The Hokies announced a home-and-home series against Michigan on Thursday. The two teams will meet in Ann Arbor on Sept. 19, 2020 and will play at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg on Sept. 11, 2021.

“That does bring up a few memories,” Coale said Thursday by phone from Dallas, where the Cowboys wide receiver is rehabbing a torn left ACL. “I think that’s a fantastic thing, I really do. You take two programs that are premier programs in college football, two great, winning programs and you match them up together. It was exciting as a player and it’s exciting as an alum.”

Michigan’s 23-20 overtime win in the Sugar Bowl is the only time the two schools have met in football. Coale appeared to catch a touchdown pass in overtime. The officials on the field ruled it a score, but the replay official overturned the call.

Still, Coale said he’s not viewing the future meetings with Michigan as a shot at redemption for the Hokies.

“I think ‘avenging’ is a dangerous thing in sports,” Coale said. “If you get into that, you’ve got yourself in some trouble there. You want to play to win every game.”

The Wolverines are the third Big Ten team Tech has upcoming games scheduled against. The Hokies have a home-and-home series with OhioState in 2014 and 2015, starting in Columbus and then playing in Blacksburg. They also play games against Wisconsin, starting in 2016 (home) and 2017 (away).

Tech’s 2020 schedule now adds Michigan to home non-conference games against Liberty and East Carolina.

In 2021, Tech hosts both Michigan and Richmond and still has an open slot for a non-conference opponent.

Coale ended his Virginia Tech career second on the Hokies’ all-time list with 165 receptions and 2,658 yards. The Dallas Cowboys drafted Coale in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, and ultimately signed him to the practice squad. He suffered foot and hamstring injuries, then tore the ACL in his left knee in November, ending his season.

Still, the Cowboys opted to re-sign him as a free agent to a new two-year deal.

“They certainly didn’t have to, with the injuries I’ve had here,” Coale said. “I’m so thankful.”

Thursday, Coale met with the doctor who performed his surgery to see how he is progressing.

“That’s going really well,” Coale, who got married in February, said. “I’m almost five months since surgery. I’ve been able to run and cut and I’ve been out running routes. I have to build some strength back and work on my power and explosiveness. I’m very pleased with how it’s going, but it’s still a long road.”

The 6-foot-5 Brown, a Florida native, said he was transferring to be closer to his family when he was given his release by Virginia Tech coach James Johnson. Brown could not be reached Tuesday.

In 31 games, Brown averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 rebounds for the Hokies this season, recovering quickly from offseason foot surgery but struggling through a shooting slump for much of the year.

NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock, who projected Davis to go in the fourth round, said some NFL teams had health questions about Davis, who is injured a number of times earlier in his Tech career.

Wide receiver Corey Fuller went to the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the NFL draft Saturday. Two picks later, offensive tackle Vinston Painter was chosen by the Denver Broncos.

Virginia Tech announced offensive tackle Nick Becton would join the San Diego Chargers, linebacker Bruce Taylor would join the Cincinnati Bengals and defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins would join the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wide receivers Marcus Davis and Dyrell Roberts and fullback Martin Scales had not agreed to free agent deals, as of Saturday evening.

“I was starting to get a little bit impatient,” Fuller said Saturday, after being selected in the sixth round by the Detroit Lions. “I was outside, I didn’t want to be in front of the TV no more.”

That’s when his cell phone rang and he found out he’d been selected. Fuller spoke with Detroit general manager Martin Mayhew, coach Jim Schwartz and receivers coach Tim Lappano before hanging up and joining his family inside to celebrate.

The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Fuller was a track runner at Kansas before transferring to Virginia Tech, so there’s no question about his speed. But Fuller was considered raw as a wide receiver.

Saturday, he admitted he didn’t start considering himself an NFL prospect until late in his senior season.

Fuller led the Hokies with six touchdown receptions and a 19 yards per catch average this past season. He was second on the team with 43 catches and 815 receiving yards.

Offensive tackle Vinston Painter was picked two spots after Fuller, ending a long wait for Painter and the family and friends gathered in his family’s Norfolk home.

“It’s definitely been a long day, sitting around and waiting,” Painter said Saturday after being selected. “I’m just glad to get drafted.”

Painter said the Broncos, including team president John Elway, called him to tell him he’d be selected and while he was on the phone, his name popped up on the television screen.

The 6-foot-4, 306-pound Painter only started as a senior for the Hokies, leaving the impression he underachieved in college. Painter’s stock went up after an impressive showing at the NFL combine, where he was a top performer among offensive tackles running a 4.95 40-yard dash and vertical jumping 30.5 inches.

Linebacker Alonzo Tweedy said he agreed to a free agent contract with the New York Giants. Virginia Tech announced offensive tackle Nick Becton would join the San Diego Chargers, linebacker Bruce Taylor would join the Cincinnati Bengals and defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins would join the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wide receivers Marcus Davis and Dyrell Roberts and fullback Martin Scales had not agreed to free agent deals, as of Saturday evening.

“I’m going to be really politically correct and nice about this,” Tribe defensive coordinator Scott Boone said this week. “He is very confident in his abilities and feels like he can cover anybody at any level at any time. And he never hesitated to make sure everyone knew how he felt. He’ll fit in in that group.”

Webb, also a punt returner, became the first player from a Virginia college selected in this year’s NFL Draft when the Dallas Cowboys selected him with the 17th pick in the fourth round, 114th overall Saturday.

Two picks later, the Arizona Cardinals selected James Madison offensive guard Earl Watford.

“I was really excited,” Watford said by phone after being selected Saturday. “That’s the first step to something that’s huge, getting a chance to play in the NFL.”

Virginia offensive tackle Oday Aboushi went to the New York Jets in the fifth round, the 141st pick overall. Richmond safety Cooper Taylor went to the New York Giants in the fifth round, 152nd overall.

Virginia Tech didn’t have its first player drafted until the Detroit Lions took wide receiver Corey Fuller in the sixth round, 171 overall. Offensive tackle Vinston Painter went two picks later to the Denver Broncos.

The Hokies’ other draft hopefuls, including wide receiver Marcus Davis and offensive tackle Nick Becton are still waiting to hear their names called.

It’s not a surprise Webb was the first state player off the board.

“I think the No. 1 characteristic that B.W. had, he was just an unbelievable competitor,” James Madison coach Mickey Matthews said. “He had tons of ability, but he was extremely competitive. There’s no question he’s an NFL corner.”

The 5-foot-10, 184-pound Webb is the fourth W&M player picked in the last five drafts.

The Newport News native, was an FCS All-American as a senior this past year, and, overall, was a three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association first-team selection. He finished his W&M career with 11 interceptions.

“I think coming out of high school we knew he was tremendous athlete and was going to be really explosive and all those things,” Boone said. “The effort he put in the weight room and the techniques he learned, he really turned himself into an outstanding college football player.”

As a redshirt freshman in 2009, Webb was named the CAA’s Defensive Player of the Year after finishing sixth in the nation with eight interceptions. He picked off three passes in the Tribe’s upset of FBS Virginia.

Boone said some NFL scouts might have questioned Webb’s ability to hold up against top-level competition. But his play in FCS games, like Virginia, prove he’s up to the challenge Boone said.

“He relished that chance,” Boone said. “He liked to be in the spotlight.”

While opponents were reluctant to throw at Webb during his senior year, he still totaled 46 tackles and broke up eight passes.

“Teams would test him but not in critical situations,” Boone said. “He stood up to the test 90 percent of the time. He was our shut-down guy.”

Matthews said JMU avoided throwing at Webb for his entire Tribe career.

“He’s been good since the day he stepped onto William & Mary’s campus,” Matthews said. “I’m sure he got lonely out there. Nobody threw his way.”

Webb upped his NFL stock with strong showings at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Watford was a two-year first-team all-Colonial Athletic Association selection.

Matthews said Watford’s size, athleticism and strong grades made him a steal when the Dukes found him in Philadelphia.

“I just think Earl was an inner city player that, we had to teach him how to play,” Matthews said. “He was really a good learner and learned how to play. He had the ability when we recruited. After we got him, he just really developed. He just really worked very hard in the weight room. You looked up and you had an NFL prospect.”

The 6-foot-5, 308-pound Aboushi started on both sides of the line at Virginia, but NFL scouts had some questions about his quickness. But Aboushi’s knack for drawing 15-yard penalties proved, if nothing else, he has the mean-streak to play offensive line in the NFL, his coach said.

“That’s part of that whole mentality, nastiness, aggressiveness,” U.Va. coach Mike London said of Aboushi’s physical play. “You just have to be smart about when you do that. Post-snap penalties are not good for anybody. I think he does have the temperament, he has the ability to be a productive member on any of these teams’ offensive lines.”

London expected Aboushi to benefit from the fact that Virginia has a good reputation for producing NFL players, he said.

“Virginia is a place that has guys that are smart players, do well in the classroom, have gone on to the NFL, kind of stayed in the league, had longevity there,” London said. “You can’t take the credit for it. It’s the school, it’s the coaches preceding me. It’s my job now to get these guys educated and help provide opportunities for them to have their name called.”

The 6-foot-4, 228-pound Taylor impressed scouts with his practices at the East-West Shrine Game. He spent two seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to Richmond.

In 1993, Tech didn’t have a single player selected in the NFL draft. Saturday, it was getting close.

The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Fuller was a track runner at Kansas before transferring to Virginia Tech, so there’s no question about his speed. But Fuller is considered raw as a wide receiver.

Fuller led the Hokies with six touchdown receptions and a 19 yards per catch average this past season. He was second on the team with 43 catches and 815 receiving yards.

The 6-foot-4, 306-pound Painter only started as a senior for the Hokies, leaving the impression he underachieved in college. Painter’s stock went up after an impressive showing at the NFL combine, where he was a top performer among offensive tackles running a 4.95 40-yard dash and vertical jumping 30.5 inches.

“I think we need to let it play out,” Beamer said during a teleconference Thursday.

“I think there’s definitely two sides of the story on this one.”

Holmes, a sophomore from Harrisonburg, is free on bond but suspended indefinitely from the team after being charged with malicious wounding, a felony, and two counts of simple assault, misdemeanors, stemming from a fight early Sunday morning.

During the teleconference to wrap up spring practice, Beamer was asked about the pecking order for the tailbacks as spring ended. He said that was one of the topics the coaches discussed when they went over personnel matters during a lengthy meeting Monday. Tuesday, Beamer said coaches met with players to tell them where they stood within the program.

“I think Trey Edmunds has to be right in the mix and I think he is,” Beamer said of the redshirt freshman tailback. “There’s no question he’s in the mix. We’ll see where Michael Holmes’ situation goes. I think there’s probably two sides to that. That’s to be decided where that is. And then I think [Chris] Mangus and [J.C.] Coleman, in certain packages, and Tony Gregory when he gets back, we’ll use him in certain roles. Right now the top three as far as tailbacks are Edmunds, Holmes and Coleman.”

Earlier in the week, Tech associate athletic director Jon Jaudon said Holmes could participate in the team’s players-only, 7-on-7 drills this spring and summer if the players chose to hold those workouts on fields not controlled by the athletic department.

Under his indefinite suspension, Holmes can’t use any athletic department facilities, including weight rooms and fields.

“I’m going to say that if they go up to the rec fields, we don’t have a whole lot of jurisdiction on use of the recreation fields,” Jaudon said Wednesday. “But I don’t foresee that happening. … Off campus or up on field we don’t care for or monitor, I guess that could happen.”

Most often, athletic department fields are used for the workouts.

But Beamer made it sound like Holmes wouldn’t be a part of any team activities unless his suspension is lifted, which can’t happen as long as he’s facing a felony charge.

“He’s not involved with the football program at all,” Beamer said.

Also, Thursday, a source said Kierra Barnes, a 20-year-old Radford student arrested in connection with the Holmes’ case, suffered a black eye, broken nose and other facial lacerations. Barnes alleges Holmes struck her in the face during the fight, a charge Holmes’ attorney, Jimmy Turk, denied.

According to Holmes’ mother, Tonya Brandon, Holmes’ ex-girlfriend Ciara Simms, a sophomore sprinter on the Tech track team, and Barnes attacked Holmes’ current girlfriend, Karoline Seekford.
Holmes attempted to break up the assault and ended up in a fight with Barnes’ cousin, Antoine Barnes.

Holmes took to Twitter to express his feelings this week.
“To all the people who care and know me, thanks for being here for me in this situation….” Holmes tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
Minutes later, Holmes tweeted: “It hurts to know that people really think I’m out here fighting everyone and don’t know what really happened. I’d never do some things said.”

Overall, Beamer said he was happy with what he called “an outstanding spring.”

“I think it had some things that need to get better,” Beamer said. “You like to identify them. The good thing is we’ve got some time here and there’s no t a limit on how much a guy can get in the weight room and lift or how much he does on his own here in the summer. Hopefully we’ll have several players that won’t be the same player they were last Saturday. Hopefully they’ll be better in some areas.”

According to his attorney, Jimmy Turk, Holmes acted in self defense when he injured Antoine Barnes in the incident Sunday.

According to Holmes’ mother, Tonya Brandon, Holmes’ ex-girlfriend, Ciara Simms, and Barnes’ cousin, Kierra Barnes, attacked Holmes’ current girlfriend, Karoline Seekford. Holmes and Antoine Barnes got into a fight after Holmes attempted to break up the attack on Seekford.

Brandon also stated that Holmes ended his relationship with Simms “over a year ago” but that, Saturday night, Simms was following Holmes and Seekford “from party to party.”

Simms accuses Holmes of pulling her by her hair and Barnes alleges Holmes struck her in the face, charges Turk said Holmes denies completely.