The final blog ... postgame notes
Well folks, this will wrap up a successful week for the Hokies here in South Florida. You know all the details of the Hokies' big 20-7 win over Cincinnati. It's 2 a.m., and the team just arrived back at the team hotel. Expect the Diplomat hospitality room to be rockin' tonight.

But before we say goodbye from the blogdom far, far away, here are one last set of morsels from the postgame notes given out by the athletics communications office.

* Tech dressed 64 players for tonight's FedEx Orange Bowl, including just 12 seniors. Eighteen of tonight's starters have eligibility remaining and could return next year (senior fullback Devin Perez didn't start as the Hokies went with two tight ends).

* The senior class finishes with a four-year record of 42-12, tying the school record for wins over a four-year span. Last year's class went 42-11 during their career.

* Barquell Rivers (LB) and Jaymes Brooks (RG) made their first collegiate starts tonight. Rivers started for Brett Warren (ACL), while Brooks started at right guard for Nick Marshman (academics) and Sergio Render slid to the left guard spot.

* Darren Evans finished with 1,265 yards rushing on the season, which is a Tech freshman record, and is the third-highest in school history. He picked up his fourth 100-yard game of the season with a 153-yard effort, earning MVP honors. He also scored his 11th touchdown of the season, another Tech freshman record. His 28 carries sets a new Tech bowl record and his 153 yards tie the bowl record (Kevin Jones vs. Cal). He became the 40th player in Orange Bowl history to rush for 100 yards in a game and the third Hokie (Ken Oxendine, Branden Ore) to do it in an Orange Bowl.

* Stephan Virgil recorded his sixth interception of the season, picking off a pass late in the half in the end zone. The interception stopped a UC drive that began off a Tech turnover. The Hokies have now turned the ball over 20 times this year and the Hokie defense has allowed just 22 points off those turnovers.

* Tech picked off four passes in a game for the second time this season and finished with 20 for the year. The four interceptions are a new Tech bowl record.

* Virgil and Macho Harris each had six interceptions this year. It's the first time under head coach Frank Beamer that two players had six interceptions in a season. The last time it happened was in 1968 when Mike Widger (7) and Lenny Smith (6) did it.

* Senior kicker Dustin Keys broke the school's single-season mark for field goals with his two field goals, breaking the previous mark of 22 field goals held by Chris Kinzer and Shayne Graham.

* Tech picked up its 10th win for the fifth consecutive season, joining Texas and USC in that elite group.

* The next time you can catch the Hokies is the annual Maroon-White Spring Game, which will be held on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m. in Lane Stadium.

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A few gameday notes
* An addition to the dress squad: #92 Khalil Latif will dress. He is a redshirt freshman defensive end from Chesterfield, Va., who has not seen any action this season.

* The Hokies are the home team, but chose to wear their white throwback jerseys and pants. Tech has worn this combo four times prior to today (home vs. Furman, at Nebraska, at Florida State, vs. Boston College in ACCCG). The white uniforms feature components of past uniforms in honor of a group of former Virginia Tech head coaches and teams (1961-86). The jerseys have stripes on the shoulders to represent the Jerry Claiborne era. The stripes on the pants are representative of Jimmy Sharpe's tenure, while the T within the V logo used during Bill Dooley's early seasons is incorporated on the front of the jerseys.

* Tech will dress 64 players for tonight's FedEx Orange Bowl, including just 12 seniors. Seventeen of the projected starters have eligibility remaining and could return next year.

* Senior kicker Dustin Keys needs two field goals to break the school's single-season mark for field goals. He has 21 and is one behind Chris Kinzer and Shayne Graham. While Keys had several games with two field goals or more, two successful kicks tonight would tie the Tech bowl record for made field goals. Only three kickers have made two field goals in a bowl game for Tech.

* The 13-member senior class enters tonight's game with a four-year record of 41-12. A win tonight would give them 42 wins, tying the school record for wins over a four-year span. Last year's class went 42-11 during their career.

* Tech has blocked at least one kick in each of the last six games with Cincinnati.

* Darren Evans enters the game with 1,112 yards rushing on the season, which is a Tech freshman record, and is the 10th-highest in school history. He will move up the ranks quickly tonight and could finish as high as third. He needs 8 yards for eighth place, 19 for seventh place and 26 for sixth place. A big game could move him way up the list. He needs 96 yards for fifth place, 110 for fourth place and 144 yards for third place.

* A win tonight would give Tech 10 wins on the season for the fifth-consecutive season, a current streak matched only by USC and Texas. This is also Tech's 16th-straight bowl, a current streak matched by just Florida and Florida State.

* The next time you can catch the Hokies is the annual Maroon-White Spring Game, which will be held on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m. in Lane Stadium.

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'Twas the day before gameday
Greetings from Hollywood, where the Hokies are in the final preparations before tomorrow night's game Orange Bowl game against Cincinnati. Things are starting to pick up around the hotel as fans are arriving and the autograph seekers are in paradise. Last night's Hokie Hotline had about 500 people attend and Bill Roth expects another large gathering for tonight's show.

This morning, Coach Beamer participated in the head coaches' press conference. He fielded the usual questions in the 30-minute session before taking pictures with Cincy head man Brian Kelly in front of the championship trophy. Topics included comparing Tech in 1995 (being in the Big East, first BCS game, up-and-coming program, etc.) to this year's Cincinnati team; what has made Tech so successful over the years and even a discussion on who designs Tech's bowl rings.

Since then, it's been slow as many players lounged in the shade by the pool or visited with family and friends. The team and official party just ate lunch and will leave for the walk-thru at Dolphin Stadium here in a bit. After that's over, the 64-man travel squad will head to a new hotel for the night to try and avoid what's sure to be a raucous Westin Diplomat for New Year's Eve. While the Diplomat may be, and it will, a festive place tonight, Cincinnati is also moving hotels because of a P Diddy party at its team hotel, The Fontainebleau.

That's about it for now. Don't expect much to happen between now and tomorrow night's 8:45 kickoff. The game is being televised by FOX. Be sure to watch the pregame show as the producers are doing an in-depth piece on the maturation of Tyrod Taylor, short pieces on Macho Harris and Darren Evans, and a fun spot on the Cory Holt/Coach Beamer "incident" at the ACC Championship.

This will probably be the last blog until tomorrow. We'll try to post some pre-game notes from the press box. So enjoy tonight and rest up tomorrow for the late kickoff.

Here's one little nugget to nibble on in the mean time when thinking about next year. If Tech opens in a three-wide or two-tight end set on offense with no fullback, the Hokies could return 10 players on offense and eight on defense who started in the bowl game.

Until we meet again in cyberworld, as always, carry on.

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Day 5 - The Tuna Blog
Evening, folks, and welcome to today's foray into blogdom. We didn't post anything earlier today because, quite frankly, little went on until later in the afternoon. The Orange Bowl coaches' luncheon at noon pushed back both teams' practices, so the Hokies didn't take the practice field until about 4:30-5.

For the second straight year, Bill Parcells - a.k.a. The Tuna - visited a Tech practice, and for the second straight year, he spoke to the team. Parcells, who works as the Dolphins' executive vice-president for football operations, delivered a concise message about being reliable.

"We're not interested in guys who are 'too cool for school,'" he said. "You all know the type. We want reliable, dependable and accountable people on our team. Those are the types we're looking for."

Parcells, who also went to a Cincinnati practice, wished the team the best. He told them he had seen them once in person this season and five or six times on television - and he will see them again in the Orange Bowl.

Other morsels for you hungry Hokies:

* Beamer brought Kam Chancellor, Tech's starting safety, over to meet briefly with Parcells. Chancellor, a junior, has submitted his paperwork with the NFL's advisory committee to determine his draft status for the 2009 draft. He has until Jan. 15 to decide if he wants to forgo his final season at Tech.

Chancellor's family situation is the main reason he's considering it. His mother is a single mother taking care of six children.

* The Fox announcers for the game came to practice and watched. Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis will be broadcasting the game. Also Chris Myers, a studio host, stopped by to watch. All three will be at the Westin Diplomat tonight to meet with the coordinators and players Tyrod Taylor, Macho Harris, Purnell Sturdivant and Darren Evans.

* We heard rumblings that Shayne Graham, a former kicker at Tech who now kicks for the Cincinnati Bengals, is in town, though we haven't spotted him. A rumor floating around practice was that Graham and Nick Lachey have a little wager on the game. Apparently, Graham is friends with the actor, whom we're guessing hails from Cincinnati.

Also, Duane Brown, a former offensive tackle who now plays for the Texans, and Xavier Adibi, a former linebacker who also plays for the Texans, are expected to be in town for the game. So, too, is Nathaniel Adibi, Xavier's brother and a former Tech defensive end, and former defensive back Brenden Hill.

* Interesting quote from Beamer during today's session with the media - which was sparsely attended: "No one has missed curfew, our players have been focused, and our practices have been great. This is the best preparation we've made for a bowl game. Now I hope our play shows it."

* And finally, since this marked the last full practice for the Hokies, Beamer gathered the team at the end of practice and allowed each of Tech's 14 seniors to deliver a small speech to the team. Here are some snippets from those:

Ryan Shuman - He told the team that it had been a blast and he thanked the coaches, and also Mike Gentry, who helped him develop "my beast of a body."

Dustin Pickle - He told the walk-ons that being a walk-on "is not easy, but it's right there for you."

Devin Perez - He echoed Pickle's comments about being a walk-on. "If you stick with it, it's worth it. This is a great program and there are great people here."

Macho Harris - He praised Tech's younger players. "As seniors, we can lead. But it's up to you younger guys to follow and you did. That's why we're here."

Sean Glennon - He told the guys to have fun. "Make sure you have fun. College football is a lot better than a lot of other things."

Orion Martin - Martin made sure to bring up the importance of education. "I encourage all of you to graduate. We've played in a lot of football games and won a lot of games, but the best feeling in the world is when you put on your cap and gown and get that degree. You're already here, so while you're here, go and get it."

That's it for blogging today. Carry on.

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Wrapping up Day 4
Today was no picnic for Tech's players at practice. The temperatures rose into the mid-80s and the breeze mysteriously disappeared, creating some sweltering conditions. The 'Wednesday' practice marks the Hokies' longest of a game week, and today, they practiced in the middle of the day - the hottest time. But the Hokies complained little as they walked off the practice field. That's probably a huge testament to Mike Gentry and his strength and conditioning staff.

The athletics communications staff has been doing a tremendous job of shuttling players and coordinators to press conferences and gathering certain players for pre-practice interviews. That continued today, as Tech's offensive assistants (excluding Bryan Stinespring, who attended a press conference yesterday) were available and line coach Curt Newsome was highly sought after before practice.

Newsome addressed the offensive line situation, mostly concerning freshman Jaymes Brooks getting set to make his first career start in this game. Sergio Render, normally the starter at right guard, will move to left guard to take over the spot vacated by the academically ineligible Nick Marshman.

"It hasn't been a problem [for Render]," Newsome said. "He's had plenty of reps there and he knows our offense and what we're trying to do. He should be fine."

"I really haven't seen any problems with having Jaymes out there," DeChristopher said. "He's practiced good and his footwork is great. I don't see any problems."

Newsome said that he could move center Ryan Shuman to left guard and insert Beau Warren at center. That's an option the Hokies have practiced.

"Don't forget about Richard Graham," Newsome said. "We've got him at guard [behind Brooks]. Richard's a good player. People forget that he started six games at guard last year. He's experienced. I have a lot of confidence in him."

Interestingly, Newsome basically let his players choose the best option for replacing Marshman. Render had no problem moving to the other side, whereas Brooks felt more comfortable at right guard, which makes sense.

"I want them to be comfortable out there," Newsome said. "After all, they're the ones out there playing."

The offensive line has gotten a lot of ink since we've arrived down here because of the Marshman story and Brooks making his first career start. But Tech has been in a similar situation before.

In 2006, starting tackle Jimmy Martin suffered an injured knee and could not play in the Gator Bowl. Tech's staff inserted little-known Brandon Frye into the starting lineup and he played great, neutralizing Elvis Dumervil, Louisville's defensive end. Frye now plays in the NFL, and Tech's staff feels confident Brooks can hold his own.

That's pretty much the most noteworthy stuff that came from the interviews. We haven't included many quotes from Beamer in our blog forays mainly because a lot of the out-of-town media members have been asking such questions as to how he's managed to consistently win and how he built the program.

Not to diminish those accomplishments, but you Tech fans know this story (e.g. the importance of getting into the Big East, how he's kept his staff together, etc.). We'd rather focus on the current events that pertain to the Orange Bowl.

Speaking of Frye, the former offensive tackle at Tech showed up at practice to meet a few of his former teammates. After spending his rookie season on the practice squad last year with the Houston Texans (and a portion of this season), Frye latched on with the Miami Dolphins' active roster and has played in the past eight games. Most of his action has come on special teams - he plays on the kickoff return and field-goal/extra point teams - but he played from scrimmage in the Buffalo game, the first action from scrimmage of his young career.

"I'm loving it," Frye said. "I liked Houston and the organization, but obviously, you want to play and Miami offered me an opportunity. Right now, I'm working at guard because we had a guard go down, but I could easily move back to tackle. Wherever they want me, I'll be ready. You always have to be ready in this league."

Frye will be making his first playoff appearance next weekend when the Dolphins take on Baltimore here in Miami.

This will be the last foray into blogdom today. Once the players got back to the hotel, most of them lounged by the pool and planned to take a low-key approach to the rest of the evening. The Orange Bowl had no events planned for the evening.

Until the next time, carry on.

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Day 4 - Morning Edition
We were up early again this morning down here in Miami, entering blogdom and working hard for you fine fans to keep you abreast of the latest. The day began so early because of another press conference. This time, the defensive guys were in the spotlight, as coordinator Bud Foster and players Macho Harris, Orion Martin, Dorian Porch, Nekos Brown, Cody Grimm, John Graves and Brent Bowden fielded questions from a media contingent that swelled slightly from the previous day.

So here's a little snack of what took place this morning:

* First of all, in a funny episode at breakfast, Foster, who is quite the music hound, was incredulous that Graves and Brown hadn't heard of the Eagles - Foster's all-time favorite band and truly one of the greatest bands of all times. Even Bowden, who is also a music hound, knew of the Eagles, and threw out several popular hits to see if maybe the Brown and Graves had heard of them. No dice, and Foster just shook his head.

By the way, Foster's top favorite songs are Stranglehold by Ted Nugent and Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith.

Foster, though, has nothing on Dave Smith, Tech's assistant AD for media relations. Smith has seen just about every premier band in concert at some point and is the absolute resident authority on music in the Commonwealth.

* Speaking of Smith, he put to rest a rumor floating around. Smith graduated from Tech in 1970 and is one of the longest-tenured employees within the Tech athletics department - a career that spans 34 years.

But he did not work the 1947 Sun Bowl between Tech and Cincinnati (the first bowl game for both schools), as many of us have joked.

* Foster commented on both Nekos Brown and Barquell Rivers, both of whom will be starting in place of injured Jason Worilds and Brett Warren, respectively. Brown, who played a lot this season as the third end, will be making his second career start, while Rivers, a redshirt freshman, will be making his first.

"Nekos is a guy I have a lot of trust in," Foster said. "We consider him a part-time starter anyway. And I have a lot of confidence in Barquell Rivers. He's taken a lot of snaps in practice. He's going to do a great job.

"That would make a great statement about where our program is right now if our guys can step up and play. The thing is they don't have to win the game themselves. They're going to have nine other guys around them who are good football players."

* The players have a lot of confidence in Rivers even though he hasn't played much this season.

"Brett talks pretty highly of him," Grimm said. "He's similar to Brett. They have similar bodies and Barquell is always around the football. He's going to be a good player. I'm pretty sure he's going to start next year."

Porch, a redshirt junior, found himself in a similar situation to Rivers earlier this season when Davon Morgan went down with an injury, thus thrusting Porch into a starting role. Of course, Porch played quite a bit last year, so he draw on that experience, but the situation is similar. Porch offered this advice to Rivers:

"Don't think. Don't have any regrets," Porch said. "Just go full speed and do what you've been coached to do. If you mess up, your brothers are on the field with you and they're going to pick you up. You can't worry about messing up too much. That's a problem a lot of younger guys have. They get out there and worry about making mistakes and getting yelled at. Me personally, I've been through that myself. But when it's game time, it's a different atmosphere. Just pin your ears back and let yourself go."

* Foster was asked about not getting a head coaching job over the years despite his impressive resume as a coordinator. His response:

"I don't need to be a head coach just to be a head coach. There are a lot of 'headache' jobs out there. I'm in a win-win situation. I work for the best head coach in college football and I get paid well. I've got a great contract. I've probably got a head coach's contract as an assistant coach. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

"I've had opportunities to go as a coordinator some place else. But to me, family is important. We sell that at Virginia Tech and I think that's real. I really believe in what we've done here. You don't always have to jump around to be successful. We've worked hard at Virginia Tech to make it one of the top programs in the country and as good as we've been, I think we can be consistently better and that's exciting. Not all programs can say that.

"The head coaching situation, there will be the right one for me. But I've got a good job, so I don't lose a lot of sleep over those things. Not everyone has been as fortunate in the profession as I have been. If the opportunity comes, then great. If not, I hope to see you all [the media] again next year and the year after that."

* More from Foster on becoming a head coach:

"If I had to put a guy I'd like to be like, it would be Mickey Andrews [Florida State's defensive coordinator]," he said. "He's a guy I have the utmost respect for. He's one of the great all-time coaches in this game, at least in my mind. He's had some opportunities and it hasn't worked out. I understand that.

"I may not get my chance as a head coach. You get to a certain level and expect a certain level ... I don't think I need to take a step back to get here. I don't think I need to take a I-AA job to prove I can be a good head coach. Frank Beamer gives me tremendous freedom to do what I do and I think that's enough preparation to be a head coach at the highest level."

* Martin, one of Tech's starting defensive ends, received more questions about getting married than he did about Cincinnati. Martin and girlfriend Jennifer Edwards got hitched on Dec. 20, and she's here in Miami with him.

"Not much has changed, really," Martin said. "I just introduce as my wife instead of as my girlfriend."

Martin's wife lives in Atlanta and works at Georgia Tech. They plan on flying to Atlanta once the bowl game ends and Martin will be working out with a trainer there in preparation for the NFL Draft in April.

* When asked to name the one player who redshirted this past season who may make an immediate impact next season, the players gave a unanimous answer - Ryan Williams, a tailback from northern Virginia.

"He's the quickest guy we've gone up against," Porch said.

"He's the quickest running back," Martin said. "He's legitimate. Of all the ones we've faced this year, he's the quickest one."

Martin also mentioned Antoine Hopkins, a defensive tackle from Richmond, as the guy to watch on defense.

"He's going to be good," Martin said. "He's powerful. Once he gets the technique down, he's going to be very good."

In a shameful plug, the January issue of Inside Hokie Sports will feature a story on the freshmen that just redshirted, including quotes from Williams and quarterback Ju-Ju Clayton, among others.

Alright, folks, those morsels will have to do for now. Until we enter cyberworld again, carry on.

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More on Warren, Worilds and Day 3 activities
As you read here first, Tech's football program announced that both mike linebacker Brett Warren and starting defensive end Jason Worilds are out for the Hokies' Orange Bowl game against Cincinnati.

Warren, a redshirt senior, injured his left knee during the Miami game and re-injured it in the ACC title game - an injury that later was diagnosed as a torn anterior cruciate ligament. His absence means that Barquell Rivers, a redshirt freshman, will be making his first career start.

"We just don't feel like it's safe to put him [Warren] out there," said Mike Goforth, Tech's assistant AD for athletic training. "His meniscus and cartilage looked good, and other than the ACL, he has a good, healthy knee."

Worilds, a redshirt sophomore who was a second-team All-ACC selection, has been bothered all season with a bad left shoulder that keeps popping. In fact, it popped out in three different games. But each time, the sports medicine staff would pop it back into place and Worilds would return to the game.

Worilds will undergo surgery on the shoulder on Jan. 6.

"It's incredible he played at the level he did, not only through the pain, but he played one-handed," Goforth said. "He dislocated in three different games and went right back in the game. That's a tribute to his toughness. But we've kept a close eye on him and made daily evaluations on him, and you can tell he's in a lot of pain. He can't lift anything and he's not eating well. It's time to end it."

Nekos Brown, another redshirt sophomore, will get the start in place of Worilds. This will be Brown's second collegiate start. He started in the Georgia Tech game earlier this season.

"Obviously, I hate it for Jason," defensive line coach Charley Wiles said. "But I'm excited for Nekos. He's put a lot into this. He's played a lot this year. Now, he's going from 25 plays to 50 plays. But I've got a lot of confidence in him."

Brown certainly has plenty of experience, but Rivers does not. He has played just 28 plays from scrimmage this season. Also, another first-time starter for the Orange Bowl, Jaymes Brooks, has played just four snaps.

As for Sunday's practice, nothing eventful occurred on another 80-degree day. Tech's staff did put the players through the infamous middle drill - a drill that pits the offensive line and tight ends against the defensive front seven and the offense runs the ball up the middle. The middle drill was longer than usual, as Tech's staff worked a lot of younger players into the mix.

Other Miami munchies for you hungry Hokies:

* Goforth said three players would be out for next spring practice while recovering from injuries - Cam Martin (right knee), André Smith (right shoulder) and Kenny Lewis, Jr. (Achilles). Sergio Render could be added to that list depending on how some tests go following the bowl game. We're not sure exactly what Render's injury is, but we'll look into it.

* All of those who were injured during the season with the exception of Lewis will be able to practice this spring. This list includes guys like Davon Morgan, Kenny Younger, Marcus Davis, Joe Jones, Xavier Boyce and Brandon Dillard.

* It will be interesting to see what Tech's staff does with Eddie Whitley, a talented freshman who played sparingly on special teams this past season. Whitley has worked both a safety and at cornerback during practices in Miami and appears to have a very bright future no matter where he ends up. Another defensive back, Lorenzo Williams, has been practicing and has been cleared to play in the Orange Bowl. Williams, another freshman, injured his knee following the BC game and hasn't played since.

* Watch out for Josh Call as the next walk-on fullback. Call only stands about 5-foot-10, but the 250-pounder from Raleigh, N.C., is a weight-room beast and does some serious head knocking in the middle drills. His workout partners in the weight room this fall were William Alvarez and Vinston Painter - and he out-lifted them in a lot of the lifts.

* The infamous Orange Bowl beach party was this afternoon, as players took turns riding jet skis and playing beach volleyball. Unlike last year (e.g. Vince Hall), no one got hurt. The players had the rest of the evening to do as they pleased until the midnight curfew.

Unless something else breaks, this will be our last foray into blogdom today. The press conference on Monday will feature Bud Foster and the defense, and of course, we'll be there, working to bring you the latest and best concerning the team in Miami.

Until we enter cyberworld the next time, carry on.

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Injury Update From Practice
Virginia Tech head athletic trainer Mike Goforth announced before practice Sunday that starting linebacker Brett Warren (knee) and starting defensive end Jason Worilds (shoulder) are out for Thursday's game against Cincinnati. Details to follow.

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Mid-morning blog on Day 3
We're posting our first blog of the day a little earlier just to give you fine fans some morsels from the early-day press conference. As always, we're working hard for you folks down here. No sun, pool or beach for us. This is a business trip for us hard-working folks in athletics communications.

The day began early for a handful of Tech players and for offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, as the Orange Bowl conducted its first press conference of the week. Stinespring and players Tyrod Taylor, Darren Evans, Dustin Keys, Ed Wang, Greg Boone and Danny Coale participated in the press conference. In living proof that media organizations are cutting back because of tight times, only about 15 media people were at the press conference.

Anyway, here are some nuggets:

* Stinespring was asked about young offensive lineman Jaymes Brooks, the redshirt freshman who will be making his first career start. Brooks assumed the job from Nick Marshman, who failed to pass six hours this semester and was ruled ineligible for the Orange Bowl.

"Our concern isn't so much the amount of snaps he hasn't taken [he's only played a handful this year]," Stinespring said. "Our concern is getting him ready for the snaps he's going to get in a couple of days. I like the way he's approached this week, though. He's practiced very well."

* Here's Tyrod Taylor on his throwing motion: "I think it's something people are making too much of. I've always thrown like that. You can look at the film from last year. I've talked with Coach [Mike] O'Cain [Tech's quarterbacks coach] about it. It's just my natural throwing motion."

Taylor, though, would be receptive to changing his throwing motion, which tends to be a little long.

"Yes, sir. If that's needed to be done, then I'll do it," he said. "I'm not sure if they're [the coaches] going to change it. But if they want me to, I'll work on it. I'll do anything to improve and be a better player."

* More from Taylor, as he addressed being the quarterback last year and throwing to four senior receivers as opposed to throwing to all freshmen receivers this season.

"I'm more of a vocal leader now," he said. "Last year, I could rely on those guys to be more vocal. I could sit back and let them lead the team. This year, dealing with those young receivers, I had to be more vocal."

* This is an interesting game for Danny Coale, who is very good friends with Pat Tresey, the son of Cincinnati defensive coordinator Joe Tresey. Joe Tresey used to work at VMI, and Coale and Pat Tresey went to middle school together. The two remained good friends even after the Tracy family left Lexington, Va., after three short years.

"We were good friends all through middle school and then he moved away," Coale said. "I think his dad took a job at Georgia Southern, but me and Pat have kept in contact since. I consider him one of my closest friends.

"I was hoping to see him at some point, but he's busy doing stuff with Cincinnati and I'm doing stuff here."

Coale said the two have talked since the bowl announcement came out. But the subject matter hasn't been the game.

"Usually when we talk, we talk about football," Coale said. "But we haven't talked too much football lately for obvious reasons."

* Greg Boone enjoyed some friendly banter with one of the Orange Bowl officials. The young lady was an Alabama graduate and joked that the Crimson Tide were going to get the better of the Hokies in the game [the Chick-fil-A College Football Kickoff] in August.

"Well, you can have the one in August," Boone told her. "We'll take the one in September."

The game is scheduled for Sept. 5, 2009.

Until we meet again in blogdom, carry on.

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Day 2 from South Florida
Tech held its second practice since arriving in South Florida, as the Hokies continued preparations for the Orange Bowl game against Cincinnati. Shortly after practice started, head coach Frank Beamer addressed the media and delivered some somber news regarding the status of injured starting mike linebacker Brett Warren. The redshirt senior suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the Miami game and played the remainder of the regular season and the ACC title game. But it appears as if that game is going to be his last as a Hokie.

"He's still questionable," Beamer said. "It doesn't look very good."

That aside, Tech's staff conducted a rather crisp practice at Nova Southeastern on a downright balmy day. Temperatures rose into the 80s, but the wind kept things from being insufferable. The kickers took advantage of the windy conditions, bombing long kicks with the hefty tailwind. Starter Dustin Keys hit the long one of the day, a 65-yard, wind-aided kick that was true down the middle.

Beamer downplayed the impact of the warm, humid weather - a topic scribes often like to focus on in bowl games.

"Cincinnati is in the same boat," he said. "I'm sure our weather in Blacksburg is similar to what they have. I don't think the weather here is going to play much of a role."

Beamer also said that all his players made the midnight curfew. Actually, the last shuttle leaves South Beach at 10:45 and most players who catch that end up at the hotel by 11:30. If they miss it, they'll suffer a serious hit in the wallet. It's a good 30-45 minute cab ride and the cost probably runs a stiff $100.

After practice - which concluded around 1:30-2 in the afternoon - the players got the rest of the afternoon off before heading to South Beach for an evening meal at a local Brazilian restaurant. If you haven't been to a Brazilian restaurant, then you haven't enjoyed a true red meat feast. A waiter comes out and carves the meat right onto your plate. It truly is "meat on a sword," as one staffer likes to say.

Most of the administration spent the day by the pool or in front of the TV watching the ACC in bowl games. Florida State rolled, as expected, but it was disturbing to see UNC lose what amounted to a home game against a WVU team that did not live up to its lofty expectations this season.

Press conference No. 1 is tomorrow morning. We'll try to post something after that before heading to practice.

Until then, carry on.

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Welcome to the opening Orange Bowl blog
Greetings from south Florida!

This marks the debut entry of our seemingly annual Orange Bowl blog. As you fine fans will remember, a group of us here in the athletics communications office made collaborative forays into the world of blogdom last year when the Hokies trekked to south Florida, and given the tremendous success we had last year with our blog (according to us), we're going to blog away again this year.

Today marked the travel party's first day in Florida. The travel party split up and arrived on two planes. The coaches and the players departed soggy Blacksburg at 8 a.m. and arrived in south Florida around noon, while the rest of the party - administrators, student managers, student trainers, spouses, children, etc. - came down on the second plane and arrived around 3 p.m. In all, both groups combined totaled more than 200 people and everyone will be staying at the Westin Diplomat, the same place as last year.

Early this afternoon, the coaches and players traveled to the team's practice site for the week, Nova Southeastern University, for a full-scale practice. Tech practiced at Nova last year, but last year's first bowl practice in Florida consisted mostly of stretching and conditioning. This year, the team got after it a little more - full pads. The Hokies have practiced more leading up to this bowl, which is all part of head coach Frank Beamer's changes in bowl preparation to get his group playing a little better in bowl games.

For those wondering, the weather in south Florida was a balmy 76 degrees, with partly cloudy skies and a slight breeze. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-70s throughout the Hokies' stay.

The players had the evening to do as they pleased, provided they were in their rooms by the midnight curfew - another Beamer change. A year ago, the first night's curfew was 2 a.m. There is a reminder on the punishment for missing curfew on page 3 of the travel party's bowl manual. Those violating curfew will get to ride home the next morning on a bus, a ride that takes 29 hours.

The rest of the travel party enjoyed a veritable feast at the Westin Diplomat. The feast was sponsored by the Orange Bowl and featured shrimp, pork tenderloin, crab cakes, oysters on the half shell, crab legs, and for those afraid to expand their culinary horizons, chicken tenders.

That's pretty much all there is to report on Friday's festivities. We'll try to get into more football stuff tomorrow (Saturday). Until then, signing off from cyberworld Carry on.

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