Hokies speak at first session at ACC Media Kickoff

The first wave of player interviews is all wrapped up at ACC Media Kickoff. Virginia Tech (Tyrod Taylor/John Graves), Virginia (Marc Verica/Ras-I Dowling), Wake Forest (Russell Nenon/Josh Adams), NC State (Nate Irving/Owen Spencer), North Carolina (T.J. Yates/Robert Quinn) and Miami (Matt Bosher/Allen Bailey) took part in the first 90-minute session.

Virginia Tech and North Carolina were predictably the main attractions. When one team is the favorite to win the league and another is in the midst of a very serious NCAA investigation, the rest of the teams in the room might feel a little left out.

Tyrod Taylor spoke about improving his footwork over the summer, and improving the depth on his dropback passes. He also said he feels capable of completing 70% of his passes this season. That’s a far cry from his 56% career mark.

He also says that in a third straight year with virtually the same group of receivers, their timing is at an all-time high.

“We’re just on a same page. It’s crazy I’ll go out there in 7-on-7 and watch those guys and they pretty much know what I’m thinking and I know what they are thinking. They anticipate me throwing the football where it should be. Our timing and our chemistry is real good right now. We’re looking forward to seeing how it carries on into the season.”

He also said it’s possible to see Ryan Williams used more in the passing game than in 2009.

Defensive tackle Graves was adamant about the hard work the team has put in this off-season in preparation for the opening game against Boise State.

“When I go to work out, I know in my head that Boise State is working extremely hard. My goal is to try to do my best and work as hard as they are.”

He said that the team lacks me-first players, and that everyone is team-oriented on both sides of the ball.

On a defense that lost six starters and most every leader (Cody Grimm and Kam Chancellor, specifically), Graves says himself, Steven Friday and Roc Carmichael have filled that void.

“We try to police ourselves. If we see somebody slacking we try to pick him up. It doesn’t matter who it is.”

More from the rest of the guys this evening, off to session two.