Flowers Named All-American

Now that the 2006 regular season is over, All-American teams are starting to
be announced. Several Virginia Tech players have already been honored, and
interestingly, the most decorated player thus far had little hype heading into
the start of the season.

Brandon Flowers has earned the most All-American honors so far. He was named
a 2nd Team All-American by Scout.com, and a 3rd Team All-American by the
Associated Press.

Flowers joins Anthony Midget (1999), Ronyell Whitaker (2001), DeAngelo Hall
(2003) and Jimmy Williams (2005) as the fifth Virginia Tech cornerback to earn
All-American status. He is also the youngest Tech cornerback from an eligibility
standpoint to be named an All-American. He joins a long list of past Virginia
Tech All-Americans from the defensive side of the ball.

Flowers had an outstanding season in his first year as a starter. He led the ACC
in pass breakups with 18 and passes defended with 21. He also had three
interceptions, two of which came in Virginia Tech’s big win over Miami. He had
7.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with 3.5 sacks.

Flowers was also named an Honorable Mention All-American by SI.com. Virginia
Tech linebacker Vince Hall, wide receiver Eddie Royal and running back Branden
Ore were also named Honorable Mention by SI.com. Royal made the list as a punt
returner.

True freshman offensive guard Sergio Render has also been honored. He was
named 1st Team Freshman All-American by Rivals.com, and 2nd Team Freshman
All-American by Scout.com. Render started all 12 games at right guard this
season, and earned ACC Lineman of the Week honors after his performance against
Wake Forest.

More All-American teams will be announced soon, and there will likely be more
honors for some of the players listed above.

Virginia Tech will resume football practice on Saturday, December 16. The
Hokies will hold four days of practice, and the players can then go home for
break following practice on December 19.

Branden Ore will practice in a limited basis in these four days of practices
in Blacksburg. The training staff feels it is important that he rest his ankle
as much as possible and that he not re-injure it before the trip to Atlanta.

The team won’t practice again until after they arrive in Atlanta. The
Hokies will be using Georgia Tech’s practice facilities to prepare for the
Chick-fil-A Bowl. Tech’s first practice in Atlanta will be on Christmas Day
(Monday), when they will begin their normal game week preparations. Preparations
will end with the normal walk-through the day before the game.

The Hokies will then take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on
Saturday, December 30. The game will kickoff at 8pm and it will be televised by
ESPN.