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Beautifully laden with emerald-green pastures, gentle knolls and lush rolling
glens, reminiscent of a Scottish landscape, the estate was affectionately
crowned Glenmore - the name it proudly honors today.
Corporate Golf Outings, Catering & Special Events: Hold
your next board meeting in our Pinnacle Room. Get married on our beautiful
grounds. Treat your employees or special clients to a golf outing. We're here to
help you make a great impression and an event to remember.
Membership Opportunities: Glenmore Country Club is a
"home away from home" for its members. The Georgian style architecture
of the clubhouse provides magnificent views of Monticello, the Blue Ridge
Mountains, and unforgettable sunsets.
For more information, just click
this link or the Glenmore logo above.
Virginia Tech has put enough players in the NFL throughout the years that we can finally put together an All-Time Hokie football team based on NFL careers and talent. A few of the positions were tough to fill, but overall we found players at almost every position that went on to solid or better NFL careers. Special thanks go out to Phil Martin for his input. This week, we'll look at the offense, and next week, we'll do the defense.
At tailback, Kevin Jones has more NFL talent than any runner the Hokies have put into the pros. He had an excellent rookie season in 2004 (241 carries, 1,133 yards, 5 TDs), but his production fell off last year. He has the talent to do big things, but he has been limited by a bad Detroit offense and organization. Tony Paige was one of the finest blocking and receiving fullbacks to ever don a uniform. He was drafted in the sixth round in 1984 by the New York Jets and played nine seasons in the NFL, enjoying his best years as a Miami Dolphin from 1990-92, when he caught a total of 140 passes from Hall of Famer Dan Marino. Paige played in 130 games and ended his career with 272 carries for 853 yards and 20 TDs, plus 197 receptions for 1,515 yards and 9 TDs.
For his day, Carroll Dale was the top receiver the Hokies have ever put in the pros. Despite playing in an era where passing was not nearly as common as it is today, Dale caught 438 passes for 8,277 yards and 52 touchdowns from 1960 to 1973. Dale is just 224 yards shy of making the top 50 in career NFL receiving yards. From walk-on at Virginia Tech to NFL player, John Burke played for the New England Patriots, New York Jets, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. He was primarily a blocking tight end, but he did his job well. He played five seasons in the NFL, catching 28 passes for 273 yards. Matt Lehr has played center and guard over the course of his NFL career. He has played in 58 games since 2001, starting 37 of them. He has played for the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams, and is currently a starter for the Atlanta Falcons. Jim Pyne is possibly the best offensive lineman in Virginia Tech history. He played seven seasons in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. The lingering effects of a torn ACL ended his career early, after the 2001 campaign with the Eagles. Jake Grove has only played two seasons in the NFL, but he has already established himself as one of the top linemen for the Oakland Raiders. He is able to play guard and center, which makes him an extremely important member of their offensive line. Anthony Davis was an undrafted free agent who finally broke into the starting lineup at left tackle last season for Tampa Bay. He was very impressive in his first season as a starter, and has earned the job again heading into 2006. Not bad for a guy who wasn't even drafted. Former Auburn running back Cadillac Williams owes a lot of his rookie year success to Davis and the rest of the offensive line. Buzz Nutter had the longest career of any Virginia Tech offensive lineman in professional football. He played in 149 games spanning 12 seasons (1954-1965), and had stints with the Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Updates From the Past Week
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After
losing three full time starters and a backup with starting
experience off the 2005 team, the 2006 offensive line is in
rebuilding mode. That isn't limited to the players. The Hokies got
a new offensive line coach in the offseason as well. Curt Newsome
came to Virginia Tech after developing the offensive line at James
Madison and helping the Dukes win a national championship.
Dorman
(Roebuck, S.C.) standout tight end Andrew Lanier received an offer
from Virginia Tech “about midway through June.” The 6-5,
230-pound prospect had never visited Virginia Tech before, but, a
few days before heading to Blacksburg for the July 8th senior
camp, he decided he would commit to the Hokies. TSL caught up with
Lanier, who reflected his decision making process and discussed
what he will bring to the 2007 recruiting class.
Virginia
Tech received a commitment from Hope Christian (Marshville, NC)
forward J.T. Thompson, a player who will enter Virginia Tech as
part of the Hokies' 2008 recruiting class. Respected poster and
basketball talent evaluator "Rev. Zeke Vodka" brings us
a detailed scouting report and future outlook for Thompson, a
player who is in the process of developing an outside game to go
with his inside game.
Georgia
Tech is a talented football team that could go anywhere from 6-6
to 10-2 this season. They seem to knock off a highly rated team
every season, but they also manage to lose games they shouldn't,
such as the 2003 loss at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils by the
score of 41-17. With Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Miami and Georgia
on their schedule this year, they have a chance to continue their
tradition.
Not
even a week into preseason camp, the Virginia Tech coaching staff
is already moving players around. After displaying impressive
athletic ability in freshman testing, Kam Chancellor has been
moved from quarterback to cornerback, where his size (6-4, 217),
closely resembles that of Jimmy Williams. Chancellor is playing
the boundary corner position for the Hokies.
Varina
DE/LB prospect Jamar Jackson saw his stock rise throughout the May
evaluation period and into the summer. The 6-4, 220-pound received
scholarship offers from schools including Boston College,
Louisville, N.C. State and Virginia Tech, among others. Now, he
has set his first official visit.
Varina
defensive tackle recruit Bud Tribbey had a fantastic visit to
Syracuse this past weekend. In fact, he was close to making a
verbal commitment to the Orange. Luckily for the Hokies, the 6-1,
285-pound prospect is giving the Hokies one more look before
making a verbal commitment anywhere.
It's
been well publicized that Virginia Tech is going to be
inexperienced at quarterback this year. Sean Glennon is the likely
starter, and he has thrown all of 11 passes during live action in
college games. His tight ends are even less experienced than he
is, not having played a single down in their careers. Fortunately,
Tech's wide receivers are among the most experienced and most
talented in the nation.
Chris
Drager began rooting for Virginia Tech during the Michael Vick era
and continued through the Kevin Jones (a former high school star
in Pennsylvania) era. He bought Virginia Tech apparel. He was a
fan. And, last month, he became a part of the team when he decided
to commit to the Hokies.
With
Virginia Tech's amazing recruiting run in July, fans that follow
recruiting closely are astounded at the Hokies' recent success,
particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Last year
recruiting followers were taken on a roller coaster ride of
emotion in Tech's early success on the recruiting trail and
optimism for a huge recruiting year, only to be disappointed in
the failure to close on several top prospects, particularly on
offense. In this first article in a series of recruiting articles,
I will break down this class in more detail and provide a scouting
report and prediction for success for the offensive recruits.
Also, I will introduce you to my unique player rating system (*no
stars*) at the end of the article.
The
most-discussed news over the weekend in Virginia Tech football
wasn't Roland Minor's injuries from a car accident or Sean
Glennon's increasing grip on the starting quarterback job. It was
a set of disciplinary rules put in place by Frank Beamer and his
staff that will penalize players for infractions on and off the
field. The new policies clearly set expectations for behavior and
clearly outline punishments if those expectations are not met.
From where I sit, the policies are a big step in the right
direction for a football team that is ailing from a discipline
problem that isn't just perceived, but real. And Coach Beamer
admits that the behavior of the coaching staff needs to change as
well, which is another huge step in the right direction.
Having
finished our previews of the ACC's Atlantic Division, we kick off
our previews of the Coastal Division with the team preview you've
all been waiting for: the Duke Blue Devils! This year will be
pretty typical for Duke, especially on the offensive side of the
ball. The defense is good enough that they could probably hold up
fairly well if they weren't on the field for the majority of the
game, thanks to an inept offense. Points will be hard to come by
this year, and Duke will be lucky if they can manage to beat a
Division 1-A team.
Wake
Forest will be the most experienced team in the ACC in 2006. They
will try to use that experience to their advantage and win the
close games in the fourth quarter, rather than losing late like
they have done the past few seasons. Wake isn’t blessed with a
deep pool of talent, but they do have players that other ACC teams
would kill to have.