Coach Greenberg Agrees to Contract Extension

Hokie fans everywhere received a bit of good news today as Men's Basketball head coach Seth Greenberg has agreed to a contract extension that will keep Seth here for at least six more seasons.  The new agreement should also increase his base pay to over the 1 million mark and end any rumors of Greenberg leaving Blacksburg.

“I am pleased that Coach Greenberg will continue his mission at Virginia Tech and will lead the Hokies for the next six seasons," Jim Weaver said in a press release Friday afternoon.  "He has done an outstanding job in creating a program and environment that has the Hokies competitive year in and year out in the ACC. Under Coach Greenberg’s tutelage, the Hokies have the fourth-best regular season record in the ACC and he has created one of the best programs in the country."

Greenberg has amassed a 132-94 record at Virginia Tech since his arrival in 2003.  The Hokies have finished in the top four in the ACC four times in just six years in the league.  Next years team will return all five starters and could potentially start off the season in the top 25.

Spring Position Battles: Offense

With the Hokies basketball team suffering a tough loss to the Rhode Island Rams, it's not time to slide seamlessly over to Frank Beamer's department and look at some of the position battles that will be occurring this spring. The offense returns eight starters this spring with the only losses coming from the offensive line and tight end.

The Hokies will have to find a new left tackle and left guard as well as a replacement from Greg Boone at tight end. The good news is that the Hokies have plenty of depth waiting in the wings.

I'm going to do a more in-depth look at each position over on www.virginiatechfan.com so for the purpose of this blog I'm going to do a quick sketch of the offense this spring.

Quarterback

It's been a quick three years for Tyrod Taylor but much like last season, he will enter this spring in full control of this Virginia Tech offense.  The biggest question mark is who will be the man standing behind him if something were to happen.  Sophomore JuJu Clayton played well in what little playing time he received last season.  His biggest highlight was his 81 yard touchdown pass to Marcus Davis against Boston College.  If JuJu can produce this spring then odds are he'll have a good shot at keeping his backup job.

Logan Thomas will be JuJu's challenger and will be a worthy opponent this spring.  Thomas brings his 6'6" frame and rocket of an arm to the field this spring, but his performance will decide his fate.  After a redshirt season I am intrigued to see how much Thomas has progressed as a Quarterback.  If he plays well I have a feeling he'll eventually unseat JuJu as the Hokies backup quarterback this spring.

Also keep an eye on true freshman Ricardo Young as this will be his first action in a Hokie uniform. 

Running Back

The running back order won't change much from last season except for the addition of a healthy Darren Evans.  I would expect Williams to keep his starting job and split carries with Evans who will serve as the primary number two option.  The biggest storyline to watch will be the play of Josh Oglesby and the potential redshirting of David Wilson.

Also, keep an eye on Tony Gregory.  He had a great spring last year and ended up redshirting since he needed to add a few pounds. 

Wide Receiver

The Hokies starting three will remain in place this spring with Boykin, Coale, and Roberts receiving work with the first string offense.  However, there are a few kids behind them that could make a splash this season.  First is Marcus Davis who had all but surpassed Xavier Boyce by the end of the year.  Davis had a up and down first year as he caught a couple touchdown passes but also had a few key drops as well.

Two more players to watch out for are redshirt freshmen Nubian Peak and Ben Barber.  Peak is a burner but is a tad on the small side.  If Peak can find a niche and stick with it he could see some playing time possibly this fall if not then in the future.  Ben Barber is a thick wideout who could earn a few snaps this fall although his number probably won't get called until next year at the earliest.

Lastly, there is D.J. Coles, Austin Fuller, Patrick Terry, and Xavier Boyce.  Odds are two or three of these players will switch positions by the end of the spring.  The most likely is Boyce, who should have started at free safety from day one, and D.J. Coles.  Coles could get moved over to Whip linebacker even though it seems like we have a bajillion Whip linebackers on roster already.  Terry and Fuller will both stay at wide receiver but I wouldn't expect either one to make a huge splash this spring.

Tight End

The Hokies will have to replace both Greg Boone and Sam Wheeler who departed last season.  As it stands now Senior Andre Smith, Sophomore Randall Dunn, and redshirt freshman Eric Martin will be the one's called upon to fill that void.  Smith has had an up and down year last season, struggling to catch the ball at times while also making a few sweet catches as well.  With the tight end becoming a dieing position in our offense, I could see 20 or less receptions for this group this fall.  Needless to say, we need to recruit some tight ends in this 2011 class.

Offensive Line

The right side of the line will stay intact from last season with Senior Beau Warren at Center, Junior Jaymes Brooks at right guard, and junior Blake Dechristopher at right tackle.  The left side of the line is a bit iffy at this time but junior Greg Nosal will more than likely start at left guard and sophomore Nick Becton will start at left tackle.

For the first time in what seems like forever, the Hokies will have some quality depth on the line as well.  Sophomore Michael Via will backup at both center and left tackle.  Sophomore Vinston Painter and freshman David Wang will provide solid backup at both guard positions and junior Andrew Lanier will backup Dechristopher at right tackle. 

This unit should be the best offensive line within the last eight years.  There may be some shuffling around to maximize the potential of some of these players but by the end of the spring, this offensive line should be pushing the defensive line around.  That's something we haven't seen in Blacksburg in a long, long time.

Virginia Tech Dominates Georgia Tech 88-82

Virginia Tech’s head coach Seth Greenberg received some bad news before the game as Tech’s starting shooting guard Dorenzo Hudson would have to spend the day on the bench in a dress shirt and khaki pants due to injury.  Just as the team rallied around Hudson when Delaney was MIA against Seton Hall earlier this year, the team would do the same today.

Malcolm Delaney put on a show in Atlanta, torching the Yellow Jackets for 32 points.  However, the two most surprising performances came from Hudson’s replacement Manny Atkins and the Hokie starting small forward Terrell Bell.  Atkins started for the first time in his young career and played by far his best basketball of the season.  He finished with just five points but chipped in seven rebounds and five assist.

You can read the rest of this article Here.

Jake Johnson Will Move to Defensive End This Spring

With Spring workouts just a few weeks away, the Coaches have already started lining up their two deep for this upcoming season.  One of the main topics floating around on Virginia Tech message boards was a possible position change for the Hokies junior Jake Johnson.  After two seasons at Backer, Jake will switch from outside linebacker to the end position, which is the Hokies boundary defensive end. 

With both Nekos Brown and Jason Worilds departing after last season, Jake will compete with Chris Drager for the starting spot at end while Stephen Friday and some of the younger players compete at the rush end position.

Jake finished last season with 55 tackles in 11 games.  Johnson started at Backer for the first eight games until he was benched in favor of Sophomore Lyndell Gibson.

Ronny Vandyke Commits to the Hokies

Just a few weeks after Signing Day, the Virginia Tech coaching staff was back to work trying to secure another highly touted class.  Saturday was Virginia Tech’s Junior Day and needless to say the event went off with only one hitch caused by a Bud Lite truck running over a fire hydrant.  Some of the recruits had to leave before the Virginia Tech vs. Maryland game but the quality time spent with the coaches was very beneficial.

You can view the entire article here: VTF.com

Hokies Lose Barquell Rivers For 4 Months

According to Beamerball.com, the Hokies will be without their starting Mike Linebacker until August as Barquell tore his his quad during max testing earlier this week.  In his absence, expect Bruce Taylor to take some reps with the first team this spring.  Also, don't be too surprised if Coach Foster gets creative and moves Jake Johnson back inside to help him out with his lack of lateral quickness.