Collegiate Times

All that covered his right thumb was a big band-aid. That didn't stop Sean Glennon from his first day of spring practice.

The incumbent starting quarterback suffered a small cut on his throwing hand last week, resulting in three stitches. Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer listed him on injured reserve for the first day of spring practice. But there Glennon was, throwing an accurate ball left and right, near and far.

"My thumb would have to be cut off if I wasn't going to come out here. Anything short of that, I'm practicing," Glennon said. "The only thing I can't do right now is take a snap. I'm full going. I've been waiting for spring practice since January 1^st, so I'm ready to go."

Since the 31-24 loss to Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Glennon has had this day circled on his calendar. That is rightfully so, after he threw three interceptions in a game the Hokies had all but won before halftime.

"I look back, and it would have been great to have a good bowl game," Glennon said. "But I might not have had the motivation that I've had this off-season. Maybe in the long run of my career and this season, that wasn't such a bad thing because I've dedicated myself to prove everyone wrong this year. People say, 'You can't take them to the ACC championship and you can't do this.' I want to prove them wrong."

Proving critics wrong is something the coaching staff is looking for all three quarterbacks, Ike Whitaker, Cory Holt and Glennon to accomplish this spring. For the first time, the quarterbacks will play live, meaning they are allowed to get hit and tackled in practice just like all players, forcing them to make plays outside of the pocket.

"I really think Sean Glennon needs it. You know, he's just never run the ball very much," Beamer said. "I think he needs to get a feel for when to pull the ball down and when to run it. I've always felt that in the spring time, and in the fall, when you put the quarterback in yellow, and he knows he's not going to get hit, he doesn't react the same as if he's live. I just think it is good training to make it full speed and react the way you would in a ball game."

Spring practice is merely a chance for the entire team to get back into the swing of things for 15 practices. Yesterday marked the first time since the bowl game where players were able to hit the field. Each player was not at his best, but nothing spectacular was expected.

"It feels so good to get back into the swing of things. Its football and it smells so good," said rising junior cornerback Victor "Macho" Harris. "That would be unreal if we were to come out here on the first day and be sharp right off the bat, like where we left off. But at the same time, we aren't far from it either."

Harris and the rest of the Tech defense have set the bar high. Eight starters return for the ACC's best defense from a season ago.

"I've been on some teams that should have been good and they didn't turn out very good," Beamer said. "I've also had some teams with great potential but we didn't meet our potential. So, I think that's the challenge to each and every one of us - to play up to our potential on defense and play with great effort and great intelligence."

The spring game culminates the 15 practices spread over the next two weeks. Most of all, the spring allows the coaches and players to shake off the rust for a short time and take it easy. There is no opponent to prepare for. The objective is just to improve skills.

"It's real important for the football team. Like today, we practiced and we're off for the next day and then we come back and practice Friday," Beamer said. "So, there's time. There's time to practice and learn from it. You know if it was next fall, today's practice and Friday's practice would all be in the same day. Things just go so much faster in the fall. This is a great time to learn."