Friday, April 14, 2006
Hokies won't be in a Pickle
Randy King
Randy King's Tech Insider is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Thursdays in season.
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BLACKSBURG -- Can you hold on for a little bit here, man, I have to catch these three quarterbacks first, OK?
A few minutes later, I put the kid on "hold" again. Hey, I'll be right with you guy. I've just got to talk to this big ol' lineman standing here for a few. Hey, he may kick my butt if he's late for dinner.
Meanwhile, Dustin Pickle just stood patiently in his Virginia Tech uniform, holding his helmet in his hand. He was wearing a perpetual grin that an SOS pad and Ajax couldn't scrape off.
"Oh, no problem," Pickle said. "Take your time, I'm in no hurry."
Talk about charming the old beat writer. No hurry? Jeez, what's this dude on? Doesn't he know the whole world is 24/7 hurry and worry nowadays?
Happy hour? Well, that party I so enjoyed has long been replaced by rush hour in the newspaper man's business. Talk, transcribe, grind, pound, write. And, hey, if you're really lucky, you might even have a minute to proofread your words before you send the story to the office.
Finally, outside of three Tech sports information department officials lurking in the background, the only two folks left in Lane Stadium were me and the kid wearing No. 38. I walk over to the kid we both grin as we exchange a firm handshake. His laugh then made me laugh.
"Who in the hell are you, man?" I asked. "I've never heard of you, to be honest."
Pickle looked me dead straight in the eye, and started laughing again.
"Well, you're not the only one, sir," he said. "Maybe one of these days, though, some people will know who I am."
Take it to the bank, folks. All of Hokie Nation will know this "Pick" guy soon.
"That's the best thing I've got going for me -- my name," said Pickle, handling the impromptu intervew like he was some kind of Parade All-American."Pickle is one of those names ... the first time the rest of the guys here heard it it was like, 'Is that really your name?' ... they think I'm joking with 'em. I guess I can thank my Daddy for that one.
"And everybody calls me 'Pick.' I haven't heard my first name all year yet. Shoot, they probably don't know it. Coach [Jim] Cavanaugh [Hokies whips and rovers coach] told me the first day before spring ball started, 'Your name is 'Pick' from now on, I don't care whether you like it or not.' I said, 'Man, I've been called 'Pick' since I came out.' That's what I like to hear."
The rising sophomore walk-on from Salem has heard his moniker a lot this spring. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Pickle spent the first six practices learning the whip linebacker spot under Cavanaugh. When Tech's well of tailbacks began to run dry because of injuries, Pickle was moved to Billy Hite's group. "Pick" has continued to dole out licks there, too.
Pickle sure turned my head in Wednesday's scrimmage. On carry after carry, it took more than one defender to bring him down. Talk about tough as nails. I swear, there were times when I thought I was watching a reincarnation of ex-Green Bay Packers great Jim Taylor.
"Man, I appreciate you saying that," Pickle said. "Yeah, I like to stick my head in there ... just try and run as hard as I can and try to hit these guys. I tell 'em all the time that I'm trying 'to keep up with y'all scholarship players so maybe they'll give me a chance one day.'
"It's the only way a guy like me can play here," said Pickle, a running back and safety at Glenvar High before he transferred to Salem High for his 2004 senior year. "Coming in here as a walk-on, I was telling my high school buddies, 'Yeah, you've got to earn your respect.' And, actually, where I got my respect was in the weight room last fall. All those guys see a 5-11, 195-pound guy coming in there, and they're like, 'Whoa, is he pushing up that much weight?' ''
The numbers in Mike Gentry's iron palace don't lie. Pickle hoisted enough weight to earn "Iron Hokie" status, posting gargantuan numbers for a guy his size in the bench (330), hang clean (336), push jerk (331) and squat (475). No wonder the kid is majoring in building construction.
Since he played in Tech's two junior varsity games last fall, the year counted against his four-year eligibility timetable. Pickle showed up at Tech last fall as a recruited walk-on. He had offers to walk-on at other smaller schools such as James Madison and Liberty, but there was no way he was going to turn down Tech.
"I just like to come out here and try to be a difference-maker for these guys," said Pickle, who also was a regular on the Hokies' scout team last fall. "This spring has been pretty busy for me. Coach Cav -- and what a great guy he is -- taught me the whip spot, the defensive calls. Now I'm over on offense under Coach Hite, another wonderful fellow.
"Sure, it's a bunch of stuff learning two positions at one time, but I think it's going to help me in the long run to be versatile. I think that's what the coaches want so they can put you where they need you, not where you want to play."
While Pickle's odds of seeing a lot of action at whip and tailback anytime soon are long, he's hopeful he can get on the field with Tech's special teams. He is currently working with the kickoff-return team, plus he has been getting a lot of looks on the No. 1 punt-block squad.
The big boss, Frank Beamer, said no one should count the kid out come fall.
"I really like this Pickle," Beamer said. "We know he can contribute, we've just got to find him a spot. I'm telling you, watch out for that guy Saturday in the spring game."
When informed of Beamer's comments, Pickle's face lit up lit up.
"Really good to hear that," he said. "It took me a while to get used to the speed of practice the first day because everybody was just flying by left and right," Pickle said.
"But once I got used to it, I'm loving it, working in and out, doing all this great stuff. And, hey, every once in a while I even hear my name shouted out by Coach Beamer. He'll holler, 'Hey, Pickle, get out here!' So I just run out there and strap it on.
"Man, I'm telling you, it's been my dream to come here and play since I was a little kid. Shoot, ever since I was born and saw the Hokie colors I've wanted to run out of that tunnel into Lane Stadium."
It's a heart-warming story that even an deadline-pushed beat man can pull for.
