The on-campus tragedy that cost the lives of 32 people and the gunman himself cut short Virginia Tech's spring practice. At the time, coach Frank Beamer noted, other things took priority on the Blacksburg campus.

The spring game was set for five days after the shootings on April 16.

No Tech player was directly affected by the shootings, although one player had a class in the building where 30 people were killed, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Beamer told the newspaper that the player, who was not identified, had been contacted by that afternoon and was safe.

Even though Beamer has a veteran team coming back with eight starters returning on each side of the ball, he said some positions definitely needed the work that would have been done in the last three days, especially in the final scrimmage.

"I think you find out a lot about your players when they're playing a game, how they react in a game as opposed to a practice drill," he told the Roanoke Times.

-- Virginia Tech got in two full-scale scrimmages before cutting short spring drills, and the offense played well in both. Though the offense didn't produce any points in the first scrimmage, it moved the ball, and the failure to get into the end zone was a result of coach Frank Beamer's decision to turn it around every time it got inside the 30-yard line of the defense.

-- The offense produced seven touchdowns in the second scrimmage, but you couldn't blame the defense. Coaches had the Hokies concentrating on special red zone and goal-line situations, giving them short fields to work with.

SPRING MOVERS:

ROV Dorian Porch -- He didn't get much time behind veterans Aaron Rouse and Cory Wade last season, but now that they are gone Porch, a sophomore, looks to be another in a long line of Hokie hitters at the position. He impressed in the two spring scrimmages with six tackles in one and an interception in the other.

QB Ike Whitaker -- The sophomore firmed up his role as a backup to starter Sean Glennon by going 17 of 27 passing in the two major scrimmages.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "In one sense, we'd loved to have seen our quarterbacks play a game. We'd loved to have seen some offensive linemen play in a game like that. There's no question it sets us back." -- Coach Frank Beamer, in the Roanoke Times,

2007 OUTLOOK: The collapse in the second half of the Chick-fil-A Bowl loss to Georgia may have raised some questions about the Hokies, but they still will go into 2007 as the Coastal Division favorite. With 16 starters returning, they look to make it back to the ACC championship game for the second time in three years. They get Miami and Florida State at home but must go to Georgia Tech and Virginia. They are at LSU on Sept. 8 for a key non-conference game.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Junior QB Sean Glennon, who started all of 2006 but finished the year with a shaky performance in the bowl loss, re-established his position in the spring. Junior TB Branden Ore gives the Hokies one of the league's top rushers (1,137 yards in 2006), and the receiving corps headed by senior Eddie Royal is one of the ACC's best all-around groups.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: As usual, defense looks to be the Hokies' strength. Senior LBs Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi are big-play guys, and junior CB Brandon Flowers is one of the league's best in the secondary. There are a couple of holes to fill, including one at linebacker and one in the secondary, but there should be little drop-off from the performance of a year ago when the Hokies led the country in total defense.

SCOUTING THE SPECIAL TEAMS: Both PK Brandon Pace and P Nic Schmitt must be replaced. Seniors Jared Develli, who handled most of the kickoffs the last three years, and Jared Dunlevy, who once had a 51-yard field goal in a junior varsity game, are the contenders for Pace's job. Sophomore Brent Bowden is the leader to replace Schmitt. Royal gives the Hokies a breakaway threat in the return game on both kickoffs and punts.

ROSTER REPORT: Senior Duane Brown, a two-year starter at right tackle, has been moved to the left side and is up to 305 pounds after playing last year at 294. Sophomore Ed Wang, a converted tight end, and redshirt freshman Aaron Brown are competing for the starting spot on the right side.

Ore, who wasn't even in school last spring while recovering from a shoulder injury, was somewhat limited in this year's workouts after recovering from an ankle injury late last season. Ore sat out one scrimmage entirely but came back to gain 57 yards on just three carries in the second.