Behind the Scenes look at Virginia Tech Football Practice

It was a rare event in the Justin Fuente era. Virginia Tech football invited media members to view more than the stretching portion of practice. The 8 a.m. session in the chilly Blacksburg "spring" provided attendees a glimpse into progress on the field and improved life of a Hokie football player off it. The morning included a tour around Tech's new weight room and student-athlete performance center, plus a peak at how the players are shaping up for the upcoming season.

Weight Room and Student-Athlete Performance Center

It's an impressive upgrade from the Hokies' previous facility and seemed to have every piece of workout equipment imaginable. In addition, there's multiple spacious offices and meeting rooms, all capped off with a fueling station for the players to get nutrients and keep their bodies right after workouts.

The student-athlete performance center is a largely upgraded version of the fueling station. Opened in March and overseen by Alyson Onyon, Tech's Director of Sports Nutrition, the site has its own in-house chef and provides meals to all of Virginia Tech's student-athletes, serving about 500 each day. Boxed meals after practice are a thing of the past. Now it's a variety of entrees and options to help Tech's roster reach their various weight and nutrition goals.

"We have a combination of different breakfast and lunch foods, we have a pizza oven where we do specialty pizzas, and we have an awesome fruit and salad bar," Onyon said. "For brunch, we have made-to-order omelets, which are very popular, and we do a pasta station [there] for dinner. It's a wide variety of foods."

While they aren't at the forefront like the on-field product, the maroon and orange accented facilities are part of the foundation for success, and will impact Virginia Tech football over the long-run.

Open Practice: Offense

While the actual practice wasn't anything special — there was no scrimmaging, simply players participating in drills — it was insightful to watch Fuente & Co. in action.

Braxton Burmeister has received starter's snaps at quarterback this spring, and he made some fabulous throws over the course of practice. There were a few moments when he lofted a precise ball over the outstretched arms of a defensive back and into his receiver's hands on a go route.