The Hokies opened fall practice Friday, and we tapped a couple of our insiders for some news from day one. What they told us revealed a VT football team that is focused, sharp, and got off to a great start.

"This was about as good a first practice as you will ever see, spring or fall," one of our insiders, who has been observing practices for years, told us. "In fact it's the best first practice that I have seen. The effort was great, and the execution was very good for the most part."

Now for some specifics. First, the quarterbacks.

"I thought the quarterbacks played at a very high level," our insider said. "Only maybe one or two dumb throws all day long. Vick was perhaps a little off, but his off days are still better than at least 75% of quarterbacks across the country. He was almost picked off once, but it was more of a great break on the ball by Justin Hamilton than it was a bad throw or poor decision by Vick. Hamilton showed great instincts and broke quickly on the out route, nearly picking it off.

"The only interception of the day was thrown by Glennon. But judging from player reactions, it was Jeremy Gilchrist's fault. I don't think he continued his route up field like he was supposed to. Roland Minor made a very athletic interception on the ball."

The Hokies return one of the deepest receiving units in the country, with Eddie Royal, Josh Hyman, Josh Morgan, David Clowney, Justin Harper, and Jeremy Gilchrist. There is not a senior in the group.

"The receivers looked very good," we were told. "I still believe David Clowney has the most potential of them all. He beat [CB Roland] Minor deep at the beginning of drills, but the pass was overthrown. Royal looked back up to speed, although he dropped a perfectly thrown deep ball 40 yards downfield that would have gone for a touchdown. Harper had a great fingertip catch on a deep ball from I believe Holt."

The Hokies have an All-American corner in Jimmy Williams, and a solid corner opposite him in Roland Minor, plus a good backup in Brandon Flowers. But they're inexperienced at safety. And what about freshman DBs, who are creating buzz? Will they play soon?

"[Victor] Macho [Harris] will play this year, no doubt. He appears to be a very physical corner. It looks like he loves to get up on the line and jam receivers. It got him in trouble a couple of times, but Whammy will help him refine it. He also looked like a natural fielding punts.

"Only one play [by the DBs] disappointed me. DJ Parker didn't get back in coverage on 7-on-7 drills, and the D was burned because of it. Hamilton looked good back there. Cam Martin is bigger than expected, and really fits the physical mold of a free safety. And he'll get bigger too, with time in the weight room."

The players didn't have pads on for this practice, but there were still some head-to-head battles that stood out, according to our insider.

"William Wall is another impressive looking freshman. I think he'll play this fall. He's big and really cut. Looks like he's been in the program for at least a year. He absolutely abused Reggie Butler on one play for a sack. Speaking of Butler, I'm not sure he's too motivated right now. Stinespring got in his face hard after that play, and the next play he did a great job on Wall. He needs to motivate himself for every snap. I'm just not sold on Butler's intensity. But I guess we'll see when they put the pads on."

One of the questions on everyone's mind is who will lead this team. Darryl Tapp on defense and Jeff King on offense are obvious choices. What about Jimmy Williams, who has been talking the talk of a leader, and Marcus Vick?

"In the past," our insider said, "I had never seen him [Vick] talk much at all in practice. I heard some things out of him tonight that have me encouraged. He was showing Boone and [Ike] Whitaker some things. He was talking it up a little, saying something like 'Our backs (running backs I assume) are sick.' He's always had swagger, but he's never been very vocal in any way. I take it as a good sign. He seems to be well liked by his teammates, and it looks like he is trying to step up and be their leader. I like that a lot, and it's a development I hope to continue to follow over the course of August."

Another one of our insiders only had a moment to share things with us, but he had a very interesting comment about Jimmy Williams. Acknowledging the leadership of Tapp, King, Will Montgomery, Cedric Humes and Mike Imoh, our source said that Jimmy Williams is stepping up to be the leader of this team. Not the defense � the team.

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