With the NCAA Tournament out of the way and all losing bracket sheets consigned to the waste basket, we can now turn our undivided attention to that annual rite of spring, the spring football game. It certainly is obliging of the NCAA to take Tech’s spring practice into account when scheduling their tournament. It is a testament to the power of Tech football and the clout of our athletic director that Myles Brand will call to find out the date of Tech’s spring game and then ensure that the Final four is done in time for fans to watch some Tech football. Or at least something closely approximating football.

I will confess to not being the most avid follower of the daily updates surround Tech’s spring practice, although for the sake of this Web site I’m glad there are many who do. While the practice updates have been informative as to what’s going on, I am not one who closely scrutinizes every coach’s every comment to attempt to discern what said coach ‘really meant.’ The panic-stricken cries heard last year around this time, those of ‘We don’t have any wide receivers’ were muted when the season started and the Tech coaches seemed to be able to conjure up several. This year’s plaintive wails of ’What about linemen?’ will more than likely also abate come around '06 when the coaching staff will have some magically appear. I feel reasonably certain that at some time on or about September 3-4 Tech will put a team onto the field at Carter-Finley Stadium and chances are it will be a pretty good one. I let others sweat the small stuff.

There will be precious little information to be gained about the '05 Tech team from this Saturday’s game, using the term ‘game’ quite loosely. Judging from past examples, the prime directive Saturday will be to 1) avoid getting anybody hurt and 2) get it over with. This is hardly unique to Tech.

Coaches generally dislike the actual playing of a spring game. It takes very little to get them to call it off. Toward the end of his reign in Hooville, George Welsh saw no reason to even bother with it. Of course, towards the end of his reign, George also saw no reason for continuing other things, such as recruiting Tidewater or, at the very end, even winning seven games, among the reasons George no longer wanders the Hoo Smithsonian.

The arrival of algroh in Hooville has brought us not a run-of-the-mill inter-squad game but the Hoo Football Festivus. There might even be a few people taking time out from that marvelous theatric production of ‘Waiting for Tubby’ being held daily on the Lawn to come watch it. The airing of salary grievances by algroh should be interesting. The feats of strength portion of Festivus will not be quite as compelling, as Dave Leitao or Marc Ivaroni or whichever second, third, fourth or fifth choice Craig Littlepage can actually get to say ‘Yes’ will likely be lifting a much lighter check than Tubby would have hoisted.

Ted Roof at Duke cancelled his this year due to not having enough players to flesh out two squads. That provides ample evidence as to how the recruiting of depth is going in Durham. Down 15-501 in Chapel Hill, those terrific event planners at North Carolina scheduled their spring game on the same Saturday their basketball team were kicking up their Heels in the Final Four. Yep, they’re a football school. At NC State it took a while to get around to playing a game, what with so much of spring practice being devoted to new assistant coaches introducing themselves. When close to half of your staff are wearing name tags reading ‘Hello, My Name Is ….’ it cuts into instruction time. And instruction time is what spring practice is about.

It is a time for individual instruction. Coaches not faced with the pressures of an opponent looming at week’s end have their best opportunity of the year to spend quality time teaching their charges in the way things should be done. Among the position groupings, quarterbacks at Tech have been instructed in things such as reading defensive schemes, finding secondary receivers and the importance of those speed limit signs along I-64 between Richmond and Newport News. There has no doubt been intensive coaching given on avoiding blitzing linebackers and the distaff temptations that seem to be causing problems for the Vick boys all up and down the Baja Peninsula.

Marcus Vick. That name has caused much excitement around the Hokie Nation for quite a while now. The annual spring game has provided the rare opportunity of actually seeing him on the field. He has looked pretty good in past ones and no doubt will again this Saturday. Marcus playing in April hasn’t been the problem; it’s having him out there when real games are actually played in the fall that has proven so vexing. Tech’s wayward quarterback-in-waiting claims to have learned all the lessons provided by the criminal justice system and is ready to start fulfilling that vast potential he has carried with him since the days his famous older brother dazzled Tech fans and everybody else. Running out of opportunities, Marcus really needs to make this one count, both for his sake and the program’s.

This is a Tech team that looks to be oozing talent everywhere. What is doesn’t have, at least at this stage over four months before the season, is the calm, mature, experienced senior leadership that was provided last year by Bryan Randall both on and off the field. The reins of this year’s team weren’t quite handed to Marcus this spring, but there was little doubt among most as to who would emerge as the starting quarterback. Much of Tech’s success in '05 will be determined not by how Marcus plays in this scrimmage, but the level of maturity achieved that hopefully will allow him to lead this team in September. The safety net provided by Bryan is gone and it is Marcus’ time. The quarterback position is arguably the most important one in any sport. Bryan Randall grew into that position in body, mind and spirit. Whether Marcus has acquired the level of personal responsibility to be a Tech quarterback will not be determined Saturday.

While very little will be learned about the '05 Tech football team Saturday, that really doesn’t matter. The spring game has turned into a thirty-five thousand strong social event, one that excites large numbers of fans and strikes such terror into the Montgomery County hog population. It is a time to tailgate. The relaxed attitudes are much different from the regimented Gameday tailgating drills. The casual atmosphere enables many to see old friends they never quite are able to visit with during the season, and hopefully make new ones. By the way, I will be the white-haired guy most likely sporting a cigar and whatever adult beverage I can mooch from the TSL crowd. Bring extra.