Beamer Has High Hopes for Hokies

Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer fields a question about the upcoming season.
Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer fields a question about the upcoming season.

On Monday evening at Hidden Valley Country Club in Salem, Virginia Tech Head Football Coach Frank Beamer talked all things Hokies at a meeting of the Roanoke Valley Sports Club.

Virginia Tech, which has won three of the past five ACC championships, is coming off of a 10-4 campaign capped by a 20-7 win over Cincinnati in the FedEx Orange Bowl. Last week, the Hokies were selected as the overwhelming favorite to capture the conference title again in the preseason media poll, and many believe that Tech has an outside chance to compete for a national championship.

“I like our kids and I like our team,” Beamer said. “I think we have some legit players and have a chance to be a very good team.”

However, Beamer’s crew will face a stern test on September 5, when they travel to Atlanta to face Nick Saban and the University of Alabama in the Georgia Dome for the 2009 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.

“I won’t even talk about the guy who opened the season there last year and was gone like three weeks later,” Beamer joked, in reference to former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, who was fired five weeks after an embarrassing 34-10 loss to the Crimson Tide.

Speaking on a variety of topics, Beamer touched on the BCS, retirement, and a celebrity golf match.

When asked about the keys to success this season, Beamer gave a familiar answer — defense and special teams.

“Look at all the great teams last year. They all had a good, solid defense,” he said.

“And the kicking game is going to be a big thing, too. With all of the close games we play, it’s gonna be huge. I know a lot of you probably don’t know who [sophomore kicker] Matt Waldron is, but he might be the most important player on our team.”

On the BCS, Beamer appeared less than optimistic that any changes will be made to the oft-criticized ranking system. “I think it’s gonna stay the way it is for a while,” he said. “When the presidents rejected the ‘plus-one’ format, my thought was it isn’t going to change for a long time.”

On retirement, Beamer was coy, joking, “The thing about this gig is that when you win, it’s great, but when you lose, it isn’t much,” he said, laughing. “But in all honesty, as long as the health is good…I think I’ll know when it’s time. When you don’t get excited about this time of year, then it’s time to go.”

The majority of questions, however, focused primarily on the Hokies blockbuster matchup against the Crimson Tide to open the season. Asked for a prediction, Beamer declined, instead saying, “In the spring Dell Curry and I were paired against Nick in the Chick-fil-A Challenge, and I’ll just say this: Virginia Tech is already 1-0 against Alabama this year.”

By Matt Reeve
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