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When perusing the 1995 media guide the other day, some interesting things caught my eye.  Lane Stadium really looked weird with no stands to speak of in either end zone, hair styles were awful in the mid-90s, and I had no idea that Tech used to play soccer in what is now the football practice field.  All that aside, the one thing that caught my eye was the size, or the lack thereof, of the Tech players in 1995.  Known for their physical play in 1995, it was hard for me to believe that the Hokies were that small.  When comparing the size of the starting lineups in 1995 to that of 2004, some interesting things stand out.

First of all, let’s start at defensive end.  Both Hank Coleman and Cornell Brown stood 6’2” and weighed 240 in 1995.  Tech’s starting defensive ends in 2004, Noland Burchette and Darryl Tapp, are 6’2” 251 and 6’1” 265 respectively.  So on average, the 2004 defensive ends have 18 pounds on the 1995 group. 

At defensive tackle, Jim Baron measured out at 6’4” 260.  His counterpart in 2004 is Jim Davis, who is listed at 6’4 265 on Hokiesports.com.  In the spring however, Davis reported in at 276 pounds, and he looks a little bigger than that 265 measurement this fall, so who knows what his exact weight is.  Either way, he is a smallish defensive tackle who is doing a great job in using his quickness to make plays.  The other defensive tackle in 1995 was All-American J.C. Price.  Price measured out at 6’3” 280 in 1995, making him the biggest starter along the defensive front for Tech.  Jonathon Lewis, the other starter in 2004, stands 6’1” 289.  So while he only weighs 9 pounds more than Price, he is also 2 inches shorter.

Thus, the average weight among the starting defensive linemen at Tech in 1995 was 255.  Amazing.  The average weight of the 2004 group is 267.5 if you count Jim Davis at 265.  That average goes up to 270.25 if you count him at 276.

At whip linebacker in 2004, Brandon Semones was listed at 6’0” 204, and that was probably being a little generous.  His counterpart in 2004, James Anderson, is 6’3” 224.  That’s a big difference. 

In 1995, backer Myron Newsome started for the Hokies at 5’10” 205.  Tech’s 2004 starter at backer, Mical Baaqee, measures in at 5’10” 224.  That is smallish by todays standards, but it sure does dwarf Newsome in the weight department.  Starting at mike linebacker in 1995 was George DelRicco, who stood 6’1” and weighed 230.  His counterpart in 2004 is Vince Hall, who is listed at 6’0” 240.  Overall there isn’t too much of a difference at the mike position, as there are plenty of 6’1” 230 linebackers today.

The big difference in the size of the two defensive units is the secondary.  Example number one is cornerback Larry Green.  Green was listed at 5’7” 167.  How many cornerbacks today weigh less than 170, much less stand 5’7”?  In today’s game with the Larry Fitzgeralds of the college football world, he would get eaten alive.  But with the way the game was played in 1995, Green was a good player.  The other corner in 1995 was Antonio Banks, who measured 5’10” 190, which is typical cornerback size today.  At cornerback in 2004, Tech started Eric Green and Jimmy Williams, who measure in at 6’0” 198 and 6’3” 219, respectively.  The amazing part is that Jimmy Williams is bigger than two of Tech’s starting linebackers in 1995, and is only 11 pounds lighter than the third.  Wow.

William Yarborough was known as a safety that would come up and pop you, but you wouldn’t know it from his size.  Yarborough stood 6’0” and weighed 166.  His counterpart in 2004 is Vinnie Fuller, who measures 6’1” 187, which is a little on the light side for today’s standards.  The 1995 and 2004 teams stack up about evenly at rover, with Torrian Gray listed at 6’0” 200 and James Griffin listed at 6’1” 193.

Offensively, the biggest difference between 1995 and 2004 was the offensive line.  From left to right, the 1995 offensive line: Jay Hagood, 6’4” 299; Chris Malone, 6’3” 270; Billy Conaty, 6’3” 291; Todd Washington, 6’3” 300; Mike Bianchin, 6’4” 286.  That’s an average weight of 289.2.  Another player who played a lot on the offensive line was right guard Gennaro DiNapoli.  DiNapoli is in the NFL today, but in 1995 he was listed at 6’3” 258.

The 2004 offensive line, from left to right: Jimmy Martin, 6’5” 299; Reggie Butler, 6’6” 344; Will Montgomery, 6’3” 300; James Miller, 6’6” 312; Jon Dunn, 6’7” 331.  That’s an average weight of 317.2.  What a huge difference a decade makes.

Another position of interest is wide receiver.  Starters in 1995 were Jermaine Holmes and Bryan Still.  Holmes stood 6’1” 177 and Still measured in at 6’0” 170.  2004 starters Eddie Royal and Josh Hyman are listed at 5’10” 172 and 5’11” 188, respectively.  That doesn’t seem like that big of a difference, but when you throw in the height differential, and realize that Royal is only a true freshman and will weigh more than Holmes and Still before he leaves Tech, it is.  Backup receivers Josh Morgan and Justin Harper are 6’1” 209 and 6’3” 203, respectively.  And they are both true freshmen as well, whereas Holmes and Still were seniors in 1995.

The main reason for all of these differences is the emphasis put on weigh lifting at the high school level.  More and more high schools are starting up weight programs, and more and more players are participating.  Most recruits come in as true freshmen bigger than the starters for the Hokies in 1995.  It just serves as an example of how the game has changed.  It will be interesting to see the changes that take place over the next decade when we look back on the 2004 Virginia Tech football team.

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WVU Game Preview
by Jeff Ouellet, 9/30/04, 3:10 am
With the heartbreaking defeat to N.C. State now in the rearview mirror – and it needs to be for the Hokie players, coaches and fans – attention in Blacksburg should be squarely focused on unbeaten and sixth ranked West Virginia (4-0). In what may be the final game in Lane Stadium for this rivalry for the near future, the best WVU team on paper in the last decade will face off against a Virginia Tech team (2-2, 1-1) with more questions than answers.
in Football

TechSideline.com Recruiting Report Archive, 9/29/04 (Audio)
by TechSideline.com, 9/30/04, 1:40 pm
New for TSL Pass subscribers! The first audio archive of the "TechSideline.com Recruiting Report," which comes to you every Wednesday night at 7:00 on the "Tech Beat With Mike Harris" radio show on ESPN Radio 950 AM in Richmond, Virginia. In this week's TechSideline.com Recruiting Report (MP3 format, 24 minutes), TSL recruiting analyst Chris Horne discusses the commitments of Elan Lewis and Steven Friday, plus much more.
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Arms and Losses
by Jim Alderson, 9/29/04, 10:10 am
The best thing about freshmen and sophomores is that they eventually become seniors. This old coaching adage was certainly on display last Saturday as the game ended on a missed kick by sophomore Brandon Pace. That was a tremendous amount of pressure to place on a young man not too far removed from his Senior Prom. Hopefully there will be a game when a more mature and experienced Brandon Pace will have another opportunity. As was forecast often during the run-up to this inaugural ACC season for Tech, the first game against one of the decent conference teams was a close nail-biting affair that came down to the final play of the game.
in TSL Pass

VT Rankings in the National Stats
by Stefan Adams, TechSideline.com, 9/29/04, 12:30 am
In the wake of Saturday’s 17-16 loss to North Carolina State, the Virginia Tech football team found itself in different locations in several polls and statistical categories. With respect to the national rankings, the Hokies slipped from the fringe of most Top-25 polls to outside of the top 35 (Tech sits at 39 in the Coaches Poll).
Also: Imoh named starter; two game times announced
in News and Notes

NC State Game Analysis
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 9/28/04, 11:45 am
The Hokie offense was almost totally stifled, giving up 10 sacks, 16 total lost-yardage plays, and gaining only 192 yards. It was their worst offensive output since they absorbed a 42-3 drubbing in the 1997 Gator Bowl. Therefore, the focus of a game analysis is clear. The questions of what NC State did to cause that, and what the Hokies did to combat it (hint: the answer is "not much") will be answered here.
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Advance Auto Parts Hokie Hotline Notes
by Phil Noftsinger, 9/28/04, 2:30 am
Bill Roth started the interview with Coach Stinespring by asking him what happened to the Hokie offense last Saturday. Coach responded with a litany of reasons, foremost among them was NC State’s great defense. Coach also talked about the "lost" points on drives that stalled in or just outside of the red-zone.
in Hokie Hotline Notes

Wide Right: Bitten by the Pack
by Jeff Cockey, 9/27/04, 10:30 am
Today is truly the first time that I dislike my column name. Brandon buddy . . . two of them . . . both Wide Right? Really? Shake it off, friend. You are a hell of a kicker and we will need you again, in the clutch, down the road. I guarantee that. So I scribbled down notes for this game and it would have made for a hell of a column if not for the outcome. But let’s take a look at the highlights shall we?
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NC State 17, Virginia Tech 16
Special Teams, Offensive Woes Doom Hokies
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 9/26/04, 1:35 am
Blacksburg, VA -- Brandon Pace's 43-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right as time expired, and NC State escaped from Blacksburg with a 17-16 win in a critical ACC matchup. Pace's miss capped a defensive struggle that saw the game decided by special teams, as Hokie punter Vinnie Burns dropped a snap deep in Tech territory in the third quarter, leading to the deciding NCSU score.
in Football

Breaking Down the Depth Chart
by Chris James, TechSideline.com, 9/24/04, 3:20 pm
One can find some interesting facts when perusing the Hokie Huddler (I still can’t call it hokiesports the newspaper). Whenever I first pick up the newest edition of the Huddler, the first thing I do is flip to the depth chart page. The depth chart page naturally shows the depth chart, but it also shows the number of plays that each player on the team played in the most recent game. In a season where the Hokies have so many new faces in the lineup, it is interesting to see who is contributing and how much.
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