Tech’s D-line still looking for help

By Nate Crossman  |   Tuesday, July 25, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Virginia Tech Hokies
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The Virginia Tech Hokies and their fans have been spoiled by the defensive line the last few years. Although their flashiest talent has been in the defensive backfield, some of the Hokies' steadiest performers have been on the line.

All-American defensive end Darryl Tapp may have been undersized at 6-foot-1, 265 pounds, but he more than made up for that with an outsized motor. Jonathan Lewis was a mainstay at tackle for three years. Tim Sandidge went from bench-warmer to key contributor last season and signed with the St. Louis Rams as a free agent.

Those three players are gone and will be replaced by a group that has a chance to be more talented, but will have a hard time matching Tapp, Lewis and Sandidge's consistency.

The main reason for the drop-off in consistency is the Hokies will have to use either true freshmen or redshirt players with little or no game experience in their regular rotation. They have a good base with defensive ends Chris Ellis, who has a chance to be one of the best defensive players in the ACC, and Noland Burchette. But at tackle, Carlton Powell is their most experienced returning player, and he only started five games last year.

Powell's potential linemates are both intriguing and a bit scary, depending how you look at them. The most intriguing is redshirt junior Barry Booker, who went to the same high school as Sandidge. Booker is also the most athletic of the defensive linemen, having starred at both running back, tight end, and defensive end in high school. The junior tackle struggled with not being aggressive enough early in his career, but has slowly gotten the hang of what the coaching staff wants from him. He played in 12 games last season, making two tackles for losses.

Who will emerge after Booker, however, is anybody's guess. Redshirt junior Kory Robertson is the prototypical run-stopper on paper, at 6-2, 340 pounds. But every time he has appeared to become a regular contributor, he's taken a step backwards in the consistency department.

Redshirt freshman Cordarrow Thompson and Hivera Green are wait-see-players at best. Both appear like prototypical defensive lineman at around 6-0 and 300 pounds who could contribute, but there is no anecdotal evidence to prove that.

Of the incoming freshmen, the more highly-touted talent is at defensive end.

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