BLACKSBURG -- Kevin Sherman couldn't have hand-picked a better assistant coaching job 22 months ago when he was hired by Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer.

Not only was he moving back home, only 15 minutes away from his native Radford, but Sherman was taking over a wide receivers corps that loaded with experience and ability.

"It was five guys when I came in," said Sherman, referring to David Clowney, who graduated last year, and this year's senior quartet of Josh Morgan, Eddie Royal, Justin Harper and Josh Hyman.

"It was hard to get them all in and have enough balls to spread them out. And I just told them, 'hey, it doesn't matter who does it, it's all about winning.'"

Obviously, the pupils bought into the new teacher's mantra. This year's four seniors have been able to share playing time without any hitch of jealousy. All have come up big in certain games or stretches of a season in which fifth-ranked Tech (11-2) finished strong to claim its second ACC title in four years in the league.

When his senior foursome began to really hum in early November, the high-strung Sherman was the one who surprisingly couldn't keep pace. Experiencing bad chest pain and stomach sickness, Sherman, 39, was hospitalized and missed the team's Monday and Tuesday practices for the Nov. 10 Florida State game.

"The good news was it wasn't heart related," said Sherman, a football standout at Ferrum College who was an assistant at VMI, Ohio and Wake Forest before coming to Tech.

"I was feeling bad and it took them a while to figure out what was wrong. They took some tests and found it was my gallbladder [which was removed], plus I had a hiatal hernia."

If Sherman, a self-admitted worrier, was stressing over this year's group of wideouts, wait to next spring when he looks on the practice field and sees no Morgan, Royal, Harper or Hyman.

His new group will include only two players, redshirt freshman Zach Luckett and converted redshirt sophomore quarterback Ike Whitaker, who have caught a college pass. Besides redshirt sophomore Brandon Dillard of Bassett, the rest of the bunch will be fuzzy-cheeked redshirt freshmen.

Good thing that gallbladder is gone now, right, coach?

"Oh, yeah, because I tell you what, I can go back [to the hospital] just as soon as I went," said Sherman, laughing. "We'll have puppies out there. But those guys are young, they're athletic, and once they learn the system and get some reps, they'll be all right.

"It does put pressure on me. But I'm going to put pressure on myself. Right now, I've never had this much depth when I came into a job ... five guys, and now all of a sudden, going to none. I think we're going to have some pieces to the puzzle, we just got to get them game reps and see where it goes. But I think we're going to be fine."

And the coach?

"If I just watch what I'm eating now, exercise a little bit more, and with a little medication," said Sherman, "I'll be fine."

Tech tidbits

The trip to the Orange Bowl marks the 15th straight season in which Tech has gone bowling. Only Michigan (33), Florida State (26) and Florida (17) own longer such streaks. Georgia and Georgia Tech are next behind Tech on the list. Each are playing in a bowl for the 11th straight year. ... After opening as a 3-point favorite over Kansas, Tech is now favored by 3¹₂ or 4 points at most Las Vegas books. It marks the first time in five BCS bowls that Tech has been the favorite. ... Tech's only win in a BCS bowl game -- the 1995 Sugar Bowl -- came against another Big 12 foe, 28-10 over Texas. ... Kansas has been a bettor's delight this season, covering the spread in 10 of its 11 lined games. After beating the line only twice in its first seven games, Tech has paid dividends to its backers the past five straight games.