Virginia Tech Football 2012: Latest News, Updates and More from Spring Practice

The Virginia Tech Hokies didn't quite finish last year how they would have liked as they lost the last two games of the season. However, like the saying goes, there is always next year.

This year the Hokies return nine starters on the defensive side of the ball, which should once again be one of the better units in college football. The question marks, though, are on the offensive side as they only return three starters from a year ago. Will the Hokies have enough offensive firepower to compete for an ACC title? Will the offensive line shape up after losing nearly the entire unit?

Those questions and more should be answered in the spring, which recently kicked off for the Hokies as they prepare for the spring game that takes place on April 21.

Stay tuned for all the latest updates involving your Hokies throughout spring practice.

Spring Updates

With the spring game just a day away, here is the spring game preview and 10 things to expect from the game.

Surprised by Virginia Tech Success

Virginia Tech is just a couple days away from the spring game kicking off and while the expectations may not be as high as they have been in the past, some are surprised this program has even made it to where it is at.

Although the Hokies have yet to win a national championship, they have been a very successful program and are one of the top teams in the ACC. Virginia Tech Assistant to the Head Coach and Senior Adviser Billy Hite is still amazed how far this program has come.

“No I didn’t, I honestly didn’t,” said Hite, when asked if he ever expected to see the success Virginia Tech football has had on the field via the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.  “The thing of it is I think Frank Beamer had that vision.”

The Hokies have won double-digit games since 2004 and are 209-98 in the 25 seasons Beamer has been the head coach.

You can check out the Virginia Tech spring game preview here.

Defensive Line Is Looking Sharp

While Virginia Tech has been trying to figure out issues they have on the offensive side of the ball, it's the defensive line that has looked extremely good in the spring. This is a unit that returns nearly everyone on the line and was tied for first in the ACC with 41 sacks.

“It’s a grind. Every spot, you’ve got serious competition in,” sophomore defensive tackle Corey Marshall said via the Washington Post. “There’s no one spot where any guy can just say: ‘I’m good here. I can stop. I’ve arrived.’ I mean we’re competing every day.”

In a couple of recent scrimmages, the defensive line managed to rack up 21 sacks in only 151 ran plays. Some will call that relentless defense, others may call it horrible offensive line play, maybe we'll find out exactly which it is this weekend.

March 29 Updates

The Hokies kicked off practice on March 28, but it was more of getting comfortable on the field again as they took the field in jerseys, shorts and helmets. Although the practice was unfortunately cut short due to lightning, head coach Frank Beamer talked about the controversial BCS bowl loss last season to Michigan:

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It’s [the loss] one of those things you learn from. And the next time, don’t let it get in the officials’ hands [a reference to a Danny Coale touchdown catch in overtime that was overturned by the officials]. We had a chance on third-and-1 and jumped offsides. If we execute and get things done, we don’t put it in the officials’ hands. That’s the biggest thing I’m going to take from this. Let’s take care of this ourselves and don’t put it in the officials’ hands to determine the outcome.

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On the offensive side of the ball, Virginia Tech returns starting quarterback Logan Thomas, but does lose its workhorse in running back David Wilson, who left early for the NFL. Although the loss does hurt the team, Beamer isn't exactly worried due to the fact that many of the replacements have had success at the running back position.

“The good thing is that these guys have had success in the past,” Beamer said. “Their history is they’ve been very successful running the football, so they don’t just forget that overnight. So I think that’s the good part of it.”

The top candidates to replace Wilson include true freshman and 3-star recruit J.C. Coleman, redshirt freshman Michael Holmes and Martin Scales, who spent majority of his time at fullback and on special teams the last two seasons.

Updates

This slideshow will continued to be updated with the latest news, quotes, position battles and more throughout spring practice. Stay tuned for everything involving your Virginia Tech Hokies.