TechSideline.com: News and Notes

This past weekend, I had a good time attending a Virginia Tech football recruiting roundup at Boomer's Deli/Greg Roberts Sports Club in Roanoke. There was lots of info presented at the roundup, and I'm going to cover it in a series of News and Notes articles this week.

First of all, let me plug Boomer's and Greg Roberts Sports Club. I'm not exactly sure how Boomer's classifies themselves, but the best description I can come up with is that they're a deli/bar/sports club. You can buy sandwiches, grab a beer, and have a seat, or you can walk around and admire the sports memorabilia that hangs on the walls. Some of it is big-time stuff, like an old Steve Spurrier jersey from his college playing days.

Greg Roberts Sports Club (GRSC) is attached to Boomer's - you can walk from Boomer's over to Greg Roberts without going outside. The club is run by the same Greg Roberts who heads the sports department at our favorite TV station for Hokie sports coverage, WSLS newschannel 10 in Roanoke. GRSC is smaller than Boomer's, but it's a very similar place, with a bar, some seating, and a menu that features pub-type food.

The sports memorabilia in GRSC is more Hokie-centric. If you're a Hokie fan, you can spend at least 15-20 minutes gazing at the stuff Greg has on the wall: old Hokie posters, old Hokie jerseys, promotional photos, candid photos, team photos - all kinds of stuff. There's a little UVa stuff there, too, so the Wahoos won't feel completely left out, but overall GRSC is an excellent Hokie hangout, and I recommend that you try it out.

The roundup was held in Boomer's, and about 100 people attended each of the two three-hour sessions. Greg Roberts emceed the event, with the help of Justin Ditmore, but most of the presentation was done by Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations John Ballein. I had never met John, and I found out that he's a real fireball and an entertaining guy to listen to. He knows the football team inside and out. Assistant coach Jim Cavanaugh also spoke some - he recruited QB Michael Vick and DE Marlan Hicks, two of the Hokies' top recruits.

The format was engaging and entertaining. John presented 2-4 video clips of each signee, in groups of four or five, and then he took questions about the signees whose clips he had just shown. For example, his first group of clips were of T.J. Jackson, Grant Noel, Willie Pile, Travis Turner, and Vick. Then he cut the video off and took questions about those five guys. Then he did the next five kids, etc., etc.

John Ballein talked about the much-rumored deal between Tech and Nike, and he said that it will indeed happen. The apparel deal will not be for all-sports (like, say, the UNC deal), but just football and men's basketball. The contract will run until the year 2001 or 2002 - John couldn't remember which, but he did speak of it being a five-year deal, so I think it's probably 2002. Money terms were not disclosed.

Next year's football uniforms will look "almost exactly" like the 1997 uniforms, and then the new Nike designs will appear in 1999. So I'm guessing that the 1998 uniforms will basically be Starter uniforms with the Nike swoosh stripe on them.

Nike-manufactured Tech merchandise will not be available to the general public for about a year, but the good news is, Nike is known for producing good-looking, classy designs in their sports apparel (although their shoes are another matter entirely). And maybe, if we're lucky, they'll produce merchandise that is one color of maroon - the correct color. Starter never did get that trick right, and what's worse, they never even tried.

Although the football uniforms won't change much next year, the Hokies will have new helmets in 1998. Greg and Justin pulled out a helmet that was covered by a T-shirt, and while Justin held the helmet, Greg said "The Hokies are gonna have a new look next year. They've got new helmets."

My first thought was OH, NO! I thought for sure that they were going to be some gold piece of garbage, or maybe some fashionably-teal monstrosity. I was dreading the moment that Justin pulled the T-shirt off the helmet, and when he did ... I was blown away. I don't know what you'll think, but I think the new headgear is COOL.

The orange and white striping down the middle of the helmet is now gone, and instead of white, the facemask is now maroon. Thankfully, the VT logos have not changed a bit. They're the same size, color, and location. I think the new helmets are very dark and very Darth Vader-ish, and I was instantly in love. I don't know what you'll think, but I'm sold.

To give you a preview, VamPIre Hokie (who has relocated from Blacksburg to Richmond - he must have gotten a job) grabbed the helmet pic off my front page and quickly added the changes. The result isn't very artistic, but you'll get the idea:

Does this helmet remind you of anything? That's right - it's very similar to UVa's helmet, except it's done with the Hokie colors and Hokie logo. Regardless of the design similarity to the Wahoo helmet, I like it.

The helmet was presented on the Channel 10 sports news that same night. Later on this week, I'll have a video capture of the Channel 10 video, and I'll also capture some stills so you can get a good look at it. Mrs. HokieCentral took some pictures of the helmet, so I'll soon have a new helmet graphic for HokieCentral's front page.

The recruiting roundup started out with general questions on recruiting, and there were some good ones. Yours truly asked, "What is the relationship between Virginia Tech and Hampton High School coach Mike Smith?"

I asked that question because I've heard a lot about Smith, who heads one of the best high school programs in the country at Hampton High. Namely, I've heard that he steers his kids towards UVa and away from Tech, and I've heard that Smith can often be seen sporting UVa gear.

I can't remember if I asked the question to Coach Cavanaugh or John Ballein, but the answer was, "What's the relationship between Coach Smith and Virginia Tech? There isn't one." This story was then told: back in May of 1997, at the beginning of recruiting season, Frank Beamer got on a jet and flew to Hampton. He went to see Coach Smith, and since Frank Beamer doesn't go anywhere unannounced, Coach Smith knew darn well that Frank was coming to see him.

What did Coach Smith wear to his meeting with Frank Beamer? You got it - a UVa golf shirt.

I hope it doesn't upset John Ballein and Coach Cavanaugh that I relayed that story to the HokieCentral readers. I just wanted to remove any doubt about Mike Smith's relationship with UVa and Virginia Tech. Those of us in attendance at the recruiting roundup were told quite honestly, "Mike Smith's best friend in the world is (UVa Team Physician, Dr.) Frank McCue."

Naturally this topic came up, and when the particular subject of UVa came up, Cavanaugh and Ballein would grumble good-naturedly and refuse to comment - for the most part.

John did say two things about the way Virginia Tech conducts itself in recruiting that I wanted to pass on to you. Number one, he said that Virginia Tech does not actively attempt to get players who have verballed to other schools to switch to Virginia Tech, "because when you do that, you make the kid a liar."

Number two, John said that "Virginia Tech will not go into the house of a player who has verbally committed elsewhere." And John verified Tech's policy that when a player verbals to another school, the Tech coaches give that player a "courtesy call" (his words) on the telephone and ask, "Do you want us to stop calling?" If the player says, "yes," then Tech is done with that player, and the Hokies move on.

I'm not going to comment on those two facts - all I did was report them. And as a matter of fact, with that bit of reporting, I am done discussing UVa's recruiting tactics during this year's recruiting season. I'd like to avoid the topic next year, too, but George Welsh and company may make that impossible.