I believe I’ve transitioned to the point where North Carolina is the game I circle on my calendar when the schedule comes out each year. One of the reasons for that is because I recognize so many names on the UNC roster. They have turned into what UVA was about 20 years ago, in terms of name recognition.

Go back and watch the 1995 and 1996 games between Tech and UVA and you’ll recognize a ton of great UVA players from the state of Virginia: the Barber brothers, Jamie Sharper, Shannon Taylor, James Farrior, Anthony Poindexter, etc. The Hokies and Hoos had a lot of guys who were household names to fans from the state of Virginia. Many of those players grew up competing against each other in high school. That isn’t the case when VT and UVA play these days.

Now that Virginia’s program has reached rock bottom, the Hokies find themselves competing with UNC on the recruiting trail a lot more than their in-state rival. I took a look through UNC’s depth chart this morning and recognized a lot of names that I remember from the recruiting trail. Let me refresh your memory…

LT Bentley Spain (Jr.): The Hokies offered the Charlotte native, though he never showed much interest. He starts at left tackle.

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