But the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder stood out and his play marked the biggest surprise of the spring. In a junior varsity game this past fall, he got pushed around a bit. And earlier this spring, the same thing occurred a couple of times.

As the spring progressed, so too did Pile. He became more confident and more aggressive. He attacked the running backs and made smart decisions in coverage. And in the final two weeks of spring practice, he won over the coaches' confidence.

"When they moved Nick, I knew it was my time," Pile said. "They didn't bring me here to be a spectator and I had to start doing things differently.

"I knew I couldn't put pressure on myself. The main thing was to be confident and consistent. Those were the two words I lived by this spring."

"I think last year Willie knew he couldn't beat out the people ahead of him and maybe he didn't work as hard," defensive backs coach Lorenzo Ward said. "But this spring, he was our most improved player."

Lewis remains undersized. But he is incredibly strong, featuring some guns rarely seen in a freshman. He also possesses a tremendous burst off the line of scrimmage and he never gives up on a play. You hear coaches talk about players having a great motor. Lewis' motor remains full throttle.

His play presents a dilemma to Beamer and his staff. They want to redshirt him. But he played too well this spring and Tech's lack of depth at defensive tackle means Lewis takes the field next fall.

"He's in our thinking right now," Beamer said. "He's got a good motor. He wants to learn. He's going to make a great preparation from now until next fall.

"Right now, we want to make sure is that if he's going to play, he's going to play a lot. I don't want to take a guy that could be redshirted and play him some. If he's going to play, he's going to play a lot."

"You know," he said. "Pugh's pretty good. Maybe we haven't pubbed him enough in the Huddler." He's right.

Pugh, a 6-2, 272-pound redshirt junior, may be the most critical player on Tech's team. The defensive tackle possesses a unique ability to make plays, which the Hokies need on a young defense. He plays with leverage and never stays blocked. Just watch his hands and feet sometime. They're always moving.

"Pugh has been very strong all spring," defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. "He plays with a great motor and gives great effort in the weight room in the offseason. He's physical and that makes him a tough guy to block. He's just a good football player."

Now maybe Pugh's play isn't that surprising. But truthfully, not many know how good this kid could be.

This spring, instead of being a question, he became an answer.

Suggs, the 6-0, 201-pound redshirt sophomore, sent a message to André Kendrick, who sat out the spring on academic suspension. He showed the blazing speed he displayed on timing day. He ran hard. And more importantly, he showed some toughness.

"The spotlight is on me so I have to produce," Suggs said. "Hopefully this will be a breakout year for me."

He's just another weapon in what should be Tech's best offense. And like Vick and André Davis, Suggs can take it the distance on any play.

I called Adibi the "best player other than Vick to enroll at Tech in the past four years." After watching him all spring, I haven't changed my mind.

At 6-3, 242 and with 4.4 speed, he possesses the size and speed to be a great defensive end. He gets off the line quickly, chases plays from behind and rarely stays blocked for long. He needs to get stronger and play at full throttle every down. But another summer in the weight room and a few more practices next fall and Adibi should absolutely burst on the scene.

"242, that's decent," Adibi said of his weight. "But I need to get to around at least 250 or 260. This summer I'm going to try and get bigger and stronger and lower my 40 time.

"I have expectations for myself. That's why I came here. To play big-time football. I'm not really listening to anybody else. The people comparing me to Corey, Bruce Smith, whatever, I'm not really paying any attention to them."

Last season, Austin got picked on a little bit in a game against Pittsburgh. The Panthers threw for a ton of yardage and a lot of that came at Austin's expense. At the time, he played a little soft.

But this spring, Austin woke up and used his best asset - his 4.26 speed. Why play 10 yards off a receiver when you possess that type of speed? How many receivers can run past someone that fast? Austin played Tech's man-to-man coverage beautifully this spring. If a quarterback threw at him, Austin usually broke quickly on the ball and knocked it away. If a receiver caught it, he gained zilch because Austin was there to bring him down.

With Austin and Ronyell Whitaker, the Hokies may be better at corner than they were last season. Most of the surprises this season came on the defensive side of the ball. That's because the offense returns nine starters. Folks know about Vick. They know about Tech's deep and talented offensive line. And the receiving corps possesses the potential to be one of the best ever at Tech.

But on defense, the Hokies need to fill the vacancy of eight departed starters. They needed some young, unproven talent to step forward.

Or in other words, they needed a few pleasant surprises.

"Bud Foster and I both felt the same way in that over about the last three or four practices our defense has really come along," Beamer said. "I think we've made some strides in the last four practices. That's good. That's what you look for.

"Now it's just a matter of getting bigger and stronger this summer and get ready to crank it up next fall."