The Hokies held two more practices, a shorts-and-helmets practice on Friday and the first practice in pads Saturday. Find out who got some attention Friday when he stopped by the practice, why the Jamerson Center windows are in danger, who looks good … and who got juked out of his shoes.

One of our insiders says that he realized how much leadership the Hokies may have lost with the departure of Bryan Randall when BR showed up in the middle of Friday's practice, and the VT players circled around him like moths to a flame.

Randall arrived without fanfare and stood between the two practice fields, near the base of Frank Beamer's tower. Shortly afterwards, the air horn blew and the players halted pass skeleton drills and moved from one practice field to the other for special teams punting work. This brought the team and coaches right by where Randall was standing, and he received a hero's welcome. In particular, the current QBs (Sean Glennon, Marcus Vick and Cory Holt) all gravitated to him, though it certainly wasn't a quarterbacks-only gathering.

Even when Randall wasn't interacting with the other players, as when he was checking his cell phone for a text message, he seemed to be the epicenter of activity.

Our insider noted. "I found myself thinking, you can replace the passing and the running, but can you replace that? They flock to him. He's the man."

That's reminiscent of the atmosphere around Corey Moore during his incredible senior season. Moore, always one to play it cool, was nonetheless the center of a nucleus of players wherever he went. The other players were drawn to him.

Also from Friday's practice, message board poster Bullseye Hokie described Nic Schmitt's punting during the special teams drills:

They lined Pride and Joy up and had Nic Schmitt catch the snap between the two practice fields and punt the ball towards Cassell/Jamerson. Let me tell you, when Nic kicks, people pay attention. The skill position players and linemen who are standing around during the drill hoot and holler when Schmitt bounces it off Jamerson. When he bounces it off the second or third floor, the hoots and hollers get louder. When he bounced it off the wall between the second and third floor windows, I heard one of the guys yell, "That leg don't weigh sixty pounds for nothing!" (I don't really know what that means, but I thought it was funny.)

FYI, I think that's about a 50-60 yard punt. I don't know, I'm not good at judging those things. Let's just say that they had Jared Develli punt some too, and he's not taking the job away from Nic Schmitt.

Nic just needs to kick like that consistently. He can be a really good one if he just gets consistent. Even in the low-pressure drill they were running, he wasn't real consistent, though most of his punts did hit the building.

Saturday, the players put the pads on for the first time. Wet weather sent the team inside Rector Field House, where one of our trusty insiders checked things out and reported on a few items.

• Lost in all the hoopla over the great performance last season by receivers Eddie Royal, Josh Hyman, Josh Morgan and David Clowney was Jeremy Gilchrist, a talented 2004 recruit from Landstown High in Virginia Beach who redshirted last year. As a senior at Landstown in 2003, Gilchrist caught 87 passes for 1,439 yards and 18 touchdowns.
  
  Our insider watched Gilchrist closely Saturday and reported, "Gilchrist catches EVERYTHING. I mean everything. Dude gets open, doesn't drop it. I was on the other sideline when he made a tough catch and two players on a knee in front of me said, "dammmnnnnn" simultaneously. Exactly, I said.

• The Aaron Rouse experiment at rover, where he has been moved and is currently #1 on the depth chart, appears to be going well. The #1 "back" unit of Xavier Adibi, Vince Hall, James Anderson, Roland Minor, Jimmy Williams, Rouse, and D.J. Parker (currently listed #1 at free safety) looks very good. We're told the dropoff to the second unit is considerable, though Brandon Flowers looks like he will be a decent corner. There is room for Macho Harris to play next year. Chris Ceasar is currently the other #2 corner, and our sources diplomatically say, "That isn't going well."

• Former tailback/former wide receiver Justin Hamilton, who is listed behind Parker at safety, got a lesson in assignment football Saturday, courtesy of Cory Holt. Holt came down the line on an option, and Hamilton recognized the play and got in position. Holt faked the pitch, and Hamilton bought it big time and left a huge hole for Holt to accelerate through.

• Saturday, when the Hokies ran a two-tight end set, it was Jeff King and John Kinzer, instead of King and Duane Brown. Brown is listed second on the depth chart, ahead of Kinzer. One is left to wonder if Kinzer, who spent last season at fullback, was getting the work because he needed it more than Brown.