Hokie Club Picnic: Whit Gets It

Yesterday, I decided to finish off my summer properly and go check out the Hokie Club's welcome back picnic. I was not disappointed, even with the rain keeping us off the field. First off, a tip of the hat to Outback, as the food was pretty darn good. The rest of the event was very well set up. There was a little ticket/parking pass raffle and a silent auction with some nice goodies. The main event, of course, was a little talk from some athletic department staff and coaches, including an introduction of all the freshmen and newcomers, followed by an autograph session. Here's what I picked up from my time in Lane.

Nick Acree has joined the staff as a strength coach. He's the single most terrifyingly built human being I've ever seen. If there's anyone I want assisting Mike Gentry in the weight room, it's that guy.

The sentiment repeated over and over by coaches, Whit, and other staff was that we're all in this together. As Whit said, "on Saturdays, we're all Hokies." It's easy to see he really, really wants the fans to feel like they're a part of this.

I lost count of the number of times I heard the word "excited." Beamer, Foster, everyone seems to be just plain excited about the talent level on this team.

For those of you wondering how Whit feels about Beamer and whether he'll keep the old coach around, Whit said that the goals of the athletic department are to graduate every kid, play by the rules and win championships, and that Beamer is the best coach in the country and has Whit's full support. Whit has been impressed by how Beamer develops his players on and off the field.

Beamer took a nice little shot at Mike London, asking the crowd if they had seen a little article about UVA graduating their players before reminding us that, since 2001, Tech has graduated 91% of its seniors, is 8th in the country for wins, and has "beat those Wahoos 10 straight times." Also, in the shocker of the day, Beamer is excited about his kickers. As a side note, I thought Beamer looked great. I don't know what it was, but he didn't seem to look like as much of an "old guy" as he did last year, if that makes sense. He's definitely still got the energy to keep things rolling.

Frank did well not to make the same mistake twice when he made sure to mention his "coach at home," his wife, Cheryl (who he apparently forgot about when he gave his first press conference at VT).

Lefty's quick talk made me want to run through a wall. I can't even imagine what it must be like for the guys who actually play for him. He said he's been a lot of places, but it didn't take long to figure out that VT is one of the best. He was very confident when he said the offense would be "an improved unit this year." They've just got to be consistent. He called Frank "the best head coach in the United. States. of America." Seriously, I almost lost it at that point. Is it August 30th yet? I wouldn't be too worried about the players not being ready to go on opening day.

Deon Clarke is hilarious. He's just a guy that's always comfortable, always having a good time, always laughing and smiling. He was having fans sign his table cloth.

I asked Willie Byrn to sign a poster (the one with him and a few other guys on it). I asked him if it was weird signing himself. He said, "yeah... yeah, it is." He's also a pretty funny one. On the other hand, Trey Edmunds (who seemed to be walking around just fine, if anyone's wondering), was pretty excited to sign his picture. It's great to see these guys as just regular college kids having fun.

I found Whit and got to ask him about the music being pumped into the stadium. I told him I didn't want it to be like some other schools where it takes away from the crowd noise. He said he doesn't want to get away from tradition or overdo it, but that there seemed to be times when the stadium just needed a little extra kick, and that's all they're trying to do. If we don't like it, we're free to email him and let him know. Man, I love that guy. Also, he said he's going to try to cut back on the ads to only the bare minimum of what's required by their contracts. He thought last year was a little bit too commercialized. Finally, he mentioned that the band will be mic'd this year, to help them be a bigger part of the action. Seriously, #Whitness.

The last thing I did was talk to CJ Reavis. Just saw him standing by himself, so I went up and introduced myself. He's a very well-spoken, polite guy who seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. I asked him how he was liking Blacksburg, and he said he was looking forward to the fall when everyone would be there. He said it's been fun, but now it's time to work. I couldn't have been more impressed with how he carries himself and I think he'll be an outstanding representative for Hokie Nation.

Oh, and Coach Moorehead remembered my name, so that was pretty sweet.