Virginia Tech notebook

By Nathan Warters

Published: July 21, 2008

GREENSBORO, Ga. — The preseason ACC rankings surprised Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. He didn’t think he’d see the Hokies atop the Coastal Division.

Tech received 58 first-place votes, well ahead of second place North Carolina, which garnered four.

“Well, I’m surprised to be honest with you, that we were picked like that, because we’ve got some work to do. We’ve got some coaching to do,” Beamer said.

The Hokies are coming off an ACC championship season, but they must replace 11 starters and a kicker from that team.

Still, they were picked first in the Coastal for the second straight season.

“It’s great respect for our program,” Beamer said, “and I appreciate that.”

Big game hunting

Virginia Tech announced last week its plans to open the 2009 season against an SEC opponent at the Georgia Dome in a made-for-television game.

Beamer sees such neutral site games against big-time college foes as great motivators for his team during the offseason.

“I think when you play a game like that, your spring practices feel better, your summer practices feel better, your preseason practices feel better, and in the end you’ve got a better football team,” Beamer said.

The Hokies are in talks with Alabama officials for the game, which is being put on by Chick-fil-A Bowl officials. If Alabama falls through, Tech will play a different SEC opponent.

Before the Hokies can think about next year’s schedule, they’ve got to face a tough 2008 slate that includes road games against Nebraska, Miami, Boston College and Florida State.

“I don’t know when we’ve had as demanding a schedule as we’ve got this year,” Beamer said.

Defense first

While it’s true the Hokies are in dire need of playmakers at wide receiver, they won’t be hasty in plugging speedy defensive back Victor “Macho” Harris into one of their two open starting spots.

Tech is already asking a lot of Harris, who moved to the more difficult boundary cornerback position in the spring and is expected to take over kickoff and punt return duties in the fall.

“You don’t want to do too much as a receiver that you’re taking away from (defense and the return game),” Beamer said. “I think that’s the only thing we’ve got to be careful about.”