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The News Leader reported this morning that 6-3, 310-pound offensive lineman Caleb Farris (Rockbridge County) gave Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer his verbal commitment to play for the Hokies in 2010. Farris also had offers from East Carolina and Marshall and was still being recruited by Virginia, Boston College, Maryland and North Carolina.

Read more about Caleb Farris at the News Leader.

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Despite earning the Coaches Award for exceptional offensive performance in the spring football game, Chris Drager is being moved from tight end to defensive end, according to Chris Coleman, managing editor of Techsideline.com.

Drager is a 6-3, 239-pound redshirt sophomore and showed plenty of promise at TE. But with four TEs competing for starting time and only three DEs, including John Graves, who moved from the interior defensive line to the end, the coaching staff felt Drager could make more of an impact playing for Bud Foster’s squad.

Though it’s been a few years, Drager was a standout DE for Thomas Jefferson High School in Jefferson Hills, Pa. The other tight ends are Greg Boone, Sam Wheeler and Andre Smith. Plus, highly touted incoming true freshman Logan Thomas could figure in there somewhere depending on how quickly he picks up the offense. However, I would expect Frank Beamer to redshirt Thomas and give him a year to develop and learn the system a little better.

In other news… It appears that redshirt freshman running back Ryan Williams made quite a splash during spring practice. If he continues to improve during the off season and builds on his play in the spring game, don’t be surprised if he finds himself in the No. 1 spot on the depth chart. Think about that for a minute… Our returning tailback, Darren Evan, was named to the Football Writers Association of America’s All Freshman team. He rushed for 1,265 yards and 11 TDs last season; set a single-game school record with 253 yards rushing against Maryland; and then closed out his rookie campaign with 153 yards and a TD against Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl, in which he was named the game’s MVP.

To think that a kid who hasn’t played a single down of college ball could potentially supplant an incumbent with that kind of resume is unthinkable, but we’re looking at it here in Blacksburg. Make no mistake – Evans will be a huge part of the offense because no matter how good Williams is, he can’t do it alone.

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For the first time since 1991 when LB Al Chamblee was selected in the 12th round (yes, they used to have 12 rounds of the NFL draft), only one Virginia Tech Hokie was selected in the NFL draft. Victor “Macho” Harris was the 157th overall pick (5th round) and went to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Orion Martin, who was thought to be a possible 7th round pick, was passed over and will likely sign a free agent deal this week.

The last time a Hokie was not drafted in the NFL’s annual choose-em-up was in 1990. For more Hokie draft history, check out http://tinyurl.com/d6zm4c.

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Who will be No. 2? That was the big question heading into Virginia Tech’s 2009 spring practice season. Not any more. Head coach Frank Beamer announced on Monday that redshirt freshman Ju-Ju Clayton will back up junior starter Tyrod Taylor heading into the 2009 season. That means Marcus Davis, also a redshirt freshman, will spend the rest of spring practice at wide receiver.

Read more at Hokiesports.com.

The annual Maroon vs. White spring game will be played this Saturday at 2 p.m., and the weather is supposed to be perfect, so expect a huge turnout if the weather does indeed hold up.

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The Virginia Tech Hokies are already a few days into the 2009 spring practice schedule and that means that the annual Maroon vs. White Spring Football Game is right around the corner. In the days ahead, we will be addressing some of the key position battles to watch this spring leading up to the big game. Clearly there a lot of high expectations for the 2009 season with a stable of highly decorated and talented running backs, an equally impressive battalion of wide receivers and of course junior quarterback Tyrod Taylor. If you are a Hokie fan, it’s hard not to get giddy over the potential this team possesses.

As Hokie fans every where are poised for one of the most anticipated seasons in Tech history, now is the perfect time to get stocked up on all your Hokie needs by visiting GobblerGear.com, a proud and loyal sponsor of VTHokiefans.com! If you plan on attending the Spring Game in two weeks, you can visit with GobblerGear.com at the South Main St. Kroger in Blacksburg.

Also, GobblerGear.com is getting a face lift and will launch a new and improved eCommerce site before April 25. So stop by and show GobblerGear.com some love and let them know how much we appreciate them sponsoring this site!

GO HOKIES!

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