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There are high expectations for Virginia Tech this season. The Hokies were picked by the ACC media to win the conference quite easily back in July. The national media also thinks quite a bit of the Hokies, who are #9 in the recently released USA Today Coaches' Poll. In some ways, expectations are higher this season than ever before. The Hokies have never been picked to win their conference by the media who cover the teams. Tech has been picked to finish as high as first in the ACC Coastal Division back in 2005, but the media did not pick an overall winner of the conference that year. Before that, the highest Tech has been picked was second. That happened five times in the Big East, including four straight years from 1999-2002.
After the Hokies played for the National Championship in 1999, Tech was highly regarded in 2000 with Michael Vick returning. Despite losing most of their defense, they were ranked #10 in the nation to start the season by the Coaches' Poll. That season turned out pretty much as everyone expected. Tech finished second in the Big East to Miami, went to the Gator Bowl, and finished the season #6 in both polls. In 2001, the Hokies returned almost everybody on defense and still had Andre Davis and Lee Suggs on offense. Expectations were high, and Lee Corso picked them to play for the National Championship. However Suggs blew out his knee in the first game, and as the season moved along, it was apparent that Tech didn't have the offensive production they needed. They went to the Gator Bowl, lost to Florida State, and finished #18 in both polls with an 8-4 record.
The 2005 season began with Tech ranked #8 in the A.P. and #7 in the Coaches'. The Hokies were expected to win the Coastal Division, which they did. For the most part it was a great season, but Tech dropped games to Miami and Florida State, displaying an offensive ineptness that made many fans grumble. They beat Louisville in the Gator Bowl, and finished #7 in both polls. The 2007 Hokies have a lot
to work with, but they also have a few question marks. Time will tell whether or
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Updates From the Past Week
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The
USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll was released today, and the Hokies
find that the pollsters agree with the preseason magazines and
other prognosticators. Virginia Tech is ranked ninth by the
coaches, marking the third time in the last five years Tech has
been ranked in the top ten in the preseason.
As
the Hokies return to football practice, there is something
different in the air. The April 16th shootings are still fresh
in many minds, and they'll be talked about before, during, and
after the season. But from a strictly-football viewpoint,
something else is different, too: Virginia Tech has been picked
to win its conference championship for the first time ever,
dating back to their entry into the Big East in 1991.
Virginia
Tech has rapidly developed into "DB-U". They have put
a lot of defensive backs into the NFL in the last decade,
including DeAngelo Hall, Eric Green, Torrian Gray, Cory Bird,
Tyronne Drakeford, Garnell Wilds, Ike Charlton, Jimmy Williams
and Vincent Fuller. There are more, but you probably don't have
half the day to read the entire list.
Wednesday
evening, TechSideline.com's Chris Coleman and Len Martez
compared current Hokie players like Xavier Adibi and Branden Ore
to NFL players. They also covered recent Tech football
recruiting news, and Chris gave his pick for the best conference
in college football (WMA format, compatible with Windows Media
Player and MP3 players, 2.9 MB, 12:04).
Though
it seems very, very likely that former Hylton (Woodbridge, VA)
star Will Alvarez will indeed gain clearance to play at
Virginia Tech, the 6-5, 315-pound offensive line prospect
continues to wait out an official decision. We caught up with
Hylton head coach Lou Sorrentino for the latest in this saga,
which could come to an end today or tomorrow.
TechSideline.com
will be down on Thursday, August 2 at approximately 4:30pm. This
is a scheduled outage for maintenance. The site is expected to
be down for around 30 minutes. Thanks in advance for your
patience and understanding.
NC
State has always been talented, but they had major discipline
problems under Chuck Amato. Amato was finally canned following
the 2006 season, and he was replaced with Tom O'Brien, a former
Marine who had no problems instilling discipline in his teams at
Boston College. Because O'Brien is bringing exactly what the NC
State team lacked, they could be one of the most improved teams
in the ACC this season.
TSL's
Chris Coleman made his first appearance on The Final Round
with Wes McElroy on ESPN 840AM in Charlottesville yesterday.
Chris will be appearing every week on The Final Round,
and in this first installment, Chris and Wes talked about Frank
Beamer's stature as head coach in the eyes of Tech fans, Sean
Glennon's confidence level heading into 2007, and whether or not
the #32 should be honored in Virginia Tech athletics.(WMA
format, compatible with Windows Media Player and MP3 players,
2.5 MB, 10:29).
Last
Monday, Virginia Tech landed a commitment from promising Halifax
(South Boston, VA) linebacker prospect Allen Stephens.
The 6-1, 240-pound Stephens, who chose the Hokies over West
Virginia, reflected on his college decision and discussed his
future at Virginia Tech.
It
wasn't until this morning that 6-2, 195-pound Smithfield (VA)
star athlete Dyrell Roberts knew for sure that Virginia
Tech was the school he would choose, but it was almost two
months ago when the Tech program really solidified itself as the
favorite. Virginia Tech's June 9th camp, Roberts' first ever
visit to Blacksburg, was the key part of this recruitment.
Linebacker
should be one of the top positions for Virginia Tech this
season. Rising seniors Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi (right) are
legitimate All-American candidates, and senior whip Corey Gordon
has the physical ability to be very good. Barring injury, this
could be the best position on Tech's team in 2007.
At
a 1:00 p.m. press conference, Smithfield (VA) star rising senior
Dyrell Roberts announced that he has verbally committed
to Virginia Tech, choosing the Hokies over Penn State and the
University of Virginia. The talented athlete, a versatile
performer for Smithfield, becomes Tech's 16th commitment for the
2008 recruiting class.
Maryland
went 9-4 last season, but they were the worst 9-4 team you'll
see. They only beat William & Mary by 14 and barely topped
winless Florida International 14-10. They won five ACC games,
all against teams that were noted for either bad coaching or
losing games they should win.
For
years, subscribers have asked us for a series of articles
breaking down the Virginia Tech defense: its philosophy,
alignment, position names and responsibilities, schemes and
coverages. Raleigh Hokie, a student of the game and our resident
in-house expert, checks in with a three-part series on Bud
Foster's suffocating defense. Part 1, the introduction, explains
the basic philosophy of the defense and identifies positions and
alignments. This is one series you don't want to miss, so if
you're not on board yet as a TSL subscriber for the 2007
football season, now is the time.
After
a disappointing 7-6 season in 2006, Florida State made big
changes in the offseason. Offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden
resigned, and Bobby Bowden hired LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo
Fisher to replace him. FSU's offensive line also performed
poorly last year, so Rick Trickett was hired away from West
Virginia to get the 'Noles back on the right track.