Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 5 | May 2019

24 Inside Hokie Sports Vance Vice fielded the question as cleanly as Freddie Freeman scooping up a routine grounder. A reporter at a media session following one of Tech’s spring practices—Andy Bitter from The Athletic—asked Vice about downplaying his being the valedictorian of his high school graduating class and also having more degrees (three) than anyone on the Virginia Tech football staff. “You ask me like you’re surprised,” Vice deadpanned, drawing laughter from the small group in attendance. The veteran Vice grew up in a small town in rural Oklahoma. But his rural upbringing shouldn’t fool people. He possesses more than enough smarts to figure out how to replace the three senior starters who departed off last season’s offensive line. That process started this spring, and typical of his philosophy, Vice spent much of each session shuffling guys at different spots in search of the perfect combination, as he sought replacements for departed seniors Kyle Chung, Braxton Pfaff and Yosuah Nijman. “Spring time is obviously a time where it’s all about development and growing up,” Vice said. “We’ve got young and old, and it gives you a chance to slide guys around a little bit. We don’t have a big number right now to do that with—we obviously don’t have our incoming [recruiting] class here right now. We’ve got less now than we’ve had in the past, numbers-wise, but it’s a great a time of the year. You get to go out there and experiment with a couple of things—and the scoreboard isn’t on.” The Hokies entered spring practice with 15 offensive linemen on the roster, but three of them—Christian Darrisaw, Joe Kane, and Walker Culver—missed this spring because of injuries. Complicating matters, at least temporarily, is that the group only features one senior in Tyrell Smith, who has not started a game in his career. Actually, of the 12 who practiced, five were redshirt freshmen and one was a true freshman—Jesse Hanson, who enrolled in mid-January after a stellar career at nearby Lord Botetourt High School outside of Roanoke. Not to mention, the Hokies’ SILAS DZANSI