Virginia Tech’s defense was expected to be the team’s strong suit during
spring practice, as usual. But because of some major losses to the NFL such as
Darryl Tapp, Jonathan Lewis, Jimmy Williams and James Anderson, no one was
really sure how they would perform this spring. The Hokies began practice with
question marks along the defensive line and linebacker. All reports indicate
that while Tech might have some new players defensively this year, the group
still appears to be very good.

The Hokies didn’t lose a lot of players off the defense last year, but they
did lose some high quality players. Tapp, Lewis, Anderson and Williams are
expected to be drafted, and it is possible that Justin Hamilton could be as
well. Defensive tackle Tim Sandidge has also drawn NFL interest. That is a lot
of good players to replace, and Tech was expected to have depth problems on the
defensive line and linebacker this spring.

Defensive Line

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