Former Virginia Tech quarterback and 2004 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Bryan Randall is close to signing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the “deal” at this point includes nothing more than a plane ticket, a hotel room and an invitation to training camp.

“There’s just a couple of things to work out but, hopefully, it can get done as soon as (Thursday),” Randall told the Free Press on Wednesday. “For me, the sooner the better. All I want to do is get back on the field and play. I love playing football and I’m really at a point in time right now where I just can’t wait to get back out there and play again.”

Randall expects to be at the Bombers’ rookie camp which opens on May 28 and will be competing with incumbent starter Kevin Glenn, backup Ryan Dinwiddie and South Carolina State rookie Cleve McCoy. Rookies report May 28 and will have five days before regular camp opens on June 1. If he makes the team, he’ll join former Hokies Ike Charlton, who has played in parts of the last three seasons with the Bombers.

For more on Randall’s possible future with Winnipeg, read the Free Press article.

Brian Galliford of BuffaloRumblings.com, a popular fan blog covering the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, interviewed Gary Cope, Managing Editor of VTHokieFans.com, about the Bill’s third-round pick Chris Ellis. Ellis was a standout defensive end for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Known for his pass rushing prowess, Ellis will be expected to step in immediately and help out one of the NFL’s worst pass-rushing teams.

Read the complete interview at BuffaloRumblings.com.

(Updated 4/30/2008)

The 2008 NFL draft saw eight Hokies drafted and several left waiting at the altar. Two Hokies didn’t have to wait long. Just minutes after the draft was over, Safety D.J. Parker got a call from the San Francisco 49ers and quickly signed a free-agent deal. Linebacker Vince Hall was contacted and signed by the St. Louis Rams. Barry Booker, Josh Hyman and Korey Robertson had to wait until Monday. Booker got a call from the Tennessee Titan; Hyman will join teammate Hall with the Rams; and Robertson signed with the Dolphins. (Thanks for keeping my posted guys!)

• Read more about Hall and Parker.
• Read more about Booker.
• Read more about Hyman and Robertson.

Five more Hokies got phone calls today letting them know they’d be drafted on the second and final day of the 2008 NFL Draft. Three others never got that call and will now sit back and wait for the phone to ring with an invite to a training camp on the other end.

On Day One, OT Duane Brown was selected by Houston with the No. 26 overall pick; CB Brandon Flowers went to Kansas City with the 4th pick in the 2nd round (36th overall); and WR Eddie Royal will be moving to Denver to play for the Broncos after they selected him with the 11th pick in the 2nd round (42nd overall).

On Day Two, Chris Ellis was the first Hokie to come off the draft boards when the Buffalo Bills used their third round pick (9th) to select the DE (72nd overall).

From ESPN: “Teams are going to have success running at Ellis — he’s undersized and doesn’t have great lower-body strength. In fact, he may never develop into an every-down player. But there’s a lot to like about his potential as a situational pass-rusher. He’s quick, relentless and has the foot speed to develop an arsenal of pass-rush moves.”

From Rivals: “There were times when folks thought Ellis could go as high as the first round. He fits well for the Bills, who like to shift around their pass rushers. Ellis can be used as a DE/OLB, but is best with his hand on the ground.”

Xavier Adibi was the next Hokie to get drafted. He will be joining former teammate Duane Brown in Houston next season after the Texans chose the standout LB with the 19th pick in the 4th round (118th overall).

From ESPN: “Adibi will struggle in run support, but he is a good value here. He has good sideline-to-sideline speed and can run with backs in coverage.”

From Rivals: “Adibi is a highly athletic linebacker that gives the Texans what they looked for in past years when they signed guys like Shawn Barber - a coverage linebacker that can also be used as a blitzer on nickel downs.”

DL Carlton Powell went in the 5th round to the Broncos with the 13th pick (148th overall). Powell will also join a former Hokie teammate, Eddie Royal, in training camp.

From ESPN: “Powell lacks the closing speed to develop into an effective pass-rusher. He misses the occasional open-field tackle, but plays with good leverage and has the upper-body strength to shed blocks. He is a better run-stopper than his size would suggest.”

From Rivals: “Powell is a solid fit for their one-gap scheme. He runs well for his size and can also bench press more than 450 pounds. He has a great motor and is known for being a hustle guy.”

Josh Morgan is heading to the San Francisco 49ers after they selected him with their 6th-round pick (8th, 175th overall). The question is, who will throw him the ball in San Fran?

From ESPN: “Morgan isn’t much of a threat after the catch and he takes far too many plays off. On the other hand, he has good quickness and changes directions well for his size, so he can get open underneath. He can also contribute on special teams.”

From Rivals: “Morgan is a well-built receiver with good poential on special teams. He runs well for his size and also had a 40.5-inch vertical leap.”

Last, but certainly not least, Justin Harper will be staying a little closer to home to play for the Baltimore Ravens, who selected the WR in the 7th round (8th, 215th overall). Just like with Morgan, the question is, who will throw Harper the ball in Baltimore?

From ESPN: “He doesn’t have the burst to consistently separate from man coverage and he drops some passes that should be routine catches. However, he has the wide frame to shield defenders from the ball. He also has excellent leaping ability, making him a candidate to develop into a productive red zone target.”

From Rivals: “Harper has excellent size and speed, but he was inconsistent during his college career. He was worth a gamble this late in the draft.”

Undrafted Free Agents

D.J. Parker, Vince Hall and Barry Booker are all waiting to get an invitation to an NFL camp as undrafted free agents. Hall was probably the most noticeable undrafted Hokies, though his relatively slow 40 time and his injury-plagued senior season did not help. If he gets an invite to a camp, I believe he can make an impact and get on a roster somewhere. His football IQ and his instincts are not easy to find.

Parker should also get a call or two and I think if he can find the right team (more like can they find him), he’ll have a shot at being a solid pro in this league for years to come.

Booker should get an invite as well, but according to the scouting reports, he needs to put on about 15 pounds and add strength to his upper body. He has upside, but will be a project.

Last year, the Houston Texans went out and brought in highly touted, albeit unproven, quarterback Matt Schaub to lead the offense. He played well last season, but got dinged up because of a shaky offensive line. Houston took steps to correct that problem today when they surprised everyone and selected former Virginia Tech OL Duane Brown with the No. 26 overall pick in the first round. The 6-4, 315-pound converted TE has the ability to play either tackle position, which will provide OL depth for the Texans. The pick came as a surprise because Brown was graded by many mock drafts as a third-round selection.

From ESPN: “Houston clearly placed an emphasis on need over value. Brown is a reach because he’s not a great drive-blocker and he can get pushed into the backfield by bull rushes. On the flip side, he’s a former tight end who has the quick feet, athletic ability and initial burst to develop into an outstanding pass-blocker and an effective starter on the left side. It’s also worth pointing out that he was the best tackle left on the board (seventh rated overall).”

From Rivals: “The Texans made a good trade back at first, but the worst case scenarios occurred over the last eight picks. Many of the guys they would have wanted came off the board. Brown is an athletic left tackle, but a guy most graded as a third-round pick.”

Second Round

The Kansas City Chiefs may have found an heir apparent for Ty Law in former Hokie Brandon Flowers. The Chiefs selected the hard-hitting All-American corner with the 4th pick in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

From ESPN: “Flowers doesn’t have elite size or top-end speed. Occasionally, he gets caught out of position trying to make a big play. However, he plays far bigger than his size indicates and faster than his 40 time suggest. He opens his hips very well and has the upper-body strength to deliver a violent punch. There’s also a lot to like about his willingness to play the run.”

From Rivals: “Flowers was the most physical corner available in this draft. He has the inside track to replace Ty Law in the starting lineup as a rookie. He has a high level of development as a cover man, which indicates he can play the nickel corner role almost immediately. He could develop into an early starting NFL corner with shutdown talent.”

Seven picks later, the Denver Broncos got some receiver help for QB Jay Cutler in Eddie Royal, who went a little earlier in the draft than I thought he’d go. He’s undersized, even for a college WR, but his prowess as a return man is probably what appealed to the Broncos.

From ESPN: “Royal has had some problems staying healthy, and the fact that he doesn’t have great size only accentuates concerns about his durability. He has to improve his route-running, but he has the quickness and athletic ability to separate from coverage once that happens. He’s fast enough to stretch the field and make an impact as a punt returner.”

From Rivals: “Royal was pound-for-pound one of the fastest and strongest receivers available in the draft. He also gives the Broncos the added option of using him as their primary return man.”

Hokies hoping to be selected on Day Two of the 2008 NFL Draft:

Xavier Adibi
Barry Booker
Chris Ellis
Vince Hall
Justin Harper
Josh Morgan
D.J. Parker
Carlton Powell

A number of us have been talking about (read: bashing) three congressmen who are suggesting that the BCS system is illegal. This blog post started as a response to that thread and spiraled into some strange dissertation. I believe that there are three motivations for bringing this motion before the Justice Department:

1. Money for non-BCS conferences – to quote congressman Abercrombie the matter is worthy of federal review because college football is big business with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake - “It’s money. That’s what this is all about”
2. The three congressmen believe (as do I) that the BCS system is a bad way of determining a national champion
3. Posturing for re-election votes

On paper – the reason the congressmen are recommending a playoff system to the DOJ is the “millions of dollars� at stake. The congressmen can’t say they are only doing this to win favor with the fans of Hawaii, Boise State and Georgia (from their home states) and obviously congress isn’t in the business of determining the best way to crown the next national champion. …but does a playoff put money in the pockets of non-BCS conferences?

How does the current BCS payout?

This is not exactly this simple – but here are the basic revenue numbers from the BCS agreement:

• $17 million paid to each BCS conference (ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, PAC 10 and SEC champions).
• Any BCS conference placing a second team in one of the BCS bowls receives an additional $4.5 million
• Notre Dame fee = $4.5 million if they play in a BCS game or $1.3 million “for its participation in the BCS arrangementâ€�
• $9 million goes to the non-BCS leagues (C-USA, WAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, MAC) to split. If a member of one of those leagues plays in a BCS game the conferences as a whole receive an additional $9 million (approximately two thirds of which goes to the conference of the team).

It’s up to the conferences to figure out how to distribute the money they get from the BCS each year. For example the Big 10, ACC and PAC 10 split bowl revenue evenly among all teams, while the Big East and WAC use a tiered reward system (the teams that play get more cash). I’m not going to get into these details here as the congressmen aren’t challenging the financial responsibility of the individual conferences – they just want more money in the non-BCS conferences pockets.

So how much money have the conferences made in BCS revenues over the first 10 years of the agreement? Note: All the figures below do not including expenses which can reach $2 million per appearance for some teams.

• Big Ten: $206 million (17 appearances | $20.6 million avg per year)
• SEC: $188 million (15 appearances | $18.8 million avg per year)
• Big 12: $183.5 million (14 appearances | $18.4 million avg per year)
• PAC 10: $179 million (12 appearances | $17.9 million avg per year)
• ACC/Big East: $170 million (10 appearances | $17 million avg per year)
• WAC: $26.9 million (2 appearances / $2.7 million avg per year)
• Mountain West: $22.5 million (1 appearance / $2.2 million avg per year)
• Notre Dame: $19.4 million (2 appearances / $1.9 million avg per year)
• Conf USA/Sun Belt/MAC: $18 million (0 appearances / $1.8 million avg per year)

Obviously a huge discrepancy between the BCS conferences and the non-BCS conferences – and one can see why the congressmen are so upset! One thing to note: the non-BCS conference numbers aren’t quite this bad as these are pre-expense figures. If you are C-USA or Notre Dame – it’s pretty nice to just cash a check each year sitting on your proverbial couch with no expenses to deduct. All the teams who actually go and play the game have millions of dollars of expenses that come out of these figures.

How would a playoff system payout?

For sake of argument assume the BCS instated a 16-team (4 week - 15 game) playoff system for the 2008 season with no conference tie-ins (basically a football version of March Madness starting at the Sweet 16). Never mind the logistical nightmares of shipping players and fans back and forth for four weeks of games – but assume that at the end of every regular season an unbiased committee was tasked with seeding the top 16 teams in division 1A football. Then the normal $170 million in BCS payouts would be divided between all 16 teams equally – so each conference gets a $10.6 million check for each team it sends to the playoffs.

So I went back and found the top 16 teams in the coaches and AP polls (before the bowl games) for each of the last 10 years – here is how many teams each conference would have sent to the playoffs (and the conference payouts for this new tourney format):

• SEC: 32 teams ($328.6 million | $32.9 million avg per year)
• Big 12: 30 teams ($318 million | $31.8 million avg per year)
• Big Ten: 25 teams ($265 million | $26.5 million avg per year)
• PAC 10: 21 teams ($222.6 million | $22.2 million avg per year)
• ACC: 20 teams ($212 million | $21.2 million avg per year)
• Big East: 14 teams ($148.4 million | $14.8 million avg per year)
• Notre Dame: 4 appearances ($42.4 million | $4.2 million avg per year)
• Mountain West/WAC: 3 teams each ($31.8 million each | $3.1 million avg per year)
• C-USA: 2 teams ($21.2 million | $2.1 million avg per year)
• MAC: 1 team ($10.6 million | $1.1 million avg per year)
• Sun Belt: $0

Things don’t get better for the non-BCS conferences – they get worse! In fact a playoff system that rewards the top 16 teams every year is a really good way for the BCS conferences to make more money than they do now – a lot more money. The Mountain West and WAC would have made more money overall but that money would have only come in 3 out of the 10 years. The others are either breaking even or losing money. Think how angry the Sun Belt teams are – they went from cashing a $1.8 million dollar check every year to $0.

What about automatic conference tie ins?

The only strategy that would begin to level the playing field would be if all 11 conferences got one automatic bid to the tournament – then the non-BCS conferences would be guaranteed a $10.6 million payday every year. However I ran the numbers and the top BCS conferences (Big Ten/SEC) would still be making more than $15 million on average per year. The current BCS system has resulted in relative stability in the football world so if you’re worried about conference realignment this is not the plan for you. Finally the idea of leaving top 10 teams out of the BCS tournament (in 2007 Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, Arizona State, Florida among others) and instead taking the 2007 7-5 Florida Atlantic Owls (ranked outside the top 50) is laughable.

The BCS isn’t the problem

Finally, the financial BCS argument becomes even more irrelevant if you look at the operating athletic budgets of some of the schools in question. Let’s take three notable schools – Ohio State (tops in overall sports revenue in 2006), Virginia Tech (because they are awesome) and Boise State (who had a good budget year in 2006 after appearing in the sugar bowl). Here are very high level budget numbers for each school’s athletic department from July 2006 through June 2007:

Ohio State (Full time under graduates: 34,982)

• Total football revenue: $59.1 million / Total football expenses: $32.5
• Total athletics revenue: $109.4 million / Total athletics expenses: $109.2
• Total 2006 bowl payouts: $2 million
• Percent BCS revenues in total athletic budget: 1.8%

Virginia Tech (Full time under graduates: 21,473)

• Total football revenue: $40.6 million / Total football expenses: $26.2
• Total athletics revenue: $65.5 million / Total athletics expenses: $55.9
• Total 2006 bowl payouts: $1.8 million
• Percent BCS revenues in total athletic budget: 2.7%

Boise State (Full time under graduates: 10,811)

• Total football revenue: $12.1 million / Total football expenses: $8.6
• Total athletics revenue: $22.3 million / Total athletics expenses: $21.7
• Total 2006 bowl payouts: $2 million
• Percent BCS revenues in total athletic budget: 8.9%

Sure the bowl money Boise State made in 2006 was probably a nice boost to their budget – but if you’re blaming the BCS for the differences in athletic budgets, you’re treating a symptom and not a problem. We are talking about apples, oranges and mangos here – even if Boise was awarded $2 million from the BCS each year (approximately what it took home after expenses from its Sugar Bowl appearance) it doesn’t even begin to make up the $40 million gap to VT (let alone the 5x increase necessary to catch Ohio State).

Blame the BCS? I’m sure it sounds good to voters and taxpayers but the differences between the BCS schools and non-BCS schools are not as simple as yearly BCS payouts. These are problems in differences in marketing, school size, ticket sales, merchandising and TV contracts. If we spread out the BCS money and award $1.5 million to each of the division 1A football schools every year does that mean that 52 new mammoth stadiums will pop up around the country and hordes of San Jose State, North Texas, New Mexico and Eastern Michigan fans will flock to the stadiums every week?

So let’s review our initial reasons for getting the DOJ involved:

1. Money – not valid
2. The BCS is broken – not a job for the DOJ (although I’ll take this if you want)
3. Posturing for votes

Well it looks like #3 is the only reason left – making it seem like these three congressmen are spending a lot of our time and money looking for reelection votes

Let me know what you think on vt.FanFoc.us!

Following Virginia Tech’s annual Maroon vs. White spring football game on Saturday, members of the media asked head coach Frank Beamer about the option of redshirting sophomore QB Tyrod Taylor if redshirt senior Sean Glennon won the QB battler outright. Beamer’s response surprised more than a few people - he didn’t rule it out - though he did say that the competition would remain open throughout fall practice.

I have made my case for Tyrod Taylor being the starter this season, but I’m having second thoughts. Not because I do not think that he is the best quarterback for this team; but because the team, as it stands right now, might not be the best fit for his game, and redshirting him this season would give us two full seasons with him as the uncontested QB. Throw him in there this season and he could very likely be running for his life on every play, which would increase the likelihood of injury.

The offensive line, while massive, is untested and suspect. The running game is in complete disarray with our top two RBs out with injuries and the next three guys, while talented, have no meaningful game experience. In fact, Dustin Pickle, the redshirt senior, is the only one of the three that has run the ball in an actual game, though all of his game experience came in garbage time. He only got one carry in the spring game. The other two, Josh Oglesby and Darren Evans, both redshirted last year. Even when Jahre Cheeseman and Kenny Lewis come back, there is no guarantee that the offensive line will be able to open up the holes necessary to establish an effective ground game.

Then there is the receiving corps, which is completely new. Our top guy right now isn’t even on scholarship. Brandon Dillard is a redshirt junior out of Martinsville and he’s all of 5-11, 180 pounds. He’s one of the fastest guys on the team and looked alright in the spring game, but he also lacks game experience and his lack of height will hurt him in jump ball situations. Then there are Ike Whitaker and Cory Holt, both converted QBs who haven’t seem much action as receivers. Certainly there is talent and potential at the receiver spot, but again, it is untested and there will be growing pains.

Glennon looked good in the spring game and tossed a pair of nice touchdown passes. He showed poise and maturity and looked every bit of the solid QB he proved he could be in the last year’s impressive 27-3 win over Georgia Tech. His issues is inconsistency and that is where I have concerns about making him the full time starter. Who would back him up if he struggles? Right now, Jeff Beyer, a 6-4, 221-pound redshirt junior is listed as the only other QB on the roster. I sincerely doubt they’d moved Ike or Cory back to QB after playing them at receiver all spring, though they could step in should the need arise, a la Nick Sorenson, but that’s a worst-case scenario.

If the Hokies are to redshirt Taylor this season - which is making more and more sense to me - they would need to ride any inconsistencies on Glennon’s part for the entire season. I would think that if Glennon - God forbid - got hurt within the first three games, you could bring Taylor out and burn the redshirt. However, if Glennon remains healthy, you keep Taylor on the bench and give the RBs, OL and WRs a year to mature and adjust to the system. That also gives Tyrod another two years with the incoming, talent-laden ‘08-’09 recruits.

The 2008 NFL Draft is this weekend and one of 11 Hokies hoping to be drafted is safety D.J. Parker. Parker is considered a “sleeper” by the DraftGuys and predict that if he develops the way they believe he will, that he’ll be a solid starting safety in the NFL for years to come.

You’ve probably heard the saying that it is considered a fashion faux pas to wear white after Labor Day, but the Virginia Tech Hokies are making an exception for their Sept. 6, 2008, home game against Furman.

The Hokies will hold their inaugural “White Out” for their home opener in an effort to promote reading throughout the Commonwealth. “White Out” t-shirts will go on sale for $6 each on Saturday, April 19 - the day of the annual Spring Game - at the University Bookstores. Proceeds from the sale of the “White Out” shirts will go to Herma’s Readers, a non-profit organization that promotes the power of reading and literacy to youngsters during their formative years, grades K-3. The organization was established in honor of Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer’s mother, Herma, who taught for more than 30 years in Virginia.

The football team will also sports special white uniforms that combine features of past uniforms. It will mark the first time that the Hokies have worn all-white uniforms at Lane Stadium. For more information about the uniforms, visit HokieSports.com.

Receiving Line
With Tyrod Taylor’s injury and the ongoing drama and injury-riddled backfield, the search to find serviceable replacements for the four departed wide receivers seems to have been lost in the shuffle. But, the Lynchburg News & Advance’s Nate Warters addressed the topic in much detail. Read more…

Aaron McFarling of the Roanoke Times wrote a great article about Virginia Tech redshirt freshman tailback Darren Evans. The former high school standout from Indianapolis rushed for mind-boggling 61 touchdowns during his senior season at Warren Central High. Even more amazing, it was only the fourth highest single-season offensive output by a single player in U.S. prep school history. He averaged nearly six TDs a game.

Evans left Warren Central with four state championships and more individual records than you can imagine. Yet only two BCS schools offered him a scholarship - Virginia Tech and one Big Ten school. Whispers of “too slow” and “not enough moves” dogged him during the recruiting process, but this Saturday at Virginia Tech’s first Spring Game in two years, Evans will have an opportunity to silence the critics and prove that he belongs in the backfield of a big-time college football program.

But that isn’t even the real crux of the story. For the real heart of the story, read the Aaron’s article. Trust me, it’s worth the read!