Frank Beamer. Michael Vick. Bruce Smith. Everyone’s favorite Hokies, right? They have to be among the most popular names when Virginia Tech fans and alumni are asked to name their favorite Hokies ever. These three are easily the most recognizable names, and they are arguably the most influential in Tech’s football history. Of course, they are all in my own top ten. But the term “favorite” implies a personal preference, so my top three favorite Hokies of all time are not among those legends. Here they are, in order:
Favorite Hokies: #1 – Bud Foster, Former Defensive Coordinator, 1996-2019
Long time Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster is easily a legend in the class of Beamer, Vick, and Smith. We all know the success of his Lunch Pail defenses and the number of players he put into the NFL (over 50). Since he assumed sole defensive coordinator duties in 1996 until he retired in 2019, his defense logged 35 shutouts and 889 sacks, both of which are tops in FBS in that time. The accolades go on and on.
Hokie Nation adores him. His former players love him, especially for how he defended them. In one post-game interview, he said of Antone Exum, “He played his nuts off.”
Foster was intense. He had a fiery sideline persona. Most Hokie fans know him with his trademark snarl. However, there is another side to Bud, and I was fortunate to get to know the smile.
My interactions with the legendary coach began in 2007. The summer after the tragic shootings occurred on the Virginia Tech campus, I reached out to Foster. My father was a lifelong New York City plumber, and in his collection of lunch boxes, he possessed one particular metal variety that was adorned with the Stars and Stripes of the American flag. Because of the tragedy, I felt that Virginia Tech would be a sympathetic favorite across the nation. So I packed up my father’s Stars and Stripes lunch pail and mailed it to Foster, offering it to him if he would like to use it for the season instead of the typical black Lunch Pail.
As the summer drew to a close, I did not know if my father’s pail had made it to Coach Foster. So I called his office to follow up. Sure enough, he called me back. Me. A nobody. Just another fan. Just another guy in an entire Hokie Nation.
I was floored that he took the time to call me back. It was especially touching that he took time out of his busy day – the day before the season opener against East Carolina! He told me he was not going to use my father’s pail but he was very appreciative of the gesture. He kept the pail, and on one particular ESPN broadcast, they were talking about the Lunch Pail and showed Foster’s office – I nearly fell off my chair when I saw my father’s Stars and Stripes pail in the photo!
From there, I ran into Coach Foster a few more times. I spoke to him over the Lane Stadium wall at the 2012 spring game, and then again on the field after the 2013 UNC game. In both cases, he knew me by name and thanked me again for my father’s pail, which he said was still sitting in his office!
Then, in the summer of 2017, I took my 16 year-old son and my other younger children on college visits with a stop in Blacksburg. I asked if they wanted to see Coach Foster, so we visited the Jamerson Athletic Center and told his secretary my story. She disappeared, and the next thing we know, Coach Foster is out there to say hello! What a thrill – for me and for my children!
When he invited us into his office, I nearly froze in my tracks when I saw my father’s lunch pail on his book case. There were only two lunch pails in that office – the original pail, and my father’s Stars and Stripes pail. To say that it was an emotional moment is a tremendous understatement! After all those years – ten to be exact – he still had my father’s lunch pail in his office
That is why I love Bud Foster more than any other Hokie. Yes, I love what he did as a coach, and his defense was the real pride and joy of Virginia Tech’s great teams of the last thirty years. But more than that, this legend, this icon, made me, and ordinary Joe, feel special, like one of his own players. That is a true gift, one that I will hold dear for the rest of my life.
Favorite Hokies: #2 – John Burke, Tight End, 1990-1993
When I enrolled at Virginia Tech in 1989, my intention was to walk on to the baseball team. So after completing my move into my dorm room in the Pritchard Penthouse, my parents and I decided to go out for dinner. I insisted that we stop at the new English Field so I could see the facilities.
While I was roaming wide-eyed on the field and touring the dugouts, mesmerized that they actually had bathrooms, my parents met another young man with the same goal of trying out for the team. When I came back up the grandstand, they introduced me to this big guy named John who was also from New Jersey and planning to walk on.
“That’s cool,” I said. “I’m a catcher, what do you play?”
“Pitcher.”
“Awesome, maybe you can throw to me this week. I’m in Pritchard, where do you live?”
“Lee.”
“Great! Let’s meet on the Prairie and throw.”
So that is what we did a few days that week. And then we tried out together at the open walk-on practices.
I thought John had a good tryout. He threw three pitches – a fastball in the mid 70’s, a slider, and a decent curve. And with his size, I thought he had potential.
The big day finally arrived – the list was posted outside the Baseball office. I had a 2 pm class, so as soon as it was over, I high-tailed across the Drillfield, ran up the staircases by War Memorial, then booked through the Prairie and over to Cassell Coliseum. As I came down the stairs next to Cassell and turned to go into Jamerson Athletic Center, John emerged from the doors.
“Congratulations Rich.”
I could see it in his eyes. He did not make the cut.
I was elated inside, but outside, I felt bad that my new friend was not going to join me on the baseball team.
But don’t shed a tear for John. Things turned out well for him.
Unfortunately, we lost touch, and the next time I saw him was in the spring. I was walking back to the locker rooms from a Rector Field House practice, and I passed the football team on their way to a spring practice. And there was John in full pads!
He told me that he decided to try out for the football team. And he made it. But his story doesn’t end there.
John Burke went on to play 10 or more games in each of his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. He was the starting tight end by his junior year in Blacksburg. He earned all-conference honors.
In 1994, the New England Patriots selected him in the fourth round of the NFL draft, and he played in Super Bowl XXXI. The Holmdel, NJ native also played for the Chargers and his hometown Jets in his five seasons in the NFL.
All this from a guy who was cut from the baseball team.
I love telling this story, especially to my students (I’m a high school teacher by day). It is a great story of overcoming disappointments. John Burke did not wallow in despair after failing to make the baseball team. He did the opposite. He turned that failure into opportunity.
Then he worked his tail off to become the best he could be at his craft, and he excelled at what he did. He is a great example, especially for youth of today, of how to turn nothing into something. His story is inspirational.
Favorite Hokies: #3 – Greg Nosal, Offensive Guard, 2008-2010
Speaking of inspirational, is Greg Nosal not the epitome of toughness? Of sacrifice for the greater good of the team?
If you think I like telling the John Burke story…
Nosal’s lore stems from one famed play in a game against Central Michigan in October of 2010. Closing in on halftime, Nosal got his pinky stuck in a defender’s face mask while protecting Tyrod Taylor on a passing play. The immediate pain was great, but like many battle-tested football players, he played through the pain, squeezing his blood-soaked hand in between snaps.
When the series ended and he returned to the sidelines, Nosal removed his glove and saw that the tip of his pinky was missing! Naturally, he asked to be taped up so he could keep playing. But the trainers took him to the locker room for further examination.
After failing to find the severed fingertip on the field or sideline, they discovered it was still inside the bloody glove! The doctors gave Nosal a choice – stitch it up now and be done for the day, or put it on ice, tape the pinky, play the second half, and try to sew the tip on after the game.
Of course Nosal chose the latter.
Talk about toughness! Greg Nosal put his pain aside to do what he could to help the team win. He risked losing the tip of his pinky to play in a game where Tech already had a 24-7 halftime lead against a lesser team in Lane Stadium. In this day and age of opt-outs and heightened transfer portal activity, a story like this is a reminder of what college athletes are capable of.
The post-game surgery was successful and the fingertip was reattached. It all worked out for Nosal, but if it didn’t, I am willing to bet that he would not have regretted his decision – ever!
Favorite Hokies: Honorable Mention – Jim Druckenmiller, Quarterback, 1993-1996
I know this may not be the popular choice, but it is personal. Although Virginia Tech produced many great quarterbacks in the Frank Beamer era, Jim Druckenmiller is still my favorite Tech QB.
Part of that is because I was so young when Druck emerged on the scene. I was only two years out of school when he was a starter as a junior. Part of it is because Druck’s #16 jersey is the first Tech football jersey I ever purchased (and still own!). Probably the biggest reason is because Druck was the first quarterback to take Virgina Tech to national prominence.
The previous quarterback, Maurice DeShazo, started the 27 consecutive bowls streak, leading Tech to the Independence and Gator Bowls. Druck took the Hokies to the next level, reaching the Sugar and Orange Bowls.
Druckenmiller was 20-4 as a starter over two years. And he is part of some of the more memorable Tech victories over the past thirty years.
Who can forget the win over Miami in 1995? After an 0-2 start, the Hokies hosted the Hurricanes, a team they had never beaten before. After 12 straight losses to the Canes, Druck led the Hokies to the 13-7 victory, the first of a ten-game winning streak.
Then there was Virginia. Oh, what a comeback! As Bill Roth called it, “Jim Druckenmiller has engineered the greatest comeback I’ve ever seen!” That score put Tech up by one with 47 second left in the game. An Antonio Banks walk-off pick-six provided the final margin as Banks sidestepped the would-be trip of a Wahoo coach, and Tech was off to the Sugar Bowl!
After spotting Texas a 10-0 lead in New Orleans, Druckenmiller led the Hokies to the next 28 points en route to their first BCS bowl victory – and probably the biggest bowl victory to date for Virginia Tech. Druck would lead the Hokies to an 10-1 regular season and an Orange Bowl match against national power Nebraska the next year, capping off a tremendous career and springboarding Virginia Tech to new heights.
Although many great quarterbacks followed, Druck remains my favorite Hokies QB for being the first to elevate the Tech program to a national power. He was a leader and a competitor, and he was a tough S.O.B. too!
Afterthoughts
The Hokies travel to Raleigh Thursday to tussle with the Wolfpack of North Carolina State. It will be a prime time ESPN game, so tune in at 7:30 pm!
NC State is coming off the bye week after suffering a loss at Syracuse. They are without quarterback Devin Leary, but they will look to become bowl eligible with the win. The Hokies are also coming off the bye after losing at home to Miami. The Hokies are on a four-game losing streak and need to turn the season around in a hurry. It will be interesting to see who plays with more urgency.
The Hokies have announced their depth charts for the game and true freshman Mansoor Delane will start at cornerback. He has played well so far – let’s hope he keeps it up as the Hokies need better play at the corners.
Virginia Tech has now held the Commonwealth Cup for 683 consecutive days!
To read more of my articles on Virginia Tech football, click here.
