VIRGINIA TECH NOTES

INTEREST IN THE DRAFT: The football staff kept an eye on last week's baseball draft. Dorian Porch, a defensive back signee from Calhoun, Ga., was seen as a possible baseball draft pick who would have then had to choose between college football and pro baseball. The Hokies lost signee Kenny Lewis of Danville to pro baseball two years ago.

But Porch, 5-11, went undrafted and will join the Hokies for the 2005 season.
"Obviously, to be considered a baseball prospect and to be a Division I-A football prospect, he's a pretty good athlete," defensive coordinator Bud Foster said.
The defensive backfield is an area of concern for Tech. The Hokies lost cornerback Eric Green, rover James Griffin and safety Vincent Fuller.
Redshirt freshman Roland Minor will join senior Jimmy Williams as a starting cornerback. D.J. Parker moves from corner to safety. His backup, Justin Hamilton (a converted running back), has an ankle injury. The Hokies still aren't sure if converted outside linebacker Aaron Rouse or Cary Wade will start at rover.
Tech's depth could be affected by the legal problems facing redshirt freshmen cornerbacks Brandon Flowers and Theodore Miller. They were arrested late last month on misdemeanor firearms charges and have a July 28 court date.
Either way, it appears there's opportunity for Porch and fellow recruits Victor "Macho" Harris of Highland Springs, Stephan Virgil of Rocky Mount, N.C., and Jahre Cheeseman of Voorhees, N.J.
"We need some more depth [at corner]. There may be a young kid we have to take a look at and see if they can help us," Foster said.
"Safety is a concern still, but I feel a lot better after the last two weeks of spring practice. D.J. Parker really came along. I worry about our depth there. At rover, I still don't know if Rouse is the guy. Cary Wade is one of our most improved players. I have a lot of confidence in him, and D. J. Walton has done well. We can man that position, to a degree, by committee. We'll see."
NO VISITING: A planned visit with the Baltimore Ravens didn't work out for Foster and his defensive staff, but defensive backs coach Lorenzo "Whammy" Ward is spending time with the Ravens' staff.
"He's been invited to their mini-camp," Foster said. "Rex Ryan, their defensive coordinator, has run a similar package to ours over the years. His dad [Buddy] was instrumental in running the 46 package. . . . We're looking at different ways we can get to it, different things we can implement in our scheme."
Foster has spent some time studying film of Southern California and Louisiana State.
"We studied a lot of Southern Cal, they've won back-to-back national championships," Foster said, "so we look at what they're doing defensively. What we do is solid, we're just finding a few little wrinkles we can mess with."
FEATURED SPEAKER: Foster leaves today for San Angelo, Texas, where he will be one of the speakers tomorrow at a clinic that he said will draw about 3,000 coaches. Others on the program, Foster said, are Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, Texas coach Mack Brown, Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik (formerly at Auburn) and Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis.
"This is the third time they've asked me to speak there, and it's really quite an honor," Foster said.
A GOOD IMPRESSION: Cheick Diakite, one of Tech's four men's basketball recruits, already is on campus. The 6-8, 230-pounder from Bamako, Mali, enrolled for the first summer session. Diakite played at Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine, last season.
"He looks great. He's a monster in the weight room," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "He has a great work ethic it looks like. He seems like he's fitting in well. He has a smile on his face all the time."
Greenberg said his three other recruits - 6-6 A.D. Vassallo from Santa Maria Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, 6-8 Terrance Vinson of Valdosta, Ga., and 6-9 Hyman Taylor of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - will enroll for the second summer session, which begins July 5.
"Cheick finished school early and he's not going back to Mali, so this was a chance to get him two sessions academically and get him acclimated to a different environment," Greenberg said.
Junior forward Coleman Collins and junior guard Zabian Dowdell will work as counselors at an adidas camp in Atlanta next month, Greenberg said. Junior guard Jamon Gordon may join them.
ANOTHER YEAR FOR JULLIEN? Spyridon Jullien, an Athens, Greece, native who won two national championships for Tech this year (weight throw at NCAA indoor track meet, hammer throw at outdoor), will probably get a fourth year to compete for the Hokies.
Jullien started college in Greece without taking the SAT or ACT. He took a standardized test before enrolling at Tech, but because he had already started college, that meant the Hokies couldn't accept those scores for athletic qualification purposes and had to treat Jullien like a non-qualifier.
To get his year back, Jullien must complete 80 percent of the requirements for a degree by the start of his fifth season, and he is on track to do so. Tim Parker, Tech's assistant athletic director for compliance, said new legislation passed in April makes that possible. Before, Jullien would have had to earn a degree to get that fourth year.
"He's currently not at 80 percent, so we can't say with certainty he'll get that year, but we expect him to," Parker said. "There's a lot at stake and, knowing this guy, he will not fall short." - Mike Harris
Richmond Times-Dispatch