Virginia Tech wide receiver recruit Ben Barber, an All-Group AAA wide receiver in 2007 before moving to quarterback as a senior, ranks as something of a pioneer.

It is Tech's understanding that Barber has completed requirements at Edison High School that will allow him to enroll at Tech in January.

Barber committed to the Hokies in November, at which time it was reported that he would enroll either in January of 2008 or 2009.

By enrolling for the second semester, Barber will give Tech the option of counting toward its 2007 or 2008 quotas.

Inasmuch as Tech has 29 players committed for 2008, the Hokies are more likely to take the former option.

The same goes for a pair of 2007 signees who will be enrolling with Barber next month, defensive tackle Courtney Prince from Mitchellville, Md., and defensive back Alonzo Tweedy from Richmond's Hermitage High School.

Barber, brother of former Virginia Tech safety Willie Pile, was able to pursue a route not available to most Virginia high-school students because Edison is on a 4-by-4 academic calendar. At Edison, each class period is longer but the class is completed in one semester, as opposed to the two-semester offerings at most high schools.

"He doesn't actually graduate until the end of January and Tech begins classes a little earlier than that," Edison coach Vaughn Lewis said. "That's the part that I don't really understand, but Tech assures Ben that it's going to work out. That was Tech's plan.

"It's got several advantages to it. One, he doesn't have to take the full course load and can get acclimated academically. Secondly, he can go through spring ball."

n Joe Fowler, the Radford High School alumnus who has built a Group A football power at Goochland, said that three Division I-A football coaches said they were prepared to make an offer to John Austin Hicks if he had not committed to Virginia for baseball. Fowler says Hicks, a catcher, is mentioned in the same breath as Justin Verlander, a Goochland alum who tossed a no-hitter for Detroit last season.

In coaching

James Franklin, known for his recruiting prowess in an earlier coaching stint at Maryland, has returned to College Park as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.

Franklin was at Maryland from 2000-2004, then spent one season with the Green Bay Packers before Mike Sherman was fired. He has been offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Kansas State for the past two seasons.

A spot opened on the Maryland staff when Ray Rychelski resigned early in December to coach tight ends and coordinate special teams. Head coach Ralph Friedgen has been his own offensive coordinator since the forced resignation of Charlie Taaffe in 2005.

Taking Franklin's spot at Kansas State is Dave Brock, who was the assistant head coach on John Bunting's last staff at North Carolina.

New Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said that Jon Tenuta indicated he would not return as defensive coordinator, adding to speculation that Tenuta will go to LSU and replace Bo Pellini, the new Nebraska head coach. Tenuta, the defensive coordinator under ousted Yellow Jackets' coach Chan Gailey, is serving as interim coach for the Humanitarian Bowl.

Another Long

Virginia men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia has taken an oral commitment from Howie Long Jr., a junior at St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville. Long is the brother of UVa's All-America football player, Chris Long, and the son of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long. The youngest of three brothers, Howie Jr. plays quarterback at STAB but is not expected to play football at UVa.

The middle Long brother, Kyle, was rated the No. 1 football prospect in Virginia in the 2006-2007 junior class but signed a letter-of-intent with Florida State in November to play baseball.

Local update

Noah States, a 6-foot-8 freshman from Botetourt County by way of Hargrave Military Academy, is the second-leading scorer (9.1 points per game) for a Furman University team that has lost its first 10 games. States, one of nine Furman players logging at least 18 minutes per game, is shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 50 percent (12-of-24) on 3-pointers.

Pete Hamilton, a freshman from Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, is averaging a team-high 13.1 points for Randolph College (3-4) in Lynchburg. Randolph, formed when Randolph-Macon Woman's College went co-ed, is playing a 21-game schedule this year in anticipation of beginning Old Dominion Athletic Conference play in 2008-2009.

Like Hamilton, Cameron Shepherd from William Byrd has started every game and is scoring 8.0 points per game. Hamilton and Shepherd have accounted for 30 of Randolph's 44 3-point field goals.

Director's Cup

Wake Forest's national championship in men's soccer helped elevate the Deacons to sixth place in the Director's Cup all-sports rankings for Division I. With football to be added in the next release Jan. 10, Florida State is eighth, Duke is 11th and Virginia is 12th. Virginia Tech, whose only points came from a trip to the men's soccer semifinals, is 55th. The Hokies could move into the top 20 with a bowl victory. James Madison, with points in Division I-AA football and women's soccer and field hockey, is 29th. California and Stanford are 1-2.

Ticket count

Virginia had sold 10,282 tickets to the Gator Bowl as of Wednesday afternoon. Both UVa and Texas Tech, which has sold approximately 5,000 tickets, have 13,500-ticket allotments. Virginia has sold 2,000 more tickets than it did for its last Gator Bowl appearance in 1991.