COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Tech looks to bounce back

BY ALLEN GREGORY

BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

Many Virginia Tech football fans are still reeling over the Oct. 25 nightmare at Lane Stadium.

After enduring a steady rain for over three hours, the Tech faithful watched their Hokies fall by a 14-10 margin to second-ranked Boston College in the final seconds.

The next challenge for No. 10 Virginia Tech comes tonight at Grant Field against ACC rival Georgia Tech. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

While the top two tailbacks for Georgia Tech are sidelined with injuries, the Yellow Jackets have plenty of team speed along with an aggressive defense.

"I think from the aspect they blitz a lot, I don’t think there’s anybody else like it," said Tech guard Nick Marshman, in reference to the Georgia Tech defense. "Anytime you’ve got a guy coming in for his first start against a team that blitzes, it’s always going to be rough.’’

That guy is center Beau Warren. The 6-foot-3, 275-redshirt freshman from Clifton, Va. is replacing junior Ryan Shuman, who suffered an ankle injury in the Boston College game.

Meanwhile, sixth-year Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey must find a way to generate offense without tailbacks Tashard Choice and Rashaun Grant. Choice was leading the ACC with 864 yards rushing before injuring his knee in the Oct. 20 against Army.

"You hope that everyone else understands that the slack has got to be picked up somewhere,’’ Gailey said

Jamaal Evans, a 5-foot-8 sophomore from Irving, Tex., starts at tailback for the Yellow Jackets tonight.

"[Evans] is not very tall, but he’s a thick guy, so he runs pretty strong. And he’s got excellent vision. He’s a very good running back,’’ Gailey said. "I’m looking forward, like everyone else is, to seeing what he can do.’’

Virginia Tech has been playing without All-American linebacker Vince Hall at middle linebacker. Brett Warren, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound hitter and brother of Beau Warren, has replaced Hall.

"When Warren plays, they don’t drop a ton, not like you would think you’d drop, from Hall to the next guy,’’ Gailey said. "The [Virginia Tech] secondary gets a lot of pickoffs, and they seem to score with them when they get them. We just hit them with some big plays last year, but they’ve always been a great defense."

The Yellow Jackets rushed for 149 yards, passed for 176 and converted two fumble recoveries into scores en route to a 38-27 win at Lane Stadium last season. Choice supplied 105 yards rushing.

Virginia Tech (3-1) enters tonight’s game trailing only rival Virginia (4-1) in the ACC Coastal Division standings. The Hokies close the regular season at Virginia on Nov. 24 after home games against Florida State and Miami.

Gailey was impressed by the performance of the Hokies against Boston College.

"I thought that Virginia Tech played great for 56 minutes, and then Boston College and Matt Ryan did what they do,’’ Gailey said.

The decision as to who starts at quarterback for Virginia Tech will likely be made at game time.

Sean Glennon passed for 149 yards without an interception against BC. However, true freshman Tyrod Taylor has almost recovered from his ankle injury.