We all have our favorites who have adorned the maroon and orange on Saturdays in Lane, and have undoubtedly enjoyed watching many of them continue to showcase their skills on Sundays. After attending dozens of home games throughout this century, I often forget about the many great players who I've been privileged to watch compete against the good guys. Victories and defeats aside, who are you most grateful to have watched play in person against Virginia Tech? For me personally, it's Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson.
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Willis McGahee
Brock Berlin
😂😂😂😂😂
Jacory Harris has to be a close runner up though, right?
Anthony Poindexter. I know it's UVA but he never felt like a traditiobal UVA player. Dude could ball and if he wouldn't have gotten hurt his senior year, he would have been nasty in the NFL
McNabb.
We beat him both times he was in Lane. But, the feeling was always that he was about to do something incredible
Only felt that way when we played him up thar @ Carrier. Never when he came down.
Can we extend this to Cassell as well?
I always wanted Jared Dudley on our team. He seemed so out of place on those BC teams, and I think he would have fit in well with Greenberg. Every time he had to pass the ball to Sean Marshall, it seemed like a little part of him died.
I felt the same way about Greivis Vasquez. A dude I loved to hate, but definitely respected.
And yelling "sit down Gary" whenever Maryland was at cassel
That double OT game against Maryland (2009? 2010?) was one of the best basketball games I've been to. Didn't turn out great, but man was Cassell rocking that day.
A bit further back, but double OT game against Southern Miss when Bimbo Coles scored 50 and at the time, it was one of the highest scoring D-1 games ever. Fans were absolutely nuts, even the lady in front of us who usually read a paperback regardless of how the game was going got up on her feet at least once. Everybody scored a lot of points that day, but the intensity of the shootout was memorable, though the score and year elude me.
Edit: Because it is just laziness these days not to, I googled it up for accuracy. It was in 1988, Bimbo actually scored 51, and the final score was 141-133 for the good guys. At the time, it was actually the second highest score ever, the first being in a triple ot game that produced 8 more points.
Hokietapes uploaded this game a few years ago, if you care to relive it.
The Fish thanks The Beard. I believe I will.
I always kinda rooted for Braxton Miller to do well after the injury took away his QB career for the likes of JT Barrett and Cardale "ain't here to play school" Jones. His third quarter in Lane was nuts, and just makes me sadder that I think we could have won that game if Brewer didn't get broken.
The Braxton Miller spin move is the one non-VT play in Lane that sticks out in my mind.
As for anyone else, I don't realize who a lot of the opposing players are until they make it in the NFL. For instance, I know I would have seen Sean Taylor in 2003, but didn't know who he was at the time.
This is exactly why I started this thread. I wonder how many fans are unaware of the greats they have seen play in person...
I assume megatron played in Lane as well
He absolutely roasted us in Sept. 2006. Believe it was 21-0 in the first quarter?
It wasn't until he made it to the NFL that I realized how incredible it was that "Tyrod did it (Mikey!)" with Ndamukong Suh around his waist.
I guess the same would apply to Ray Lewis, who I never saw in Lane, and I really didn't notice him playing at the U.
This is going back a ways, but I remember Don Majkowski lighting us up with an incredible comeback for UVA around 1984.
Duh, Matty Ice /s
Ndamukong Suh... as he failed to tackle Tyrod in time to stop the game winning touchdown.
Second this. I was just shaking my head at that dude the whole game. That was a man among boys out there.
Ray Guy. The man was one hell of a punter. I have never seen a ball hang in the air like his punts did.
He was a pretty good safety also.
GOAT is a term rarely used irrefutably, but it's certainly appropriate here.
Larry Fitzgerald and Megatron
Man Larry had our number. I'm not sure if a single player dominated us like that multiple times.
Only would have been 2 times
Duke Johnson and Denzel Perryman in 2014 were the best I have seen in there. Miami annihilated us badly on that Thursday night.
I hold too many grudges. Maybe Jimmy Graham.
Duke Johnson wrecked my night in the fall of '14.
Denzel Perryman helped him. He's probably the best ILB I've seen in Lane Stadium.
Yea I gotta go with Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald.
They were(are) remarkable.
People keep naming these two as favorites they were appreciative to have seen play. Was no one else on here so freakin' pissed at what they did to our defense at the time they still don't like them?
Let's be honest, they are two of the most talented receivers ever. They made a lot of great defenses look bad. In college and the NFL. HOF talent will get after ya.
I couldn't stand Fitzgerald. I liked CJ for some reason. They only beat us once while he was there and he had a pretty good game. I think the 51-7 in 05 and the comeback in 04 is why I didn't mind Johnson when we eventually lost in 06.
Antonio Bryant and Fitzgerald probably caused more broken TV remotes in Va than any other player.
I definitely fall into this category, more so with Fitzgerald. I actively disliked him as a person for several years, even though he doesn't seem to be a bad guy.
Gotta go with Sean Taylor. Was one of my favorite Skins.
LF and Megatron were great but Ronyell Whitaker really ruins my memories of LF. And I still hate GT and despise when we get beat by them passing. Last year was especially rough. But that's another thread.
My Sean Taylor story wasn't a "play", but it happened in Lane.
The 2003 game was winding down and everyone in the crowd was letting the Canes know it. To say that they were distraught was an understatement. The bench was completely melting down. I was sitting with my Uncle & cousins on the 1st row of the East Stands and started to talk trash like everyone else. Sean Taylor somehow heard me, stood up, look at me through that intimidating orange visor and yelled: "MAN, SHUT THE F@#! UP!"
16yr old me said "Make me!" and immediately started praying that he would not take me up on the offer. I about wet myself.
Typical Miami, talking when he has no room. He shoulda spent a little less time running his mouth and a little more time trying not to get beat by Ernest Wilford on a post pattern.
If I was basing my list on who most impressively (albeit very frustrating to watch at the time) wreaked havoc on the Hokies in Lane, Ndamukong Suh, Duke Johnson or Braxton Miller top the list.
That list aside, I'm going to take a slightly different interpretation to "favorite non-Hokie" and apply this to two talented players I was pulling for when they weren't playing VT.
1) James Conner (Pittsburgh RB). Not only was he a bludgeoning force of a back on the field but the drive and tenacity he showed off the field to fight cancer, win, and get back on the football field was amazing to watch.
2) Rakeem Cato (Marshall QB). [Count this as a college football hipster pick]. I always like a good underdog/Cinderella story and I thought Cato was an impressive QB who was able to rack up accolades and make a little Heisman noise as he broke records.
I'm a little biased, but Byron Leftwich was alright.
He had one hell of a game that night despite being totally outgunned.
Yeah, not sure how Marshall was ranked in that game. Aside from Leftwich and his favorite targets Darius Watts, that team was still stuck with 1-AA talent at about every position.
I was so glad we won that game. I was in Lewisburg WV one dy right before we played ten a dude in a Marshall shirt saw my VT shirt and said we didn't have a chance since we never saw a qb like Leftwich. Very SEC like in his tunnel vision.
It's cool that you were in Lewisburg the day before. I've lived in Lewisburg my whole life except when I'm in Huntington at school, so there's a good chance I was in Lewisburg at the time, although I was four years old.
I didn't follow Marshall athletics till I knew I was going to attend school there. The lifelong fans are all very optimistic in the football team's abilities every season. Even when they went 3-9 in 2016, they took solace in the fact that they almost beat Pitt who beat Clemson. I am not surprised you had that encounter.
Yeah, Leftwich was another one I liked too. I forget, did our defense knock him out of that game??
Pretty sure they didn't. He got most of his yards after the game was out of reach.
What I remember most from that game was that during the post game a Marshall fan called in claiming that Leftwich was the best number 7 to ever play in Lane. To which the announcer told him that Leftwich wasn't even the best number 7 on the field that night. (K.J. wore 7 that year). Epic burn!
Yep. You're right (went back & watched it). I remember when I first tuned into the game we were already up 40. I just remember Leftwich being on the sideline so much I thought he was injured.
Entertaining for me: jacory Harris. Picking him off like 20 times and knocking da u back every year was really fun
Best I ever saw: probably suh. That dude was sooooo goddamn talented and Danny coales catch was probably my favorite singular moment I've ever seen in person of hokie football
Maybe I could re-title this as "guys I wish the Hokies had the day we played them." Here is a list without thinking about it too much-
Thomas Jones
Aaron Donald (in Bud's defense, he would have put up Steve Entman numbers and been a Heisman contender)
Fitzgerald, Bryant, and Megatron
Heath Miller
Current opponents
Joe Gilles Harris
Dexter Lawrence
Zach Allen
Donovan McNabb, because we kicked his ass all over the field when they came down to play us.
Greg Olsen
You mean 3rd leg Greg.
Calvin Johnson was the most impressive I have seen. Suh being 2nd.
When I see player in Hokie uniform I think "I like him"
When I see player in another uniform I think "I don't like him >:("
Buncha young'uns on this board... I'm going with Homecoming 1990 -- a 20-16 Hokies victory over Southern Mississippi with one Brett Favre calling the signals for the Golden Eagles.
I actually logged in to drop this nugget myself... Take your leg !
We played Favre in Hattiesburg in 1988 in what felt like (at the time) the wettest, sloppiest conditions I've ever seen a game played. We took the L by 22 that night, so the 1990 game was most certainly sweeter for that!
Not that he did anything amazing when he was in Lane (because his team was dreadful then) but Luke Kuechly is my favorite non-Hokie and he did visit Blacksburg twice.
This Guy
Dave Matthews
(I wasn't there but think it fits)
Sort of a random one, but Justin Thomas in 2014 was pretty breath-taking to me. The 80 yard touchdown run he had that got called back where he dusted everyone and their mother was outrageous. And it seemed like anytime they needed a big play that game he came up with it.
Rakeem Cato and shuler I think was the wideout were incredible in that 2013 game. Someone that watched the broadcast told me thst those two played together since pop warner. That game was a lot of fun with the rain and triple overtime and finally getting the win.
Post Wheel Combo... I saw that combination so much that year at Marshall was better at it than anyone.
I always had a grudging respect for Ed Reed.
Obviously, no one realized how he would pan out as a pro, but Brett Favre almost beat Tech at Lane.
None of them. Why would I have a favorite none Hokie?
🙄 Because you appreciate the borderline miraculous physical capabilities of every athlete, despite the color of jersey they wear? Because you realize that players outside of VT are putting their everything into being the best players they can be? Because you realize that sports don't have to be pure love/hate based on some arbitrary lines drawn, and you can see the wonder that is high-quality competition?
There's a few reasons for you. Use them as you feel necessary.
Back to the topic at hand, I also thought it was fun watching Ben Gordon, Josh Boone, Emeka Okafor, and Villanueva on UCONN in 2004. IIRC, they won the national championship that year.
O I've appreciated other players, I've been amazed by their abilities but I can't have a "favorite" none Hokie College Player.
I can have a favorite non-hokie player. What I can't have is a favorite non-hokie player that's played in Lane. As a rule, it doesn't matter how good you are, if we had to deal with you, I don't like you.
Fair enough... So rephrase the question as, "which non-Hokie caused you to leave Lane thinking 'I really appreciate what I just saw?'"
Which when translated means, "which non-hokie made you say, 'thank you sir, may I have another?'."
Donovan McNabb for sure.
Reggie Wayne a close second.
On a more serious note, I didn't appreciate how good Mario Edwards was when I saw he and NC State sacked us 10 times back in 2004. That was a tough loss to swallow.
that was the only regular season game I missed that year. I apologize
Oh, so you're the reason the offense couldn't score a TD after the opening drive of the second quarter. And you're the reason Pace missed that FG at the end of the game to lose it. And you're the reason we couldn't turn 3 turnovers into meaningful points. And you're the reason...
2004 may have been my favorite season while I was in school, but that game really pissed me off. Also, somehow we got lottery seats in the top deck of the South for this one. My first game not being able to tell how long a run made it on each play, but I could tell immediately we were gonna miss that FG.
Most embarrassed I have ever been at the end of the game. From our sidelines, it looked like the FG was good, and some of the players and I ran halfway into the field in celebration before we realized it was no good.
Yeah I was there too and none of us could quite believe he missed it. Everyone around me was just rooted in place for about 5 minutes after.
Looked good to me.*
*Disclaimer, I was in no shape to make such judgements.
Sorry
Calvin Johnson and Roman Reigns ;) Though no one knew what Regins would become.
Model-T Megatron was a spectacle to see in college. So glad we beat them
Ive always liked amos zereoue and had a rare appreciation for Jonathon dwyer for some reason. those 2 guys would have to be my favorite guys to watch go against us.
Once I enter the night I see no other players, I justly complete focus on Neverland......
We have played Miami every year since the early 90's, so that is a who's who of NFL talent. The one I remember was Edgerrin James, not that he stood out from other great Miami running backs thinking back, but he was def an all time NFL great.
Ray Lewis
Brett Favre...