A Sam Wheeler Sighting and Spring Depth Chart

Annette has the Hokies' pre-spring depth chart over at the Four-Letter Blog. Remember that there are a number of players, especially on the offensive line, that won't be participating in spring drills. Here 'tis:

OFFENSE

SE Jarrett Boykin -- Austin Fuller
LT Ed Wang -- Nick Becton
LG Greg Nosal -- Will Alvarez
C Beau Warren -- Michael Via OR Richard Graham
RG Jaymes Brooks -- Vinston Painter
RT Blake DeChristopher -- Andrew Lanier
TE Greg Boone -- Chris Drager OR Sam Wheeler
QB Tyrod Taylor -- Ju-Ju Clayton
RB Darren Evans -- Josh Oglesby OR Ryan Williams
FB Kenny Jefferson -- Kenny Younger
FL Danny Coale -- Dyrell Roberts

DEFENSE

DE Nekos Brown -- Steven Friday
DE John Graves -- Isaiah Hamlette
DT Demetrius Taylor -- Kwamaine Battle OR Courtney Prince
DT Cordarrow Thompson -- Antoine Hopkins OR Dwight Tucker
OLB Cody Grimm -- Jeron Gouveia-Winslow OR Alonzo Tweedy
ILB Barquell Rivers -- Bruce Taylor
ILB Jake Johnson -- Quillie Odom
FC Rashad Charmichael -- Cris Hill
FS Kam Chancellor -- Lorenzo Williams
ROV Dorian Porch -- Davon Morgan OR Matt Reidy
BC Stephan Virgil -- Eddie Whitley

SPECIAL TEAMS

FG Matt Waldron -- Justin Myer
KO Justin Myer -- Tim Pisano
P Brent Bowden -- Brian Saunders
LS Colin Carroll -- Matt Tuttle

One of the first things I noticed was Sam Wheeler listed as a co-No. 2 at tight end behind Greg Booooooooooooone. Wheeler was last seen being a general bad ass before tearing his left ACL at Georgia Tech in 2007. In my mind Wheeler was Sean Glennon's most reliable target in 2007 before the injury.

He didn't see a lot of playing time in 2008 because he wasn't all the way back from knee surgery. Hopefully he's 100 percent and can earn playing time in the spring and summer. I was a big fan of Wheeler's in 2007 and he's a solid pass-catching tight end.

It also appears Vinston Painter has been moved back to the offensive line. The argument could be made that this is just to provide depth to a depleted offensive line during the spring, but spring drills would be a crucial time for Painter to grow as a defensive lineman. My guess is this move is permanent.

No real surprises on the defensive side of the ball. It'll be good for the younger guys to get more reps at linebacker with Cam Martin out for spring practice. I like the group we have at linebacker, they're just all very green with the exception of Martin and Cody Grimm.

Beamer in the Blogging Business... Sort of

BeamerBall.com has a new blog on its Web site, but no RSS reader which means I'll check it about as often as I call my mom. I know, that's terrible and I should call her more often, I'm a bad son, blah, blah, blah.

Right now it's a glorified Twitter feed, but the big news on there today is Brandon Dillard is cleared to practice this spring less than nine months after rupturing his Achilles' tendon. The other big news is Beamer played 36 holes of golf at Augusta over the weekend. This was one week after he raced at Bristol. Must be nice.

JP Giglio is an Ass Hole

Actually, I like Giggity, but this little snide remark rubbed me the wrong way in his "Final Four cheering guide for ACC fans":

Clemson, Florida State, Maryland: UNC
Conference pride!

Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College: UConn or Villanova
Conference pride!

"Hardy-har-har, those invaders used to be in the Big East so they must want their Big East brethren to win. Doopy-doop-doop." For the record I'm rooting for Sparty because Carolina AND the Big East can eat my ass with a spoon.

Hockey > Hoops

I caught former OU signee Scottie Reynolds' shot to beat Pitt (yay) and Carolina's smackdown of my alma mater (boo), but most of my weekend was spent either A) cooking dead animals, B) watching college hockey or C) both. What's that? You missed the NCAA Hockey Tournament because you're uncultured? Well, let me recap it for you:

- 3 of the 4 No. 1 seeds lost in the first round.
- 3 of the 4 No. 2 seeds lost in the first round.
- No. 4 seed Air Force shocked Michigan 2-0 despite being out-shot 44-13 to kick off the Tournament.
- Minnesota-Duluth scored two goals in the final 40 seconds to force overtime with Princeton in the first round and then won in OT. The tying goal came with 0.8 secs left.
- New Hampshire scored a pair of third period goals, the last one coming with 0.1 secs left to force OT with North Dakota in the first round and then put away the hated Sioux in the first minute of OT.
- Cornell scored three unanswered goals, the last one with 18 seconds left, to knock off Northeastern, 3-2 in the first round
- No. 4 seed tiny Bemidji State crushed hated Notre Dame in the first round.
- Miami U. held off another last-second comeback by UM-D to advance to its first Frozen Four.
- Vermont punched its ticket to the Frozen Four by beating underdog Air Force in OT on a goal that went through the net and was then reviewed for 20 minutes before being counted.
- BU scored with 15 seconds left to beat UNH to advance to the Frozen Four.
- Tiny Bemidji State completed the Forzen Four with another huge upset of Cornell. The Beavers became the first team from outside a Big Four (Hockey East, WCHA, CCHA, ECAC) to advance to a Frozen Four. Oh, and the Beavers have no clue what conference they'll be in next year because theirs is disbanding after this season.

It was wild, it was unpredictable and I can't wait for the Frozen Four in two weeks. I just wish that I was going. Last year's trip to Denver was outstanding.

Linkage

Hokies

- The softball team won its series with UVa. (HokieSports)
- Bourbonstreet has his Top 10 things to watch in spring practice. (Blogsburg)
- Defense was the downfall of this year's Hokie hoopsters. (Tech Hoops)
- Vote Fraggle. (The North End Zone)

Atlantic Coast Conference

- I now hate Seth Curry. (ACCSJ)
- Miami had its spring game this weekend. (All Canes)
- What FSU WR Taiwan Easterling will experience after tearing his Achilles. Good read that makes me really impressed with how Dillard has recovered. (Tomahawk Nation)
- UVa won a 7 OT lacrosse game that kept me from seeing the first period and a half of UNH-North Dakota. (Good Ol' Blog)