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The lunch pail, the staple of Virginia Tech's defense, has gone missing.
As the Hokies are in the midst of spring practice, the lunch pail is nowhere to be found. Not to worry though, because the pail is almost 3,000 miles from Blacksburg in the grip of Seattle Seahawk defensive end Darryl Tapp.
The former Hokie, who finished his rookie season in the NFL, proudly has the team's icon at his home. Tapp didn't steal it. He earned it.
"He didn't keep it. I gave it to him," said Tech longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster. "This is my thirteenth season coming up and he is the only guy I've given the lunch pail to. There's been other guys that have been great football players here, don't get me wrong, but I don't know if there's one guy that has really exemplified what the lunch pail was all about. Darryl was a guy that worked out twice a day."
That hard work paid big dividends for the former Deep Creek High School Hornet. The then-defending NFC champions drafted Tapp in the second round pick.
Even though he was new, Tapp never went through rookie hazing like his former roommate James Anderson, who was taped to a goalpost and given an ice water drenching. Seahawk head coach Mike Holmgren would have none of it. So instead of being soaked, Tapp was merely a gopher for the stuff.
"Probably the worst it got was when we had to get guys Gatorade and water after practices," Tapp said. "Every Friday during the season, I had to go to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and buy five-dozen doughnuts. That was about as bad as it was."
The lunch pail continued to make its presence at the start of Tapp's career. On Sept. 17, he recorded his first sack against Arizona in the Seahawks' home opener.
"It was exhilarating," Tapp said, laughing. "There's nothing like getting your first sack of each season, but the first at a different level helped break the ice. I was able to get Kurt Warner when I ended up beating Leonard Davis, who is like, 6'7", 360 (pounds). I was able to get by him and take Warner down. It was a good experience."
Tapp grabbed Eli Manning in week three and Brett Favre in week 12. Even though he was playing on the pro level, it seemed the same as it ever was after his Tech days.
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