Anyway, I’d asked a similar question of Zorn last week when Favre was traded, and Zorn tried to answer the question. But he didn’t really give us any good stories. You know he has to have a few.

Today (Wednesday) he said he probably did have some good Favre stories from Holmgren, but they weren’t burned into his frontal lobes. I know whereof he speaks. Don’t we all. Sometime Sunday or something, Zorn will think of about three good stories about Favre, smile, then go on with the rest of his life, which pretty much involves nothing except his family and the Redskins.

If you’re like me, you’ve been in situations similar to Zorn’s yesterday. I’ll be making a grand point that I’m fairly certain will change the course of history or at least affect mankind for generations, and someone will say, “Give me an example.” Usually, that’s my wife or one of my sons. And I’m stumped. Three days later, an example will come to me, and I’ll snap my fingers or tap the steering wheel of the car. Too late. Missed my chance. I hate when that happens.

They point out – and correctly so – that offseason attrition has been a recurring problem at Virginia during the Al Groh Era and that extra scholarships open unexpectedly almost every year. (See the spots opened by the academic suspensions of Jameel Sewell, Chris Cook, Darnell Carter and Chris Dalton this year.) They note that in many seasons under Groh the Cavaliers have been well below the NCAA maximum of 85 scholarship players.

That said, those who contend that Virginia has room to add a full allotment of 25 scholarship recruits in 2009 haven’t run the numbers. I have, and it’s clear the Cavaliers are running out of space in their next class.

Groh already has 19 commitments for 2009 – though Rivals.com reports that wide receiver Tyree Watkins is looking at other schools – and several other prospects hold scholarship offers from U.Va., among them Meadowbrook High offensive tackle Morgan Moses.

How high can the Wahoos go in this class? Not much higher, if my calculations are correct—unless the winter brings significant attrition, always a possibility at U.Va.

By my count, Groh heads into the new season with 82 scholarship players, a figure that would grow to 83 if senior kicker Yannick Reyering, a former soccer star at U.Va., is awarded one. My total includes walk-on offensive lineman Isaac Cain, who because he receives financial aid from U.Va. must count against the team’s scholarship total.

Let’s assume Reyering gets a scholarship.  That would give Virginia 14 scholarship players who will exhaust their college eligibility this season: Reyering, Byron Glaspy, Cedric Peerman, Aaron Clark, Clint Sintim, Jon Copper, Antonio Appleby, Eugene Monroe, Zak Stair, Maurice Covington, John Phillips, Alex Field, Scott Deke and Cary Koch.

That would also give U.Va. 69 scholarship players who’ll have eligibility remaining after this season. Several of those are on track to graduate next year and are unlikely to be invited back for the 2009 season, which would free up some space.  For the sake of this discussion, let’s say that five players with eligibility remaining move on afer this academic year, along with the 14 whose eligibility will expire. That would give Groh room for 21 incoming recruits. Two of those spots, however, must be saved for Sewell and Cook, former starters who plan to to re-enter school in January and will count toward U.Va.’s scholarship total in 2009.

In theory, then, Virginia’s 2009 recruiting class is nearly filled. But recent history suggests that additional spots will come open as players leave – or are asked to leave – the program unexpectedly. Either way, U.Va. figures to be right at the 85-scholarship limit in 2009.

Shoot me an e-mail (jwhite@timesdispatch.com) if you spot an error in this former history major’s math or have a question about my numbers.

-- Jeff White

Hite also said his pecking order at tailback looks like this ...

1. Kenny Lewis Jr.
1. Jahre Cheeseman (they’re tied)
3. Josh Oglesby
4. Darren Evans
5. Ryan Williams
6. Dustin Pickle

I was curious about Evans, because when I went on the radio earlier today, Greg Burton asked me about Evans, and I sort of had to scramble for an answer, because, truthfully, I wasn’t really up on what Hite thought about him. So I asked Hite after practice, and he had some particularly pointed comments about Evans, a redshirt freshman whom he recently dropped from a tie for second to fourth.

“He’s not performing,” Hite said. “Here’s a guy that, coming out of spring practice, with the other two guys injured, if you had to ask who I thought would start for me this year, it was him. He hasn’t been impressive to me at all so far.”

*

GOING DEEP

OK, enough about the tailbacks for now. One of the more entertaining drills to watch at practice is the one-on-one between the receivers and defensive backs—and linebackers who work in pass coverage. Here’s some play-by-play from that (keep in mind, this isn’t reflective of the entire drill—just some of it) ...

- First up, No. 1 receiver Danny Coale vs. No. 1 cornerback Victor “Macho” Harris. Coale ran a go route, had Harris beat by a step and made the catch of the day: a one-hand grab with his right hand.

- Zach Luckett, probably the No. 2 receiver, had free safety Kam Chancellor beat but dropped Sean Glennon’s pass.

- Xavier Boyce beat whip linebacker Cam Martin by a step and caught a pass, but Martin pried the ball loose. Nice play.

- Jarrett Boykin beat Eddie Whitley (whom defensive backs coach Torrian Gray seems very high on), but the ball bounced off Boykin’s chest.

- “Swerve” Garner (terrific nickname, by the way) beat free safety Lorenzo Williams for a catch.

- Harris recovered for his second go ‘round, swatting the ball away from Coale.

- Ike Whitaker made a catch that rivaled Coale’s, beating Jacob Sykes (who recently moved from receiver to corner) on a straight go route to make a lefty one-hander. (The coaches were down on Whitaker earlier in the preseason because he hadn’t completed a class, but now that he finished the class and is performing well, he has shot up the depth chart and is No. 2 behind Coale.)

- Coale beat cornerback Rashad Carmichael on a slant. Coale looks like the steadiest receiver this team has.

*

GOLDEN CORRAL

Emptying the notebook here for a buffet of semi-useful information ...

- I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that junior Brent Bowden—nicknamed The Blond Bomber by Roanoke Times beat man Randy King—was the MVP of yesterday’s scrimmage. He punted five times for an average of 52.2 yards. Last year, he averaged 42.5. While none of Tech’s place kickers are on scholarship, Bowden is. And he definitely looks like he deserves it.

- Injury update: There are lots of little nagging injuries, but nothing significant. If you were at the scrimmage, you noticed left tackle Ed Wang limping around from a sprained right ankle. There is no ligament damage, just a bad bruise. Wang participated fully today. Cornerback Stephan Virgil sprained his neck in the scrimmage—the reason Harris got in on those punt blocks—and was in a blue jersey (no contact) today. He is questionable for the rest of the week.

- Defensive line coach Charley Wiles like to rotate his tackles. His starters are set—John Graves (Meadowbrook) and Cordarrow Thompson. One player in the mix for a backup spot is Antoine Hopkins from Highland Springs. As promised earlier, here’s what Wiles had to say about Hopkins: “We’re giving him a heck of a look right now. He’s a little overweight [listed at 304 pounds on Tech’s Web site]. I don’t know how great of shape he’s in. But he’s got some explosive power, got some pop. Just got to learn how to practice. That’s his biggest thing. He’s got a little lazy in him. He’s just got to learn there’s no any shortcuts to being a winner. He’s got to turn it loose every day, every period. He’s got a little dog in him. We’ve got to get that out of him.”

- Along with Hopkins, the candidates for the two second-string tackle spots are junior Demetrius Taylor (who is probably the strongest pound-for-pound guy on the team) and redshirt freshmen Justin Young and Kwamaine Battle. As for true freshman Courtney Prince, who enrolled in January, Wiles said, “He’s a year away. He needs to get bigger, stronger. Body position and fundamentally, he’s light years from where he was, but at the point of attack, he doesn’t give you anything.”

- Last but certainly not least, a food-related item. To provide some context, I live here in Blacksburg year-round, and during the football season, I’m joined by two other beat writers, Kyle Tucker from The Virginian-Pilot and Norm Wood from the Daily Press. We spend a considerable amount of our free time eating at restaurants around town, because, well, we’re sportswriters, and eating excessively is pretty much coded into our DNA.

So when we found out there was a restaurant opening in town with defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s name on it, we had to check it out. Foster isn’t financially vested in Foster’s—as the restaurant is called. He just let the guys who own it use his name. The restaurant, located where Boston Beanery used to be, opened Monday. The three of us went over there that night. The menu is fairly extensive, and while the dining is casual, some of the selections are slightly more upscale than other places around town, like Macado’s (which remains a favorite of mine). For instance, you can substitute steamed vegetables for french fries.

As we were leaving, we bumped into Foster, who was bringing over some football memorabilia to hang on the walls. He was quite excited about the place opening. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of business they get. It’s not in the main downtown area (Main Street, College Street, Draper Road). But it is next to Buffalo Wild Wings, which serves absolute tripe, so maybe some people looking for better food will be drawn to Foster’s. If you stop by, let me know what you think.

- A final non-football treat for those of you who stuck around through all of the above nonsense: Here’s a video clip from My Morning Jacket’s masterful, four-hour, in-the-pouring-rain performance from this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival. This song, “Evil Urges,” was the opener. I was fortunate enough to be there live, and I count it among the best performances I’ve ever seen—sports-related or otherwise. Enjoy ...

-- My Morning Jacket, “Sec Walkin’”

Actually, I don’t think Virginia Tech’s players and coaches regard the open periods of practice like this, but it seemed an appropriate introduction for some observations I gathered while watching the first hour and 15 minutes of today’s practice, the 10th of 19 this preseason (so we’re officially halfway to Game Week No. 1). Practice is closed tomorrow and Friday, so I won’t get to see the Hokies again until Saturday afternoon’s scrimmage.

Oh, and I should mention that any and all comments, questions or well-reasoned soapbox screeds are welcome in this space. So pass ‘em along.

But now, on to some stuff from today. Away we go ...

- Fellow beat writer Kyle Tucker and I watched Bud Foster work on some techniques with his linebackers. The point was to beat a running back when you’re coming on a blitz. To do this, Foster explained, you use your left arm as a claw, shooting it under the running back’s left armpit. Then you club him across the shoulder with your right arm and use his momentum to rip him free, opening a path to the quarterback. It’s hard to explain, but Foster managed to get the linebackers to understand it.

- Then the linebackers took this drill live, matching up with actual running backs, instead of fellow linebackers posing as running backs. Some impressions from that drill: True freshman Ryan Williams is struggling with blocking. He was knocked back by Jeron Gouveia-Winslow, Dylan McGreevy, Matt Reidy and Cody Grimm. Fellow tailback Kenny Lewis Jr. and position coach Billy Hite offered some words of advice to Williams after this. Josh Oglesby looked the best of the tailbacks in the blocking drill.

- The running backs got no break after this. They headed across the field to run through a device that all of them loathe. This thing essentially simulates what it would be like to get tackled by an octopus with iron arms. It has eight thick prongs that stick inward from each side—four to impact the upper body, four for the lower body. The spring-loaded prongs are iron and heavily padded, but they still leave bruises. So in the span of the half second it takes a tailback to run through this thing, he gets hit by 16 of these suckers. Oglesby winced after he ran through it. Lewis just said, “That doesn’t feel good.”

Welcome to the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Virginia Tech blog. I had hoped to get this thing off the ground a little earlier, but better late than never, I suppose. I’m Darryl Slater, your humble beat writer, entering my second season covering the Hokies. My goal for this blog is two-fold: Provide you all with some informative/entertaining tidbits about the Hokies while properly promoting this thing (in the paper and online) so you guys can actually find it and, at your own risk, read it.

I enjoy this space because it lets me empty my notebook and actually use some stuff that we don’t have room for in the paper. Hope you will enjoy it, too.

Let’s start with some thoughts from yesterday—a big day around here (and not just because the much-anticipated season five of “The Wire” finally came out on DVD and arrived, courtesy of Netflix, in my mailbox). Also yesterday, Tech held its first preseason scrimmage at Lane Stadium.

Some impressions (I’ll spare you the stats, because this is going up a day late) ...

- The offensive line starters are set, but the Hokies would like to have some depth there. For the first series of plays yesterday, the second-team offense ran against the first-team defense. Here was the lineup: LT Greg Nosal, LG Will Alvarez (a converted tackle), C Beau Warren, RG Jaymes Brooks and RT Richard Graham (St. Christopher’s).

- The three freshman wide receivers who appear to be serious contenders for playing time: Dyrell Roberts, Jarrett Boykin and Xavier Boyce.

- The first punt returner yesterday was receiver Ervin Garner, whom teammates have nicknamed “Swerve.” In his first chance at punt return, true freshman running back Ryan Williams—the gem of Tech’s recruiting class—juked his way for about a 20-yard return. Not bad at all.

- Here’s what the second-team defense looked like, judging from the one series I jotted down: DE Steven Friday, DT Demetrius Taylor, DT Antoine Hopkins (Highland Springs), DE Nekos Brown, LB Barquell Rivers, LB Jonas Houseright, LB Cody Grimm, CB Rashad Carmichael, CB Cris Hill, ROV Dorian Porch, FS Matt Reidy.

- Defensive line coach Charley Wiles had some interesting comments the other day about Hopkins. Will post those in this space later today, so stay tuned for that.

- Victor “Macho” Harris continues to be the Hokies’ version of Jimmy McNulty—a versatile risk-taker who carries a scene (or, in Harris’ case, a play). Tech might use him at receiver this season, but he didn’t play offense yesterday. He didn’t expect to. “This scrimmage was more for the younger guys,” he said.

- But Harris managed to factor in. He blocked two punts and almost blocked a third. Harris normally plays the “scoop” corner on punt blocks—the guy on the edge of the line who is responsible for scooping up a blocked punt and running with it. But because Stephan Virgil left the scrimmage with an injury (mild stinger, it appeared), Harris moved to the “sprint” corner, where Virgil normally plays. That guy is responsible for sprinting toward the punt and trying to block it. Harris said that during games, he has the liberty to ask Beamer to switch him from “scoop” to “sprint.” “I guess that’s what happens when you’re a senior, right?” Harris said.

- There also was a classic Macho Being Macho moment during the scrimmage, though because it was a scrimmage, he didn’t seem to catch any grief from the coaches for it. On one punt, Harris fielded it in the middle of the end zone and still tried to return it ... but he was dragged down at about the 3-yard line.

- Overall, the scrimmage was sloppier than McNulty on a night out with Bunk Moreland. Quarterbacks coach Mike O’Cain said he couldn’t draw any real conclusions about either Sean Glennon or Tyrod Taylor because the goal of the scrimmage was getting the ball to young skill-position players—like Roberts, Boykin and Boyce—while rotating the tailbacks to see what each could offer.

- O’Cain expects a crisper performance in Tech’s next scrimmage, Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at Lane. He said you’ll probably see less of the third-team offense and defense, but it’s unlikely there will be much first team versus first team action, because head coach Frank Beamer doesn’t like to do that in scrimmages. The first teams ran just one short series against each other yesterday. On Saturday, you’re likely to see a lot of first team versus second team, O’Cain said. But that all depends on whether the coaches got what they wanted from yesterday. If they didn’t, they might have to run the same kind of scrimmage again Saturday. (O’Cain also expects the team to run some short scrimmages during practice this week; unfortunately, the media is not allowed to watch these.)

OK, that’s all for now. Good to get this thing started. Check back for something later today after practice.

I’ll tell you one person who noticed—the Lovely Mrs. Woody.
“You didn’t pick a punter,” she said.

Well, no. I don’t think Danny Smith really wanted me to pick a punter. But the Lovely Mrs. Woody has a point, as she often does.

So, today, I’m picking a punter. I’m picking Frostie. That’s Derek Frost, and I don’t think he knows that we press box guys call him “Frostie.” I don’t think he’d mind.

I’m picking him because he had four punts in the preseason game Saturday night, and three of them were inside the 20. That’s good. He had one regular punt, and it was down the middle of the field and didn’t have a great hang time.

That’s bad.

He’s forced to compete for the job because of too many punts like that one with the short hang time last season. The Redskins spent a draft choice on Durrant Brooks, and when a team does that, it sends a message to the current punter and gives the draftee the inside track on the job.

Brooks’ track is not all that inside because he was a sixth-round draft choice. He didn’t punt that well in his first preseason game, but it was his first time in an NFL game. The Redskins don’t make decisions based on one game.

The other reason I’m going with the Frostman is that he’s very smooth when he holds for field goals and extra points. Brooks is learning to do that, and it’s a stressful endeavor. You wouldn’t think so, but in practice, he kneels about eight yards away from the Juggs machine, which shoots the ball out at a high rate of speed. I wouldn’t want to have to catch it.

Brooks catches it fine. He gets it down and spins it so the laces are not facing the kicker. But you can see him thinking through everything as he does. Holders have to be quick to the spot and smooth with the spin. It takes a while to get that down.

Generally, punters have to go through a couple of training camps before they get a handle on kicking in the NFL. Brooks might not have to do that. We’ll see.

As for the Frostman, I’ve had a few conversations with him over the years. He’s a nice guy. The last time we talked, the topic was nutritonal supplements. These guys always are looking for something legal that will help them recover from a workout faster or ease the pain in their joints, which is considerable. 

Mr. Frost had a bottle of something that day, and I can’t remember what it was exactly. But it was legal and I think it was similar to glucosmine. We kicked, no pun intended, that around for a few minutes, then he went to a meeting or wherever it is that punters go before practice, and I left what was by then an empty locker room.

We’ll see if I’m right later this month. Chances are I’m not. I rarely am. But I have, as they say, declared.

As you might recall, it was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in Bernoulli’s Third Therom from the Franco-Prussian Wars that if the media is permitted to stand on the sidelines, between the practice fields during the preseason, it will cost the team a Super Bowl berth. You can look it up. Or maybe not.

Anyway, we’re standing there, and maybe we aren’t writing down every detail of this particular practice. And Danny Smith, the special teams coach, walks by. He’s not above engaging in a little give-and-take with the ink-stained wretches of the world, so he says, “All right, you pick the punter. You’ve seen them as much as I have. You pick him, Joseph, David, John, Paul.”

You’re thinking he’s got the names wrong for the Beatles. No, that’s not it. Permit me to introduce my distinguished colleagues, please hold your applause until each has been introduced: Joseph White of the Associated Press; David Elfin from the Washington Times; John Keim from the Washington Examiner. “Paul” is me, also known as The Woodman, aka, The Wrath of Woody.

We laugh. Then I say to coach Smith, “OK. That’s fine. But we have to trade paychecks.”
Yes, it always comes down to the money with me.

Danny Smith laughs. “You want to trade paychecks? I got a story for you. I was coaching the DBs (defensive backs) in Philadelphia, and I was going over something on the board with Troy Vincent. Bobby Taylor comes in, asks how much longer we’re going to be, because he and Troy are riding together. I say, ‘About 20 minutes.’ Bobby says, ‘OK, I’ll go upstairs and get my paycheck.’ Troy says, ‘Bobby, get mine while you’re up there.’

“Bobby leaves and when he comes back a few minutes later, he’s walking all hunched over, like something is wrong with his back. Troy says, ‘Bobby, what is wrong with you.’ And Bobby says, ‘Troy, your check is so much heavier than mine.’

Made me laugh. How about you?

OK, as for the football team, here’s what I’m wondering. Rock Cartwright—drafted by the Ol’ Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, I must add—missed practice today (Thursday) because he has torn rib cartilage. I’ve had bruised rib cartilage, and let me tell you, it is a new experience in pain. The idea of playing football with torn rib cartilage strikes me as absolutely insane. Even if you had a shot to kill the pain during the game, when that shot wore off, I can not imagine the amount of pain you would feel to do something fairly easy, breathing, for instance.

Shawn Springs, star cornerback, missed practice with a strained Achilles tendon. Springs was declared all but out for Saturday night’s preseason game against Buffalo. Redskins coach Jim Zorn said whether Cartwright will play would be a “game-time” decision. And that it would be good if Cartwright could get his work in as a running back and on the special teams.

Really? What is there to know about Rock Cartwright that the coaching staff doesn’t already know? The guy will do anything he’s asked to do. He has made himself into a capable kickoff returner and special teams standout. Why does he need to play in a preseason game against Buffalo?

Chances are that Cartwright won’t play. He deserves a night off. He’ll want to play because he realizes that he is not guaranteed a roster spot, and he approaches every training camp as an act of survival. That fact that Zorn said it would be good if Cartwright could get his work in makes you wonder, is Cartwright in danger of not making the team?

We’ll check back later this month, when the cuts begin, and see what we see.

Part of the problem is that I drink the hard stuff. None of that diet cola brew for me. I don’t like the taste of Aspartame, and I’ve tasted it in every diet soft drink I’ve ever tried. My wife drinks only the diet, which continues to amaze me. She doesn’t even like the taste of a regular cola now. Imagine that.

Anyway, I got to the soda machine and had a choice of drinks. For a moment, I thought about having a Dr. Pepper. I don’t drink Dr. Pepper anymore. Used to drink it regularly when I was a young guy. I think about getting one occasionally now because of the memories I get when I have that first taste of a Dr. Pepper. It takes me back to when I was 13 or 14 years old, growing up in Roanoke.

Every summer night, I’d go to Wasena Park with my father. He was going to his part-time job as an umpire of little league and Pony League baseball, and I would go over to the basketball courts and play for a couple of hours. Yeah, I could play a little. Thanks for asking. Had a heck of a fall-way jumper that was an unusual fall-away jump shot. It was from the baseline, and I’d fall out of bounds as I took it. I think it was the gravitational pull of the Roanoke River, which was just across the road from the basketball court. Rarely missed that shot, if I do say so myself. And I’ll have to because no one else from those days is blogging here at the moment.

After that, I would return to Wasena Diamond No.4, where my father was working. I’d go to the concession stand and order a Dr. Pepper, which was served in a paper cup with a lot of ice. The taste of that Dr. Pepper, when I was hot and sweaty, always was magnificent. It was so good going down. Sometimes, I’d splurge and get a pack of crackers or a bag of M&M’s. All that would cost me maybe 25 cents. Those were the days.

You have all sorts of memories from growing up, good, bad and indifferent. I don’t have a single bad memory from those summer nights in Wasena Park.

What does that have to do with the Washington Redskins? Hmmm. Give me a minute. OK, I’m wondering if after a long, hot practice, Derek Devine rewards himself with a Dr. Pepper at dinner. I’m pretty sure I know the answer. No. These guys take care of their bodies. They rehydrate with sports drinks and water. They don’t mess with soft drinks. My son, the young runner, hasn’t had a soft drink in something like two years. That’s discipline.

Anyway, Derek Devine. He’s the No.4 quarterback in the Redskins camp, which means he’s here basically to throw during drills so the first two quarterbacks, Jason Campbell and Todd Collins, don’t wear their arms out in the preseason.

I took a look at Devine’s stats. I figured he’d be like most guys in this situation—lots of completions and yards. Even the free agents usually have had stellar college careers.

Here’s what Devine did during his career at Marshall University—he played in three games in two seasons, threw six passes and completed one for 20 yards.

Now, that must have been some 20-yard completion because this is Devine’s second pro camp. Last year he was in Seattle. Light bulb. Jim Zorn, now the Redskins coach, was the quarterbacks coach in Seattle last season. Suddenly, it’s easy to figure out how Devine got here. But how did he get to Seattle? One completion at a Division I college is not enough to even get you into a training camp, much less two. And what happened at Marshall?

Devine is from California, and played at Mt. San Antonio College, a juco in Southern California. He threw for 1,549 yards and 13 touchdowns in his second season there.

When Marshall recruited him, he thought he was going into the same system that produced Byron Leftwich and Chad Pennington, both first-round draft choices. Instead, Devine arrived as the coaching staff changed. The Thundering Herd switched to an option attack.

“Not my style,” he said. Devine is a strong-armed, drop back passer.
He stuck around for a second season because, he said, the coach told him he was going to open up the competition at quarterback. That didn’t work out, either.

“We didn’t win a lot either,” Devine said. “Sometimes you get stuck in a bad situation.

Undeterred, Devine compiled a highlight CD and sent it to all the NFL teams before the 2007 draft. Seattle called, then signed him for training camp.

“He had a CD that a lot of guys have, and the one thing I noticed was when he was just throwing the ball, he threw hard. It’s one thing to throw hard, but it’s hard to throw accurately when you do. When you let the ball go, and you hit what you’re trying to throw at, it makes a difference. And he could do that.

“He has a lot to learn just because he doesn’t have the kind of experience you need playing on the field. I’m trying to give it to him, but it’s hard because I’ve got to get everybody else ready as well. He’s a great guy, and he is smart.”

Devine needs something like NFL Europe, but that league doesn’t exist anymore. He’s not interested in playing in the Arena League right now, but he might want to consider it. It worked out well for Kurt Warner. Of course, Warner also had NFL Europe experience.

Devine is hoping to get into a preseason game, make some plays and catch someone’s eye. He’s a bit of a longshot to make someone’s team. For the moment, though, he’s living the dream.

The thing about the NFL is that it only takes one guy to like you to keep you around and finally give you that big shot. Bill Parcells liked Tony Romo in Dallas, when no one drafted him, and that’s worked out pretty well for Romo.

If things don’t work out for Devine, I hope he at least has a Dr. Pepper with a lot of ice—it can be very refreshing—before he leaves for whatever is next in his life. 

The first guy, as it turns out, is Jack Kemp, former pro quarterback (Buffalo), former congressman and Bob Dole’s running mate in 1996. The other guy, it turns out, is Bill Polian, general manager for the Colts.

While I’m doing this, Dan Snyder looks up at the press box, which is not that far from the field—this is a high school stadium—sees me standing up, gazing at the field and points to the box. Is he looking at me? I’m not sure. I wave. He waves back. He was looking at me. Good to see you Mr. Snyder. The Times-Dispatch is on the scene.

Both teams are on the field now, in full uniform. We’re 40 minutes from kickoff. Electricty is in the air. No, wait, that’s just the exhaust from the traffic on the interstate that runs beside the stadium.

Here comes place-kicker Shaun Suisham, with punter Brooks Durant. Durant has been working pretty hard on his holding during training camp. Once you’ve got it down, holding doesn’t look that hard. But watching those guys work—they use the Jugs machine to snap, and that ball flies out of there—is interesting. You can see Durant thinking through each snap. He has to get the spot where the kicker wants the ball, catch the snap, get the ball down and turn it in less than two seconds, or something like that. Danny Smith, the special teams coach, was talking about the first time Durant held for Suisham (an aside: Before this preseason is over, I’m going to refer to Durant as Brooks because the guy has two last names). Smith said Brooks looked up at him, amazed at how quickly Suisham had kicked the ball. Smith said something like, “This ain’t the ACC.” Durant went to Georgia Tech. Smith was talking about a special teams rush guy the other day and said to Durant, “You don’t know him, but you will. He ain’t from Wake Forest, I’ll tell you that.”
Suisham is kicking with the little stick holder (I’m sure there’s a technical name for that, but I don’t know what it is) while Durant is warming up his punting leg.

A bunch of the Redskins and Colts coaches are chatting near midfield, probably talking about why the Redskins have been in training camp six days longer than the Colts.

Let’s talk again later.