Spring Game 2005: Maroon 13, White 0

Blacksburg, VA — Behind a dominating defensive performance, as well as a solid offensive game by quarterback Marcus
Vick and tailback George Bell, the Maroon team left Lane Stadium with a 13-0 shutout victory in the annual Maroon-White
Game on Saturday afternoon, played before approximately 34,000 fans. The game was a defensive dogfight the entire 32
minutes, with only two field goals by Brandon Pace and an interception return for a touchdown by Aaron Rouse to account
for the 13 points. The White team was quarterbacked by Sean Glennon, and the Maroon team was quarterbacked by Marcus
Vick.

Rouse returned a second half Glennon interception 29 yards for a touchdown. Rouse was standing in coverage in a zone
defense, and Glennon inexplicably threw it right into his arms. It was one of three interceptions that Glennon would
throw on the day. To his credit, Glennon was under pressure much of the day, as the defensive lines generally outplayed
the offensive lines.

Glennon’s first interception came early in the second quarter, when he was trying to find wide receiver Josh Morgan
on a post pattern. Morgan was open, but Glennon was late making the read, which allowed cornerback Jimmy Williams to
come from the other side of the field to make an impressive interception. Williams returned the pick 39 yards to the
White 20 yard line, which set up a 34-yard Brandon Pace field goal, giving Maroon a 3-0 lead.

Pace added a 32 yard field goal with 46 seconds remaining in the first half, giving Maroon a 6-0 lead heading into
intermission.

Glennon’s third interception came on a tipped pass intercepted by walk on defensive back Jesse Irvin late in the game

Marcus Vick showed flashes of the play that practice observers have been seeing all spring, but it is difficult to
perform at the highest level when the rosters are divided among starters and backups. Vick finished the game 9-17 for
107 and one interception. The interception was intended for tight end Duane Brown, who has been a favorite target of
Vick’s this spring. Brown was running a seam route, and Vick didn’t put enough air underneath it. Redshirt freshman
cornerback Theo Miller was able to intercept the slightly under thrown pass on a nice diving play.

Protecting a comfortable lead, the Maroon team was able to run the clock by establishing a decent rushing game with
redshirt freshman running back George Bell. Bell finished the game with 37 yards on 10 carries. Senior running back
Cedric Humes was the game’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 5 times for 44 yards for the White team. Humes’ senior
counterpart in the backfield, Mike Imoh, sat out the game with a minor injury.

Other standouts on the offensive side of the ball were sophomore receivers Josh Hyman and Justin Harper. Hyman
finished the game with 3 catches for 22 yards, while Harper caught 2 passes for 39 yards. Both players played on the
Maroon team. By contrast, the White team’s leading receiver was redshirt freshman running back Branden Ore, who had
two receptions for four yards.

Besides the aforementioned Aaron Rouse and Jimmy Williams, there were other defensive standouts as well.
Redshirt-freshman walk-on defensive end Orion Martin, towards whom Tech coaches have been very complimentary this
spring, was the game leader in tackles with 7. He also had 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Martin played for the
White team, and did a very good job in containing Marcus Vick. Both of his sacks came on the same possession, and one
other time he stopped Vick in the backfield on an option. Martin received one of four Top Newcomer Awards at halftime,
along with Brandon Flowers, George Bell and Ryan Shuman.

• Cory Holt, who has missed about half of Spring Practice with an elbow injury, did not play.

• Brandon Pace was 2-2 on field goal attempts for the day, connecting on attempts from 32 and 34 yards.

• The Maroon Team featured 7 projected starters on defense and 5 projected starters on offense.

• Nic Schmitt handled the punting duties for both teams, punting a total of seven times for a 42.0 yards, including
  punts of 55 and 51 yards.

• There were only five total penalties for 43 yards in the game.

The following awards were handed out at half time of the game.

MVP (George Preas Award)

• Offense – Jeff King
• Defense – Chris Ellis
• Specialist – Brandon Pace

Outstanding Leadership (President’s Award)

• Offense – Will Montgomery
• Defense – Darryl Tapp

Outstanding Leadership (Don Williams TEAM UNITED Award)

• Offense – Danny McGrath
• Defense – Jimmy Williams

Most Improved Player (Dr. Richard Bullock Award)

• Offense – Brandon Gore
• Defense – Cary Wade
• Specialist – Nic Schmitt

Top Newcomer (Paul Torgersen Award)

• Offense – George Bell, Ryan Shuman
• Defense – Brandon Flowers, Orion Martin

Top Hustler (Frank O. Moseley Award)

• Offense – David Clowney
• Defense – Carlton Powell