One of our best insiders checked out practice Wednesday and kept a close eye on most of the proceedings. We had him check out the offensive line play for some possible changes there, plus give us some thoughts on the backup QB battle and Justin Hamilton's chances at overtaking DJ Parker at free safety. Here's info on all that and more.

Offensive Line: Brandon Gore has forged his way into the starting lineup recently, changing the interior OL (RG-C-LG) from Jason Murphy, Danny McGrath and Will Montgomery to Murphy, Montgomery, and Brandon Gore. Using Wednesday's practice as a guide, the move appears to have been a good one.

"The interior offensive line looks solid to me," our insider said. "Gore, Monty and Murphy are certainly no worse than Monty, McGrath and Murphy, and probably are a little better at this point. I think we improved our offensive line with this move. Gore is huge, and will flatten some defensive tackles when he doubles down on whoever is covering up the center."

Sergio Render continues to demonstrate his potential, and if he can keep things on track, he appears to be a budding star at guard.

"Sergio Render looks pretty darn solid at right guard," we learned. "Not enough to displace Murphy right now, but my feeling is that Render will play some this year and take over the starting job next season [after Murphy is gone]. And he'll be better than Murphy, maybe as early as next season. He has good footwork and exceptional strength for a guy with his age and lack of experience. He finishes blocks too. He's not content with just standing the defender up...he makes a point to try to drive him into the secondary on every play. The quality of our future offensive lines went up a notch the day Render was moved to offensive guard."

Rumors and opinions are swirling that gifted tight end Duane Brown might be moved down to tackle, where he can use his size (6-5, 280) and nimble feet to shore up the outside of the line. For this to happen, freshman tight end Ed Wang will probably have to step up as a complement to starter Jeff King.

Our insider was looking to see where Brown lined up Wednesday. "Duane Brown played tight end today, and boy does he look impressive at that position. A true man among boys. I guess the coaches are still trying to evaluate Wang. I'd hate to lose Brown at tight end because he is such a weapon, but he can be a very good offensive lineman with his height, long arms and quick feet. Of course, right now it's just a rumor that his move is being considered. I guess well find out in the coming days." (Our insider missed the scrimmage portion of the practice, when Wang got some work at tight end, so we don't know how he did.)

Backup Quarterback: Behind Marcus Vick, things continue to be clear as mud. Our observer trumpeted a now-familiar refrain: "As far as backup quarterback goes, I think you can flip a coin. One day one guy is better, one day the other guy is better. My gut tells me that Holt will win the job. I just don't know whether it will be this year, next spring or next August.

"It's important that one guy separate himself from the other. VT needs to know what they are getting from their backup if Marcus ever goes down. As it stands now, both QBs look great at times, and not so great at times. At times, Glennon looks like he is pressing in order to keep his job. Honestly, I choose Holt right now if I'm Rogers. Even if they both made roughly the same amount of mental mistakes in a game, I believe Holt would be the better choice because he has a better arm. Not that Glennon's arm is bad...Holt's is just exceptional.

Free Safety: DJ Parker has been number one on the depth chart for a while now, and nothing against him, but you can forgive Hokie fans if many of them are rooting for likable, nomadic senior Justin Hamilton to play his final season as a starter. Things don't look good for Hamilton right now, though.

"Hamilton, God Bless him, will not start for VT, I don't think. He's just a little too behind at this point. He's playing fine right now, but it's obvious that DJ Parker has spent a year playing defensive back. Hamilton was covering Gilchrist on one play today and had great coverage on a fade route. He could have made a great play but couldn't get himself turned around in time, and Gilchrist made a great catch. Justin's just a split second too slow in some of his reactions.

"That said, he's improving daily and will see playing time I believe. He has a nose for the football and loves contact and appears to be a very good tackler. I really feel bad for Hamilton. He has the size and the ability of a prototypical safety, just not the experience. If he had spent his entire career at safety, or even just last season, I think he would be an NFL prospect.

"But I'm certainly not giving up on him. He's got potential back there. He did intercept a tipped pass today. (I think Glennon threw it. Not certain, but pretty sure. If that's true, just another example of Glennon trying to do too much to save his job.)"