VT Football Notes: Depth Chart Changes at WR and OL

The Virginia Tech football coaches updated their depth chart on BeamerBall.com Monday, and interesting changes
occurred at wide receiver and on the offensive line. Junior wide receiver David Clowney has been moved from flanker to
split end, where he is now first on the depth chart. Clowney has been one of Tech’s biggest playmakers on the practice
fields thus far, and the coaching staff has decided to move him in an effort to get him and flanker Eddie Royal on the
field at the same time.

Royal and Clowney provide the best deep threats of any of the wide receivers on the team. They are also the fastest,
and along with Josh Hyman, appear to be the most polished of the group at this point.

With the position change, we can now clearly see the coaching staff believes that Eddie Royal and David Clowney are
their best receivers at this point. For Clowney to be moved to another position and immediately be listed above
incumbent starter (Josh Hyman) on the depth chart is pretty impressive.

Another player who apparently has done enough to impress the Tech coaches so far is r-Jr. offensive lineman Brandon
Gore. Gore, who is Tech’s biggest offensive lineman at 6-5, 359, has been elevated to the starting position at left
guard. Gore was a highly touted lineman coming out of high school, but until this past spring, made virtually no impact.
He was named most improved offensive player of spring practice and has continued his development through the summer and
into August.

Gore being named starter at left guard allows Will Montgomery to move back to center, where he started every game
last season. Where Montgomery plays this fall is dependent on Gore and junior center Danny McGrath. If McGrath comes
back strong and outperforms Gore, look for Montgomery to move back to left guard, and McGrath to play center. But right
now, it appears that Gore has been more impressive than McGrath.

There has also been major movement along the offensive line among some key reserves. True freshman Sergio Render has
apparently won the backup job at right guard. Meanwhile, the saga of r-So. Tripp Carroll, who was battling Render at
right guard, will continue. Carroll, who has been listed at tackle, guard and center during his VT career, is now back
at center. He is currently listed third behind Montgomery and McGrath.

And finally, r-Fr. Ryan Shuman has been moved from center to left guard. The move of Will Montgomery left true
freshman Antonio North and the injured Matt Welsh at left guard behind Brandon Gore, so Shuman’s move was necessary to
provide depth.

The tackle positions remain the same, with Jimmy Martin and Brandon Frye on the left side, and Reggie Butler and Nick
Marshman manning the right tackle position.

As it stands right now, this is the heaviest starting offensive line that Virginia Tech has ever fielded, though not
the tallest. Going back to the starting lineups each of the last six years, we find:

Pass blocking is still a question mark, but this group should be a solid run blocking unit.

Football season tickets began shipping on Tuesday, August 16. UPS will deliver the tickets using Three Day Delivery.
Some packages may not be mailed out until Wednesday or Thursday because of the large numbers of season tickets ordered,
but most season ticket holders will have their orders in hand by August 26, according to the Ticket Office.

Also, customers with post office boxes will receive their season tickets by First Class Mail. All shipping will be
coordinated from Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Virginia Tech men’s basketball signee A.D. Vassallo recently competed with the under-21 Puerto Rico National Team
in the World Championships. Vassallo played well for his native Puerto Rico, helping them to a seventh place finish
overall.

In eight games in the tournament, Vassallo averaged 8.6 points per game. He shot well from the field, hitting 51.9%
of his shots, including 41.2% from three point range. Vassallo also had seven steals.

Vassallo shined in the two games he played against a United States team that featured Duke guard J.J. Redick and Wake
Forest guard Justin Gray. Vassallo averaged 15 points per game against the United States, shot 59.1% from the field and
60% from three point range.

Vassallo, a 6-6 small forward, will join Seth Greenberg’s team when school opens next week. Classes begin Monday,
August 22nd.