The Virginia Tech defense entered spring practice with a lot of questions. It
ended spring practice with a lot of answers, most of which were positive. The
Hokies lost some important starters to graduation, and also lost mike linebacker
Barquell Rivers to an injury, so there was plenty of reason for concern. As
usual, Bud Foster’s unit made a lot of progress.

These were the main goals of the defense heading into the spring …

• Find a suitable replacement at whip
• Get Eddie Whitley ready
• Develop defensive line depth
• Make sure Friday and Drager are capable starters
• Shore up the field (wide) side of the defense

That’s a lot of questions for a Tech defense that is generally very
dependable.

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