I’d like to begin by going on record that by far my biggest disappointment of the spring was the cancellation of the Spring Game.  Obviously, this was no one’s fault, but I was bummed out anyway.  I really get into the Spring Game and I was looking forward to watching the 1st team offense compete against the 2nd team defense in a true “game-like” environment in Lane Stadium in front of 40,000 fans.

I really believe that the offense was starting to click a little bit and the Spring Game provided the perfect venue for those guys to turn it on and hit some big plays.  In particular, I was looking for a big day from Michael Holmes .  I wasn’t really looking for the 2nd team offense to do much, particularly with Mark Leal out, but it would have been fun to see if the 2nd offensive line could make some strides against a really talented defensive line.

Oh well, it was not meant to be, and the Hokies’ coaching staff accomplished their primary objective for the Spring Game regardless as they reeled in a number of big time recruits, including the top QB on their board and top offensive linemen in the state.  Both of these were positions of major need for this class.

Overall, I have to say that I am pretty pleased with the results of spring practice and the strides that were made.  The offense came out and looked crisp and well disciplined, getting in and out of the huddle.  They played fast and with a sense of urgency.  This type of scrimmage discipline and pace is fairly new for the VT offense, only going back the last three years or so that I have noticed.  In previous years, I remember watching the scrimmages and seeing what I thought was a totally different tempo and intensity from the defense in practice than the offense.  Not so the last few years.  The defense looked great, as always.  Those guys really bring high levels of energy & enthusiasm, and it starts with their coaches.  Foster’s coaches are always the loudest and most vocal guys out there, and the addition of Cornell Brown has only added to that element.

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