The 2007 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer. Tech finished the season with an 11-3 record and won its second ACC football championship in its first four years in the league. The team jumped to as high as number 5 in the BCS football rankings and lost 24-21 in the 2008 Orange Bowl.
Tech lost an early season game to number 2 LSU in Death Valley 48-7 and then won five games in a row, jumping up to the eight spot in the Associated Press poll. In the following game, Tech held a 10-0 lead late in the fourth quarter before Matt Ryan led the Eagles to two touchdowns, aided by a recovered onside kick, and beat the home team 13-10. The Hokies then won four more straight games, including a battle with UVA for the Coastal Division title, before taking on Boston College for a rematch in the ACC Championship. Tech won the championship and earned a trip to the Orange Bowl.
The Hokies entered the season returning nine starters on offense and eight on defense, including All-American cornerback Brandon Flowers, from a 2006 team that went 10-3 and finished second in the ACC's Coastal Division behind Georgia Tech.
After the April 16 shooting on the Virginia Tech campus claimed the lives of 32 students and faculty members, the remainder of spring practice was canceled. The Hokies had been scheduled to hold two more practices in addition to a spring game on Saturday following the Monday tragedy. As a special tribute, ESPN's College GameDay program broadcast from Blacksburg for the Hokies' opening game against East Carolina.
Schedule
Rankings
Personnel
Coaching staff Position Name First year at VT First year in current position Head coach Frank Beamer 1987 1987 Associate head coach and running backs coach Billy Hite 1978 2001 Offensive coordinator and tight ends Bryan Stinespring 1990 2006 (offensive coordinator since 2002) Defensive coordinator and inside linebackers Bud Foster 1987 1995 Offensive Line Curt Newsome 2006 2006 Wide Receivers Kevin Sherman 2006 2006 Strong Safety, Outside Linebackers, and Recruiting Coordinator Jim Cavanaugh 1996 2002 Quarterbacks Mike O'Cain 2006 2006 Defensive backs Torrian Gray 2006 2006 Defensive Line Charley Wiles 1996 1996 Source: hokiesports.com
Roster Flanker Paul Debnam – Sophomore Matt Finnegan – RS Sophomore 4 Eddie Royal – Senior 19 Josh Hyman – RS Senior 34 Danny Coale – Redshirting 48 Jacob Sykes – Freshman 80 Brandon Dillard – RS Sophomore
Split End Michael Reid – Junior 2 Josh Morgan – Senior 3 Ike Whitaker – RS Sophomore 16 Zach Luckett – RS Freshman 37 Patrick Terry – Freshman 81 Justin Harper – Senior 87 Prince Parker – RS Freshman
Center Barrett Mears – RS Freshman 58 Ryan Shuman – RS Junior 60 Beau Warren – RS Freshman 69 Michael Cassidy – RS Freshman
Offensive Guard 51 Matt Welsh – RS Junior 64 Richard Graham – RS Sophomore 66 Brandon Holland – Sophomore 68 Jaymes Brooks – Freshman 69 Hivera Green – RS Sophomore 70 Sergio Render – Sophomore 74 Khalil Latif – Freshman 79 Eric Davis – RS Sophomore
Offensive Tackle 57 Clark Crum – RS Freshman 62 Blake DeChristopher – Freshman 63 Will Alvarez – Freshman 67 Nick Marshman – RS Junior 71 Aaron Brown – RS Freshman 76 Duane Brown – RS Senior 77 Ed Wang – RS Sophomore
Tight End Andrew Lanier – Freshman 8 Greg Boone – RS Sophomore 83 Sam Wheeler – RS Sophomore 86 Chris Drager – Freshman 88 Andre Smith – RS Freshman 94 Greg Nosal – Freshman Quarterback 3 Jeff Beyer – Sophomore 5 Tyrod Taylor – Freshman 7 Sean Glennon – RS Junior 12 Cory Holt – RS Junior 14 Grant Throckmorton – RS SeniorGrant Throckmorton is the holder field goal holder
Tailback D.J. Thomas – Freshman 20 Kenny Lewis Jr. – Sophomore 32 DuVall Gibson-"Freshman" 27 Jahre Cheeseman – RS Sophomore 28 Brandon Ore – RS Junior 29 Devin Radford – RS Freshman 30 Josh Oglesby – Freshman 35 Dustin Pickle – Junior 38 Elan Lewis – RS SophomoreElan Lewis suffered a season-ending injury during fall practice and will not play for the 2007 season. See . 40 Darren Evans – Freshman
Fullback Kenny Younger – Sophomore 39 Carlton Weatherford – RS Senior 40 Billy Gorham – Senior 42 Kenny Jefferson – RS Sophomore 44 Devin Perez – RS Junior
Defensive tackle Courtney Prince – Freshman 55 Daryl Robertson – RS Freshman 59 Barry Booker – RS Senior 75 Kory Robertson – RS Senior 91 John Graves – RS Freshman 93 Kwamaine Battle – Freshman 95 Cordarrow Thompson – RS Sophomore 99 Carlton Powell – RS Senior
Defensive End Chad Carlson – RS Sophomore Miles Sanchez – RS Sophomore Jacob Gardner – RS Sophomore Dylan McGreevy – Junior 43 Jason Worilds – RS Freshman 47 Nekos Brown – Sophomore 49 Chris Ellis – RS Senior 56 Demetrius Taylor – RS Sophomore 90 Orion Martin – RS Junior 96 Justin Young – RS Freshman Cornerback Ron Cooper – Sophomore 1 Victor Harris – Junior 15 Roland Minor – RS Senior 18 Brandon Flowers – RS Junior 21 Rashad Carmichael – RS Freshman 22 Stephan Virgil – Sophomore 36 Cris Hill – Freshman
Linebacker Mark Muncey – RS Freshman Quillie Odom – Freshman Tim Richardson – RS Freshman Alonzo Tweedy – Freshman 6 Andrew Bowman – RS Junior 9 Vince Hall – RS Senior 11 Xavier Adibi – RS Senior 13 Corey Gordon – RS Senior 26 Cody Grimm – RS Sophomore 33 Brett Warren – RS Junior 41 Cam Martin – RS Sophomore 45 Purnell Sturdivant – RS Junior 46 Hunter Ovens – Freshman 52 Barquell Rivers – Freshman 82 Steven Friday – RS Freshman 89 Jonas Houseright – RS Junior
Free Safety 23 Mario Edwards – RS Freshman 25 D.J. Parker – Senior 31 Davon Morgan – Freshman
Rover 17 Kam Chancellor – Sophomore 24 Dorian Porch – RS Sophomore 86 Matt Reidy – Sophomore
SnapperBart McMillin is the long snapper (punts) and Scott King is the short snapper (field goals). 63 Matt Tuttle – Junior 54 Bart McMillin – RS Senior 61 Scott King – Senior
Punter Brian Saunders – RS FreshmanBrian Saunders is also a scout team quarterback. 97 Brent Bowden – RS Sophomore
Place Kicker Dustin Keys – RS Sophomore Matt Waldron – RS Freshman 92 Jud Dunlevy – RS Senior 98 Jared Develli – Senior
Athlete Kendrick Pressley – FreshmanSource: hokiesports.com Starters are in bold, based on pre-season depth chart from the 2007 media guide
Recruiting National Signing Day was on 2007-02-07. The Hokies' recruiting class was highlighted by Tyrod Taylor, who was rated the #1 dual threat quarterback in the country. Taylor was announced as the Hokies' #2 quarterback on August 21.
Below is a list of the recruits that signed their letter of intent with Virginia Tech:
Awards and honors Xavier Adibi, Chris Ellis, Victor Harris, and Eddie Royal were honored as first team all-ACC, while Barry Booker, Duane Brown and Brandon Flowers were recognized on the second team.
References
External links