Now that "full" practices have started, information is starting to trickle out of Blacksburg, and there are two noteworthy items that have surfaced in the past few days.

The Knee:  Item #1 concerns the most talked-about knee in the state of Virginia - Al Clark's. And the news is good. In the last day, two Hokie fans who have witnessed practices report that from what they can see, Al is no longer in pain and appears to be almost full speed.

One eyewitness reported to me that Al was going full-bore and wasn't "gimping" at all, even when walking around between plays.

These reports jive with what the coaches and Al himself have been saying, namely, that there is no more pain, and it's just a question of building the knee and leg back up to full strength. Al has been pushing himself hard in rehab and, according to Coach Beamer, should be "ready to go" by the ECU game on September 5th.

So, one question in the preseason appears to be getting answered. There are still other question marks, mainly the offensive line and the receiving corps (more on that later).

Emmett Impresses:  Topic #2 that has Hokie fans and the press talking is the early impressions of true freshman receiver Emmett Johnson from Chesapeake. Emmett is a sleeper, a player who played high school football sparingly. Emmett played as a sophomore in high school, quit to run track as a junior, and then returned to play as a senior, amassing about 450 yards on 20 catches.

Now that Emmett is here at Tech, many observers have been pleasantly surprised by his abilities and his physical presence, and the word now is that Emmett is good enough to play this year, without redshirting. He is impressing the coaches with his size, his routes, his hands, and his general instincts for the game.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Emmett is that he may be larger than originally thought. He was listed during recruiting at 6'3" 180, but rumor has it that at the start of summer practice he was measured at 6'4-1/4", 195 lbs., and ran a 4.45 forty (no question, the speed is there with Emmett - in high school, he ran a leg on a state champion 400-meter relay team - but the height and weight are just hearsay, so take them with a grain of salt).

Greg Roberts of Channel 10 in Roanoke must have picked up on the buzz, because Monday night, he cranked up the Emmett Johnson hype machine one more notch by running a story on him. Greg is one of the most excitable sports anchors I've ever seen, and he didn't mince words as he described Emmett as almost a sure bet to see significant playing time this season.

As Greg talked, I watched the film clips of Emmett closely. When looking at a receiver, I always watch for how he catches the ball, because the best receivers have big, soft hands, and they catch the ball away from their bodies, without letting it hit them in the gut, shoulder pads, or arms. Picture former Wahoo and VT-killer Herman Moore reaching up to snag a high pass securely in his gloved hands, and that's what I look for.

The clips showed Emmett running four patterns in the Rector Field House, with two balls being thrown his way. He caught both of them easily, his hands out, with no bobbling. He seems to have the gift of great hands, like all the great receivers do.

He has looked good in early drills, but the key for Emmett Johnson now is how well he'll play when the pads go on and headhunters like Lorenzo Ferguson, Ike Charlton, and Pierson Prioleau lay a helmet on him. Emmett even admitted as such, saying on television that he felt as if he could run the deep pattern on anyone, but that his routes "across the middle" needed work.

Probably not. It seemed to most Hokie fans, me included, that the offensive line wasn't doing a very good job protecting the quarterback and opening holes for the running game last year. Ken Oxendine often seemed to stutter-step hesitantly behind the line, as if looking for a hole that was non-existent, and the Hokies gave up more sacks than usual last year.

But, while it looked as if the line wasn't playing well, two starters, Gennaro DiNapoli and Todd Washington, were drafted in the fourth round after season's end. What gives?

While I agree that last year's line wasn't as dominating as the 1995 and 1996 offensive lines, I think there were three factors that conspired to make them look even worse:

1.) Oxendine was slow hitting the hole.

This isn't any secret. We saw Ken hesitate too long many times last year, and a few players this year have commented on it, saying that Shyrone Stith and Lamont Pegues hit the holes much faster. At the collegiate and pro levels, any hole that appears doesn't stay open very long, and you have to take advantage of it while it's there.

(Speaking of Oxendine, he has been nearly invisible in the Falcon's camp so far, but last weekend, he finally busted out with 65 yards on 13 carries, plus 19 yards on two catches.  The coaches appear satisfied with his play, plus the fans and the media are warming up to a guy who will be sorely missed here at Tech.)

2.) Our receiving corps was decimated by injury and couldn't take pressure off the running game - or Al Clark.

That fact has been well-documented. You know that your receiving corps is in trouble when you go to the Gator Bowl, and you see Ken Handy lining up across from Dre Bly. Not to knock the Handy-man, who is a good utility receiver and is the master of the diving catch, but he's not a first-line receiver, primarily because he isn't big enough, strong enough, and fast enough to consistently separate himself from good defenders.

3.) Al Clark had no mobility, due primarily to his injury, and he tends to hold the ball too long.

The one flaw I can see in Al's play last year was that he tended to eat the ball a lot, instead of getting rid of it quickly. In all fairness, he didn't have receivers who were getting open, and perhaps he's accustomed to holding the ball, because he usually runs with it when no one's open ... but the run option was taken away, due to his injury.

So these three factors probably made the offensive line look worse than it was. It will be interesting to see if this year's young line benefits from quicker tailbacks, an improved (and hopefully healthy) receiving corps, and a healthier and more experienced Al Clark.

The coaches have said that although they're young, this year's line is physically very talented, and in time, they'll gel into an excellent offensive line. I hope they're right.   As the ten-win seasons of 1995 and 1996 recede further in the past, I think more and more about how the offensive line was an integral part of that success.

The Hokies - and Mike Gentry - have always manufactured great offensive linemen, and I hope the new crop is no exception.

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