Saturday's scrimmage was a key one for the Hokie football team, as only two weeks remain before game week preparation for NC State begins. Obviously, the two-deep needs to be settled long before then, so the scrimmage was a chance for players to make themselves noticed at free safety, offensive line, defensive line, punter, and rover. How are those positions likely to sort themselves out? We received loads of email from our insiders, and here's how we sort out their thoughts.

Chris Ellis continues to draw raves from everyone who sees him. Saturday, he read a screen pass to David Clowney, broke off his rush, and ran Clowney down from behind, 15 yards downfield, for the no-contest Play of the Day. Unless the coaches start Darryl Tapp at defensive tackle for every game (allowing them to start both Burchette and Ellis at the end spots), most observers agree that at some point, Ellis will get the starting nod over Burchette. They are currently listed co-number one at the Stud end position, with Ellis just a redshirt sophomore and Burchette a redshirt junior. Burchette is good, but Ellis appears poised for greatness.

Beyond those three Sunday-caliber DEs, the battle is still on to decide who's going to be the #4 defensive end. William Wall is a year away mentally, and Orion Martin is a year away physically, so we don't envy the coaching staff their decision.

The defense as a whole is super-fast, VT's fastest in "ages," according to one scrimmage observer we corresponded with. In addition to the screen where Ellis ran Clowney down from behind, there was a reverse to Clowney where James Anderson swallowed him whole.

Obviously, the starting three linebackers -- Anderson, Xavier Adibi, and Vince Hall -- are as good a unit as you'll find anywhere, but opinions differ on their backups -- Corey Gordon, Blake Warren, and Brett Warren, respectively. Some people that we talk to fret that the dropoff from the starters to the second team is considerable, while others say that the backup unit is solid. One source pegs Gordon as one of the biggest hitters on the team, while another frets about his youth and size (an interesting comment, given that Anderson goes 6-3, 222, and Gordon tickets at 6-2, 220 -- perhaps Anderson just plays bigger?).

In the defensive backfield, the lowdown coming out of spring football was that redshirt freshman CB Theo Miller, the #4 cornerback at the time, was far behind VT's top three CBs, Jimmy Williams, Brandon Flowers, and Roland Minor. Nothing appears to have changed there, as Miller is a year or more away. He gets turned around in coverage, missed a couple of tackles Saturday, and just isn't very good at this point in his career. He has plenty of years to get better, but if he's pressed into playing time this year, it could be trouble. Victor Harris is showing good raw talent and will push Miller for playing time as the #4 CB, if not bypass him.

At rover, Cary Wade has gone from being on an even keel with Aaron Rouse at one point in the spring to battling to ward off true freshman Dorian Porch. Rouse, listed first on the depth chart, is still a bit of a liability in coverage, and will be until he gets significant playing time under his belt. But he's #1 and probably has the position locked down over Wade. Porch has been impressive but is a true freshman, and in a critical position like rover, where a mistake in pass coverage can equal a touchdown, the coaches will no doubt go with Wade in relief of Rouse.

We've heard more than once that the inexperience of Justin Hamilton at free safety slows down his athletic body. Hamilton is a smidgen slow at reading and breaking on the ball. All else being equal, you'd like to start the 6-3, 230-pound senior Hamilton over the 5-11, 180-pound sophomore D.J. Parker (that's fifty pounds!), but right now, Parker is a little bit better. Just a little bit.

The tinkering with the offensive line continues, as the coaches try to decide if they're going to go with a guard-center-guard combo of Will Montgomery - Danny McGrath - Jason Murphy, or drop Montgomery to center and go with Brandon Gore - Montgomery - Murphy. Among the second-team OL, Gore might finally be blooming as a redshirt junior. More than one observer of the team seems to think that the combination that includes Gore at guard and Montgomery at center is the one the coaching staff would like to go with, provided Gore can continue to step up and play like a starter. That's not a knock on McGrath, a redshirt junior who has been very patient and has developed into a starting-caliber center. It's just possible that the coaches would feel more comfortable with Montgomery at center.

At wide receiver, one email we received said you could throw the top five names -- Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, Justin Harper, David Clowney, and Josh Hyman -- into a shoebox and pick your two starters on a game by game basis. The people we talk to who observe practices and scrimmages are all over the map, or maybe they just like different players for different reasons. One thinks David Clowney and Justin Harper are the best. Another says Josh Morgan is the best receiver, from a technical standpoint, and has the best hands. Another says Hyman will be the most consistent game-in, game-out. During the scrimmage, the coaching staff mixed and matched first- and second-teamers in a fashion inconsistent with the current BeamerBall.com depth chart. The bottom line? Don't worry, be happy.

At quarterback, who's going to be the backup to Marcus Vick? Will it be Cory Holt or Sean Glennon? Holt's arm and accuracy continue to be praised heavily, and now we're told that Glennon might be a little frustrated, or pressing a bit, or whatever. Our guess is that he's just hearing footsteps and knows that this is a critical time in his career.

There's not much else to discuss on offense, because Mike Imoh and Cedric Humes are set at tailback, and Jeff King and Duane Brown are a good one-two at tight end. We haven't received any feedback with regards to whether Sam Wheeler, Ed Wang, or John Kinzer will be the third tight end. Wang will be a good one down the road, we're told, but that's it.

Brandon Pace hit three of three field goals Saturday, and after going 21-27 last year, the only thing that Hokie coaches and fans ask of him is to hit the critical field goals (he missed the game-winner against NC State and a chippy against Auburn in the Sugar Bowl).

At punter, Nic Schmitt and true freshman Brent Bowden are both inconsistent. A recent Roanoke Times article depicted Schmitt as the boomer and Bowden as Mr. Consistency, but that was probably just on that particular day, because neither punter is consistent, and Bowden can also boom them. Bowden starting is not out of the question, but when push comes to shove, a true freshman punter (Bowden) on Frank Beamer's prized special teams is hard to imagine.

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