As expected, defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor and fullback Kenny Younger paced the football team’s testing in the strength and conditioning program in late July, with Younger earning Excalibur Award honors – the top honor in the strength and conditioning program – for the third time. In all, 11 players earned Super Iron Hokie honors, with 25 others earning honors as well.
Taylor, a 6-foot, 256-pound redshirt junior, led the team in three categories – the bench press (430 pounds), the power clean (390) and the push jerk (400). Also, his 460-pound front squat was a position record for a defensive tackle.
Younger, a 5-11, 230-pound junior walk-on from Richmond, recorded a team-best 485-pound front squat – also a position record for a fullback – and ran the 10-yard sprint in a team-best tying 1.59 seconds. Younger also finished second in the bench press (425 pounds) and push jerk (380), and tied for third in the power clean (341).
Another walk-on, Ron Cooper, a 5-10, 189-pound redshirt sophomore from Richmond, led the way in the vertical jump, recording a leap of 41.5 inches. That number marks a new position record for a free safety.
Three other position records fell. Zach Luckett set a receivers record in the front squat with a lift of 405 pounds, while walk-on Dylan McGreevy set a whips record with a 420-pound lift. Kam Chancellor set a safeties record in the bench press with a 375-pound lift.
Here’s a look at the top five in each test:
| Bench press | Front squat |
| D. Taylor (430) | Younger (485) |
| Younger (425) | Boone (470) |
| Friday (410) | D. Taylor (460) |
| Graves (410) | Perez (450) |
| Render (410) | DeChristopher (450) |
| Power clean | Push jerk |
| D. Taylor (390) | D. Taylor (400) |
| Marshman (370) | Younger (380) |
| Muncey (341) | Wang (370) |
| Younger (341) | Rivers (370) |
| Br. Warren (341) |
Perez (360) |
| Vertical jump (inches) | 10-yard sprint (seconds) |
| Cooper (41.5) | Younger (1.59) |
| Terry (40) | Grimm (1.59) |
| Sturdivant (39.5) | Coale (1.61) |
| T. Taylor (38) | Muncey (1.61) |
| Garner (36.5) | Harris (1.63) |
Williams the fastest freshman
Lorenzo Williams, a 6-2, 195-pound cornerback from Fayetteville, N.C., recorded the fastest times among the freshmen after Mike Gentry’s strength and conditioning staff tested the entire group in four categories – the bench press, the 40, the vertical jump and the 10-yard sprint.
Williams ran the 40 in 4.43 seconds and the 10-yard sprint in 1.63 seconds. Dyrell Roberts, a 6-2, 183-pound receiver from Windsor, Va., finished second in both categories.
Jake Johnson, a 6-2, 239-pound linebacker, recorded the highest bench press at 410 pounds, while Marcus Davis, a 6-4, 222-pound receiver, led everyone in the vertical jump with a leap of 38 inches.
Here’s a look at the top five in each category:
| Bench press | 40-yard dash (seconds) |
| Jake Johnson (410) | Lorenzo Williams (4.43) |
| Vinston Painter (410) | Dyrell Roberts (4.45) |
| Dwight Tucker (340) | Ryan Williams (4.48) |
| Joe Jones (330) | Marcus Davis (4.51) |
| George George (330) | Eddie Whitley (4.59) |
| Vertical jump (inches) | 10-yard sprint (seconds) |
| Marcus Davis (38) | Lorenzo Williams (1.63) |
| Lorenzo Williams (35) | Dyrell Roberts (1.65) |
| Ryan Williams (35) | Marcus Davis (1.65) |
| Jarrett Boykin (35) | Ryan Williams (1.71) |
| Dyrell Roberts (34) | Jarrett Boykin (1.71) |
Football roster shake-up
Four offensive linemen are no longer with the Tech program, with one of them transferring and one giving up the sport while still sticking with the program as a graduate assistant.
Brandon Holland, a 6-4, 325-pound native of Roanoke, Va., transferred to UNC Pembroke just a couple of weeks ago. Holland, a rising junior, played just 63 snaps from scrimmage last season and 57 on special teams.
Eric Davis, Matt Welsh and Clark Crum all have given up football. Davis, a back-up guard on last year’s team who did not play a snap, graduated and continues to work in the athletics department while pursuing a master’s degree. Welsh graduated as well and gave up the sport after playing 196 snaps last season. Crum, a redshirt freshman a year ago, did not play a snap and gave up football because of personal reasons.
Also, on another roster note, three members of Tech’s 31-member 2008 recruiting class will be enrolling in January of 2009. The three include Ben Barber, a 5-10, 190-pound athlete from Alexandria, Va.; Eric Martin, a 6-2, 240-pound tight end from Woodbridge, Va.; and Leon Mackey, a 6-4, 275-pound defensive end from Wilmington, Del., by way of Hargrave. Two others – running back Tony Gregory from Virginia Beach, Va., and D.J. Coles, a receiver from Goochland, Va. – are going to prep school, while another, Derrick McCoy from Amherst, Va., is going to junior college. Peter Rose, also from Amherst, was released from his scholarship following an off-field matter.
