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)

An Interesting Way to Boost Attendance

The VT women's lacrosse team hosts North Carolina at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Thompson Field. The struggling Hokies are 4-10 overall and 1-2 in ACC play. I don't think I ever remember a point where the women's lacrosse team was any good, but that doesn't mean it won't see a big attendance figure Wednesday.

Wednesday's game will feature something called the "Greek Challenge" where the fraternity or sorority with the most members in attendance receives a $100 gift card to the business of its choice. My guess is you'll see a lot of greeks at Wednesday's game because from what I experienced in college greeks get excited about any opportunity to beat other greeks at anything.

Whether its raising money or drinking terrible 3.2 beer, greeks get a kick out of being the best at it. Hopefully it means a spirited atmosphere for the game against the 7-2 Tar Heels.

Attendance to women's lacrosse games are free at VT, but I assume the increased attendance will mean increased concession sales. And if the Hokies were smart and got that $100 gift card donated, it's all profit.

Linkage

Hokies

- Aaron McFarling has greater appreciation for the ADV era than I do.

- BCO really likes IPAs. I can't stand IPAs. To each his own.

- Tech Hoops gives its summer schedule.

Atlantic Coast Conference

- Enjoy it while you can boys. There's no spring break in the real world. /sobs uncontrollably. /applies to grad school.

- Jeff and Brian are too close to call in their Tournament pool. Jeff's only ahead because he had his wife pick his bracket.

- Pretty good motivational ploy by Roy during the LSU game.

- Apparently the near-empty Dolphin Stadium for Miami games isn't because 'Canes fans suck. It's because Miami fans suck in general.

- Spring practice starts at Georgia Tech.

Randomness

- Looks like all that money the Virginia Lottery gives to Virginia Public Schools didn't help Percy Harvin.

- Giglio looks at Gonzaga's history in the NCAA Tournament.

- Sad face.

- It was a bad weekend to be a Sabres fan.

An E-mail from VT Club Sports

I've received a few E-mails in response to my post about the men's lacrosse club team. However, one of them surprised me. Not because of what it said, but because of who it was from.

Virginia Tech's Assistant Director of Recreational Sports/Sport Clubs, Alan Glick, E-mailed to point out (justifiably so) that the post made it appear that if Tech added men's lacrosse as a varsity sport, the club team would go away. I touched briefly upon the notion that both teams could co-exist, but the tone of the article made it seem that the club team would be doomed if a varsity team arrived on campus. That was my error. I should have made it more clear that keeping the the club team was not just likely, but nearly guaranteed should Tech start a varsity lax team.

Below is Alan's letter, reprinted with his permission:

I read your very informative piece tonight on the men's club lacrosse program. As the sports club director, I'd just like to make a point that was not really addressed in your article. VT would not be in an "either/or" situation regarding having a club vs. a varsity men's lacrosse program.

My office advises and funds 29 sport clubs, including the men's lacrosse team. There are a number of sports at Tech that exist as both club and varsity (i.e. women's volleyball, women's lacrosse, baseball, men's & women's soccer, among others), there are some sports that exist as only club and not as varsity (i.e. men's lacrosse, bowling, clay target, water ski, crew, snow ski, among others) and there are some sports that exist only as varsity and not also as a club sport (i.e. football, women's volleyball, track & field, among others).

Even if the athletics dept. were to add men's lacrosse as a varsity sport sometime in the future, we (the Dept. of Recreational Sports) would continue to support/fund/advise a men's club lacrosse team. Any decisions made by the athletics dept. would not really impact our sports club program. Some of our students think that if athletics adds a new sport, that means that they will scoop up our club team (i.e. men's lacrosse or field hockey) and drop it into the athletics dept. Obviously, Jim Weaver would hire a coach and fund a new sport with a recruiting budget, etc ... maybe some of our club athletes would try to make the varsity roster, and probably many of them would be happy to continue to participate in the club version of the sport.

So, VT might one day have a varsity men's lacrosse program, but we will always have a club team as well. It's not an either/or situation- I'm not sure the average Hokie fan realizes this. It might not be that important in the scheme of things, but I did want to point that out. Our club team will always be a part of VT.

As far as additional varsity sports being added in the near future, the only sport that Jim Weaver has publicly stated will be added next is women's golf. Beyond that, he hasn't made any public statements. If you have any questions about our sports club program, just let me know.

Alan Glick

Men's Lax Club Going to Nationals

The Virginia Tech men's lacrosse club team, which was profiled here April 17, has been given an at-large selection to the MCLA national tournament.

The Hokies (14-2) will travel to Dallas, Texas, for nationals May 13-17. They have been given the No. 10 seed in the tournament and will face No. 7 Colorado State at 7 p.m. CDT May 13 at the Ross Stewart Soccer Complex in Farmers Branch, Texas. CSU was the No. 2 seed in last year's tournament and made it to the semifinals before falling to Oregon. This year, the Rams went 10-5 in the regular season.

Tech would face the winner of No. 2 Chapman (Calif.) and No. 15 Florida at 7 p.m. May 14 with a win over CSU. A loss would send the Hokies to the consolation bracket, where they would be guaranteed two more games.

The semifinals and final will be held at Texas Stadium in Irving, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The semis will be at 5 and 8 p.m. May 16 and the championship will be at 7 p.m. May 17.

Congratulations to Coach Joel Nachlas and the Hokies and good luck in Big D.

Boston College and Florida State were also selected to the MCLA tournament field. With the four ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament, this makes seven ACC schools whose lacrosse teams made it to their respective postseason tournaments.

MCLA National Tournament

Goin' Clubbing: Men's Lacrosse

Goin’ Clubbing is a regular feature on Gobbler Country. Each edition is an in-depth look at a different club sport at Virginia Tech. While these athletes aren’t on scholarship, they are still proud to play and represent the university.

It would make sense for Virginia Tech to have a men's lacrosse team. Lacrosse has a long been established in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic and its popularity around the country is growing. Tech also already sponsors a women’s team.

However, the Hokies do not participate in the men’s game. A lot of this has to do with Title IX, which requires athletic programs to provide equal athletic opportunities for men and women. Therefore, in order for Tech to add a men’s sport, it would have to cut a men’s sport or add a on female counterpart.

While there is one main reason Tech doesn’t have a men’s lacrosse team, there are plenty of reasons it should. The sport is popular in the area. And the Hokies play in the ACC, which boasts four tradition-rich lacrosse programs: Duke, Maryland, North Carolina and UVa.

While many fans would like to be able to cheer for a varsity men’s lacrosse team, the current option isn’t bad. The men’s lacrosse club team is one of the best in the nation, is annually ranked in the Top 25 and has made several trips to the national tournament. The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association is large and well-organized, giving Virginia Tech quality competition.

That strong competition brings in many fans to the club’s games. The support is strong, even if it isn't at the level many in the club think it should be.

“Whenever we have a home game under the lights, the hill always fills up,” said defenseman David Gouldey, a material sciences and engineering junior from Herndon, Va. “Our fans are always loud and supportive as well. I bet we get more people at our games than at the girl's varsity lax games.”

The Hokies didn’t always play a schedule made up of only club lacrosse teams. In fact, Tech could have very easily had a varsity men’s lacrosse team.

The Hokies celebrate a win over FSU this season.

History Lesson

Lacrosse didn’t become an NCAA sport until 1970. When it became an NCAA sponsored sport, several teams that didn’t join the NCAA, including Tech, were granted associate member status. These teams continued to play varsity schedules despite being club teams.

“This was intended to foster the growth of the varsity teams and in some cases, it worked,” head coach Joel Nachlas said. “Both Duke and North Carolina were given the same ‘associate’ designation and evolved into varsity teams.”

Tech did not, but continued to play varsity teams through 1994. After that season, the NCAA barred varsity programs from playing club teams. Club lacrosse started to blossom and become better organized from that point on, Nachlas said.

Nachlas has been Virginia Tech's head coach for all but six years since 1974. He said he has seen the level of play of club lacrosse teams grow exponentially since 1994 and has enjoyed the success of his club. However, he has no interest in men’s lacrosse becoming a varsity sport at Virginia Tech.

“Not to be too critical of varsity programs, but it is my view that college sports should be for the students to play rather than watch,” Nachlas said. “The traditional model of the strong student who enhances his or her college experience with serious athletic achievement is what club sports provide.”

For the Students, By the Students

Nachlas’ reasoning for not wanting Tech to field a varsity men’s lacrosse team is simple. He feels the current team best represents Virginia Tech.

Almost all the players on the club team are from the general student body. They came to Tech for an education first and choose to play lacrosse as well. Not the other way around. Nachlas said 30 percent of the players are in the college of engineering with another 40 percent in the college of business. The Baltimore, Md., native himself is an associate professor in the college of engineering.

“We are true to the tradition of the scholar athlete and to the traditional academic values of Virginia Tech,” Nachlas said. “I believe that the program we have is too beneficial to the students to convert it to something else.”

Nachlas doesn’t recruit high school players. However, he listens when a prospective student inquires about the lacrosse team. He lets the university’s status do the recruiting for him by attracting players that love lacrosse, but also want a quality education.

The results have been remarkable. Several players on the team passed up the opportunity to play for DII and DIII teams in the NCAA and instead came to Tech to be students first and lacrosse players second.

“A lot of the schools I talked to were very small in size and weren’t really what I was looking for,” said attack Tim Tyrrell, a marketing senior from Glen Mills, Pa. “I always imagined coming to a big school with a big time football program, so I decided to come to Tech and play club.”

Freshman midfielder Nick Perkins, from Fairfax, Va., came to Tech despite being recruited by smaller school to play varsity lacrosse. Perkins said he chose to attend Tech because he didn’t want to go to a college that was smaller than his high school. He said he would have been a Hokie even if there wasn’t a club lacrosse team to play for.

It was the same for Gouldey. He grew up watching UVa’s lacrosse team and dreaming of playing DI. However, he quickly realized he wanted to go to school in Blacksburg.

“It came to the decision of whether I'd play varsity lax or go to the school I loved,” he said. “Still there needs to be someone to challenge UVa for the best lax team in the state, and I would still love to get the varsity experience.”

“The Perfect Environment”

However, not all members of the club believe there shouldn’t be varsity lacrosse at Virginia Tech. Gouldey said joining the NCAA ranks is not only necessary for Tech, but for the NCAA and the sport as well.

“Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in high school, yet the college level hasn't kept up with the growth,” he said. “We already have plenty of enthusiasm down here for lacrosse. Virginia Tech would be the perfect environment for a varsity lacrosse team, as plenty of kids come here from the lacrosse hotbed regions of Northern Virginia and Maryland. Plus, we can't have UVa continue to dominate DI.”

The desire to compete with ACC rivals in varsity lacrosse is strong amongst Tech players. The ACC only has four member schools playing lacrosse, but those four are among the strongest in the NCAA. Last year, Duke made the NCAA championship game before falling to Johns Hopkins. An ACC school has made it to the championship game in four of the last five years.

However, there is always room for improvement.

“The ACC is already a great conference for lacrosse, but it’s lacking teams,” Tyrrell said. “I think Virginia Tech should start taking steps to move towards varsity in the near future. I would love to come back and watch men’s lacrosse as a varsity program.”

The debate rages on, both for and against a varsity men’s team at Virginia Tech. However, Perkins has a simple compromise. He said there should be a varsity team to compete against NCAA opponents as well as a club team for players who desire a more relaxed lacrosse environment as well as those who attend Tech and don’t want to give up the sport.

While Virginia Tech does not field a team to compete with ACC rivals in men’s lacrosse, the school is not bereft of a good team. Virginia Tech has established itself as a club lacrosse powerhouse. Even if there is never an NCAA team for Hokie fans to watch, they still have plenty to cheer for.

The players for the men's club lacrosse team at Tech aren't on scholarship. But they have the talent, drive and focus as if they were.

“If someone sees our team or other club teams like ours, they will think they are looking at a varsity program,” Nachlas said. “The quality of play is high. What really matters, however, is the experiences of the team members. Each of the members of the VT men’s lacrosse team is a serious student. Some are stronger than others but all are successful or they cannot continue on the team.”

More resources
Men’s Lacrosse Web site
Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association
Southeastern Lacrosse Conference
Standings
Schedule and Results
MCLA National Tournament

The team completed its regular season at 13-1. The SELC Tournament is April 18-20 in Atlanta. The Hokies face either Auburn or Florida at 5 p.m. April 19 at Atlanta's Northview High School in the SELC semifinal. The MCLA national tournament is May 13-17 in Dallas, Texas.