Virginia Tech Football: 5 Things We Learned from Hokies' Week 1 Win

The first game of the college football season is often very telling. Virginia Tech fans can only hope that is true, as the Hokies were one of the most impressive teams of the 2011 opening weekend.

With six new starters on defense and a new quarterback and starting tailback, there was plenty to learn from Saturday's game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

Here are the five most notable lessons we gleaned at Bleacher Report.

Antoine Hopkins Leads a Much Improved Defensive Line

The defensive line was one of the biggest disappointments for the Virginia Tech Hokies a season ago. The Hokie defense recorded a paltry 34 sacks all season.

Last Saturday's game showed that this year will be different. The front four was in Appalachian State quarterback DeAndre Presley's face constantly, hitting him and forcing him to make bad decisions.

James Gayle looked very fast coming off the corner (he had one sack), and Antoine and Derrick Hopkins were pushing through the middle all day.

The sheer amount of pressure they got on Presley and the way in which they manhandled the Mountaineer offensive line proves that they are in fact much improved.

Mike O'Cain Is a Good Play-Caller

Saturday's contest was the debut of quarterback coach Mike O'Cain's play-calling for Virginia Tech Hokies football.

I was pleased with what I saw. O'Cain mixed up the calls well and worked the ball around to a variety of players (most notably fledgling receiver D.J. Coles and a touchdown pass to new tight end Randall Dunn).

More importantly, he eased Logan Thomas in with high percentage throws early on, before letting him air the ball out several times and build some confidence.

While he may not have unleashed the trick plays and excitement some Hokie fans were hoping for, he managed the game in a better and less predictable way than Bryan Stinespring.

The former North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach and the man who brought in Thomas and groomed Tyrod Taylor will be a welcome change from his predecessor.

Bruce Taylor and Tariq Edwards Lead a Very Fast Unit

One of the most distinctive things I noticed about the defense Saturday was that they are very, very fast. This unit might rival Darryl Tapp and Brandon Flowers 2005 starting 11 in team speed.

New starting backer Tariq Edwards is as fast as advertised, and Bruce Taylor was flying all over the field, looking like he wants to move up to First-Team All-ACC this season.

The secondary (with Antone Exum, Kyle Fuller, Eddie Whitley and All-American Jayron Hosley) is very fast as I expected, but what surprised me was the speed of the front seven and big guys like Taylor and James Gayle.

David Wilson Is a Heisman Contender

I don't care that Appalachian State is an FCS team. David Wilson looked absolutely phenomenal against the Mountaineers.

Wilson burst through holes at what looked like 4.29 speed (though my eye is untrained) and got around the edge several times when defenders were in the backfield and it looked like he would take a loss.

In limited carries last season, the Virginia Tech Hokies' star running back struggled in finding his running lanes. Perhaps he was trying too hard (with his few opportunities at tailback) because his vision was spot-on Saturday.

Wilson looks to build on his 162-yard, three-touchdown performance against the East Carolina Pirates, whose Swiss cheese defense gave up 220 rushing yards to the South Carolina Gamecocks. He might be able to eclipse 200 yards this week.

Logan Thomas Is Not There Yet

Logan Thomas is going to take some time to develop into the quality of quarterback Frank Beamer and his Virginia Tech Hokies had last season.

That shouldn't surprise anyone, since it took Tyrod Taylor almost two years to really become a complete passer.

While Thomas showed some flashes in the win Saturday, he under-threw a few balls and didn't see open receivers on several occasions.

That being said, he looked much better as the game progressed, which is a good sign. He likely entered his first game starting with more than a few jitters. His final numbers (9-of-19 for 149 yards and two touchdowns) were good enough that he should face the East Carolina Pirates with more confidence.