Annette has been running a series the last week or so on the reasons for hope and causes for concern for each ACC team. Today, she ran her thoughts on our Hokies.

Biggest reason for concern -- Soaring expectations

There's national title talk. There's preseason rankings. There's uber-hype over the Alabama game. There's everything Clemson faced last season before its season unraveled. If Virginia Tech is going to finish the season where it likely will start -- in the preseason top five -- then the players have to breathe deep and take it one quarter at a time. Virginia Tech is the kind of program that tends to be at its best when the chatter is at a minimum. They were under the radar when Michael Vick got there as a freshman, and seem to struggle when ranked high. Last year, though, when the adversity was at a premium, the coaching staff was at its best.

There are a lot of things that have me worried about the upcoming football season. The "soaring expectations" for a team that has won 10 games or more each of the last five seasons with three conference championships isn't one of them.

There are a lot of things that could go terribly, terribly wrong for the Hokies in 2009. For instance:

- We have no depth at quarterback and a QB that tends to get injured.
- We have no depth on either line.
- Our quarterback may or may not be a bad passer.
- Our offensive coordinator doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in the fanbase.
- We're replacing a lot of guys on defense, including two linebackers and one of the best cornerbacks we've ever had.
- We open the season with the By God University of Alabama.

And Annette chose "soaring expectations" as the thing that concerns her the most. WTF? That has nothing to do with what happens on the field. Those same expectations weren't even the reason Clemson fell on it's face last year. The Tigers failed because their head coach was a gutless wonder and their offensive line was 10 pounds of terrible in a five-pound bag. Frank Beamer is not a gutless wonder and our offensive line (if it stays healthy, knock on wood) will be decent at worst.

"Soaring expectations" is superfluous bullshit and has nothing to do with what will happen to the Hokies on the field in 2009.

Join us after the jump for a new Hokie commitment, a tribute to America and links.

Project DE Commits

The Roanoke Times reports Justin Taylor, a defensive end from North Carolina, is the 11th player to commit to Virginia Tech for the 2010 season. Taylor has been playing organized football less than a year and has already committed to a D1 BCS program. Not too shabby, young man.

Taylor, a former basketball player, is 6-3, 220 and is the fifth defensive lineman to commit to the Hokies for 2010. Tech has pulled in some excellent talent at the skill positions the last couple of years and has obviously made the offensive and defensive lines a priority for 2010. So far, so good.

See ya Monday! Maybe!

I'm going to enjoy this three day weekend the only way I know how. By playing golf, cooking dead animals, drinking lots of beer and making things explode. Ahh, the joys of having family who live outside the city limits. A big thanks to all our founding fathers (except that ass hole Thomas Jefferson) for making this weekend possible. Happy Birthday, America!

Linkage

Hokies

- EBJ knows how to celebrate a long weekend. (Beer Control Offense)
- ESPN looks at our offense and C Gally responds. (The North End Zone)
- Watch, run through wall, rinse, repeat. (VT Fan)

ACC and Opponents

- Miami also has some talent at running back. (All Canes)
- Herzlich is in good spirits according to his Twitter. (Eagle in Atlanta)
- An interview with hoops player L.D. Williams. (Blogger So Dear)
- Winfield learns to swin. (The Legacyx4)
- ECU is scheduling the right way to get to a BCSCG. (Buzz Blog)

Stuff Only I Care About

- Looks like we're getting an actual professional hockey team. (Boneman)
- Love the Montador signing. Again, we're getting tougher on the blueline. However, I would have liked if they had signed a puck-moving defenseman or a forward like Ruslan Fedotenko. (Die By The Blade)
- He's ours now, canucks! (Full Count)
- If you don't know Hosty, you don't know shit. (The Lost Ogle)