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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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