With all the open positions on the Hokie football team this spring, from
quarterback to tailback to offensive line, finding the players to man those
positions is a priority. But Virginia Tech also seeks more disciplined behavior,
and how the Hokies comport themselves on and off the field will go a long way
towards determining their success in 2006, perhaps as much as deciding what
players will man the two-deep.

Back in late 2003 and early 2004, in the wake of a poor 2003 season marked by
turmoil, we ran a series here on TSL called “The State of the
Program.” One installment in the 7-part series was named Discipline,
Attitude, and Leadership, and it detailed a breakdown in on-field and
off-field discipline that contributed to a terrible finish to that forgettable
season.

Where discipline was concerned, the 2005 football season resembled the 2003
season in many ways, and some of the old issues from 2003 resurfaced. If you
think that’s a preposterous statement, it’s not. Take a look at penalty
statistics from the two seasons:

Penalty Stats – 2003 and 2005
Season	Games	Total Penalties-Yards	(PF/Unsportsmanlike)
2003	13	82-712	18
2005	13	81-697	22
PF = personal foul; Unsportsmanlike = unsportsmanlike conduct

The overall penalty totals for the 2005 Hokies were eerily similar to the 2003
Hokies, and the numbers show a surprising fact: the 2005 Hokies committed more
personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties than their 2003
counterparts.

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