It’s only the middle of June, but the hype machine is already cranking out the story lines. Marcus Vick returns to Virginia Tech and will take over the starting quarterback job. Virginia Tech has a strong team, and is looking to defend their ACC Championship. The Hokies will have to get past Miami and Florida State this year to win the conference. You know the deal. It happens every year now-a-days. But this year is a little different.

Sure, some "experts" picked the Hokies to play for the National Championship in 2001 and 2003. And there were definitely some good reasons to do so. But when it comes down to it, the 2005 team is more similar to the 1999 team than either the 2001 or 2003 squads. Let’s take a look at each position on the 1999 and 2005 teams and see what is similar or different, as well as deciding on if the position is upgraded, downgraded, or about the same.

The Hokies had an unproven quarterback in 1999, and will in 2005 as well. In both cases, the quarterback is fast. He has an incredible arm. And in both cases, his last name is Vick. Despite being a r-freshman in 1999, Michael Vick did pretty well for the Hokies, setting an NCAA record for passing efficiency by a freshman, finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting and leading Tech to the National Championship game against Florida State.

Marcus Vick will begin his first season as a starter with much more of a burden on his shoulders than Michael did. The first burden is, of course, Michael himself. Just having the same last name, not to mention the same types of abilities, is enough to draw comparisons. The other burden for Marcus is overcoming his greatly publicized and tumultuous past. Not to mention the fact that he is replacing the 2004 ACC Player of the Year in Bryan Randall.

It’s a lot to ask, but if Marcus can make the same types of plays that Michael made in 1999, the Hokies have a chance to run the table in 2005. Because of Michael’s accomplishments, I’ve got to say this position is downgraded. It sure as heck won’t be upgraded. But Marcus does have a chance to be a very special player.

Again, this is a similar position to the 1999 duo of Shyrone Stith and Andre Kendrick. Stith was coming off a good, not great season in 1998 during which he split time with Lamont Pegues. Stith wasn’t as big as Cedric Humes but was the same type of back…a bruiser with good, but not great, speed. If Humes can break out and have the 1,100 yard season that Stith had in 1999, then a lot of pressure is taken off Marcus Vick.

Of course, it’s not set in stone that Humes will start, although I think that he probably will. The other tailback, Mike Imoh, is pretty good in his own right, as was Andre Kendrick in 1999, when Kendrick set a VT single-season record for average yards per carry (6.3). They are similar players as well. Both are short (5’7" or less), shifty tailbacks who greatly complement the style provided by Humes and Stith.

I’ll go ahead and say this position is an upgrade, if only slightly, just for the simple reason that Tech has more depth at the tailback spot in 2005. George Bell and Branden Ore are ready to play as r-freshmen, and Lee Suggs was not in 1999.

In 2004, Tech switched their offense from one that was dependent on a good run-blocking fullback, to more of a two or three tight end look. This is largely due to the fact that the talent level at fullback has dropped from the Jarrett Ferguson, Doug Easlick and Brian Edmonds days. Heck, the 1999 group not only had a great starter in Ferguson, but a great backup in Cullen Hawkins. Jesse Allen is the starter by default heading into 2005, but it’s possible that incoming freshman Kenny Jefferson could challenge for playing time.

This position is a definite downgrade from 1999, but at the same time, it’s not as much of a factor in the offense’s ability to execute as it once was.

Derrick Carter, Browning Wynn and Bob Slowikowski made up a very good group of tight ends in 1999. Two of the three went on to get shots in the NFL, and all three were talented players. However, the tight end position wasn’t as utilized in 1999 as it was in 2004, with Jeff King as the starter.

King is one of the best tight ends in the country. His backup, Duane Brown, has the potential to be the best tight end in Tech history. Brown, a tremendous athlete, has already become one of Marcus Vick’s favorite targets in practice. Because of the talent level of King and Brown, as well as the offensive focus switch from fullback to tight end, I’m calling the 2005 tight end position an upgrade over 1999.

The 1999 squad had a couple of very good starters in Andre Davis and Ricky Hall. However, behind Davis and Hall, the Hokies possessed very little quality depth. That isn’t the case in 2005, where the Hokies will be able to line up six quality wideouts on offense.

VT’s only loss from 2004 is Richard Johnson, but he will be easily replaced. The only question heading into August two-a-days is who is going to start. Sophomores Eddie Royal, Josh Hyman, Josh Morgan and Justin Harper, plus junior David Clowney, are each capable of starting, and each may have a future at the next level. Throw in r-freshman Jeremy Gilchrist and the Hokies are just loaded at wide receiver.

This position is a definite upgrade over 1999.

It’s not likely that the 2005 offensive line will equal the 1999 offensive line. Every starter on the 1999 offensive line was either drafted or signed a free agent contract in the NFL. It was one of the best run blocking offensive lines in Tech history, though it struggled in pass protection.

The 2005 group will be similar to the 1999 group, but not as good. The starters are very experienced for the most part, but there is little depth behind them. I think this line will be solid-to-good in the running game, but just like every other offensive line since J.B. Grimes left, will struggle to protect the quarterback (although that might not be a bad thing with Vick’s legs). Think of this 2005 group as a poor man’s 1999 offensive line. This position is a downgrade.

As good as Tech defensive line is expected to be in 2005, I can’t see it being quite as good as the 1999 group that featured the best defensive end in America (Corey Moore), another All-American defensive end (John Engelberger) and two very good defensive tackles in Nathaniel Williams and Carl Bradley. Not to mention the backups, defensive ends Derrius Monroe and Chris Cyrus and defensive tackles David Pugh and Chad Beasley.

The 2005 group features a possible first team All-American in Darryl Tapp, a very good defensive tackle in Jonathon Lewis, and a star in the making, Chris Ellis. Throw in Noland Burchette and Carlton Powell, and this is a very good defensive line, maybe the best in the ACC. But there is a lack of depth at the defensive tackle position, and until someone actually steps up and gives the same type of production as Corey Moore, I can’t give any other grade than a downgrade, albeit a slight one. If an injury occurs, this group could get a lot worse. However, if depth emerges at defensive tackle, it gets a lot better.

The 1999 group was headlined by Jamel Smith, a Third Team All-American, at the backer position. Michael Hawkes was the starter at mike, and Ben Taylor played whip. This was a very good group of inside linebackers, but at times Ben Taylor, a natural inside linebacker, struggled at the whip spot.

The 2005 group should be very good, if not better, despite starting two sophomores. I think Vince Hall will be the equal of Michael Hawkes at the mike spot in 2005, and maybe even better. There is no doubt that James Anderson is a better whip than Ben Taylor was, although with the whip linebacker being more of a traditional linebacker in 2005, Taylor would probably do very well now. At this point, it would be unfair to call Xavier Adibi the equal of Jamel Smith. Adibi is more athletic and has a higher ceiling, but Jamel Smith was an All-American for a reason.

Right now I’m calling the 2005 linebackers equal to the 1999 unit, with the possibility that they can be better. However, with an injury they could end up not being nearly as good.

The 1999 secondary found themselves in the same position as the 2005 secondary -- losing three starters from the previous season. Keion Carpenter, Pierson Prioleau and Loren Johnson had completed their eligibility after the 1998 Music City Bowl victory over Alabama, and the secondary was the big question mark of Tech’s defense heading into 1999. Things turned out to be pretty good…three of the four members of that secondary, Cory Bird, Ike Charlton and Nick Sorensen, went on to have NFL careers. The other, Anthony Midget, was a third team All-American who was drafted but did not make an NFL roster.

Like the 1999 squad, the 2005 Hokies should be very good at the starting cornerback positions. Jimmy Williams is arguably the best corner in college football, and Roland Minor is a rising star. Depth is an issue, as it was in 1999, especially with the recent arrests of Theo Miller and Brandon Flowers.

In my opinion, the key to the entire secondary is D.J. Parker and how he adapts to the free safety position. As a true freshman in 2004, Parker played 91 defensive snaps (not very many) at cornerback. He is very inexperienced, and it will be tough for him to match the production and leadership of fifth-year senior Vinnie Fuller. If he plays well, the Tech secondary will be good. If not, then the front seven better be putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback.

This position is a downgrade until they prove it on the field.

I won’t spend a lot of time discussing this one. Shayne Graham is the best kicker in the history of Virginia Tech football. Brandon Pace is good, a First Team All-ACC selection, but until he gets better with his clutch kicking, Graham is the man. How will Pace fare if WVU leads Tech in Morgantown 21-19 with 4 seconds left? This position is a downgrade.

Nick Schmitt has the strongest leg of any punter who has ever played at Tech. When he gets hold of one, it goes a long ways. But he’s inconsistent. I like to call him the Andrew Jones of Virginia Tech football. He either crushes the ball or strikes out. He could easily be better than Kibble, and I think he probably will be, but until he proves it on the field I’ve got to say that punter is a downgrade.

I think the Hokies are going to be very good offensively this fall. They have a quarterback who can run and throw. They have two tailbacks with different running styles and who complement each other very well. Every one of their wide receivers has big play potential, and there is a mixture of big, physical receivers (Harper, Morgan) and small, slippery ones (Royal and Clowney). They have two high quality tight ends. I think the offensive line can be a solid run blocking unit, and even when a pass rusher breaks through, Vick could potentially break it into a long run.

Defensively, Tech should be very good. Not as good as 1999 or 2004, but very good nonetheless. I would put this group in the top 15 nationally, rather than the top five defenses that made up the 1999 and 2004 squads. Injuries could potentially hurt because of the lack of depth. But I will also recognize the fact that if some young players like Kory Robertson or Barry Booker step up, this defense could be even better than we expect.

As far as the team as a whole is concerned, I’m not sold that it’s as sure a thing as a lot of people, for a few reasons:

1) Will this team have the chemistry of the 1999 or 2004 squads? We won’t know until the season starts.

2) We all know how the Hokies have done the last few years when they were predicted to finish high in the rankings. I can’t ignore that kind of history, though I think this team is much more complete than those teams that failed at the end of the year.

3) Lack of quality depth on defense. If there is an injury at defensive tackle, free safety or cornerback, the Hokies could be hurt severely. The same thing can be said on offense, where, if Tech loses a key offensive lineman, or worse, Marcus Vick, it won’t be nearly as effective.

I do think this 2005 team will be very good. I look at the schedule and see that there is not a single game right now where Tech would not be favored. They definitely have a shot at running the table. But I don’t think they will. Doing that takes a lot of luck and fewer question marks than the Hokies have.

So without further ado, here are my bold predictions for 2005.

1) The Hokies go undefeated at home, and drop one game on the road to either NC State, Virginia or West Virginia.

2) The Hokies will win the Coastal Division and play Florida State for the ACC Championship.

3) The Hokies will lose to FSU yet again, in another hard fought game. The Seminoles will block a Tech punt for the third game in a row (Beamerball, as we once knew it, is dead) and beat the Hokies by four.

4) The Hokies will go to the Gator Bowl and finally get revenge on Pittsburgh.

5) Marcus Vick establishes himself as a top quarterback, and will be one of the leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy heading into 2006, a season where the Hokies have a chance to be pretty good again, if they could just find some offensive linemen.