Preseason Review

It's......almost.......gametime.

Yeah sure the end of August signals that summer is coming to a close, but who really cares? September 5th is the beginning of the best season of the year (and no I don't count the USC East vs. NC State game as the official beginning of the college football season).

So in preparation for Saturday night's slugfest vs. Alabama, let's quickly review the Preseason Keys to Watch to see how ready we fared leading up to the season.

1. Offensive Line
Well the hype has continued. We survived preseason practice without any major injuries to offensive linemen. All reports out of camp are saying that there is reason behind the hype. Tyrod should greatly benefit from a stronger, faster, more cohesive O-line, as should our inexperienced running back. We will know right off the bat facing Alabama's defensive line just how good we are going to be.

2. Defensive Line
Depth was the biggest issue when Fall camp started. Jason Worilds and Nekos Brown are givens at Defensive End. Steven Friday has stepped up in Fall practice and shown that he will be a solid backup. Chris Drager who transfered from Tight End has also had a good preseason and should progress well throughout the season as he gets more game experience. At Defensive Tackle, Demetrius Taylor and Antoine Hopkins have further developed into solid backups for John Graves and Cordarrow Thompson. Look for big plays out of the D-line especially as they line up against Alabama's inexperienced offensive line.

3. Tyrod's Backup
The coaches played it ultra-safe in the preseason keeping Tyrod in non-contact jerseys for the scrimmages and giving plenty of reps to his backups so that a decision could be made about who was going to be #2 going into the Alabama game. The coaches have spoken (despite Marty Cates' insistence that Logan Thomas would be #2) and Ju-Ju Clayton will be the backup QB. This means that Thomas is a legit replacement for Tyrod after next season and a redshirt year will be the best way for Thomas to learn the offense and get prepared to be the #2 guy next year. There is still concern though over just how well Clayton will do if Tmobile goes down, so keep a close eye on Tyrod's ankles, especially when Terrance Cody (6'6" 350+lbs) comes barreling at Tyrod on Saturday night.

4. Keeping the Proverbial Nose Clean
Well we almost made it. It was announced tonight that starting fullback Kenny Jefferson is suspended for the Alabama game for "violating team rules". Tech isn't saying exactly what that means, but anyone with half of an imagination can take a few guesses. This is something to keep an eye on though all season long. With the expectations in Blacksburg as high as they are, its real easy for the egos of the young players to get a bit out of control. Let's hope common sense and wiser judgement prevails throughout the season and that all of the headlines can relate to records being set on the field, rather than police records being filled out off the field.

Kickoff is officially less than 2 days away now. My dad and I's flight for Atlanta leaves in approximately 34 hours (not that I'm counting) and Hokie fans everywhere are preparing for the beginning of another year of Beamerball........are you ready?

Let's Go Hokies!!