Tony Majette, convicted in a crack cocaine trial that drew in former Virginia Tech football standout Branden Ore, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison -- but only after a hearing in which the judge expressed doubt about Majette's guilt and urged him to appeal.

"I sort of have a feeling that maybe someone else was involved," U.S. District Court Judge James Turk said during the federal court hearing in Roanoke. "I have a strong feeling about that. I want the case appealed."

Majette nodded and his attorney Larry Shelton, the chief public defender for the Western District of Virginia, said he would handle Majette's appeal.

A jury convicted Majette, a 25-year-old from Christiansburg, in January of possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute it. On Wednesday, Shelton urged Turk to set aside the verdict.

"Mr. Ore should have been the person sitting at that table," Shelton said, indicating the defendant's seat.

Ore, who was not charged in the case, was a passenger in a car where Blacksburg police found crack after a June 2006 traffic stop. Majette, who was driving, confessed to possessing the drugs, prosecutors said. But Majette's defense insisted that his words -- something along the lines of "I'll take it," both sides agreed -- were defiant, not an admission of guilt. Besides an officer's testimony, there was no documentation of Majette's statement.

And as he had during the trial, Shelton said that the crack could have been Ore's.

Ore was put on the witness stand in January and said he knew nothing about the crack before a panicked Majette tossed a bag into his lap. An outstanding tailback who'd had several run-ins with coaches, Ore was removed from the team after Majette's trial.

Turk denied Shelton's motion for a new trial but said, "That bothers me as to whether or not he's guilty."

He imposed a 10-year sentence, the minimum suggested by a federal guideline calculation that was influenced by Majette's prior criminal record.

The case finished with Turk approaching the defendant, as he usually does after a hearing, and shaking his hand.

"Good luck to you, and once you get out, stay out of trouble," Turk said.

"Yes, sir," Majette replied.