Hokies at a glance

2001 schedule Sept. 1 vs. Connecticut Sept. 8 vs. Western Michigan Sept. 22 at Rutgers Sept. 29 vs. Central Florida Oct. 6 at West Virginia Oct. 13 vs. Boston College Oct. 27 vs. Syracuse Nov. 3 at Pittsburgh Nov. 10 at Temple Nov. 17 at Virginia Dec. 1 vs. Miami (Fla.) 2000 results (11-1, 6-1 Big East) Akron W 52-23 2-0 at East Carolina W 45-28 Rutgers W 49-0 at Boston College W 48-34 Temple W 35-13 West Virginia W 48-20 at Syracuse W 22-14 Pittsburgh W 37-34 at Miami (Fla.) L 41-21 at Central Florida W 44-21 Virginia W 42-21 vs. Clemson W 41-20

OFFENSE
Now, with Vick an Atlanta Falcon, the reins are being turned over to fourth-year junior Grant Noel, although three incoming freshmen, headed by Parade All-American Bryan Randall, will try to challenge for the starting job. Since Noel improved each day in the spring and has reportedly increased his arm strength since then, he is expected to open the season as the Hokies' No. 1 signal-caller. Randall, though, combines a strong arm with outstanding mobility, so it will be interesting to see if he can push his way onto the field. The other incoming freshmen QBs are Chris Clifton and Will Hunt.

With the inexperience at QB, the Hokies are fortunate to have a super blue-chip feature back to carry the load. Lee Suggs, a fourth-year junior, developed last season into a scoring machine, combining a hard-nosed, determined style with breakaway speed. In the spring, he was reportedly stronger than ever, while tying for the fastest 40 time (4.28) of any player on the Hokie squad. When Beamer landed big-time recruit Kevin Jones (who plans on wearing Vick's old No. 7), it was generally assumed that he would be the primary backup to Suggs. But as Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend." In the spring, junior Keith Burnell reportedly put on quite a show, rushing for 182 yards and two TDs in the spring game. One of those gallops was an 89-yard TD run. Burnell also matched Suggs when it came to straight-line speed, posting a 40 time of 4.28 as well. Senior Jarrett Ferguson again will be working at FB.

The Hokies are in great shape at the wide-receiver position, with senior Andre Davis the star of the show. He'll work opposite another talented senior, Emmett Johnson, with tall (6-4½) and athletically gifted sophomore Ernest Wilford the third option. Even though Wilford missed the spring due to a knee injury, he is expected to be 100 percent and ready to go in August. Beamer and the offensive staff are reported to be extremely high on redshirt freshman speedster Richard Johnson. At TE, senior Browning Wynn returns as the starter.

Besides breaking in a new QB, the Hokies must replace four starters on the offensive line. The backup OTs of a year ago, senior Matt Wincek and junior Anthony Davis, have plenty of experience and should be able to perform at an acceptable level. Center Steve DeMasi -- a fifth-year senior who came to the Hokies as a walk-on in '97 -- returns to anchor the line. The big concern is guard, where inexperience could be a problem. Remember, Matt Lehr, now with the Dallas Cowboys, was a top-flight trenchman for the Hokies the past three years.

DEFENSE
Defensively, the only graduation losses sustained were at OLB (Nick Sorensen) and rover (Cory Bird), although Bird turned out to be a key performer not only in the secondary but on special teams. Overall, the defense appears to be in great shape, with plenty of starting talent, experience and depth.

Along the front four, the Hokies have the pluggers inside with veteran seniors Chad Beasley and David Pugh as well as the consistent outside pass rush supplied by third-year sophomore Nathaniel Adibi and junior Lamar Cobb at DE. Also seeing action will be sophomore Jim Davis, a key reserve at DE who recorded sacks on back-to-back plays against Clemson in the Gator Bowl. By the way, Pugh (ankle) and Beasley (foot) were two of five defensive starters who sat out spring practice due to injury.

Keying the second line of defense will be the Hokies' leading tackler last year, senior Ben Taylor. The 6-2, 233-pounder ranks as one of the top collegiate linebackers in the nation. Even though he sat out spring practice due to an ankle injury that required offseason surgery, Taylor figures to be at full strength and ready to go for fall practice. Physically talented senior Jake Houseright also underwent offseason surgery (on his knee) and is working his way back to full strength. If the The 6-3, 240-pound Houseright isn't ready to go early on, senior Brian Welch is a capable backup.

Even though rover Cory Bird has moved on to the Indianapolis Colts, the Hokies will benefit from the return of CB Larry Austin from the injury list. Austin brings 4.26 recovery speed to the deep patrol. His replacement last season, sophomore Eric Green, had four interceptions last year. On the other side, junior Ronyell Whitaker nabbed five picks. Junior FS Willie Pile led the defense with six interceptions, then was forced to sit out spring practice after undergoing shoulder surgery following last season. In order to fill the void at rover, senior Kevin McCadam has made the switch from free safety. Regarded as one of the team's best athletes, the former juco transfer appears to be primed for an impressive campaign.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore Carter Warley returns to handle the kicking duties, but a change at punter appears imminent. Incumbent Robert Peaslee struggled last year with just a 35.3-yard average, and Beamer was forced to use LB Ben Taylor to punt on occasion.

This season, look for redshirt freshman Vinnie Burns to handle the punting duties. In the spring, he reportedly was booming high spirals, some of which covered 55 to 60 yards and were unreturnable. The return game should be strong. Andre Davis will bring back punts, while Lee Suggs and Ronyell Whitaker will be the kickoff returners. The potential for some nice returns obviously exists.

Overview: Considering the Hokies' skill-position talent and their clamp-down defense, there is no question that they would have been the favorite to win their first national championship had Michael Vick returned. Now, though, with inexperienced QB Grant Noel opening as the starter (true freshman Bryan Randall could force his way into the mix), the formula for success definitely changes. Suggs will be the featured performer and Heisman candidate. It will be interesting to see if the restructured offensive line gels quickly. This is certainly a key.

Defensively, with such a potentially dominant pass rush, outstanding play at LB led by Taylor and a veteran secondary, you would expect dominant performances from this group throughout season. This is assuming that all the injured players from the spring are back at full strength. A real plus would be an improved punting situation; redshirt freshman Burns must do the job when it counts as he did in the spring.