Recent Comments

Yeah, the TE/WR line was my biggest letdown. I was hoping to get Hodges and Ford. I have the 2016 Athlon preview magazine with Ford on the cover that I really wanted him to sign, but the line was so long we couldn't get to it before they shut it down. So we headed from RBs to CBs instead of the WR/TE line. I'm still a little sad that we didn't have an extra 15 min or so that we could have gotten into that line. Oh well, such is life.

That was unexpected, my dad is a seasoned autographer, a huge Cincinnati Reds fan. Not joking, he has gotten over 1,000 so far this year after today. He was caught off guard by the crowd when we got in, I think we were 24th or so. We started before the line turned down the sidewalk. I got QB's who were the most chatty to us, they were signing clean helmets, RB's (Sam is across the crown of the helmet), O Line and DB's. Wr's line was stopped early, I have a mini helmet i was going to get Bucky and Isaiah to sign. Ill have to catch them sometime this season.

A link works better. Excuse the pillows, a pregnant wife equals an assortment of pillows in various shapes and sizes.

It looks like the left half of his line runs the defense off the field pretty consistently. But he hits the hole hard, makes people miss on the second level, and seems fast enough to not get caught. I think those traits would be good in the Fuente offense, or any offense really.

Brian Johnson is a walk on punter/kickoff guy. Slye confirmed it today.

he's coaching the backup qb

We have finally found The Fifth Fuller. Bud's fuller head of hair.

15 minutes, but it looked like it made quite the difference. Most of the kids I saw had full posters/helmets/footballs. So they must have sprinted around between tables. I think the backlog came because it seemed that any kid that was a Kids Club member could bring in as many family members as they wanted, so one kid plus parents, grandparents, and whoever else was "family" got to be in the lines. That was probably the only thing that was a letdown for me. Gates go up, we're first...oh wait, there are hundreds of people already out there.

Today was a lot of fun. It was very hot but there was ample water provided and a decent breeze from time to time. The lines were very long. I showed up with two friends at 9:30 AM and we were literally the first people in line in the general public entrance. When the gates opened, there were already hundreds of people in lines from the Hokies Kids Club. We only had time to get to Fuente and Foster, RBs, and CBs. That was it, fewer than half of the stations in an hour and a half (which was actually 1:15 when the shut down the lines to get everyone through and finished). So in that regard, I was a little disappointed. We had busted our tails to be there first and still didn't get even half the team's autographs.

Now, that said, it was a well-managed event with clear signage and lots of staff to help out. The coaches and players were phenomenal. Seeing the crazy lines, we went straight to Fuente and Foster's tent. They were fun to watch, especially with the kids. Fuente's youngest daughter (Charlotte) wanted to hang around Dad the whole time and even sat on his lap for a bit to "help" him sign autographs. Bud chatted with lots of people like they were old friends.

I told Bud how glad I was that he stayed on at VT and he grinned and thanked me. I told him how much I was looking to another year of the Lunch Pail Defense and he smiled wide, saying how excited he was about this year's group. Get excited, Hokie Nation.

This beautiful, signed print is going to be hanging on my wall sometime very soon. Bud asked us where we got them. Wal-Mart, Bud, right next to where they keep the kickers.

The players were a ton of fun. Props to those guys for sitting out in that heat, in jerseys, and being as polite and engaging as they were. We headed to the RB table right after Fuente and Foster. As you might expect, Sam Rogers stole the show. He was so much fun to watch with the kids, with high-fives and fist bumps all around. Here he is, rocking some shades, because apparently his helmet came off during goal line practice and he had quite the black eye. The fate of the other player(s) involved is unknown.

At our own peril, we teased him a bit about the shiner and he was a good sport to play along. He said he'd be fine and was in good spirits. I shook his hand and only had two fingers broken.

I asked Shai and Marshawn how they were feeling and both reported their knees were feeling good and they were ready to go.

The defensive secondary was a lively bunch, joking around with each other and flashing smiles to everyone. Here we have Terrell and Mook doing the honors on our posters:

I asked Brandon Facyson how he was feeling and he said he was a full go. I was glad to hear he was finally healthy. Chuck Clark was the last at the table, and when I asked him if he was ready to hold down the D-Block, he gave me a big grin and said without a moment's hesitation, "yes, sir."

Overall, I was impressed with our players. Sitting out in the heat, repeatedly signing items, can probably be boring and a little taxing. But they were engaging and fun to be around. Great job, guys, and thanks.

He has said that he feels "rejuvenated" and I think this is proof. The new staff has had a really positive impact on him it looks like.

The helmet was showing earlier. Did you change something?

Brandon Facyson is not back to being the guy he was a couple of years ago. That's disheartening.