“If you touch me, well I just think I’ll scream.
Cuz it’s been so long since someone challenged me.
And made me think ... about the way things are.
Made me think ... about the way they could be.“

Methinks our pal Jim James from My Morning Jacket is on to something here, gang. If you’re like me, you’re absolutely juiced that game week No. 1 (East Carolina) is here at long last. Finally, a challenge for all of us—hacks, fans and football players alike—and a chance to see what kind of team Virginia Tech really is. Obviously, there are still plenty of unknowns—from quarterbacks to tailbacks to freshmen—that we’ll get to in the space below.

First, apologies for my absence from this space over the past few days. I got a new laptop from the office on Thursday, and the link for the site we use to post stuff on the blogs was saved in the favorites of the computer I exchanged for this new one. So basically, I lost the link.

Now, on to some highlights from Frank Beamer’s Monday morning teleconference with the hacks ...

- No announcement until tomorrow on the quarterbacks. Tech actually put out a release on Sunday to say that Beamer wouldn’t have anything to say until Tuesday. And so when he was asked today if the staff had made a decision, he said, “We’re gonna talk about it tomorrow.“ (He meant he’ll talk about it with the media tomorrow, not that he and his staff will make a decision tomorrow; I presume they already have, because Beamer said after Friday’s scrimmage that they were going to gather Saturday and talk about it.)

- Based mainly on my gut feeling, I think Sean Glennon will start but both quarterbacks will play.

- Here is the latest on East Carolina’s quarterback situation. Looks like Skip Holtz won’t rotate Patrick Pinkney with Rob Kass, as he did last year. It’s just Pinkney now.

- As expected, true freshman wide receivers Dyrell Roberts, Jarrett Boykin and Xavier Boyce will play. There are 10 total true freshmen on the 73-player dress squad. There are also 15 redshirt freshmen and five other players who have never appeared in a college game. That makes 30 of 73—41.1 percent of the dress squad who has never played a college snap. Beamer said the other true freshmen who have a chance to play are tailback Ryan Williams; linebackers Bruce Taylor, Jake Johnson and Quillie Odom; and defensive backs Lorenzo Williams and Eddie Whitley, who figure to play only on special teams. In fact, all the aforementioned true freshmen will play on special teams, Beamer said.

- The biggest thing for a true freshman to overcome in order to play effectively in his first game? “Probably throwing up before the game,“ Beamer said.

- All of the tailbacks will obviously dress, and Beamer said the staff will figure out how to divide the carries as this week goes on.

- To atone for my absence here lately, I’ll pass along a couple more sweet My Morning Jacket videos from Bonnaroo (even though that is redundant). The first is a cover of the Bobby Womack song “Across 110th Street,“ most recently featured in the soundtrack to “American Gangster”—the original song, that is, not MMJ’s version. And yes, that is a giant eyeball in a jewelry case hanging behind the band. The second is an excellent rendition of “Wordless Chorus,“ the opening track on MMJ’s 2005 album “Z.“

Posted by Darryl Slater in • College Sports • Virginia Tech
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