BREAKING: FOOTBALL IS BEING PRACTICED.

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Virginia Tech started football practice yesterday at 5:00 PM. It's happening.

The Frankinator is getting the boys fired up. Bud's chewin' on some food for thought. Stiney's not coordinating the offense and LT3 is in the middle of it all. Kickoff is that much closer, 29 days away you guys.

The following quotes from Coach Beamer, Wiles and O'Cain were transcribed by Hokiesports.com: VT Football Camp Confidential unless otherwise noted.

Coach Beamer:

"Well, the way it's set-up, NCAA-wise, you go in shorts for two days, shoulder pads for two days, then full pads for a day. The biggest thing that I want to get squared away is our kickers, right now. I think some back-ups on defensive line, some back-ups in our secondary, who is going to be our six receivers that we are going to go with. Those are the things that we need to go get settled on. For the most part, we know who should be our starters. It would be nice if some of these younger guys could come in here, back-up and have a positive effect on the team."

The task of naming his starting kickers sounds like it's a blocker on Beamer's mental Gantt chart. It's the first thing he's mentioned needed to be done in every interview he's given going back to spring. Journell and Coale have to be the odds-on-favorites to win the kicking and punting jobs respectively. Beamer said as much to Kyle Tucker.

Beamer said after practice that wide receiver Danny Coale's summertime tweaks to his punting technique have helped and that he looked good today and remains the leader to win the starting job. Crazy, right? Beamer also said Cody Journell still looks like the guy who'll win Tech's field goal gig.

Six receivers? Consider that our 5th and 6th receivers last season, D.J. Coles and Austin Fuller, only caught a combined seven balls all of last season. Perhaps Beamer's looking to spread out the offense a bit more.

Coach O'Cain:

"We really haven't set a timetable on settling on the number two quarterback," O'Cain said. "We want to do it as quickly as possible, but at the same time we want to be fair and make sure we give Mark, Ju-Ju and Ricardo time and enough reps that we're comfortable with any one of those three guys."

My guess, the backups will battle it out during the first scrimmage on the 13th, the coaches will mull it over on the 14th, an off day, and make a decision and move forward.

Coach Wiles:

"We will definitely take a look at Kris Harley and Luther Maddy at the defensive tackle spot," Wiles said. "Can they be better than what we're lining up with right now in our two-deep? Both kids have size and both kids had a good summer of preparation. They both came in with the intentions of playing this fall. Corey Marshall physically looks like he can play. But, can he get in there and mix it up and give us more quality playmaking ability at defensive end? We have some other younger guys who aren't freshmen who will also be battling for playing time so we just have to look at whether these guys give us a better chance to win."

Without seeing a lick of practice I can say that I feel really good about our starting four along the defensive line. Depth has been the concern all along and it doesn't sound like any of the backups impressed enough during the spring to secure a spot especially at defensive tackle. I think they coaches are set on three, the Brothers Hopkins and Kwamaine Battle and they're searching for a fourth. It's encouraging to know that the new kids had a goal of contributing and not redshirting their freshman year, and the coaches actually think they're talented enough to do so. The competition among Isaiah Hamlette, Dwight Tucker, Kris Harley, Luther Maddy and Nick Acree is going to be one to keep an eye on.

Because of the injuries to Theron Norman (shoulder) and Boye Aromire (leg) free safety and rover are looking as thin as JWOWW (I apologize for the Jersey Shore reference). According to KT, freshmen Michael Cole and Ronny Vandyke looked the part at rover and free safety respectively.

True freshman FS Ronny Vandyke, who defensive coordinator Bud Foster said earlier this week would have a chance to play immediately because his high school ran a defense similar to Tech's, already looks the part. (Yep, this is that first-practice post you've come to expect and love – or be creeped out by – where I write extensively about player physiques because, well, what the heck else can I tell you on a day when they run through a few light drills in shorts and T-shirts???) A tad thin, he's otherwise very impressive – tall, long arms, chiseled, runs well. Vandyke is listed at 6-foot-3, 208 pounds.

Fellow rookie, SS Michael Cole, caught secondary coach Torrian Gray's eye immediately today. In early drills, he barked praise at Cole repeatedly, saying he had "sweet feet." (Yeah, and I'm the creepy guy.) After one leaping grab in a ball-skills drill, Gray grabbed Cole and said, "Mike Cole, who've you been doing drills with? Y'all (to the other DBs) seen Mike? Dang!"

It's only the first day of practice, so I'm not holding my breath, but if these guys are a semi-polished without spring ball under their belts it's got to make you feel that much better about the defense.

A lot of freshman have a chance to play this year.

Presented without commentary, feel free to leave yours below, Blake DeChristopher.


via @KyleTuckerVP

And that's the export of everything I've read, heard and processed from day one.

Comments

David Wilson looks like a tank

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@scobeard

38-0 bro

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