Daily Discussion # 4: Three's Still A Crowd

“We Will Prevail, We Will Prevail, We Are Virginia Tech.”

Just as they were spoken two years ago on April 17th, a day after the tragedy, those words still echo in my mind whenever I’m down about something.

After losing our star running back, Darren Evans, to an all-so-common ACL tear; I really could feel the wind being sucked out of the Hokies sails.

Coming off of a media day where the players and coaches were both excited about this year possibly being “The Year,” the team received their first set back and it could be one that costs the Hokies a shot at the title.

However, if a major injury were to happen, having it happen at one of our deepest positions saves us from losing all hope. Sophomore Josh Oglesby will now inherit the leadership role from Evans, as Josh is the only back left that has any game experience whatsoever.

The Hokies do have two promising freshmen in Ryan Williams, who dazzled the crowd in Lane Stadium back on April 25th, and High School All-American David Wilson.

Also, the coaches did receive some positive news about Kenny Lewis, who should be able to play after week 8 of this season if need be. Lewis is coming off a 4th surgery on his Achilles (1 major one to repair the tendon, 3 to deal with infections) and barring any setbacks; Lewis could provide a small role on this team this fall.

Even with the loss of Evans, the Hokies should still be able to manage a solid ground game this season. Williams and Wilson are talented enough to become impact players as the season goes along just like Evans did last season.

The big question will be, how will these kids fair against an Alabama defense that will be light years quicker than anything either one of these guys have ever faced?

That will be a hard question to answer until around midnight eastern standard time on September 6th.

Until then, I have no doubts this team will prevail through any adversity they face. Just like Nikki Giovanni said, “We Will Prevail, We Will Previal, We Are Virginia Tech!”