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It's the Sunday before Memorial Day and you really know that is a reality when you head to the store to find a rack of bratwursts for the big family grill out, and the only thing in the meat case is turkey sausage and some sort of tofu based vegan tube of vegetable matter and fats.
You can also smell the hit of massive amounts of chlorine in the air as the local pools have opened and the herds of shark bait kids head to their cycle of dipping and splashing and then waiting patiently for the break whistle to start the process all over again.
It's funny how Summer starts before Summer starts, and it ends before it ends. I guess we are all just so impatient that we want everything fun to start before the fun gets a tad boring. I am sure the Hokie football team is sort of cooling off but trying to stay in shape because Summer for a football player isn't always very long and it certainly doesn't make for easy, happy times between the first week of August and kickoff. We can be sure that most of them really don't want to be reminded.
There will be some going to various clinics, and working with position and skill coaches to try to get some consistency, polish rough edges, learn a new skill or technique, but at least for the Memorial Day to Independence Day stretch there will be a bit of peace and a little rest.
There are trickles coming out about Hokies in the Pros. It seems J.C. Coleman and the Canadian style of the game are getting along. J.C. is in mini-camp for the British Columbia Lions and getting some due praise. His outside fast slash running style is probably a good fit for the Canadian game which is faster, has a larger field, and fewer downs so running the ball isn't best done at three yards and a cloud of dust up the middle.
There are, of course, the early rumors and speculations on professional prospects for certain players. Isaiah Ford is getting an increasingly large amount of that attention. NFL's CFB 24/7's 16 for 16 is rating him at its #11 interest prospect and the pros are taking note.
Of course Athlon Sports spent some time looking at Justin Fuente, and is predicting success for the Hokies in the near future. Of course they are qualifying that with illumination of some issues that Coach Fuente and staff will have to overcome, or deal with and the ultimate factor that does in many coaching staffs, fan impatience. It's really worth the read to see that there are an increasing number of analysts who are seeing what we here at Gobbler Country saw back in October. Justin Fuente is about as perfect a fit as you can possibly have to take over the remnants of the Beamer Era of Virginia Tech football and bring it to the next level.
Of course the big question on everyone's mind for Coach Fuente is who the starting Quarterback is going to be at the start of the season. Campus Insiders gives us a peak at a quick answer from the man, himself. It's a competition, Brenden Motley and Jerod Evans are competing for the starting role and that's the entire information pool about it. That little video brings to mind something that is really different about this staff. They are tight lipped and the information that flows out is controlled and measured carefully. It makes reporting more difficult, but coaches aren't PR guys, and a good deal of football success is the balance between enough information to keep the fans happy, and too much information that tips your hand.
One can understand why a new coach, without really trusted outlets, and new to the media around him is going to be careful about what is said; both attributed and on background. One thing for sure is that the media in Blacksburg is going to start off on new turf as the Summer heat gives way to Fall.
We have dropped below 100 days before kickoff. I guarantee that those players who are giving things a rest, finishing rehabs, and taking a few classes to get back on track have a number considerably less than 100 days in their heads as the dreaded Two-a-Day word comes closer to a reality.