2007 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

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.

2007 Virginia Tech Hokies football
ACC champion ACC Coastal Division champion
ACC Championship Game, W 30–16 vs. Boston College
Orange Bowl, L 21–24 vs. Kansas
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 9
Record	11–3 (7–1 ACC)
Head coach	Frank Beamer (21st season)
Offensive coordinator	Bryan Stinespring (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Bud Foster (13th season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Seasons ← 2006 2008 →

2007 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 10 Boston College x		6	–	2					11	–	3
No. 21 Clemson		5	–	3					9	–	4
Wake Forest		5	–	3					9	–	4
Florida State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Maryland		3	–	5					6	–	7
NC State		3	–	5					5	–	7
Coastal Division
No. 9 Virginia Tech x$		7	–	1					11	–	3
Virginia		6	–	2					9	–	4
Georgia Tech		4	–	4					7	–	6
North Carolina		3	–	5					4	–	8
Miami (FL)		2	–	6					5	–	7
Duke		0	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 16
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

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,^[1] 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.^[2] As a special tribute, ESPN's College GameDay program broadcast from Blacksburg for the Hokies' opening game against East Carolina.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	12:00 p.m.	East Carolina*	No. 9	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (College GameDay)	ESPN	W 17–7	66,233	[4][5][6]
September 8	9:15 p.m.	at No. 2 LSU*	No. 9	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (College GameDay)	ESPN	L 7–48	92,739	[7][8][9]
September 15	1:30 p.m.	Ohio*	No. 18	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN360	W 28–7	66,233	[10][11][12]
September 22	1:30 pm	William & Mary*	No. 17	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACC Select	W 44–3	66,233	[13][14][15]
September 29	12:00 p.m.	North Carolina	No. 17	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	LFS	W 17–10	66,233	[16][17][18]
October 6	6:00 p.m.	at No. 22 Clemson	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	ESPN	W 41–23	82,047	[19][20][21]
October 13	12:00 pm	at Duke	No. 12	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	LFS	W 43–14	23,691	[22][23][24]
October 25	7:45 p.m.	No. 2 Boston College	No. 8	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–14	66,233	[25][26][27]
November 1	7:45 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	No. 11	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 27–3	52,202	[28][29][30]
November 10	3:30 p.m.	Florida State	No. 11	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ABC	W 40–21	66,233	[31][32][33]
November 17	3:30 p.m.	Miami (FL)	No. 10	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ABC	W 44–14	66,233	[34][35]
November 24	12:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Virginia	No. 8	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 33–21	61,711	[36][37][38]
December 1	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 12 Boston College	No. 6	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, FL (ACC Championship Game)	ABC	W 30–16	53,212	[39][40][41]
January 3, 2008	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Kansas*	No. 5	Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl)	FOX	L 21–24	74,111	[42][43][44]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	9	9	18	17	17	15	12	11	8	11	11	10	8	6	5	9
Coaches	9	9	17	17	14	14	10	11	9	13	11	10	8	5T	5	9
Harris	Not released				16	15	12	13	10	14	13	10	8	7	6	Not released
BCS	Not released							11	8	11	11	10	8	6	3	Not released

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 Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine[45]

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[46]  7 Sean Glennon – RS Junior 12 Cory Holt – RS Junior 14 Grant Throckmorton – RS Senior[47] 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 Sophomore[48] 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[49] 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[50] 25 D.J. Parker – Senior 31 Davon Morgan – Freshman Rover 17 Kam Chancellor – Sophomore 24 Dorian Porch – RS Sophomore 86 Matt Reidy – Sophomore Snapper[51] 63 Matt Tuttle – Junior 54 Bart McMillin – RS Senior 61 Scott King – Senior Punter    Brian Saunders – RS Freshman[52] 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 – Freshman
Source: hokiesports.com Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine[45] 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.^[53]

Below is a list of the recruits that signed their letter of intent with Virginia Tech:

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Will Alvarez OL	Woodbridge, Virginia	C. D. Hylton	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	315 lb (143 kg)	5.6	Jun 15, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (77)
Brandon Barden[54] TE	Lincolnton, Georgia	Lincoln County	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	4.6	Jan 1, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (71)
Kwamaine Battle DT	Bailey, North Carolina	Southern Nash	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	4.9	Jul 8, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (71)
Jaymes Brooks OL	Newport News, Virginia	Denbigh	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	4.93	Jul 28, 2007
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (40)
Collin Carroll LS/C	Hopkins, Minnesota	Edina	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	-	Jan 29, 2007
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (40)
Danny Coale WR	Lexington, Virginia	Episcopal	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.42	Jun 14, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (69)
Blake DeChristopher OL	Midlothian, Virginia	Clover Hill	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	310 lb (140 kg)	5	Jul 5, 2005
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
Chris Drager TE	Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania	Thomas Jefferson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	234 lb (106 kg)	4.8	Jul 9, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (74)
Darren Evans RB	Indianapolis	Warren Central	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	4.71	Jul 15, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
Cris Hill DB	Highland Springs, Virginia	Highland Springs	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.4	Dec 14, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Andrew Lanier TE	Spartanburg, South Carolina	Dorman	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	4.7	Jul 6, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (40)
Ibn Latif OL	Midlothian, Virginia	Manchester	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	4.92	Jul 31, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (74)
Davon Morgan ATH	Richmond, Virginia	Varina	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	4.58	Jul 26, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (77)
Greg Nosal TE	Virginia Beach, Virginia	Kellam	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	5	Jul 25, 2007
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (40)
Quillie Odom LB	Potomac, Virginia	Osbourn Park	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	4.6	May 31, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (71)
Josh Oglesby RB	Garner, North Carolina	Garner	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	4.43	Jul 15, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (77)
Hunter Ovens LB	Sarasota, Florida	Cardinal Mooney	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.5	Aug 21, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (74)
Kendrick Pressley ATH	Sumter, South Carolina	Sumter	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	4.62	Oct 20, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (40)
Courtney Prince DT	Brandywine, Maryland	Gwynn Park	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	253 lb (115 kg)	5	Jul 31, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (69)
Barquell Rivers LB	Wadesboro, North Carolina	Anson	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	4.5	Aug 1, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Tyrod Taylor QB	Hampton, Virginia	Hampton	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	4.55	Jul 21, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (84)
Patrick Terry WR	South Boston, Virginia	Halifax County	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.5	Jul 8, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (40)
D.J. Thomas ATH	Ashland, Virginia	Patrick Henry	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.56	Aug 15, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Alonzo Tweedy ATH	Richmond, Virginia	Hermitage	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	4.5	Jul 31, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (74)
Justin Young DE	Germantown, Maryland	Northwest	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	4.8	Jul 25, 2006
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (40)
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: 24    Rivals: 29
‡ Refers to 40-yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Virginia Tech 2007 Football Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved March 5, 2007. "2007 Virginia Tech Commits". Scout. Retrieved March 5, 2007. "2007 Player Commitments – Virginia Tech". ESPN. Retrieved March 5, 2007. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved March 5, 2007. "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved March 5, 2007.

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.^[55]