Tyrod Taylor avoids Boise State defensive end Shea McClellin (92). (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images)

Box Score

Frank Beamer doesn’t believe in moral victories, but he does believe his Virginia Tech Hokies will be a very good team this year. The 10th-ranked Hokies lost to 3rd-ranked Boise State last night, 33-30, but overcame a 17-0 deficit in the first quarter to come back and make a game of it.

The Hokies’ strength is their running game, powered by Heisman hopeful Ryan Williams, who rushed for more than 1,600 yards last season. But last night, he managed just 44 yards on 21 carries, though he did score three touchdowns.

“We’ve got to look at the film and figure out what was going on,” Williams said of Tech’s struggles running the ball. “All I know was there were a lot of times when I got the ball and there were defenders in my face. I don’t know who let who by or what type of scheme they ran, but there were people in my face.”

To make matters worse, the Hokies spotted the Broncos 17 first-quarter points thanks to turnovers, ill-timed penalties and special teams meltdowns.

Boise’s first score came after Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor and his center Beau Warren botched a snap leading to a fumble that Boise State recovered. Tech’s defense, which is thin on experience and even thinner on the depth chart, held Boise high-powered offense to just four yards on its first offensive series. The Broncos settled for a 44-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.

The Broncos got on the board again after Tech’s punt protection team failed to get a body on Boise State’s Austin Pettis. Not surprisingly, Pettis blocked the punt, giving the Broncos the ball at Tech’s 12 yard line. Two plays later, Pettis got wide open over the middle for an 8-yard touchdown pass from BSU quarterback Kellen Moore, another Heisman candidate. Boise went up 10-0.

With time running out in the first quarter, Tech’s defense held Boise State’s offense again, forcing them to punt on 4th and 1 from their own 48 yard line. But, D.J. Coles ran into Boise State’s punter, drawing a five-yard penalty and during the Hokies return, Coles blindsided the punter, drawing a 15-yard personal foul call. The Broncos got the ball at Tech’s 32 yard line and six plays later, Moore hit Tommy Gallarda for a 2-yard score … 17-0 Boise State.

“How they went up 17-0 was tremendously disappointing,” said Beamer after the game. “I think all the [Boise State] points came right off the big plays in the kicking game. That’s disappointing. That’s not Virginia Tech.”

Virginia Tech did not quit. On the opening possession of the second half, Taylor led a nine play, 67-yard drive highlighted by a 34-yard pass from Taylor to Jarrett Boykin to the Boise State goal line. Williams needed to two attempts, but on 2nd and goal, he punched it in and the Hokies were on the board, 17-7.

Tech’s special teams struggled again, however, when Justin Myer’s kickoff went out of bounds drawing a penalty and giving Boise State the ball on their own 40-yard line. The field position led to a 47-yard field goal and a 20-7 Broncos lead.

The Hokies’ next drive stalled inside the red zone and first-year kicker Chris Hazley missed a 34-yard field goal. But Tech’s defense came up big just moments later when Eddie Whitely forced a fumble that Virginia Tech recovered at Boise State’s 39-yard line. The turnover set up 5-play, 39-yard drive capped with a Taylor-to-Williams 12-yard touchdown pass. The Hokies were back in it, 20-14, heading into the half.

Tech’s defense came up big again in the third quarter when J.R. Collins sacked Moore and forced a fumble recovered by the Hokies. Ryan Williams eventually scored on a 1-yard run giving Virginia Tech its first lead of the game, 21-20.

“We didn’t hang our heads; we came back and battled,” said Beamer of his teams resilience. “There was just some young guys making some young-guy mistakes. We weren’t a great football team tonight … but I firmly believe we’re going to be a great football team.”

The Broncos answered on its next possession with 71-yard run by D.J. Harper, to vault Boise State back in front, 26-21. The Hokies blocked the extra point attempt.

Taylor and the Hokies’ offense came right back on its next possession, driving 77 yards on five plays, capped off with a 28-yard touchdown strike from Taylor to Boykin, who finished with six catches for 102 yards and one TD. Tech went for the 2-point conversion, but Taylor was sacked, and the Hokies settled for a 27-26 lead.

The Broncos had a chance to retake the lead, but missed a 30-yard field goal, allowing the Hokies to march down the field on the ensuing drive and kick a field goal of their own to push the lead to 30-26.

Boise State got the ball back with 7:38 to play in the fourth quarter, but the Hokies forced a punt and got the ball back with 5:14 and forced Boise to call their final two timeouts after picking up a pair of first downs to keep the clock running. On 3rd and 8 with 2:05 to play, the Hokies threw a pass the fell incomplete and stopped the clock with 2 minutes left.

On the ensuing punt, Boise State was called for an illegal block in the back, but the referring overruled the call saying it was a block in the side. Boise State now had the ball on its own 44 yard line with 1:47 to play. They needed only five plays and :38 to score the go-ahead touchdown.

The Hokies got the ball back with 1:02 to play, but could not get into field goal range to tie the game. The Hokies dropped their third straight season opener, while Boise State is poised to run the table and make a run at the national championship.

Virginia Tech opens its home schedule on Saturday against James Madison University, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) program. The Hokies are 6-0 all-time against the Dukes and won the last meeting 43-0 in 2003.

Davild Wilson will not redshirt his sophomore season.

Months of speculation and guessing are over. Virginia Tech head football coach Frank Beamer said today that he will not redshirt phenom running back and kick returner David Wilson.

Wilson is a true sophomore and served as a backup running back and kick returner in 2009 as a true freshman. Wilson got playing time at RB because of the injury to the team’s 2008 leading rusher Darren Evans, who missed the 2009 season with a knee injury. But Evans is back in 2010 and is listed as the No. 2 RB behind starter Ryan Williams, who led the ACC in rushing last season and finished fifth in the nation.

“He can help this team be successful and he wants to do it,” said Beamer of Wilson. “I think you need to try to get your best players on the field, and he’s one of them.”

WIlson played exceptionally well in the spring and fall practices and pushed Darren Evans for the No. 2 spot on the RB depth chart. His value as a kick returner is enough to get him on the field in 2010, but you can believe the Frank Beamer and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring will get him involved with the offense, too. He’s just too good not to be on the field.

Tyrod Taylor was 16/17 for 319 yards and three TDs in Saturday's scrimmage.

Tyrod Taylor looked every bit of the senior quarterback and leader during Saturday’s final scrimmage before the Hokies being game-week preparations for the Boise State season opener on Sept. 6.

Taylor completed his first 10 passes and finished the game 16 of 17 for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The one incompletion was a pass he threw out of bounds intentionally to avoid a loss. After the scrimmage, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer had high praise for his QB.

“I feel the same way with him out there as I did when Michael Vick was out there,” said Beamer of Taylor. “The next play could be a big play. Any play has a chance of going a long ways. Tyrod gives you that same element right now.”

Taylor got the scrimmage off to an exciting start on just the third offensive play when he hit tight end Andre Smith for a 95-yard touchdown. Taylor also connected with running backDarren Evans for a 4-yard TD pass from wide receiver Dyrell Roberts for a 35-yard scoring strike.

The intrasquad scrimmage featured the first team offense and defense against the second team offense and defense. And the first team defense played very well even if it was against the second team offense. Bud Foster‘s unit, which has been the biggest question mark heading into the 2010 season, sacked second string QB Logan Thomas five times while allowing just 101 total yards.

Defensive end Chris Drager had two sacks, while Derrick Hopkins, Steven Friday andRashad Carmichael each added a sack of their own. Hopkins is a true freshman playing on the first team defense.

Quick Hitters

The special teams looked solid again … well, at least the punt block team did. Marcus Davisblocked a punt that was picked up by Zach Luckett and returned for a touchdown.

Danny Coale quietly caught four passes for 40 yards.

David Wilson played with the second team offense and continued to make a strong case for the coaching staff not to redshirt him. He had a 43-yard kick return and an impressive 25-yard run from scrimmage. He gave the first team defense fits.

Starting left tackle (you know, the guy that protects Tyrod Taylor’s backside) Nick Becton is still suffering from turf toe and will likely not start for the Hokies on Sept. 6. He is expected to be ready and will play, but backup Andrew Lanier will probably get the start.

The kicking game appears to be just fine. Chris Hazley nailed a pair of field goals (37 and 23 yards) and Justin Myer nailed a 54-yarder with plenty of room to spare.

More details and quotes from the players and coaches.

Earlier this evening I appeared as a guest on KTIK AM 1350′s Idaho Sports Talk with Caves and Prater to talk about the Sept. 6 matchup between the Virginia Tech Hokies and Boise State Broncos.

For the most part, the interview went well, until I had a brain fart and couldn’t remember Jake Johnson’s name. Of course, after his lackluster career, can you blame me for forgetting it? I kid because I care. I wish nothing but the best to Jake Johnson as he moves on to play for D-I startup, the University of South Alabama.

Blacksburg, VA – The Virginia Tech Hokies held their final open-to-the-public scrimmage on Saturday and head coach Frank Beamer, fresh off a contract extension through 2016, had to be pleased with his team.

The offense, led by senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor, scored easily on this first-team offense’s first drive of the scrimmage, which was capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Dyrell Roberts. Taylor finished the scrimmage 7 of 9 for 95 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception.

Logan Thomas is settling in as the newly anointed No. 2 QB. While he completed only 6 of 16 passes, he did throw a pair of TD passes – one to Eric Martin and the other to Marcus Davis.

The big question appears to be at running back, but not who will be the starter – that honor clearly falls to Heisman candidate Ryan Williams, who rushed for 46 yards and a TD today. The real issue is who will back him up? Darren Evans, a redshirt junior who is back after missing the 2009 season with a torn ACL, or freak athlete David Wilson, a true sophomore. Today, Wilson appeared to take the lead. He rushed for 38 yards on six carries and scored on a 12-yard run.

Evans, who doesn’t seem to be suffering any ill-effects from his knee injury, ran hard today, but in limited action and he did have one fumble, but it went out bounds, so there was no loss of possession.

Special teams, or as Beamer likes to call it, “Pride and Joy,” blocked two punts. More specifically, Cris Hill blocked two punts.

“Coach Beamer says this is the greatest team [punt block team] of athletes ever assembled,” Hill told the press. “So we take that mindset every day when we go out there. We’re trying to get more blocked kicks this year.”

While the punt block team looked great, the punt protection team struggled.

“On one side, you feel pretty good that you blocked a kick. On the other side, you don’t feel very good because the protection wasn’t right,” said Beamer. “From what I saw out there, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Lastly, the defense, which is the biggest question mark of all for the 2010 Hokies, played admirably. Linebacker Bruce Taylor, who will assume the starting job because of the injury to Barquell Rivers, picked off a Tyrod Taylor pass late in the scrimmage. The second team defense also stuffed the first team offense on 4th and goal from the 1-yard-line.

Below is the release the went out through Nike:

Ten of the top college football programs have been selected to wear uniquely designed Nike uniforms for at least one game during the 2010 season the company announced today.

The University of Alabama, Boise State University, University of Florida, University of Miami (FL), The Ohio State University, Oregon State University, University of Pittsburgh, Texas Christian University, Virginia Tech and West Virginia University will wear the innovative designs for a minimum of one game on their schedules. The dates of those games will be announced at the unveiling of the uniforms Sept. 1 in New York.

The Nike Pro Combat System of Dress uniforms the schools will wear are engineered to provide superior protection and durability, while utilizing advanced fabrics and tooling that reduce weight.

Nike worked diligently with each university to bring relevant elements of the school’s rich heritage into the futuristic elite fit uniform designs. The collaborations with the universities produced the highly customized uniforms that will be revealed just days prior to the start of the 2010 college football season.

Logan Thomas and David Wilson are the future of Virginia Tech's offense.

“We’re fortunate to have two quality back ups at quarterback, both of whom are at a stage that they can go in and win a game for us,” Beamer said in a release posted on HokieSports.com. “We felt the decision needed to be made at this time to give our No. 2 quarterback more reps in practice.”

Even with Thomas at No. 2, offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring wants him on the fieldthis season, which means that Thomas is also getting reps at tight end, a position at which he was a 4-star high school recruit. Stinespring acknowledged there is risk involved with having his No. 2 QB on the field playing another position.

“Tyrod drops back and hits Logan down the middle … Logan gets dinged in the earhole and Tyrod twists his ankle … and you’re going to see somebody coming out of the stadium with no parachute,” said Stinespring in a Roanoke Times article, making a joke about himself and being in the press box area during games.

The Times has a good article about the backup quarterback position with great quotes from QB coach Mike O’Cain, Frank Beamer and Stinespring.

The honor roll is comprised of student-athletes who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a grade point average of 3.00 or better for the full academic year. The conference acknowledged 2,761 student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom during the 2009-10 academic year.

Duke led the league with 424 selections. Boston College followed with 363. Maryland was third with 277 honorees, while North Carolina came in fourth with 262. Virginia had 246 student-athletes on the list, followed by Florida State with 216. Clemson and Virginia Techeach had 209 student-athletes recognized. NC State (168), Georgia Tech (155) and Wake Forest (149) and Miami (83) rounded out the list.

Headlining this year’s honor roll are 19 five-time honorees, led by Duke and Virginia Tech which each tallied four. Below are the 21 Hokies that made the list. For a complete list, clickhere.

• Jeffrey Beyer
• Brent Bowden
• Grant Bowden
• Jarrett Boykin
  
• Nekos Brown
• Chris Drager
  
• Joshue Eadie
• Zach Evans
  
• Antone Exum
• Darian Fisher
• Roy Gentry
• George George
• John Graves
  
• Chris Hazley
• Andrew Miller
• Mark Muncey
• Joseph Phillips
• Matt Reidy
• William Tuttle
• David Wang
  
• Jerome Williams

(Source: TheACC.com and HokieSports.com)

Farrow is listed at 6 feet tall and 178 pounds. His 40-time is listed at 4.43 seconds, which is really good and will only improve once he gets into Tech’s strength and conditioning program.

The rising high school senior chose Frank Beamer and the Hokies at the end of his visit to the Blacksburg campus where he toured the football facilities, watched a practice and met with coaches, according to TechSideline.com. He hadn’t left Blacksburg yet before making a decision.

Brian Mohr from HokieHaven.com (a Rivals.com site), interviewed Farrow following his decision and spoke about his experience visiting Blacksburg, both on campus and off.

“I really understand the whole feel of what people say is the Hokienation, this is it, that was a big thing for me, the fan support is much appreciated and I liked it a lot,” said Farrow. “I went downtown into the stores and the people were real nice. Also, the stadium was great and the way they ran practice, the guys are upbeat and everyone had smiles on their face, enjoying themselves.”

Farrow also pointed to Tech’s coaching staff as another key factor in why he chose the Hokies over Wisconsin, Michigan State and West Virginia.

“Coach Beamer has been there years before I was even born and it’s a stable coaching staff. I felt like it’d be a real nice fit for me.”

Farrow committed to the Spartans earlier this year, but changed his mind and continued his search. Before visiting Tech, the defensive back and kick returner went to Morgantown to check out the West Virginia University Mountaineers.

Read more of Farrow’s interview with Rivals.com. (Subcription required)

Goins is the 10th high school player to commit the Hokies’ 2011 recruiting class. The rising senior is listed by Rivals.com at 6-5, 288-pounds, and while he’s not nationally ranked, he is the first offensive lineman the Hokies have added to the class and the sixth player from the Commonwealth of Virginia in the class.

Picking up Goins was a minor victory for the Hokies, who earlier this recruiting season lost two 4-star offensive lineman to UNC. The Virginian-Pilot‘s Kyle Tucker write more about those here: Hokies land offensive lineman for class of 2011.

Here’s the Hokies’ 2011 recruiting class so far: