From the Charlotte Observer, 8/10/04:

Quote:Q&A With Frank Beamer


Q. It's been a rough offseason at Virginia Tech, capped with last month's suspension of quarterback Marcus Vick. How difficult is it to keep players out of trouble these days?

A.  You move ahead; that's what's important for the football team. You've got to take care of issues -- which we are -- and move forward. I just think generally the world keeps changing and there's a lot of stuff out there, a lot of things that are different than 10 years ago. I think kids have got to understand that and be responsible to themselves, their family, the program and make good decisions.

Q. How is Bryan Randall progressing as he prepares for his senior season at quarterback, and did his playing basketball also make a difference for him?

A.  Bryan's made himself into a good quarterback. But the other things about him are what make him special: leadership, dedication, loyalty and unselfishness. (Basketball coach) Seth Greenberg talks about Bryan helping them during the season, not so much scoring and passing, but him just being around. Bryan brings that to the table.

Q. Are you ready for the ACC?

A.  We played Miami for a while (in the Big East) and we've played Florida State a few times. You look at what Maryland is doing, and N.C. State, just look at the whole thing. Look at the last four teams (Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke) and they're very, very dangerous. Look at who played in the national championship games the last few years -- Miami, Florida State and us. This league's got a chance to be pretty good.

Q. Virginia Tech is not a league favorite and expectations aren't as high as they've been in recent years. What's your reaction?

A.  It'll be interesting to see. There's a sense of urgency at our place, a real focus. We know what it's like to be around the top, now we're not picked there.

Q. The Hokies faded last season to finish 8-5 after a 6-0 start. What was the problem?

A.  We had better players than our record. We didn't win games at the end of the season that I thought we should have won. It gets back to your mind-set. We had high aspirations and were right where we wanted to be. But we lost a couple of ball games and it went out the window. Some handled it better than others. So now we need to coach better and play better.

Virginia Tech

COACH: Frank Beamer (167-97-4, 23 years; 125-74-2 at Virginia Tech)

LAST SEASON: 8-5 (lost to California 52-49 in Insight Bowl)

RETURNING STARTERS: 4 offense, 5 defense

SCHEDULE:

Aug. 28 Southern California*

Sept. 11 Western Michigan

Sept. 18 Duke

Sept. 25 N.C. State

Oct. 2 West Virginia

Oct. 16 Florida A&M

Oct. 28 at Georgia Tech

Nov. 6 at North Carolina

Nov. 18 Maryland

Nov. 27 Virginia

Dec. 4 at Miami

*at Landover, Md.

The Observer missed one game on the VT schedule: The Hokies play Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on October 9th.