Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech offensive lineman Ed Wang said he plans to cut his long hair after the Hokies' bowl game.

BLACKSBURG -- Unlike many offensive linemen playing big-time college football, Ed Wang has never been able to live in the world of obscurity.

Fact is, there's nothing bordering on the boundaries of anonymity when it comes to Virginia Tech's left tackle.

Fat chance of such when you're the only player of full-Chinese descent performing a major role for one of the 120 Division I-A football programs in the United States.

Parlay Wang's family heritage with his gargantuan frame of 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, not to mention long locks that stretch below the shoulders, and it's easy to see why the guy can never hide -- on or off the field.

"He's the biggest Chinese guy I've ever seen, no doubt about it," Hokies right guard Jaymes Brooks said. "That's why we call him 'Godzilla.' "

A mention of the nickname makes Wang chuckle.

"You're right, most Chinese people are small," he said. "Got lucky! That's all I can tell you right there, my and my brother."

Wang was referring to his younger brother David, a 6-foot-2, 290-pound freshman guard who is redshirting this season for Tech.

"Most Chinese people I've met are not nearly our size. We just got blessed with good genes and good parents."

No kidding.

Try Olympic-caliber parents. Wang's father, Robert, and his mother, Nancy, were both members of the Chinese Olympic team in the 1970s. Robert Wang, who is 6-3, was a high jumper; Nancy, at 5-11, ran the 100-meter hurdles.

"I couldn't even tell you how they did in the Olympics," Wang said. "I wasn't around. We don't really talk about it. Yeah, I was impressed, but I just figured if they didn't want to talk about it there was no reason to try and force it out of them. I understand."

Frankly, there's no time for braggadocio in the Wang family. It's all about hard work for this clan in Ashburn, Va.

"I'm grateful that our parents raised David and I right," Wang said. "It was pretty strict, but it was needed just to stay focused. It was my Mom's rule.

"For instance, we couldn't have a girlfriend until we got a [college] scholarship. We couldn't really go out. We both didn't get our driver's license until we were 19. You didn't argue about it. It was just understood."

On fast track

Ed Wang committed to play football at Tech in 2003. He was 16 years old at the time, making him the youngest player to ever commit to the program.

"Yeah, I was still a kid when that happened," Wang said. "I was just really comfortable when I came up here for a camp. It just felt like home, the coaches, the area. I felt like I could fit in here."

At the time, Wang was a junior tight end at Stone Bridge High. He caught 30 passes his senior season, and was rated the No. 14 tight end in the country by rivals.com.

After redshirting as a freshman in 2005, Wang got limited time in a crowded tight-end corps in 2006. The next year, with Tech desperately needing offensive line help, Wang, who weighed 262 at the time, was asked to move to tackle, a change he accepted to help the team.

"It was hard at first ... I didn't want to," Wang recalled. "I still do miss having the ball ... I do miss catching touchdowns and catching the ball and running.

"My high school coach always thought I was going to be an offensive lineman. He actually wanted me to play it in high school, but I refused to play offensive line because I wanted to catch the ball.

"It's all worked out ... The coaches definitely had my best interests as well as the team's best interests in mind, so I mean I'm happy that I made the move."

A worker mule

Since suffering a broken leg in preseason practice in 2007, which cost him the season's first six games, Wang has been a fixture in Curt Newsome's offensive line. He has started the past 31 games since, plus moved from right to left tackle at the start of last season.

An extremely shy and reserved guy off the field, Wang has had to learn how to become more physical in the trenches, Newsome said.

"That was what the issue was initially with Ed," Newsome said. "Those tight ends like to go catch passes, and they get in my room, and if they're going to throw the ball, it's going to hit them in the back of the head!

"So that was the thing: Would Ed do that? I think he's come a long way in his run blocking. He's had some issues in protection ... but for the most part he's won his one-on-one battles."

Still, he's been far from perfect. Wang was called for 15-yard penalties -- for a chop block and a leg whip -- that stymied early offensive drives in Tech's 16-3 win at East Carolina eight days ago. Thus far, he ranks as the most penalized member on the line this season.

"He's had some holding penalties," Newsome acknowledged. "On some, he's had his hands outside. We try to fix it. Still, he's been the high grader just about on a consistent basis, been our most solid guy up front."

Wang's size and athleticism, not to mention his all-business demeanor, guarantees he's a lock to receive serious NFL looks next spring.

Is he mean enough? He knows that's one rap against him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Wang said. "Hey, you can't be a nice guy out there. I try to. If they still don't think I'm mean, then I mean you can't really do anything about that."

The hair

Wang said it's been 18 months since he cut his long black locks that now extend far south of his helmet. Even chiding from his strict mother hasn't forced him to the barber shop.

"My Mom has mentioned a couple times about me cutting it, but I mean I really don't want to. Yeah, I'm 22 and I can make some of mine own decisions now," he said, laughing.

Wang said he plans to cut his hair after Tech's bowl game. His plans are to donate the locks to "Locks of Love," a West Palm Beach, Fla., organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

"I've never thought about it, but I'm sure opposing players have yanked it ... like underneath piles and stuff," David Wang said. "I wouldn't want to pull him down with the hair at 315 pounds. He might get up with a fit."

Newsome said he hasn't seen an opposing player tugging on Wang's hair yet in video study.

"But I told him why he's getting all these flags, he's bringing attention upon himself with the hair hanging out," replied Newsome, laughing. "They do notice the big guy with the hair hanging out."

Getting noticed. It never stops if you're Ed Wang.