Virginia Tech announced three substantial bits of news this evening.
1. The football team team traveled to Washington, D.C. this afternoon. Look at how excited Michael Brewer is!
Who's excited to head to DC? This guy! @MBrewer16 And we're off! @MilitaryBowl Bound. pic.twitter.com/bRuKkPUyLL— VT Football (@VT_Football) December 23, 2014
However, head coach Frank Beamer didn't make the trip. He's cleared following throat surgery earlier this month to resume game day duties from the Tech coaching box in the Military Bowl, but doctor's orders will keep him in Blacksburg until Friday, then he will join the team for the game. Beamer returned to practice this week and has been reviewing film from his home.
"The doctors stress that they really don't want me exposed to a lot of people right now because of the risks of viruses and infection," Beamer said in a Tuesday evening release. "I'm anxious for them to clear me for full activities, but, at the same time, I respect their orders. They allowed me to work with the staff, and perform office duties, then, I was cleared to return to the field for practices in Blacksburg. It felt great to be back with our players. So, it's a bit of a process, and so far, the process is going well. I appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers, and look forward to being with Hokie Nation in Annapolis."
"I'm encouraged with Coach Beamer's progress to this point," Dr. Gunnar Brolinson, D.O., Head Team Physician, said in a Tuesday release. "His surgery will require follow-up treatments moving forward. Our goal right now is to get him back to full strength and back to his full routine. He's really chomping at the bit, but it's my job to ensure that we continue on the road to recovery and don't do anything that will result in a setback. We've made a great deal of progress and it's prudent to continue to proceed cautiously."
It's unclear how the follow-up treatments will affect Beamer's coaching duties in the future.
Brolinson said in a December 6th release, "The procedure went as planned, without complications, and he simply needs some rest before he returns to his normal routine. He's been cleared to continue his game planning and film study and will return to the practice field as soon as possible."
At that time, there was no mention of follow-up treatments and Beamer's status was seemingly more cut-and-dry—in essence, with time Beamer will be good to go.
I expect as little information as possible to be divulged by Virginia Tech. This is both a health issue and a Virginia Tech football issue. Beamer Co.'s always dealt with football issues in-house (see below), and everyone should have privacy with respect to their health.
This is a delicate situation. Beamer's a father, husband and grandfather. His health matters to those people, himself and it should be the priority. On the other hand, he's the CEO and face of Virginia Tech football. Head coach is a round-the-clock job and some responsibilities are impossible to delegate.
It's entirely possible the follow-up treatments were something anticipated prior to the surgery, in which case everything is probably going according to Beamer's, Tech's and Brolinson's plan.
2. Wide receiver Josh Stanford has permanently left the program. Full stop, no reason given. Stanford took a temporary leave of absence on September 16th following Tech's home loss to ECU and returned for the Miami game, but didn't catch a ball. At times against Boston College he inexplicably saw the field over redshirt senior Willie Byrn and hauled in just one pass for 15 yards. He had a single catch (14 yards) against Duke the following game. He finished the 2014 season without a catch at Wake Forest, and he didn't get burn against Virginia.
As a redshirt freshman last season, Stanford set two Tech freshman records by catching 40 passes for 640 yards. He accounted for one touchdown over his 707 snaps at wideout in 2013, compared to no scores and 202 plays (7 receptions, 64 yards) this season. A hamstring injury partially hampered early season production.
3. Return man and wide receiver Deon Newsome will not accompany the team to Annapolis due to his suspension for a violation of team rules. Full stop, no explanation given. It's unclear if this is just a one-game suspension (my guess is it is).
If you paid attention and read between the lines you might have come to the conclusion that depth at wide out might be an issue for Tech against Cincinnati.
Here at #Hokies bowl practice. Frank Beamer not with the team during open portion. PR Greg Stroman was working with VT offense as a WR.— Hokies Journal (@HokiesJournal) December 22, 2014
The Key Play heard about Stanford's absence Monday afternoon, but Newsome was a surprise.
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