Spring Practice 2005 Starts Today

Now that the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team’s postseason run is over, there won’t be any time for the
hardcore Hokie sports fans to catch their collective breath, because the much anticipated 2005 Spring Football practice
begins today in Blacksburg. The Hokies have been working hard in the weight room since their 16-13 loss to Auburn in the
Sugar Bowl, and Tech fans are anxious to catch a glimpse of what could be a very special 2005 season.

Practice was originally scheduled to begin Thursday, but many players had class conflicts, so Coach Beamer decided to
move it up one day. The Hokies will practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, until practice concludes
with the Spring Game on April 16.

The 2005 Hokies return the vast majority of the starters from last year’s ACC Championship team. Expectations are
high, and it will be interesting to see if this year’s squad can do better in the face of high preseason rankings than
Tech teams of the recent past.

Despite the early hype, there are a few question marks that Frank Beamer & Co. hope to get answered by the Spring
Game. Most notably, who will step up to start beside Jimmy Williams in the secondary, who will man the center and right
tackle spots along the offensive line, and can Sean Glennon or Cory Holt give Marcus Vick a serious run for the starting
quarterback position?

After exciting the Hokie Nation with a 4.28 forty yard dash time in winter testing, Marcus Vick will begin spring
practice as the #3 quarterback, per the most recent depth chart on Beamerball.com. Sean Glennon is listed as the starter
for now, with Cory Holt as the backup. The Tech coaches are not giving the job to Vick right away after he missed all of
the 2004 season, and will make him earn the job this spring and, if necessary, this fall.

Along the offensive line, the biggest change is the moving of Will Montgomery from center to left guard. Montgomery
started every game at center in 2004 and did a very good job, but his natural position is guard. The offensive line
would gain a great boost if someone else can step up at center, allowing Montgomery to permanently move back to guard.
Currently, r-Jr. Danny McGrath is listed as the starter, followed by r-Fr. Ryan Shuman. Those players will battle it out
for the starting role this spring. If neither player impresses offensive line coach Bryan Stinespring enough, Montgomery
could be moved back to center this fall.

The right tackle spot is wide open as well, and it appears that Sr. Reggie Butler and r-Fr. Nick Marshman are the
frontrunners at this time. Butler, who started half of last season at guard before being replace by Jason Murphy, is
listed as the starter at this point, with Marshman as his backup. Brandon Frye, who is currently listed as the backup at
left tackle, will be given a shot here as well. The offensive line would benefit most from either Marshman or Frye
winning the job, which would allow Butler to be a versatile backup and see time at both guard and tackle, greatly
increasing the depth along the offensive front.

In the secondary, Jimmy Williams has the boundary corner position locked up. His current backup is r-Fr. Theo Miller.
At field corner, r-So. Roland Minor is the favorite to win the job. Minor flourished in a backup/nickel back role last
season and could be ready to have a breakout year. Behind him is r-Fr. Brandon Flowers, who wowed the Lane Stadium Crowd
when he returned an interception for a touchdown against Western Michigan last year. Flowers later had a leg injury that
forced him to miss the rest of the regular season, and he was granted a medical red shirt.

Free safety and Rover are much bigger question marks than the cornerback positions. At free safety, defensive backs
coach Lorenzo Ward must find a way to replace the athletic and reliable Vinnie Fuller. So. D.J. Parker has been moved
from cornerback, and at this point is listed atop the depth chart. R-Sr. Justin Hamilton has been moved over from
tailback and will also have a chance to win the job. Highly touted r-Fr. Kent Hicks has a chance as well, and this
spring will be critical for him.

At Rover, r-Jr. Cary Wade is the starter by default with the loss of James Griffin. Wade saw very little action on
defense last year and has very little game experience at the position. Wade does have experience on special teams. His
backup is D.J. Walton, who is even less experienced than Wade. R-So. Corey Gordon has moved over from free safety and
might be the dark horse candidate to win the job. Gordon is big, fast and has a lot of athletic ability. He just needs
to find a position where he is comfortable, and learn it.

The dreaded 6 a.m. workouts ended this past Monday for the Hokies, with seniors Will Montgomery and James Anderson
earning perfect honors. There were only four workouts this year instead of the normal six, and Montgomery and Anderson
were the only two players the Tech coaching staff felt displayed maximum effort in each workout.

That Montgomery and Anderson won the awards is hardly surprising, considering their backgrounds. Montgomery is a
walk-on who has always been known for his work ethic. He nearly played his true freshman year, worked his way into the
rotation the next year, and has been a solid starter every since. Montgomery represents everything the Virginia Tech
Lunch Pail mentality stands for.

Anderson was not a highly touted recruit coming out of high school, but the Tech coaches thought he had good down the
road potential, providing he develop a strong work ethic. He has. After struggling as a freshman at the backer position
in 2002, Anderson was moved to whip linebacker. After standing out on special teams in 2003, he burst into the starting
lineup last spring and never looked back. He is poised to have a great senior season. Montgomery and Anderson, along
with others such as Darryl Tapp and Jeff King, are ready to step up and provide the great senior leadership that the
Hokies had in 2004.