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I was working on a look back at the 2005 WVU game, but a section I was doing for that article turned out to be too big.  Thus, it’s getting an article all to itself.

Virginia Tech’s 2005 defense was comprised almost entirely of in-state players.  All of the starters – save one – hailed from the state of Virginia.  Nine of those 10 starters were from the Tidewater area, or the 757 as we traditionally call it: Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, etc.

Actually, if you think about it, most of the main offensive guys were from Virginia as well: Marcus Vick, Cedric Humes, Mike Imoh, Eddie Royal, Jimmy Martin, Will Montgomery, Jeff King, and probably a couple of others that I’m forgetting about.  However, for the sake of the length of this article, we’re just going to focus on the defense.

Here’s a list of the 2005 defensive starters:

DE Chris Ellis : Hampton, Bethel HS
DT Carlton Powell : Chesapeake, Great Bridge HS
DT Jonathan Lewis : Richmond, Varina HS
DE Darryl Tapp : Chesapeake, Deep Creek HS
LB Vince Hall : Chesapeake, Western Branch HS
LB Xavier Adibi : Hampton, Phoebus HS
LB James Anderson : Chesapeake, Deep Creek HS
CB Jimmy F. Williams : Hampton, Bethel HS
FS DJ Parker : Hampton, Phoebus HS
ROV Aaron Rouse : Virginia Beach, First Colonial HS
CB Roland Minor : Washington, DC

Not to mention that Tech’s entire backup defensive line, plus free