Tech Notebook: Hokies to test Tide’s inexperienced front

BLACKSBURG — There’s no question No. 5 Alabama’s defense is stacked with experience. Its offense … well, that’s a different story.

The Crimson Tide lost seven offensive starters from last year’s 12-2 team, including record-breaking quarterback John Parker Wilson, first-team All-SEC tailback Glen Coffee, three offensive linemen and both starting tight ends.

That’s a combined 236 starts if you’re counting.

Bama’s new quarterback, junior Greg McElroy, comes with strong credentials, and he has performed well in preseason scrimmages. The Crimson Tide has a strong group of young running backs as well.

It appears the losses along the offensive line will be the most costly.

Right tackle Drew Davis and left guard Mike Johnson started every game last year, but the other three projected starters for Saturday’s game — left tackle James Carpenter, center William Vlachos and right guard Barrett Jones — have played in a combined 11 Division I college games with no starts.

The Hokies would love to take advantage of that inexperience up front.

“I think our whole defense is kind of excited about it,” said whip linebacker Cody Grimm, who tied for second on the team last year with 7.5 sacks. “Not only is it the first game, but there will be some younger guys up front that don’t have as much experience and a quarterback that hasn’t started before, so it’s definitely a good opportunity for us to bring some blitzes.”

Deaderick out of hospital

Alabama senior defensive end Brandon Deaderick was released from the hospital Tuesday, less than 24 hours after reportedly suffering a gunshot wound to his arm in an apparent armed robbery attempt at an off-campus apartment complex Monday night.

The 6-foot-4, 306-pound Deaderick, who started 22 straight games, had 36 tackles and four sacks in 14 starts last season. Junior Luther Davis, who has no career starts, will likely start in Deaderick’s place Saturday against Virginia Tech.

“He’s certainly a good player,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said of Deaderick. “The trouble is, they’ve got a lot of good players. You hate to see something like this happen, but I’m sure they’re going to be ready to play Saturday night.”

Beamer wants exhibition

First-game jitters can lead to dropped passes and missed tackles, among other things. Those could be especially costly in a game with the magnitude of Saturday’s.

With that in mind, Beamer is still lobbying for one exhibition game for every college program to help teams prepare for the upcoming season.

“It just makes sense to me,” Beamer said. “You’ve got the pros; they’ve got four (exhibition games), I guess, or five. High schools have scrimmages (against other teams). In college, you play an opponent, and that’s the first time you’ve hit somebody else other than your own team.”

Beamer said he would be in favor of playing a game against a school from any division.

“I think people would have to work that one out, but whoever you play, at least you get some things out of the way that come up in that first ballgame,” Beamer said.

When asked if he would rather play a less formidable opponent to open the season — like Charleston Southern, whom Florida is playing Saturday — Beamer said no.

“I was thinking about one that didn’t count on your record,” he said. “I think this game is good. It’s a great atmosphere. We’re playing a program that has enjoyed great success over the years that’s nationally known, nationally thought of.

“And as I’ve said, I think Virginia Tech gets better by playing a team like this, I really do. I think our practices have gone well and our guys understand that you’ve got to make a great preparation if you’re going to beat Alabama.”

Hokies track hours

Tech has a policy to better protect against overworking its players. It requires them to sign a sheet each week detailing the hours they practiced and worked out.

That way the Hokies can prevent a situation like the one at Michigan, where current and former players recently said they exceeded NCAA limits on practice time and other football-related activities.

“That’s the rules, and I think that’s what you go by,” Beamer said. “I’m not saying (Michigan) didn’t. When you’ve got a lot of anonymous people talking, I don’t know how accurate things are, but I know how we do it here.”

Extra points

The Hokies haven’t released their travel roster, but Beamer confirmed that four true freshmen —quarterback Logan Thomas, running back David Wilson, cornerback Jayron Hosely and wide receiver D.J. Coles — are on it. Thomas is the only one not expected to play. The only way he’d be pressed into service is if starter Tyrod Taylor and back up Ju-Ju Clayton were both injured, Beamer said. … Saturday’s game time is officially listed as 8:12 p.m. … Wilson said he has almost completely recovered from the sprained shoulder he suffered a couple weeks ago in a scrimmage. “I would say it’s 98 percent (healthy),” he said after Tuesday’s practice.