This is their year. It has to be. The annual winter trek from Blacksburg to Jacksonville (or Tampa), then to Miami is getting old. The 2009 Virginia Tech football team needs a new challenge.
The recent commitment of Zach McCray fired me up for this year for some reason. It really gives the feel that Saturdays at Lane Stadium are not that far away.
No more Orange Bowl, this team could very well be playing for the BCS national championship come January, and here's why.
This is now Tyrod Taylor's team. After two seasons of "will-he-or-won't-he redshirt?" talk to begin the year, everyone in the country knows Taylor will line up under center from the very beginning and won't have to look back.
Taylor spent most of last season throwing to an extremely inexperienced group of wide receivers, which led to just two touchdowns and seven interceptions for the season. This year that group of wide receivers will have much higher expectations, and Taylor should have much more confidence throwing to them.
The team returns a wealth of depth at runing back, led by Darren Evans and redshirt freshman Ryan Williams.
Looking back on the program's most successful seasons under Frank Beamer, the offense featured a versatile 1-2 punch at running back.
In 1999 it was Shyrone Stith and Andre Kendrick, paving the way to an 11-0 season and national title appearance.
In 2002, Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones each topped 1,000 yards on the ground as the Hokies blasted opponents including LSU, Marshall and Texas A & M.
In 2004, the Hokies won the ACC Championship with Cedric Humes and Mike Imoh carrying the ground game.
This year's edition, Evans and Williams, could prove to be the best of the bunch. Evans ran for 1,265 yards a year ago, and that was only starting after Kenny Lewis was lost to injury midway through the season. Evans was out of his element last season, having to run both between the tackles and outside on the corner.
Evans is much more suited for the inside power running game. This year his carries should come predominantly in that area, while the redshirt freshman Williams will use his lightning speed to take care of the outside rushing for the Hokies.
Williams has the potential to be the most explosive player the program has seen since a man named Michael Vick donned the orange and maroon. This spring, Williams was the highlight of every scrimmage in the spring, including an 80-yard run and 66-yard catch in separate scrimmages that went for scores.
With an offensive line that has a player with starting experience at every position, the running game at Tech could be one of the best in the country.
Go ahead and pencil in the Tech defense to lead the ACC in most categories also, if not the nation. All-Americans in the secondary and defensive line should dominate most opponents.
Kam Chancellor will line up at safety, where his rare combination of speed and strength will make him a multimillionaire come the 2010 NFL Draft. He will pair up with cornerback Stephan Virgil, the next in line of great cornerbacks in the program.
The long history of top NFL picks from that position, including DeAngelo Hall, Jimmy Williams, Brandon Flowers, and Victor "Macho" Harris, should continue with Virgil.
Sophomore Jake Johnson will start in the middle of the linebacking corps, where he could be the surprise player of the year. With a fierce mentality that perfectly suits his mentor Bud Foster's style, Johnson has the potential to be a memorable player by the time his career in Blacksburg is over.
It is less than 90 days away from kickoff in Atlanta, when perhaps the most important game of the Tech season will take place against the Crimson Tide of Alabama.
The Hokies defense will get to tee off on newcomer Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy. This is bad news for Crimson Tide fans. Bud Foster's onslaught of complicated blitz schemes can make even future pro stars look average (see: Matt Ryan). The Crimson Tide could find points hard to come by in the Georgia Dome.
If Tech gets past the epic opening-week matchup, they still must face Miami and Nebraska in Lane Stadium in September. With the momentum of a win over the Tide, and the electric atmosphere Lane Stadium provides, it is unlikely that either the Hurricanes or Cornhuskers can steal a win in Blacksburg.
The toughest road test comes against Georgia Tech, and All-American running back Jonathan Dwyer. Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson's wishbone offense is a difficult one to prepare for, but the Hokies shut it down early last season in their first game against such an offense in years.
Beamer's bunch narrowly escaped in that game, but this year should be a different story. If the defense clamps down on that Yellow Jacket running game once again, the Hokies offense should be much more potent this time around, and could win that game running away.
The other road trips are to Duke, Maryland, and East Carolina. Despite falling to ECU in 2008, the Pirates should not be quite as dangerous this year. Revenge will be on the minds of Tech, and at that point in the season, they could be going for a 9-0 record and holding on to a shot at a national championship.
Winning ACC crowns has already almost grown old in just five years in the league. When the conference expanded to include Miami and the Hokies in 2004, its intent was to create a dominant "superconference" in football that would boast some of the nation's best teams every season. It has not exactly unfolded that way.
With three championships and another championship game appearance, it has turned into Virginia Tech and the 11 dwarves.
What the Hokies should work for this season is the next step, which is the national title game in Pasadena, CA on January 7, 2010. With the parity in college football knocking most teams out of the ranks of the unbeatens by the end of each year, should the Hokies make it through the schedule unscathed, they should find themselves right there.