It's Finally Here

Can you feel it?

It’s the sound of helmets clashing and the smell of freshly cut grass on a 90-degree afternoon.

It’s the awkward spectacle of a 300 pound lineman splashing into a tub of ice water to cool down; an act that would render mere mortals speechless and short of breath.

It’s sharp cuts, spin moves, tackling dummies and hard hits.

It’s football season and it’s finally here.

Virginia Tech is deep in the thick of fall preparations as the NFL preseason starts and college teams are in camps all across the nation.

Football junkies no longer need their support groups nor must they resort to watching Arena League Football or game tape from last season just to get a fix.

For Tech fans the excitement has been building since spring for this upcoming run at glory.

There’s plenty to look forward to this season and Tech’s football media day left us with some exciting tidbits.

The defense is hungry. Bud Foster made it clear when he spoke to the media that the Hokie defense isn’t assuming anything and that they have managed to maintain focus.

He also said that Vince Hall is the best football player he’s coached, ever.

Xavier Adibi is up to 235 pounds and hasn’t lost any speed. The Tech defense looks as daunting as ever in their quest to finish ranked first in overall defense for the third consecutive season.

The offense has veterans.

Eddie Royal, Justin Harper, Josh Hyman and Josh Morgan are all seniors and they give second year starting quarterback Sean Glennon reliable targets.

Glennon has regained the confidence of his teammates and looks to be much more sure of himself throughout early practice. He knows he’s the starter and that seems to have settled him down.

Glennon has shown a better grasp of the offense and of course there’s still Brandon Ore’s rushing to take the pressure off the passing game.

The only question mark to how good this team can be revolves around the offensive line.

Ed Wang’s injury leaves a large hole in an offensive line that was already lacking depth. The Hokies will look to some of the young guys such as Blake DeChristopher, Khalil Latif and Jaymes Brooks to provide depth and potentially see significant playing time much sooner than anticipated.

But who cares about question marks at a time like this?

We’re on the precipice of what could be one of the greatest seasons in Virginia Tech history. The nation is rallying around this team, and while the circumstances are still unthinkable there’s always room for more Hokies.

It’s one of the best parts of football season, that special time of year when your team is undefeated and your rivals haven’t won any games this season.

Predictions and hype aside, get ready for one heck of a season because it’s finally here.