Porch Finally Is Getting Chance to Start at Rover

BLACKSBURG, Va., Oct. 1 -- Instead of training with his Virginia Tech teammates this summer, Dorian Porch worked as an intern in Largo. Armed with a packet of drills but without his teammates pushing him, he worked out three days a week while learning about real estate investments. He expected to compete for the starting rover position upon his return.

Back at training camp after the internship ended, Porch needed to run 16 110-yard dashes. However, he underwhelmed the coaching staff. Although the junior has more range than sophomore Davon Morgan, against whom Porch was competing for the starting role, his conditioning had suffered and Morgan, a heralded recruit out of Richmond, outperformed Porch to win the job.

"I just knew coming back I let not only myself and our team down, but my coaches and the fans down," Porch said.

But in the second quarter of last Saturday's win over Nebraska, Morgan tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. With Morgan due to miss the rest of the season, Porch finally will get his chance when he starts at rover this Saturday against Western Kentucky. It is not the way he expected to reach the starting lineup, but it is an opportunity Porch is eager to accept.

"I think I need to get in there and pick up where [Morgan] left off for us," Porch said. "I knew coming in he was a great player."

Strong safeties coach Jim Cavanaugh said Porch's tackling must improve, but also said he is capable of taking on the complex rover role, which is similar to strong safety but has linebacker-like responsibilities.

Porch said he is ideally suited to play that position because of his experience as a baseball center fielder. The Arizona Diamondbacks offered Porch $300,000 to sign a contract out of high school in Calhoun, Ga., but he chose Virginia Tech because of his mother's desire for him to attend college.

When Porch was a freshman, he would arise for 6 a.m. workouts and wonder if he should have accepted the Diamondbacks' offer. And with other players still ahead of him on the depth chart three years later, the possibility existed that Porch would not crack the starting lineup while in Blacksburg, even though he was versatile enough to play either safety or rover.

But after passing on quick baseball money and falling behind after a summer spent interning, his chance arrived in a way he never envisioned.

"I hate the way that it worked out," Porch said. "But for me to have the opportunity to get back out here, it lets me know I have something to prove to the Hokie Nation and it's my time. I'm ready."

Bruised but Battling

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is practicing this week with a brace on his right knee after bruising it against Nebraska. Taylor underwent an MRI exam on Monday. Because the injury is not serious, it will be up to Taylor whether he wears the brace in Saturday's game, according to Mike Goforth, Virginia Tech's assistant athletic director for athletic training.

Taylor played his best game of the season against Nebraska. He passed for 171 yards and rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown. However, Virginia Tech's turnaround has not solely been because of Taylor.

The improved health of tackle Blake DeChristopher has helped the offensive line, and inexperienced receivers and running backs are becoming more of a threat with each game. But Taylor is the unifying force among the offense.

"It's just a fact: If you can run the ball better, your passing game's better, and if you can throw the ball, your running game's better," Coach Frank Beamer said. "I think all those things are coming together a little bit, and Tyrod, he's got ability. He can make people miss and all the sudden he's throwing the ball downfield to an open receiver."