Hokies Take First Step With High Hopes

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- On Thursday, before Virginia Tech's first preseason practice, Coach Frank Beamer told his team to look at a banner that hung from a tower in the middle of the field. He then instructed the players to read it aloud.

"A journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step," the Hokies said in unison.

With that, Virginia Tech officially opened the new season with an uneventful practice. Then, on Friday, it was announced that Virginia Tech was ranked No. 7 in the USA Today coaches' poll. For the Hokies, who open against No. 5 Alabama in Atlanta on Sept. 5, the ranking is among the highest the program has ever earned in the preseason.

That announcement trumped anything that happened on the practice field a day earlier. There was a fairly innocuous injury report. There was a first glimpse of Virginia Tech's freshmen playing without pads. And there was the typical discussion about expectations for the upcoming year.

"We've got a great group of character guys," Beamer said. "I think they work hard. I'd be surprised if the chemistry on this football team is not good."

On Thursday, Virginia Tech fielded 105 players. All of them quickly moved back into action.

They woke at 7 a.m. for breakfast, attended a meeting at 8 a.m., lifted weights, had lunch, attended another meeting and then took to the practice field. After practice, the players had dinner and then attended a final meeting. The same schedule was planned for Friday. A media day was scheduled for Saturday.

While the rhythms of the preseason might be grueling, the Hokies enter the year relatively healthy.

Running back Kenny Lewis, who tore his Achilles' tendon last season, was not at practice and is out indefinitely. Lewis, a senior, had a fourth operation to clean up old sutures and an infection in his heel. He previously underwent two procedures to repair the tendon, which was re-torn after he slipped in the shower, and two to clean out an infection.

Lewis, who played as a true freshman in 2006, could redshirt this season.

Asked if Lewis could play this year, trainer Mike Goforth said: "He knows his body well, so I got to trust him, and we'll work towards it. I don't think we'll see anything in the first three or four games."

Two of the Hokies' top freshmen -- David Wilson and Logan Thomas -- were on the practice field for the first time.

Wilson, a running back, showed explosiveness in drills. The Hokies already have talent at the position with Darren Evans and Ryan Williams, so Wilson was listed fourth on the depth chart. But he said he wants to get on the field this season, even as a punt returner or kick returner.

"Even if things don't work out for me at running back, I still want to do that," Wilson told reporters. "I've been playing football ever since I was 8 years old. I can't imagine missing a season, so I'm doing everything I can to get on the field."

Thomas, who is 6 feet 6, was recruited to Virginia Tech as an athlete but took snaps Thursday at quarterback. He was listed as the third quarterback on the depth chart. If Thomas develops into the No. 2 quarterback, Beamer said, he could be used in a variety of roles at that position.

The future of those players, as well as the seventh-ranked Hokies, remains to be seen. But with the announcement of the first poll, the buzz around the program should only grow as the season prepares to kick off.

"I thought it was good," Beamer said of the first practice. "I thought the effort was good; the attention was good. We've got a lot of work to do, but I like the way we're approaching things."

And that, Beamer hopes, means making a journey of about 2,200 miles -- to the Bowl Championship Series title game in Pasadena, Calif. -- one step at a time.