BLACKSBURG — For a kid who didn't show up at Virginia Tech until a month ago, freshman Eddie Royal has wasted little time in establishing himself as a true big man on campus.

Less than four months removed from his 18th birthday, Royal will be Tech's No. 1 guy at three positions — flanker, punt return and kickoff return — when the Hokies (0-1) meet Western Michigan (1-0) in their 1 p.m. home opener Saturday at Lane Stadium.

In a sport where most first-year players never see the field, what are the odds of a freshman being handed such a multitude of serious responsibilities in his second college game? Your chances of hitting a Royal Flush — pardon the pun — in this week's friendly neighborhood poker game might be better.

Certainly, Royal is surprised to be raking such a sizable pot this quickly at the table.

"I had confidence in myself as a player, but I didn't know that I would have this chance this early," Royal said Tuesday.

"I'm happy with it, I'm not going to lie. But I had no idea it would come this fast."

Disappointed with the lack of production from his wide receivers in Tech's 24-13 opening loss to No. 1 Southern California, Hokies coach Frank Beamer decided it was time to reshuffle his wideout deck. For this week, at least, Beamer has discarded his two most experienced receivers — relegating senior Richard Johnson and junior Chris Clifton to third-string status — for a hand that includes Royal and freshman Justin Harper at flanker, with redshirt freshman Josh Hyman and freshman Josh Morgan as the Nos. 1 and 2 split ends.

Royal, who returned two kickoffs for 30 and 28 yards in the opener, got 10 snaps at wide receiver vs. USC, but never had a ball thrown his way. That situation will change Saturday, vowed Tech quarterback Bryan Randall, who is fully aware of Royal's ability to turn a short curl into a long touchdown jaunt.

"I think Eddie is going to make some plays like that and we've got to give him a chance on the field to do so, and I think that's why he's there right now," Randall said.

"Those are the guys you love to have out there. It makes [a quarterback] look good when you're really doing nothing."

Royal, the Associated Press Group AAA player of the year last season at Division 6 state champion Westfield High School in Herndon, has convinced the Tech coaching staff that he's the real deal. Beamer saw the fleet, elusive 5-foot-10, 172-pound Royal for the first time on video last winter, and immediately pronounced him as a must-get recruit.

"I watched a reel of his highlights, and never in all my recruiting had I seen so many long plays," Beamer said.

The star and producer of that video clip laughed when informed of Beamer's review.

"Yeah, we put that together," said Royal, who returned 10 kicks for touchdowns in high school. "It was a lot of fun, a lot of fun, I can't lie. I was fortunate to have quite a few, so I had a pretty good selection to choose from.

"I figured Virginia Tech, being all about special teams, I figured they would like it. That's another one of the reasons I came here is because they stress special teams and I love returning kicks."

Royal, whose maturity belies his years, scoffed at the suggestion that he may be taking on too much too soon.

"Some people would say so, but I'm ready for the challenge," he said. "If the coaches have that much respect and faith in me to do it, I think I'm ready to go out there and do it also. I'm up for the challenge."

The freshman playmaker can't wait to produce and bank the first big play for his college highlights video to come down the road.

"I'm the type of guy who wants to score every time he touches the ball," Royal said. "I think that's what the coaches love, and I think you've got to have that attitude as a player."

Odds and ends
Hyman said Tuesday that he called his first college TD reception — a 12-yarder vs. USC. "Right before I went into the game, I told Nick, one of the trainers, ‘Give me a drink of water, I'm going to go score this touchdown.’ Soon for sure, Bryan Randall hooked up with me. It felt better because I had just called it." When asked about Hyman's called shot, Randall laughed and said, "That's news to me, I hadn't heard that. Tell him to keep talking to Nick then." . . . Western Michigan has been shut out twice in the past seven years. Both blank jobs have come against Tech. . . . Tech is 15-2 in home openers under Beamer, the last loss coming to Boston College in 1995.