Bobcat football travels to Virginia Tech

Nobody saw it coming. Everyone saw the aftermath.

On April 16, 2007, a horrified nation tuned in live as news stations reported that 33 students and faculty had been fatally shot on the campus of Virginia Tech. 

A tragedy that occurred in Blacksburg, Va., reached thousands of miles farther. From coast to coast, Americans were shaken by the day’s events. The nation stood still as many pondered how the Virginia Tech community could ever recover. 

Nearly five months later, the healing process has been given an added boost by a game, a game that represents what Virginia Tech is all about. If the students are the university’s body, the football team is the soul.

Every weekend, proud students, faculty and alumni fill Lane Stadium to capacity to watch their beloved Hokies wage war on the football field. For a team that has played in 14 straight bowl games, this season is about more than winning. It’s about returning some normalcy back to the Virginia Tech community.

Like all of America, Ohio University was touched by the tragic events on April 16. As the Ohio football team prepares to travel to the site of the shootings, some players reflected back on that terrible morning.

“My first reaction was I couldn’t believe this was happening,” linebacker Taj Henley, a Richmond, Va., native, recalled. “And then my connection to Virginia came into play when I started thinking about some friends that I have at Virginia Tech and wondering if they were OK. It was a scary thing because I was calling their cell phones, and I was getting no response because there were so many calls going into Virginia Tech that the lines were all tied up.”

Henley said he finally got a call from Virginia Tech wide receiver Josh Hyman letting him know that he and their other friends were safe. “It was a sigh of relief knowing that they were all right, but it was a scary feeling not knowing what was going on down there,” Henley said.

Not everyone was able to breathe so easily. Wide receiver and special teams standout Chris Garrett, who attended high school in Bristow, Va., also frantically tried to reach his friends that attended Virginia Tech.

“I wondered if any of my friends got shot or anything,” Garrett said. “I talked to some people that go to Virginia Tech that I went to high school with. They pretty much said everybody was all right, but the people that I knew from high school knew a couple people that got killed in the shootings, so I was touched by it. My heart goes out to all the families that lost their loved ones.”

In light of the horrible incident, many of the Bobcats who call Virginia home said they found solace by returning to the football field. "It just took my mind off it, really,” Garrett said. “Just going to practice day in and day out, going over plays. I just tried to get my mind off it as much as possible. Football played a really big part in it.”

The same comfort that Ohio players found in returning to the playing field was experienced even greater in Blacksburg. The Ohio football team joined the millions across the country tuning in on September 1, 2007, as the Hokie football team remembered the victims of April 16 before taking the field for the first time since the shootings.

“Watching their first game on TV, I kind of felt like I was there,” Henley said. “They kind of brought the nation into that game, and I felt very close to that game and that atmosphere.”

“Obviously we saw the first game, how they handled that,” quarterback Brad Bower said. “I thought that was something special. It’s good to see that they’re bouncing back.”

The Virginia Tech football team has done more than bounce back. Even with their blowout loss to LSU, the Hokies are ranked No. 17 nationally.

The Bobcats will have their hands full as they enter the game at an undefeated 2-0, but they have not played a team of Virginia Tech’s caliber yet this year. Nor have they played in an environment similar to what they’ll be in Saturday at Lane Stadium. It will be a touching game not only for the Hokie fans and players, but also for some Ohio players.

“It’s going to be emotional because I haven’t been back to Virginia in a long time,” said corner back Mark Parson, also a Richmond, Va., native. “I definitely haven’t played football in Virginia, so I’m really anxious. I can’t even sleep at night. I’m ready to go. I’m ready to play tomorrow if I could.”

How the Virginia-born Bobcats handle that emotion could affect their individual performance as well as the team performance on game day.

“It’s going to be overwhelming because of the fact that I am from Virginia, and what happened there had some of my heart also,” Henley said. “Before the game, I can give the respect to the people that lost their lives and pay some dividends to the tragedy. But when the whistle blows, and it's time to play, I have to kind of put that aside for that moment and play ball.”

When the whistle does blow, Ohio will have to be on top of its game on all sides of the ball. Coming into the game, Virginia Tech has struggled offensively and has announced a quarterback change, replacing junior Sean Glennon with true freshman Tyrod Taylor. The speedy new starting quarterback may cause some anxiety for the Bobcat defense, but Parson said they are up for the challenge.

“Definitely got to, first of all, stop the run like LSU did,” Parson said. “We just have to make plays. They got talent on the team, but they haven’t been clicking like they normally do. We don’t want to be the team they click against. Everybody has to make plays.”

On the offensive side of the football, Bower leads Ohio against the toughest defense it'll face all season.

Last year the Virginia Tech defense was tops in the country in both total defense and pass defense. However, LSU may have exposed some holes last week in the Hokies’ vaunted defense on which the Bobcats may be able to capitalize.  

“Coaches have come up with a good game plan,” Bower said. “Now we’re just trying to work on it, execute, get things going. We think we see some things that we can exploit and just take advantage of.”

Virginia Tech also has a great tradition of special teams, which could have a huge impact on the game if Ohio is unprepared. On the flip side, the Bobcats also have some weapons on special teams and have one of the best punt returners in the nation in Garrett. Either way, look for special teams to have an impact on the final score.

Coach Frank Solich knows it will be a hefty task for him and his team to get a win against one of the country’s premier programs this weekend. “We have to play our best football all around,” Solich said. “Turnovers will be critical. Obviously Virginia Tech can do a lot of things to you without committing turnovers, but if you do, you’re going to be in huge trouble. We know what we’re getting into. If we play well, hopefully we’ll be in the game.”

With Taylor making his first start at quarterback for Virginia Tech and the Hokies’ recent atypical defensive struggles, Ohio enters the game with a lot of unknowns. One thing that the Bobcats can be certain of is that they will be entering a loud, hostile environment where they aren’t likely to see any green and white.

Adding to the Hokies’ home fan support, it seems everyone in America is rooting for them, giving them the added support they need to press on. In turn, that means that nearly the whole nation will be rooting against the Ohio Bobcats this weekend as they try to upset Virginia Tech on its home field.

But for Taj Henley, that’s the way it should be. “Ohio University, it seems like we’ve been rooted against since I’ve been here," Henley said. “Everyone wants to see them [Virginia Tech] succeed because of the tragedy they went through. They are America’s team right now.”