2008 Preview
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By Mike Hogewood for theACC.com
Defending ACC champion Virginia Tech is again favored to be in the league championship game in early December. Frank Beamer says that pick really surprised him. "That's a compliment to our program that we can lose 13 guys to the NFL and still be picked to win." The holes left from last year's team are indeed big ones and it may take some time for this team to get near as good as they were a year ago. One thing is certain, with two Hokie championships since joining the league, the ACC and Virginia Tech have been very good for each other.
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Quarterback
Sean Glennon
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The one place where there is plenty of experience returning on offense is at quarterback. Both Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor played well last season with Glennon finishing on a strong note as the MVP of the ACC championship game in Jacksonville. Beamer says he'll go with a two quarterback system again if it gives the Hokies the best chance to win, but it's not something he wants to do. "I don't think there're many of us at Tech that wouldn't like one quarterback. When you play two, it's really hard. We had two different systems for each quarterback last year and I thought it hurt us in the Orange Bowl."
Glennon is the senior and was very diplomatic about who was going to play at the league's media gathering in late July. The Hokies lost four senior receivers from last year. The returnees have caught a total of five passes in a college game. Beamer knows that position may take a little time to develop. "I think we recruited some very talented kids, some great freshmen. The bad part is they haven't played in ball games."
The best target may be the tight end, 6-3, 290-pound Greg Boone. Five players are vying to replace Brandon Ore as the starting tailback. That includes freshman Ryan Williams the top recruit in Tech's incoming class.
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Cornerback
Victor "Macho" Harris
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The defense has to replace seven starters, all of whom are in NFL training camps this summer. Defensive end Jason Worilds was the MVP of spring practice and will be a primary focus of opposing offensive lines. The other end is senior Orion Martin who says it's time for new names to step up. "We lost a lot of guys and we're going to miss them but we have a lot of guys that have a lot of talent and they've got some game experience. They're ready to step in and they're hungry."
At linebacker, seniors Brett Warren and Purnell Sturdivant will get chances to start after backing up Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi the past few seasons. The leader of this defense will be cornerback Victor "Macho" Harris who also may see time on offense at wide receiver. Harris will also be the team's return man. He ran a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against Clemson last season.
For the second year in a row, the Hokies will have a fifth-year senior as their kicker. Last year it was Jud Dunleavy. This season the job will go to Dustin Keys. Brett Bowden returns as Virginia Tech's punter. Beamer coaches special teams and it's an area of particular pride in Blacksburg.
The players know that getting the chemistry right early could be an issue. That's why most were in Blacksburg all summer working out together. Despite all the new faces, Beamer seems genuinely excited about this season. "I like the kids. I like their attitudes. The fact that most players were here all summer says something about their intentions."
The Hokies open the season with the same opponent as a year ago, East Carolina. This year the game will be played in Charlotte. Tech has to travel to North Carolina, Boston College and Florida State. Many names have changed but the standard of excellence on the field at Virginia Tech has not.
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2008 Preseason Information
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2007 In Review
Virginia Tech captured its second ACC Football Championship in its four years in the league, posting an 11-3 overall record and a 7-1 mark in Conference play... The Hokies, ranked ninth nationally, avenged their only regular season ACC loss, downing Boston College, 30-16 in the Third Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship... The Hokies ranked third nationally in scoring defense, fourth in total defense, and fifth in rushing and pass efficiency defense... Tech also ranked sixth nationally in punt returns and fifth in sacks...Defensive end Chris Ellis, linebacker Xavier Adibi, cornerback Victor Harris and returner Eddie Royal all were first-team All-ACC, while offensive tackle Duane Brown, defensive tackle Barry Booker and cornerback Brandon Flowers earned second-team All-ACC honors ...Adibi and Flowers were first-team All-Americas by the AFCA ...Royal, who returned two punts for touchdowns in 2007, set a new ACC career record for most punt return yardage with 1,296 yards ...Virginia Tech had seven players who had two or more non-offensive touchdowns in their careers including defensive end Chris Ellis, wide receiver Eddie Royal, linebackers Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall, and defensive backs Brandon Flowers, Victor Harris and D.J. Parker.
Who’s Gone
Thirteen starters overall are lost including five on offense, kicker Jud Dunlevy on special teams and seven defensive starters who made a combined total of 243 career starts while helping Tech to finish no worse than fourth nationally in total defense the past four years...Defensively, Tech will miss mainstays defensive end Chris Ellis, defensive tackles Barry Booker and Carlton Powell, linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi, cornerback Brandon Flowers and free safety D.J. Parker...Offensively, Tech loses starting tailback Branden Ore, who ran for 2,739 yards over the past two seassons, tackle Duane Brown, and fullback Carlton Weatherford, as well as every wide receiver who caught a pass including starters Eddie Royal and Josh Morgan, backups Josh Hyman and Justin Harper.
A Look Ahead
Frank Beamer, now in his 22nd season in Blacksburg, welcomes back 40 returning lettermen including 11 starters--six on offense, four on defense and punter Brent Bowden...A weakness at the start of last season, Tech’s offensive line, should be a strength this year led by center Ryan Shuman, tackle Ed Wang and guard Sergio Render...Quarterbacks Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor shared signal calling duties as each was effective...Defensively, Tech rebuilds around the Martin brothers, defensive end Orion, and linebacker Cam, as well as All-ACC cornerback Victor Harris and free safety Kam Chancellor...Punter Brent Bowden was fifth in the ACC and 24th nationally with a 42.5 average.
Numbers and Notes
5 - Cornerback Victor Harris, named to the preseason watch list for the Nagurski Award, finished in a tie for fifth place in the ACC in pass interceptions last year with five. He was also third in passes defended, knocking down 16 in 14 games. The Nagurski is presented annually to the nation’s top defensive player.
7 - Junior guard Sergio Render was one of seven ACC football student-athletes who were named to the pre-season watch list for the Outland Trophy. The Outland is presented annually to the nation’s top interior lineman.
9 - Virginia Tech scored nine touchdowns in 2007 by return including five by interception returns, three by punt returns and one kickoff return.
115 - Since the arrival of head coach Frank Beamer in 1987, the Hokie defense and special teams have combined for 115 touchdowns including 99 in Virginia Tech’s last 177 games.
209 - Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer has 209 career victories, placing him third on the NCAA career active list behind only Florida State’s Bobby Bowden (373) and Penn State’s Joe Paterno (372).
258.7 - Over the past four seasons, a span of 52 games, Virginia Tech’s defense has allowed its opponents an average of just 258.7 yards per game. During that time, Tech led the nation in total defense twice (2005, 2006) and finished fourth twice (2004, 2007).
295 - In his first career start as a true freshman, quarterback Tyrod Taylor totaled 295 yards of offense against William & Mary last season.
4,102 - Senior quarterback Sean Glennon has thrown for 4,102 yards in his career, placing him fourth among all active returning ACC quarterbacks.
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| 2008 Schedule |
| Aug. 30 | vs. East Carolina (Charlotte) (ESPN, Noon) |
| Sept. 6 | Furman (1:30 p.m.) |
| Sept. 13 | Georgia Tech (ABC, 3:30 p.m.) |
| Sept. 20 | at North Carolina |
| Sept. 27 | at Nebraska |
| Oct. 4 | Western Kentucky |
| Oct. 18 | at Boston College |
| Oct. 25 | at Florida State |
| Nov. 6 | Maryalnd (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.) |
| Nov. 13 | at Miami (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.) |
| Nov. 22 | Duke |
| Nov. 29 | Virginia |
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| Head Coach Frank Beamer |
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After leading the Hokies to their second ACC title in four years, Frank Beamer enters his 22nd season at Virginia Tech and his 28th year as a collegiate head coach ranked third among active Division I-A coaches in victories with 209. His Tech teams have posted a 143-45 (.761) record over the past 15 seasons, have appeared in a bowl game every year and have won 10 or more games in each of the past four years. Over those four seasons, Tech has led the nation in total defense, allowing only an average of 258.7 total yards in 52 games. Last year, he led the Hokies to an 11-3 record, a No. 9 national ranking and a 30-16 win over Boston College in the ACC title game.
Four years previously, in 2004, the Hokies’ first year in the ACC, Beamer guided Virginia Tech to a conference title en route to being named ACC Coach of the Year. He repeated as Coach of the Year in 2005, when he led the Hokies to a 7-1 league record, the Coastal Division title and a spot in the inaugural ACC Championship Game. Beamer’s Hokies have earned the highest national rankings in the program’s history, spending 73 weeks in the Top 10 of the Associated Press poll over the last seven seasons. During one stretch that ended in 2004, Tech was ranked in 84 straight AP polls.
For his part in the Hokies’ run to the national title game in 1999, Beamer earned eight National Coach of the Year awards and was named the Big East Conference Coach of the Year for the third time. When Big East Conference football celebrated its first 10 years of existence in 2000, Beamer was voted the Coach of the Decade by the league’s media. Following consecutive 10-2 seasons in 1995 and 1996, Beamer was voted Big East Conference Coach of the Year by the league coaches and was one of fi ve fi nalists for the 1995 National Coach of the Year. Beamer’s record at Tech now stands at 167-85-2. Counting six years as head coach at Murray State prior to joining the Hokies, Beamer’s overall 27-year record is 209-108-4. Beamer, the first alumnus to guide the Hokies since the 1940s, took over the Tech reins from Bill Dooley in January 1987. During his undergraduate days at Virginia Tech, Beamer started three years as a cornerback and played on the Hokies’ 1966 and 1968 Liberty Bowl teams.
Beamer began his coaching career as an assistant at Radford High School from 1969 through 1971. Then, after one season as a graduate assistant at the University of Maryland, he went to The Citadel where he worked fi ve seasons under Bobby Ross and one year under Art Baker. His last two years at The Citadel, Beamer was the defensive coordinator. In 1979, Beamer went to Murray State as the defensive coordinator under Mike Gottfried. He was named head coach at Murray State in 1981.
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