Collegiate Times

Virginia Tech football is the face of the university, which means if players lose their cool on the field, it reflects on us as students.

I?m sure you?ve been in the same situation as me when you go home. Those same sarcastic remarks always come up. ?How about that Marcus Vick? He sure is a class act.?

I have had enough of Hokies making the whole university look bad when they get personal fouls on the field and get in trouble off the field. So has head coach Frank Beamer.

Beamer and his staff decided this season to penalize players who get personal fouls by cutting their bowl game allowance in addition to making them run 100 yard sprints for every yard at a ripe 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

I know, because I?ve seen it.

Fellow photographer Eric Connolly and I made the trek to Tech?s Rector Field House to see senior rover Aaron Rouse run his 1,500 yards as a penalty for his late hit at the end of the first quarter of Tech?s 29-13 victory over Cincinnati.

As expected, Rouse was running the sprints as the half-awake Beamer stood at the end of the field with his stopwatch. For the 227 lb., 6?4? collegiate athlete, the sprints were just a formality for Rouse. After he was done, Beamer said the usual good job, and Rouse promptly left at 6:15 a.m.

Beamer asked Eric out of consideration to keep from taking photos of the event.

The running was not the punishment, it was the guilt. Rouse?s actions forced the 59-year-old coach to get up before the fog lifted. Beamer kept his words to a minimum, but Rouse knew exactly what the message was.

The message is pretty straight forward ? thugs will not be tolerated.

Vick is the poster child for this. He is still being made an example even though he is 900 miles away in Miami, but he was not the first.

Numerous players in the mid-?90s were constantly in trouble as Tech became a bigger program. They were suspended one way or another, and gave the Hokies a bad image. I remember the joke when the Hokie-Pokey was, ?put your hands behind your head, and you have the right to remain silent.?

Since that time, the Hokies cleaned up their image, making it to the national championship game with players fans appreciated. Players like Andre Davis, Lee Suggs and Shane Graham were not only stellar players on the field, but they were off as well. Any time the Hokies have success, it?s with teams that don?t have players that drag the team down with stupid moves on and off the field.

Probably the best team Tech has ever had was the 2004 Sugar Bowl team. Led by the biggest team player in Tech history, Bryan Randall, the team won the Atlantic Coast Conference in the first season.

Randall will always be looked upon as one of the most respected athletes to attend this university. If you came to me and asked who was the best student-athlete to ever wear a Hokie uniform, I would not hesitate in answering with Randall.

Randall is somebody you root for regardless of whether you are a Tech fan or not. He was presented the ACC Player of the Year award at the end of the 2004 campaign, which meant he could play. He also was stellar in the classroom, earning countless awards for academics.

But it wasn?t only Randall that season. Players like linebacker James Anderson and defensive end Darryl Tapp were also key players in that championship season, and also pillars of the community.

There is one relationship that made these teammates great ? heart.

After the Hokies lost to N.C. State at home that season, there were a few players who were allowed to talk to the media after the game. To no surprise, Randall, Anderson and Tapp were among the Hokies in the media center. When it was all said and done, the depleted players walked back to the locker room.

Walking back to my dorm, I ran into Tapp, who was emotionally drained. He looked up and saw his parents sitting in the stands. He began to cry. That?s right. A 6?1? 265 lb. lineman began to bawl like a baby, but why not? He played his heart out for Virginia Tech because he loved the game, not for the money.

Beamer wants that 2004 team again. He wants a team that is successful on the field and off, not being arrested six days before the biggest game of the season.

Most of all, he wants to be able to sleep in on Wednesdays.