Although he’s never met Sean Glennon, Grant Noel feels like he’s totally familiar with what Virginia Tech’s new No. 1 quarterback will face this fall.

While Glennon follows Marcus Vick as Tech’s starting quarterback, it was Noel who succeeded Michael Vick at the Hokies’ helm five years ago.

We’re talking the all-world Vick. The one who guided Tech to the 2000 Sugar Bowl national title game, the one who was good enough to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, the one who since has been a three-time Pro Bowl selection for the Atlanta Falcons.

An impossible act to follow? Put it this way: If it’s not, it resides right next door.

“It was definitely tough playing after Mike because there were tons of scrutiny,” Noel said. “I think if I had went in and played anywhere else ... some of the things that I did do that were wrong probably wouldn’t have been exploited as much as they were because [Tech fans] had Michael Vick for two years.

“He was a great player ... he had a lot to do with taking Virginia Tech to the pinnacle of college football. And fans have every right to have high expectations, especially after seeing a guy like that.”

As Vick’s successor in 2001, Noel’s numbers were anything but pedestrian. Starting every game, he completed 146 of 254 passes (57.5 percent) for 1,826 yards. His 16 TD passes were a school record for a first-year starter until Marcus Vick threw for 17 last season. Vick, however, played 13 games, while only 11 of Noel’s games counted because the NCAA didn’t include bowl-game statistics five years ago.

Still, the only numbers that many Tech supporters saw was the win-loss ledger. When the Hokies started 6-0, all was fine. When they limped home with four losses in their last six games, nothing was right. Coming off consecutive 11-1 seasons, 8-4 simply didn’t compute for a suddenly spoiled Hokie Nation.

“My numbers were all right, but it all boiled down to who I played after,” Noel said. “When Mike left and I got my chance to play, I knew that was the only opportunity I was going to get. I had prepared well and I was excited about it.”

Noel’s bubbling enthusiasm nor his starting days lasted long. He underwent knee surgery after being injured in 2002 spring drills. That fall, the senior started Tech’s first two games before losing his job for good to mobile sophomore Bryan Randall.

Like Noel, Glennon is a drop-back passer who doesn’t possess the running ability of Randall — or Ike Whitaker and Cory Holt now — to be able to flee the pocket and make plays. After years and years of having dual-threat quarterbacks, Tech fans seem to have developed a fear the offense will be prone to struggle with a one-dimensional signal-caller.

“Obviously, you’re going to get that stereotype,” Noel said. “When I stepped on the field, or when Jim Druckenmiller [Tech’s starting QB in 1995-96] stepped on the field, they knew right then that we weren’t going to sit there and scat all over the field ... athletically, we weren’t those type of players.”

When asked what’s the best advice he could offer Glennon, Noel didn’t need an audible call.

“Don’t get anywhere near the Internet and don’t listen to anybody ... but the coaches and your teammates,” he said, laughing.

Noel didn’t have to be reminded of the shower of abuse he took from Internet message-board posters when the Hokies began to tank late in the 2001 season.

“People who say they don’t know that stuff is going on is lying,” Noel said. “It’s totally hard to ignore. I mean these are 18- to 22-year-old kids, and they’re going to pay attention to that stuff and the majority aren’t going to know how to handle it.

“Bottom line, you’re the one who has the opportunity, you’re the one who has got the full scholarship, you’re the one who’s going to be stepping out in front of 65,000 people to play football every week, not those guys typing stuff on the message boards.”

Then there were the jeers and sneers from the fans in the stands, even those in supposedly friendly Lane Stadium.

“When you hear that, the best thing then to do is get on the headset, talk to the [coaches] upstairs, figure out what it is and fix it for the next series,” Noel said.

Noel said all the outside shenanigans simply come with the territory these days.

“It’s either the quarterback or the [offensive] coordinator,” he said. “You know that going into it. It’s so sweet and worth it when things are going the right way. And it stinks when you’re losing or having a bad game. That’s just life.”

Noel, 26, is discovering a lot more about life now. He has spent the last two years working as a sales consultant for Globus Spine, a Phoenixville, Pa.-based company that specializes in spinal implants for spinal fusion.

“No Web sites are rating my performance now,” he said, laughing.

“Hey, tell Glennon I wish him good luck. Not many people get that opportunity, and I’m sure he’s not going to pass it up.”