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Thursday, September 7
Tech's talent works way
to top of college football

By Bob Harig
Special to ESPN.com

College football's second season is in full force, the one rabid fans often look forward to with more intensity than the "regular" season. Meanwhile, college recruiters have been using the time before the bowl games to secure talent that will ensure future success, and analysts are tracking their every move.

But before you let your hopes rise and fall with the rankings of your favorite team in the various recruiting updates that will be devoured in the coming weeks, consider the Virginia Tech Hokies.

You know, the team playing for the national championship? The one ranked No. 2 in the country? Big East champions? Record of 11-0?


	Hokies coach Frank Beamer has his hands full this week with East Carolina.

To look at Tech's recruiting history over the past several years, you'd never figure the Hokies for the Sugar Bowl and a shot at No. 1 Florida State. Not enough prep All-Americans, certainly not compared to the Seminoles.

As coach Frank Beamer quipped, "They've got something like 13 Parade All-Americans. We've got two guys who have been in a parade."

It is Beamer, however, who is getting the last laugh. He is comfortable with his recruiting philosophy, gurus be damned.

"Some of these guys might not have been highly-recruited coming out of high school," Beamer said. "But I think a lot of people would like to have them in their program now.

"I've always liked walk-on guys, because the good ones will go right past guys, because they'll outwork them. I think that's what has happened with a lot of our players. They just outworked other people. Their desire to prove they do belong is a driving force. I think that's our mentality here."

Florida State has 22 players who were rated among the top five prospects in the country at their positions. Virginia Tech has just two, quarterback Michael Vick and defensive end Lamar Cobb -- and Cobb played behind Corey Moore, who won the Nagurski Award as the nation's top defensive player.

How highly recruited was Moore? He took recruiting visits to Duke and Penn, and barely got a look from his home-state school, Tennessee. He only made it to Virginia Tech after a time at Holmes (Miss.) Community College.

John Engelberger, the other defensive end, is a walk-on. Inside linebacker Michael Hawkes picked Tech over VMI. Wide receiver Andre Davis, an All-Big East selection, chose the Hokies over Delaware, Maine and Massachusetts.

Get the picture?

Beamer has won primarily with players that schools with bigger reputations didn't pursue. Only once in the past six years -- in 1998, when Vick signed -- has SuperPrep magazine ranked a Tech recruiting class among the nation's top 30. That year, the Hokies ranked 19th.

During that same span, Florida State never once fell out of the top 15. In fact, the Seminoles were 15th in 1999 only because they recruited a small class. Their recruiting class was ranked fourth in 1998, first in 1997, third in 1996 and second in 1995.

Of course, Florida State is playing for the national title for the third time in four years.

But Tech will be appearing in its seventh consecutive bowl game, one of just eight schools in the country that can make that claim. The Hokies have done it primarily by recruiting fast, hungry players who might not otherwise fit the mold of a top Division I prospect. And maybe, just maybe, some of those recruiting lists are not all-important.

"We're not going to change," said Charley Wiles, Tech's defensive line coach. "We don't recruit kids based on who else is recruiting them."

That doesn't mean the Hokies won't try and take advantage of their success. Being undefeated and getting so much national attention only helps in recruiting. As Beamer said, "We've never been hotter in recruiting."

Still, the Hokies like doing it their way. They like finding the gems and molding them into their type of player.

Obviously, it is working.

Brees and Vick could Kickoff season in 2000
Heisman Showdown: It sure would be an intriguing way to start the season, with Purdue quarterback Drew Brees and Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick going head-to-head. The idea is being discussed for the Kickoff Classic, to be played at the end of August at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Vick and Brees are the only returning Heisman Trophy finalists. Vick finished third behind winner Ron Dayne and runner-up Joe Hamilton. Brees was fourth.

"Looks like a heck of a matchup to me," said Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver. "Two great teams with two players who figure to be the favorites for the Heisman Trophy. I don't know how you beat that."

Trouble is, Michigan had already been offered a spot in the Kickoff Classic, although the Wolverines apparently would prefer not to play Virginia Tech. That's why the Virginia Tech-Purdue game became a possibility. Purdue (7-4) plays Georgia in the Jan. 1 Outback Bowl.

Gators have ticket trouble
Selling tickets: Here is an excellent example of the downside of the present bowl system. Florida can't sell its allotment of tickets to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, despite its campus being located just some two hours away.

The 10th-ranked Gators have sold just 6,000 of their 12,500-ticket allotment for the Jan. 1 game against Michigan State. The slow sales prompted coach Steve Spurrier to send a letter to Florida season-ticket holders urging them to attend the game.

This is the problem with bowls that are considered consolation prizes, especially for a school such as Florida, which had higher aspirations. The Gators saw themselves contending for a national championship or at least a BCS berth.

Both scenarios were lost when the Gators fell to Florida State, then lost the SEC title game to Alabama. They bring a two-game losing streak to the Citrus Bowl.

Meanwhile, Michigan State is having no such trouble. The Spartans sold out their 12,000-seat minimum in less than four days.

Bob Harig, who covers college football for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a weekly college football column for ESPN.com.


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