TECH NOTES: QB situation may be interesting in spring

QB situation may be interesting in spring

One of the advantages to playing in a bowl game, as Virginia Tech will do Jan. 1 in the Orange Bowl against Cincinnati, is getting an extra month to practice and prepare backups for bigger roles next season.

Tech coach Frank Beamer uses pre-bowl practices to involve scout-team players more than he does during the season. This could prove helpful for quarterback Joseph "Ju-Ju" Clayton, a redshirt freshman from Hermitage High School.

When spring practice begins, Clayton could be Tyrod Taylor's backup. Taylor, a sophomore, is Tech's only scholarship quarterback besides Clayton who will have eligibility remaining.

Tech's coaches wanted Kevin Newsome, a highly regarded quarterback recruit from Chesapeake. He chose Penn State last week. Another top quarterback, Tajh Boyd from Phoebus High School in Hampton, is available but Tech is not pursuing him.

The quarterback situation could change between now and the spring, but there is little doubt Clayton will have a significant, and perhaps critical, role next fall, since Taylor has missed time with injuries in each of his first two seasons.

Junior tight end Greg Boone, who played quarterback in high school, believes there is a strong chance he will spend some time at quarterback in the spring, though he said the coaches haven't talked to him about it. He has lined up in the shotgun this season for Tech's Wild Turkey formation.

Boone recently spoke with Clayton about 2009. "What if Tyrod got hurt and you had to go in there?" Boone asked him. Clayton said he'd just have to go in and make plays. "Yeah, you're gonna be rattled as a freshman," Boone responded.

Clayton, Boone said, responded by saying he never gets rattled. "This ain't high school no more," Boone said in an interview. "This is the ACC. You're probably going to get rattled.

"I think it will be a good possibility of me going back there and playing some more quarterback, because Ju-Ju has not really proven himself yet, since he's a freshman and hasn't been on the field. He doesn't know how the game experience is. Hopefully he'll be ready. He ain't got no choice but to be ready."

Evans to see old friend

Tech redshirt freshman tailback Darren Evans will reunite with one of his best friends at the Orange Bowl. Evans played at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis with Adrien Robinson, a redshirt freshman tight end for Cincinnati.

He and Evans have known each other since fourth or fifth grade and, "We've been playing ball forever," Evans said.

Robinson attended a camp at Tech with Evans before their junior year in high school. Cincinnati did not heavily recruit Evans, who was courted mainly by Big Ten schools.

Robinson has appeared in six games this season and has one catch for 12 yards.

Rankings history a boost for Hokies?

Tech is ranked 21st in The Associated Press poll heading into the Orange Bowl. Cincinnati is 12th. The Hokies have a chance to finish in the top 19 for the fifth consecutive season. They finished ninth last year.

Beamer, in his 22nd season, is 13-28 against top-15 teams, including 12-12 since the beginning of the 1995 season and 10-7 since 2002. For nine of Beamer's 13 wins over top-15 teams, Tech was unranked or ranked lower than its opponent. -- Darryl Slater
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