Photos by Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Above: Redshirt freshman guard Will Alvarez (left) drills with redshirt senior guard Nick Marshman (right) during Virginia Tech football practice. Below: Tech head coach Frank Beamer rallies his team to talk to them during practice.

Tailback Kenny Lewis Jr. pumps up his teammates during Virginia Tech football practice. Lewis is coming back from offseason shoulder surgery.

BLACKSBURG -- The speed limit on the Route 460 Bypass that runs past Virginia Tech was raised from 55 to 65 miles per hour last week.

It's only fitting since the Hokies' defense looked as fast -- if not faster -- as last year's club during Monday's first fall football practice.

"To be honest, I think we are faster," senior cornerback Macho Harris said. "The coaches even said that. This group can flow. They can run."

Junior safety Kam Chancellor smiled when asked about all the speed on defense.

"Just looking at the secondary, linebackers, the defensive line, I think we can be faster than last year -- the whole defense," Chancellor said.

"People won't like hearing that ... not at all. But we've got to do what we've got to do. We're a powerhouse school."

While they won't win many foot races, even the offensive linemen looked quicker. The big boys up front were moving around much better than the heavyweights from a year ago.

Holland on move

One guy missing in action among the offensive linemen was Roanoke's Brandon Holland. The former standout at Northside High has decided to transfer to North Carolina-Pembroke.

Holland, a 6-foot-4, 330-pound junior, played sparingly in seven games the past two years at Tech. He was listed as the No. 3 left guard on the preseason depth chart. He will join former Tech offensive tackle and graduate assistant Jimmy Miller, who landed an assistant coaching job with UNC-Pembroke last winter.

"Those two had a good relationship," Hokies offensive line coach Curt Newsome said. "I think he'll have an opportunity to get more snaps there and enjoy football a little bit more."

Tech head coach Frank Beamer said: "I just think it's in Brandon's best interests to get a lot of playing time there. I told him the NFL will find you. I think he probably needs to lose some more weight, get playing time and have some success. I think everybody needs to have success. After a period of time, every player in this program needs to have some success."

Holland, who will finish summer-school classes at Tech before reporting to his new school, will have two seasons of eligibility at the Division II program.

Quarterbacks quandary

Senior Sean Glennon and sophomore Tyrod Taylor entered camp as the co-starters at quarterback. Nothing has changed since last season's stretch drive in which both played significant time as a tag-team duo.

Like Glennon, Taylor hopes to show enough in preseason to show why he should be the No. 1 guy. He said he feels he can win the top spot during the next three weeks. Can he separate himself from Glennon?

"That's what time will see," Taylor said. "He's working to beat me out and I'm working hard to beat him out. At the same time, I'm in a competition with my myself too, just to try and become the best quarterback."

Would splitting time again with Glennon work with Taylor?

"If the coaches decide to go that way, I would have no problem with it," said Taylor, who added he has even considered the possibility of taking a redshirt season.

Tech tidbits

Freshman Dyrell Roberts looks like a good bet to provide immediate help for Tech's inexperienced wideout corps. "I'm just trying to show the coaches that I'm that guy," he said. "I'm ready to get on the field and show everybody what I can do and let's have some fun." ... Zach Luckett, listed as the starting flanker, limped off the field with leg cramps at the end of the workout, but should be fine. ... Redshirt sophomore Clark Crum, an offensive tackle, and redshirt freshman Austin Morris have quit the squad for "personal reasons." ... Redshirt offensive tackle Aaron Brown continues to suffer shoulder problems and is scheduled for an MRI on Wednesday.