Sophomore to enter 2011 NFL Draft

January 9, 2011

BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech tailback Ryan Williams will enter the 2011 NFL Draft. Williams announced the decision on Sunday after telling the coaches. A redshirt sophomore in 2010, the native of Manassas, Va., had two years of eligibility remaining with the Hokies.

“It came down to what I felt like was the best decision for me,” Williams said. “When they say you have the potential to be a first rounder, that’s something that’s hard to pass up. This has been my dream since I was 6 and I’ve never wanted to do anything else. This is an opportunity to help out my family and especially my brother.

“I want to thank Coach Beamer for giving me the opportunity to play. I remember when he came for my home visit with a No. 34 jersey and he told me I’d look good in it. I just thank him for the opportunity to play for his team. I also have thank Coach Hite for the opportunity to play in his backfield and for teaching my how to block and Coach Stinespring for allowing me to play for his offense.”

Williams played in 23 games for the Hokies, starting 18. After redshirting in 2008, Williams had a record-breaking year as a redshirt freshman. He rushed for 1,655 yards and 21 touchdowns to earn first-team All-ACC accolades and ACC Rookie of the Year honors. He capped off the season with 117 rushing yards in the Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Tennessee to earn the game’s Offensive MVP award. He missed several games this year due to a hamstring injury.

For his career, he rushed for 2,132 yards and 30 touchdowns. His yardage total is the 14th-most in school history.

“There is no other place I’d rather play and there are no other fans I’d rather have than Virginia Tech fans,” Williams said. “They are the most loyal fans in the country. They were with me all the way, both when I was up and when I was down, and I thank them for making my time here so special. I hope they won’t be mad about my decision, but I hope they know that I’ll always be a Hokie.”

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said redshirt freshman linebacker Jack Tyler will start against Stanford in the Discover Orange Bowl, and Bruce Taylor will start at the "backer" position and rotate at middle linebacker as well. The rotation will also include redshirt freshman Tariq Edwards.

Foster said he had lingering concerns about the mobility of Barquell Rivers, a projected starter this season who has yet to see the field because of injury, but that Rivers was "much better" in Thursday's practice. How much Rivers plays, if at all, remains to be seen.

"He had a little bit of massage to him and a little heat therapy and that kind of thing, kind of warmed him up prior to going out, and he moved a little bit better," Foster said. "But he can play great. I know the biggest thing, I know Mike Goforth is going to sit down and talk with him. And Barquell is a prideful kid; I think he'd tell me everything I wanted to hear, you know, that he's ready to play. But I also want to know does he feel like he can perform at a high level and at the level that he's got to play at for us to be successful. And I think Mike is going to sit down with him and talk that over and kind of feel him out a little bit from that standpoint."

Foster said Tyler is "a playmaker" and likes his experience at the Mike position.

"I think he's a little bit more physical guy than Tariq," Foster said. "Not to say that Tariq is not going to be a good football player; I think Tariq is going to be a very, very good football player for us. But with this offense, what they're doing, they'll be running the football. Jack is a very -- he has good vision, very instinctive guy, and it's just kind of a gut feeling for me from that standpoint.

"But you're going to see -- Bruce is a guy, he's a heady football player. We've practiced him the last two weeks at our backer spot. He can play Mike and he will play Mike, and Tariq is going to play. But I just felt like going in with this offense, what their strengths are, we need to match what our strengths could be as far as that position goes."

South Beach

• Scenery: Look at that picture above. Go to South Beach, even if it just to walk around. Your best bet is to walk along the beach in front of the Fountainebleu and Sagamore hotels. All the good ones are off Collins Ave.
• Food: Joe's Stone Crab. I hate seafood and I still loved the place.
• Nightlife: Mango's on Ocean Dr. Look, nowaday's there's no way I'd go there. But if you're young and you want to experience a stereotypical Miami nightclub, go there. Mango's also produced the funniest story from my 2009 trip to see the Cincinnati game.
• Shopping: If you're making the trip with your significant other, there's a bunch of boutiques on a pedestrian mall on Lincoln Road between Alton Road and Washington Avenue. There's a parking garage near Alton that's a good place to use as basecamp.
• Food: If seafood isn't your thing, I found a great Italian restaurant on that pedestrian mall near Alton Road. I'm pretty sure it was Quattro.
• Nightlife: If you don't want a dance club, there's a Hofbrauhaus on the same ped mall. Great place to drink great beer.
• Nightlife: If you're like me and you often want to be where people aren't, I did manage to find what is probably the only Irish pub on South Beach, Finnegan's Way. They've got shuffleboard and TVs, so it was right up my alley.