Aaron McFarling

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• Tuesday: Harris tests broken hand; New superconference not so super; A video you’ll love

BLACKSBURG -- The Next Big Thing stood alone on the Lane Stadium field Saturday afternoon, doing his best to blend in.

A group of photographers walked over and started snapping pictures. Pre-order your 8x10 glossies now, folks! Here he is! Standing!

The Next Big Thing bowed his head shyly. A man in a Virginia Tech T-shirt approached and held out a notebook and pen, asking for an autograph.

The Next Big Thing quietly accepted the pad, smiled and scribbled a name recruiting junkies have been whispering for years, a name that made coaches salivate, a name that until now most of us have only seen on YouTube and message boards: Tyrod Taylor.

"I think you're the real deal," the man said.

Taylor smiled modestly and handed the pad back.

"Thank you, sir," he said.

Wait a minute. Hold everything.

Thank you, sir? THANK YOU, SIR?!!

Well, that confirms it. Tyrod Taylor just isn't ready for the big time.

Tyrod. Buddy. A fan tells you you're the real deal, you're supposed to flash a million-dollar grin and say, "Tell me something I don't know." Maybe strike the Heisman pose. Barring that, the least you could do is commit a petty crime before you take a practice snap.

But no. Get this: Tyrod Taylor, the quarterback of the future, The Next Big Thing, the young man who's been told every step of the way that he's an unstoppable force, actually doesn't feel entitled to squat.

"He's a good kid," said Sean Glennon, Tech's starting quarterback. "He didn't come in here arrogant, like he's a hot shot. He came in here very quiet and willing to learn. I like him."

Sure, Sean. You like him until he sneaks behind your back and tells everybody how your job is all but his. Which is surely what he'd do, right?

"I'm preparing myself to learn everything that I can, and if they do call my number, then I'll be ready," Taylor said. "And if I do take a redshirt year, I'll be fine with that, too."

This is ridiculous.

Ridiculously refreshing.

Strike one potential distraction from the list. By all indications, Tyrod Taylor has the class, work ethic and level head to wait his turn in the most positive manner possible.

And that's important, because the Hokies have three other quarterbacks -- Glennon, Cory Holt and Ike Whitaker -- who have all been busting their tails, and the coaching staff would prefer to redshirt Taylor to give him a year to learn the offense.

When he does learn it, look out. After only two practices, everyone here seemed to agree: The man Rivals.com rated the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school, the man who accounted for 7,690 yards, 100 touchdowns and countless highlight-reel runs in three years of starting at Hampton High, has the ability to be one of the best ever to come through Blacksburg.

"I knew he was real good, but he's even better than you could imagine," wideout Eddie Royal said. "He runs like a receiver. He's real accurate and he's got a strong arm. The thing that has impressed me the most about him is how he is off the field, how he is in the meeting rooms.

"He doesn't act like a freshman. I think you can just tell that he's been around guys who've been through big games. You can tell that he's talked to older people on how to act and how to carry himself, and he's done a great job so far. You'd think he was an upperclassman by the way that he acts.

"I think that's one of the best things about him: He doesn't even know how good he really is."

But Taylor knows how good other people think he is. They tell him all the time. He's been recognized plenty around town already, even though the students aren't in school yet and Taylor cut off his familiar braided hair in April.

Asked if there's anything people ought to know about him, Taylor thought for a second.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I think everyone knows just about everything."

Suddenly, his face brightened.

"Well, I just had a birthday yesterday," he said.

His 18th. And he celebrated it by making sure he was in his dorm room by 11 p.m. for bed check. And what would he have done if there hadn't been a curfew?

"Oh, I don't know," he said. "Probably nothing."

This is what they mean. This is what defensive back Macho Harris means when he says Taylor has "it." This is what quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain means when he says the first thing he liked about Taylor was the young man's "temperament." This is what linebacker Vince Hall means when he calls Taylor "real cool."

It's more than just an arm and feet.

On the evening of April 16, Tech's darkest day, coach Frank Beamer's phone rang. It was Taylor on the other end of the line.

Uh, oh, Beamer thought. He's changed his mind. This tragedy has altered the way Taylor feels about Virginia Tech.

"Coach," The Next Big Thing said. "Is everybody OK?"