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Yesterday, the ACC announced game times for several early season games including two for the Virginia Tech. The Hokies home opener for the 2009 season against Marshall will be shown on ESPN360.com and will kick off at 1:30 p.m., on Sept. 12. The following week, Sept. 19, the Hokies host Nebraska. That game is scheduled to air regionally on ABC, but will also be available to most in the country on ESPN2. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m.

For more game times and broadcast information, read the ACC press release.

In other news…

Bishop Kearney High School’s (Rochester, N.Y.) Jerome Lewis, a 6-4, 225-pound tight end/defensive end, verbally committed to Virginia Tech this week. Lewis was a 5-9, 138-pound freshman when he got the call to play for the varsity squad but has since added 50 pounds and seven inches. According to Lewis, he also had official offers form Syracuse, Pittsburgh and East Carolina.

Lewis is slated to join the 2010 class and play either tight end or flanker for the Hokies. If that’s the case, I would expect Frank Beamer to redshirt Lewis in 2010 considering the extremely talented and deep pools of receivers currently in the program. A pool that will only be juniors by the time this kid arrives.

For more information about Jerome Lewis, check out Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle.

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Cody Journell hasn’t even suited up for the Hokies yet, but already fans are eagerly anticipating his arrival on campus. The Giles High School senior is the only kicker on Tech’s 2009 roster that has a full scholarship and he will have the opportunity to win the starting job when he arrives as a true freshman in August. Following the less-than-encouraging kicking performance at the April 25 spring game, the arrival of such a highly-touted kicker will be a welcome addition in the eyes of many Hokie fans.

The Collegiate Times has a great feature article on Cody Journell.

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Tahrick Peak, the 6-3, 205-pound younger brother of incoming Hokie freshman Nubian Peak, verbally committed to Virginia Tech yesterday according to the Roanoke Times. Peak had an offer from Marshall, so he’s not a highly sought-after recruit. But often it’s those diamond-in-the-rough types that have turned out to be the some of the best players to come through Tech.

Take John Engelberger and Andre Davis. Engelberger was a walk-on at Virginia Tech and left the program as one of the most feared defensive lineman in college football. He is about to enter his 10th NFL season, and he’s not a journeyman – he’s only played for two teams.

Andre Davis didn’t receive one DI-A offer to play football, but the Tech coaches got a tape of him and thought they saw something in him, so they brought him to Tech and the rest is history. Davis helped lead the Hokies, along with Michael Vick and a cast of many, to the 2000 NCAA Championship game against Florida State. Davis is about to begin his 8th season in the NFL.

So, even though the Hokies are landing more big profile recruits like Logan Thomas and Ryan Williams, sometimes it’s the guys that fly under the radar that end up leaving a bigger mark on the program and the fans. That is how Virginia Tech got to where it is today – by recruiting the blue-collar kids with a chip on their shoulders and coaching ‘em up to believe they can beat anyone, anytime, anywhere. And if Tech ever wants to win a national championship, they will need those kind of players.

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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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Danville (George Washington) running back David Wilson and Lynchburg (Brookville) tight end/quarterback/wide receiver Logan Thomas headlined an impressive 2009 recruiting class for the Hokies.

Wilson is the No. 4 rated RB in the country according to Rivals and rushed for 2,291 yards and 35 touchdowns – both school records – in his senior year. I talked to some veteran sports journalists who covered Wilson and they all say that he is the best high school RB they’ve ever seen come out of the state and that he could easily start for the Hokies next season.

That would be quite an accomplishment given the crowded stable of backs the Hokies will have in 2009. For starters, there is rising sophomore Darren Evans who rushed for a Tech freshman record 1,265 yards and 11 TDs last season. Also returning will be Josh Oglesby and Kenny Lewis Jr. Oglesby, who took over as the No. 2 back after Lewis suffered a torn Achilles. Then there is Ryan Williams who redshirted last season. Now you add Wilson and Pulaski’s Nubian Peak to the mix.

How the backfield situation will play out is anybody’s guess, but using a little common sense, you would have Evans at No. 1 and then let Oglesby, Lewis, Williams and Wilson compete for the No. 2 spot. Now, considering Lewis will likely still be rehabbing his Achilles in the spring (not sure of his timetable at this point), Oglesby and Williams will get quite a few snaps giving them an edge over Lewis and Wilson heading into the fall practice schedule. I’m guessing here, but I’d say Evans No. 1, Williams No. 2 and Oglesby No. 3. I’m not discounting Lewis, but an Achilles is a tough injury from which to come back, so until we see what he can do, I’ll put him at No. 4, but he’s a leader and a dedicated player, so I fully expect him to work his way back up the depth chart. As for Wilson, I think he may have the natural ability to play right away, but the question is, can he pick up the blocking schemes? That’s what plagued Oglesby and Williams this past season. Peak will likely move to defense.

As for the wide receivers, again, the Hokies will be loaded at this position. In addition to the fab four freshmen from last year – Danny Coale (freshman record for receptions), Jarrett Boykin, Xavier Boyce and Dyrell Roberts, the Hokies will get back Brandon Dillard who missed last season with a torn Achilles. And of course, don’t forget D.J. Coles who played at Fork Union last season.

We’ll examine more positions, both offense and defense throughout the off-season, but for a more detailed look at the 2009 recruiting class and to hear coach Beamer talk about them, click here.

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Three-star defensive end Landford Collins of Stafford High School announced on Thursday that he will play football at Virginia Tech. Collins is a 6-4, 240-pound defensive end and he chose the Hokies over Virginia, Penn State and 10 other Division I-A programs. This brings Tech’s 2009 class to 19 commitments. The national signing day is Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Read more about Collins:

TechSideline.com
The Free Lance Star

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After only one season as the Virginia Tech Hokies place kicker, the Hokies got some good news as All-Met kicker Andrew Lloyd of James Wood High School accepted a preferred walk-on position with the Hokies for next season. Lloyd can also punt.

Read more at the Washington Post.

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No big surprise, but 4-star high school QB Kevin Newsome chose Penn State over Virginia Tech, Boston College and Ohio State during a press conference this evening.

Read more here.

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Highly sought-after high school quarterback Kevin Newsome said he will announce his decision at a press conference Tuesday evening. Newsome, a 4-star prospect, committed to Michigan but withdrew his committment after Rich Rodriguez took over as coach. Since reopening his search, he has named four schools as finalists: Virginia Tech and Boston College from the ACC and Penn State and Ohio State from the Big 10.

Stay tuned! VTHokieFans.com will post his decision as soon as it is announced. Keep your fingers crossed!

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Virginia Tech got its 15th verbal commitment for the 2009 recruiting class today from Kory Gough, an offensive lineman from Liberty High School in Bealeton, VA. According to Techsideline.com, Tech offensive line coach Curt Newsome saw Gough’s game on Friday night and offered the 6-6, 262-pound lineman a scholarship. Gough didn’t waste any time picking the Hokies over Arkansas, East Carolina, Marshall and Army, and could possibly greyshirt for the Hokies, meaning that he would not enroll until January 2010.

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