursday, and the big news is that VT cornerback DeAngelo Hall set an all-time Hokie record by running a 4.15 forty.

In recording the first-ever 40 time at Virginia Tech under 4.2 seconds, Hall didn't just beat the record of 4.21 set by Keith Burnell in 2002 -- he crushed it. Hall beat his own previous personal best of 4.31 seconds by 0.16 seconds, a phenomenal improvement.

The Hokies test 40 times every February/March, and they usually test the entire team. The Pro-Scout day yesterday didn't time the entire team, as many players were missing because of classes, injury, or illness. Nonetheless, Hall took it as an opportunity to put his name in the VT record books.

Fast 40 times are common at Virginia Tech. Players routinely turn in sub-4.4 forties on Tech's fast testing track, and it's not uncommon for times under 4.3 to be recorded. Former free safety Damien Russell did it in 1990, coming in at 4.23, and that was a record that stood for a long, long time, until Keith Burnell broke it in 2002, with his then-record 4.21.

In the 12 years between Russell's 4.23 and Burnell's 4.21, a number of Hokies ran times in the 4.2's, but none were able to beat Russell's time, until Burnell did it. A scan of the VT record books shows that six of the position records in the 40-yard dash are under 4.3 seconds:

Of course, the question you're all dying to have answered: How did Marcus Vick do? Since Marcus will face numerous comparisons to brother Michael during his VT career, we won't be shy about doing it here.

Marcus ran a 4.48, a far cry from his brother's 4.33 as a freshman. If you're waiting and wondering if Marcus will ever be as fast as Michael, the answer is probably not. Michael ran a 4.33 as a freshman and, as listed above, was able to lower it to 4.25 by the time he departed.

Marcus ran a 4.53 last fall and has already chopped 0.05 off of that, but you've got to figure that barring something miraculous, he probably won't approach Michael's track speed.

What Marcus is able to do in a game remains to be seen. Michael, while fast on a track, is insanely fast in a game. While Marcus will probably never be that fast (who besides Michael is?), he could turn out to be pretty quick in his own right.

At other positions, Brandon Frye set a position record for offensive tackles by running a 4.76. Frye, who recently moved from defensive end to offensive tackle, broke the long-standing record of 4.85 set by Eugene Chung back in 1990. Frye's time is not a record for all offensive linemen, because Anthony Lambo, an offensive guard, ran a 4.75 in 1999.

No other position records were set, but other 40 times of note were TB Kevin Jones, with a 4.30 (down from 4.38 last year), CB Vince Fuller with a 4.34 (it's hard to believe Fuller was ever a safety at VT, because he's got cornerback written all over him), and DE Nathaniel Adibi with a 4.50 (not even close to Corey Moore's position record of 4.38 in 1999, but there's no shame in that).

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Basketball Updates

The Hokie men's basketball team is in the midst of a three-game losing streak that has a very good chance of going to four games or worse.

The Hokies lost at Boston College Wednesday night, 87-69, in a game they played without Terry Taylor and Brian Chase. Taylor was suspended for an unspecified violation, and Chase got trapped in Washington, DC, where he had gone for family reasons.

With Carlos Dixon out due to injury, this means that three of VT's top four scorers were out, with only leading scorer Bryant Matthews there. Matthews scored 23 points but shot just 7 of 25. The Hokies got solid performances from freshmen Philip McCandies (8 points), Fabian Davis (8 points), and Markus Sailes (9 points), but Tech was outmanned.

The Hokies fell to 10-14 overall, 3-8 in the Big East. Tech is now in a last-place tie with 3-8 Miami in the Big East's East Division. VT's chances to make the Big East tournament may well come down to a March 5th home game against the Canes.

Before then, Tech has to play Saturday at 20-5 (8-3) Notre Dame (1 pm, no TV), then at home against 18-4 (8-3) Pittsburgh on Feb. 26th and 14-9 (7-3) Villanova.

On the women's side of the ledger, Tech (17-6, 8-4 BE) has a huge game against Villanova (19-4, 9-3) in Cassell Coliseum Saturday at 2 pm (no TV).

The game is big for two reasons:

1.)  VT is #5 in the conference, and Villanova is #3. A win would give the Hokies a good chance of finishing in the top 4 in the conference, thus receiving a bye in the Big East Tournament's first round.

2.)  VT's RPI rating is #24, and Villanova's is #8. The Wildcats are the highest-rated RPI team in the Big East, other than #2 Connecticut. A win over Villanova would give Tech's all-important RPI rating a nice boost.

With a win over 'Nova, the Hokies would just about lock up an NCAA Tournament bid, barring a complete collapse down the stretch. Beating Villanova would give the Hokies 18 wins and position them for a good chance at winning 20 regular-season games, because Tech closes at Rutgers, against WVU, and at St. John's.

You can follow Tech men's and women's hoops on TSL's Men's Basketball and Women's Basketball pages.

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-- Will Stewart

The Lemming List Revisited
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 2/21/03, 12:45 am
It has been over nine months since ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Lemming held one of his photo shoots on the Virginia Tech campus, and the question can now be answered: of the 48 players at Virginia Tech that day, where did they all end up, and how much did the photo shoot help Virginia Tech recruiting?
in TSL Pass

Drip, Drip, Drip ...
by Jim Alderson, 2/19/03, 3:55 pm
Last weekend was a weekend made for televised sports. Much of anything else was out of the question, as yet another winter storm pounded the mid-Atlantic region, leaving in its wake, at least in my neck of the woods, a coating of ice that, while fairly picturesque when viewed from my house through a window, was not something I had the slightest intention of venturing into.
in TSL Columnists

Advance Auto Parts Hokie Hotline Notes
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 2/18/03, 4:30 pm
Monday's show was the annual football recruiting show, and this year's show featured VT recruiting coordinator Jim Cavanaugh, offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, quarterbacks coach Kevin Rogers, and Doug Doughty of the Roanoke Times.
in Hotline Notes

Recruiting Profile: Duane Brown
by Chris Horne, 2/18/03, 9:55 am
Needless to say, Duane Brown's senior season did not go as planned. In the fourth quarter of Hermitage's second game of the year, Brown suffered a broken left fibula, sidelining him for seven and a half games of the regular season.
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