A few football odds and ends this morning …

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– ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. is ranking his top five draft-eligible players at each position heading into 2014. He did so last year and Logan Thomas was his top quarterback, so take these lists for what they’re worth so early in the year.

Nevertheless, he has given Thomas and defensive end James Gayle a little love this year. They didn’t make the top five ranking at their respective positions, but they were listed in the next five.

Kiper’s top quarterbacks, in order, were Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater, Clemson’s Tajh Boyd, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Alabama’s A.J. McCarron. Thomas was third in the next group of five.

“A disappointing junior season puts some pressure on Thomas, but it’s hard to look past his size, arm and — not mentioned enough — a very good work ethic. A must-watch prospect in 2013,” Kiper wrote.

Thomas, who went to work fixing his mechanics this offseason with new offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler, threw for 2,976 yards, ran for 524 and accounted for 27 touchdowns last year but also threw 16 interceptions and watched his completion percentage drop from 59.8 to 51.3.

Gayle was the 10th defensive end Kiper listed.

“Looks the part, and has one very good season under his belt, but Gayle needs to find new ways to separate from defenders,” Kiper wrote.

Gayle had 43 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss and five sacks as a junior, earning second-team All-ACC honors.

– Cornerback Antone Exum, meanwhile, was named to the watch list for  the Lott Award, given annually to the defensive player who has the biggest impact on his team on and off the field.

The award, named in honor of former USC and 49ers safety Ronnie Lott, gives “equal weight to personal character as well as athletic performance” according to the trophy’s website.

Seems like a good time to link back to this feel-good story about Exum around Christmas. The senior cornerback is currently rehabbing from an ACL injury suffered this offseason with his goal of being back for the Alabama opener.

Exum had 48 tackles, a team-high five interceptions and an ACC-high 16 pass breakups last season as a junior, earning second-team All-ACC honors.

UPDATE: Linebacker Jack Tyler was also named to the list. The senior from Oakton was a first-team All-ACC pick by the coaches and a second-team pick by the media after making a team-high 119 tackles.

Virginia Tech is one of seven schools nationally to have two players on the award’s watch list.

It’ll be a big weekend for Hokies at the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame induction in Portsmouth. Virginia Tech broadcaster Bill Roth will be inducted, along with former star defensive end and current Hokies assistant coach Cornell Brown.

Roth has been the “Voice of the Hokies” since 1988, hired when he was just 22 years old. He’s served as the lead play-by-play announcer for Virginia Tech football and basketball ever since. He’s been named the state’s sportscaster of the year 10 times by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

I caught up with Roth and Brown for a story I’m doing in tomorrow’s paper. Here’s a little bit of what Roth had to say about being inducted and looking back at his broadcasting career:

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AB: What do you think about this honor?

BR: “It’s tremendously humbling and I am happy and just so honored to have the privilege to work at Tech for 25 years. I’m looking at this completely at a team award, with Mike Burnop, who does the games with me and everyone on our broadcast team, behind the scenes at the studios and our affiliate stations. And obviously it helps. And it also helps to have a championship team as a broadcaster. So a total team effort on the field and on the air. A lot of people made this happen.”

AB: Did the announcement catch you by surprise?

BR: “Yeah, actually when they called, I thought they had the wrong number. I asked [Hall of Fame president] Eddie [Webb], I said, ‘Are you sure?’ There are broadcasters that have gone in. Marty Brennaman, Frank Soden. I grew up listening to Marty Brennaman do the Reds games, and of course, Virginia Tech games in the 70’s. So it’s surreal and quite a tremendous honor to look at the names that are in there. The athletes and coaches., but the broadcasters as well.”

AB: When you came to Virginia Tech, did you think you’d be here for 25 years?

BR: “When I got to Virginia Tech, my only thought was, ‘Don’t screw it up.’ Because I was nine months out of college and I had met coach [Frank]  Beamer and I knew how fortunate I was just out of school to get the job. I knew David Braine had taken a huge risk to hire a 22-year-old kid. And my only thought was, ‘Don’t screw it up.’ And I was really fortunate that Mike Burnop … Mike’s the only guy I’ve covered the Virginia Tech football team with. And I’ve worked with one analyst and one coach for 25 years. And so I’m very, very privileged and lucky to have been here at a time when the program ascended to great heights. But to answer your question, I thought, ‘Just don’t screw up.’”

AB: How much did the continuity of one coach and one broadcast partner help  you over the years?

BR: “You know what it is when you graduate college. You’re living a dream. It’s all I ever wanted to do was be an announcer. … I always wanted to be a sports announcer with a team. And when I got here and met coach Beamer and met Mike, I had been at Virginia Tech before, at Syracuse when I was a student, and I did that game with [current ESPN/ABC broadcaster Mike] Tirico. Because we were both students at Syracuse. That was my first Virginia Tech game. I was a junior, Mike was a sophomore at Syracuse. So it was a dream come true. And I knew we had great potential. I knew Virginia Tech had great potential because of its passionate fan base and its location. I knew we could have a great statewide radio and television presence. Not only did I think we could win a lot of games, but I thought we could really build a good TV and radio network and get into all these markets where all these fans were.”

AB: Did you think Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech would reach the heights they did?

BR: “Once I saw how he worked ,yes. When I first got here, again, I was wide-eyed and literally was just absorbing and learning and trying not to step on anyone’s toes and learn from coach Beamer and David Braine. But after a couple of seasons of working with him and seeing how he handled it, I thought yeah. There was no question. The way he treated people, the way he interacted with high school players and our coaches. The way he treated me. I knew this was an incredible person and a good coach, and it was only a matter of time until Tech won. And Cornell Brown, when he signed back in February of ‘93, that was a big part of it of really getting it going.”

AB: You mention Cornell, who is going into the Hall of Fame with you this weekend. Was his signing a turning point for the program?

BR: “I think there’s no question that when he signed with Virginia Tech it was a big deal, because in previous seasons it was very unusual for Virginia Tech to get a guy in the top five off of [former Roanoke Times sport editor Bill] Brill and [Doug] Doughty’s list. Cornell was the guy that broke through. And he played that year and Virginia Tech won nine games and went to a bowl and ever since then, it’s been consistent with very few exceptions, Tech has done very well with all the top players in the state. There have been some exceptions, obviously, in the last 21 years, but Cornell was the first one to break through. He was the breakthrough recruit for coach Beamer and that staff.”

AB: Do you have a favorite Virginia Tech moment in your career?

BR: [Looooooong pause] “Wow. Umm … there have been so many. There’s no question the highlight is developing relationships with our players and coaches and fans. And to see where the program has gone to and to see where the television and radio operation is today compared to where it was is really exciting. As far as on-the-field moment … the ‘95 win at Virginia, the win at Nebraska, which was the biggest crowd to ever see a game there in the history of that stadium, which, having grown up just revering coach [Tom] Osborne and Nebraska, beating the Huskers here would be one. I mean, it’s a dream. I tell people that I never wanted to have an office. I never could work at a desk. And my office has been Lane Stadium and Madison Square Garden and the Orange Bowl and the Superdome. To broadcast eight BCS bowl games, if that’s the word we want to use anymore, but to broadcast four Orange Bowl games and four Sugar Bowl games is amazing. It’s just an incredible honor. … To experience that and to experience it with great people like coach Beamer, Mike Burnop and his family, that’s what’s been great.”

AB: Do you have a favorite call?

BR: “We did a contest. The fans picked the Tyrod to Dyrell. ‘Tyrod did it, Mikey! Tyrod did it!’ That was the one they chose.”

AB: Do you agree with that?

BR: “The ’95 game, my call … the Nebraska one was big, obviously. That was an exciting play. That was one of the great moments in Lane Stadium. The one at UVa was, I’m trying to remember … ‘Jim Druckenmiller has engineered the greatest comeback I’ve ever seen.’ Virginia Tech scored 22 points in the last five minutes to beat Virginia, and they had to win the game to go to the Sugar Bowl. And Virginia was really good. So the call at the end of those two games. We’ve won a lot of football games.”

AB: How did you originate your opening phrase, “From the blue waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the hills of Tennessee, the Virginia Tech Hokies are on the air!”?

BR: “I wanted something that was catchy. And I had lunch with Chuck Noe, who was a former coach here and at UVa and a radio guy. And was the South Carolina basketball coach. … And he lived in the Grove in Richmond and we had lunch and he says, ‘You’ve got to be more than good. You’ve got to come up with a shtick.’ I said, ‘I’m not a comedian. I’m more of a play-by-play guy.’ He said, ‘You still have to have a hook of some sort.’ And I talked it over with him and some of my other friends, a broadcaster from West Virginia, and some people I had known and came up with that. And I thought it kind of reflected our goal of getting on the air everywhere. And people liked it. And they liked, ‘Touchdown Tech.’ Both of which are incredibly simple, but people love that stuff. I’m just very fortunate.”

Three Hokies — safety Michael Cole, fullback Joey Phillips and guard David Wang – were named to the 2012 All-ACC Academic Football team.

The ACC announced the 52-member team on Wednesday. To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete needed a 3.0 GPA the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative GPA during his academic career. The full team is listed here.

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Cole, a redshirt freshman from Roanoke, is a biological sciences major with an interest in medicine. He was also an Academic All-District pick by CoSIDA. He was forced to give up football earlier this month after a suffering a serious neck injury last year.

Phillips, a Blacksburg native who was a team captain and starter at fullback his senior year, graduated prior to last season with a degree in human development. He competed as a graduate student last fall, on a curriculum and instruction track. It’s the second time he was selected to the All-ACC Academic team.

Wang, a junior in his fourth year from Ashburn, has already completed his undergraduate degree in management. He battled through injuries to start 10 games last year and is one of several offensive linemen who will return in 2013.

Virginia Tech had a state-high nine players named to the VaSID University Division All-State Football teams on Monday.

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Five players earned first-team honors: tackle Nick Becton, defensive end James Gayle, defensive tackle Derrick Hopkins, linebacker Jack Tyler and cornerback Antone Exum.

Four more Hokies were on the second team: quarterback Logan Thomas, tackle Vinston Painter, kicker Cody Journell and punter A.J. Hughes. Of the group, only Becton and Painter were seniors.

Virginia Tech was shut out of the major awards, though. Old Dominion’s Taylor Heinicke was offensive player of the year, while Bobby Wilder of the Monarchs earned coach of the year honors. Virginia linebacker Steve Greer was named defensive player of the year.

The Hokies had the most players selected for the teams with nine. ODU, Virginia and James Madison were tied for second with seven apiece.

The Cavaliers had the most first-team selections with six. The Hokies and Monarchs were next with five apiece. For the full team, click the link at the top of the post.

The offseason? Hardly. There’s quite a bit going on in Blacksburg these days, whether it’s on the coaching front or elsewhere. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening and a few thoughts …

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– CBS Sports’ Bruce Feldman tweeted Monday night that former Auburn and Temple offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler has been hired for the same position with the Hokies. Virginia Tech would not confirm the news, nor would several Hokies sources with knowledge of the situation. That’s not to say the original report is wrong, just that there might be some red tape to get through before anything is official.

I do know that Loeffler and former Auburn offensive line coach Jeff Grimes were in Blacksburg to interview Monday. Here is my story today on the Hokies’ coaching situation, which might be finalized soon.

– That leads directly to the big news of today, which is that quarterback Logan Thomas will announce whether or not he’ll submit his name in the NFL Draft. Today is the deadline. Thomas, I’m told, will issue a press release with his decision at 4 p.m. I don’t have any insight as to which way he’s leaning at this point.

I adapted yesterday’s blog post into a newspaper story, listing the pros and cons for Thomas’s NFL decision. You can read it here.

If he comes back, this will be the first time since 2009 the Hokies haven’t had a player leave early for the NFL. Running back David Wilson and cornerback Jayron Hosley did it last year. Running backs Ryan Williams and Darren Evans did it in 2011, and defensive end Jason Worilds did it in 2010.

– There are three coaching positions expected to come open at Virginia Tech — offensive coordinator/quarterbacks, offensive line and receivers. According to Kyle Bailey of Fox Sports Radio, Stanford’s Aaron Moorehead is a candidate for the receivers job. Here’s his bio.

– Cornell Brown, a former Hokies linebacker and current whip linebackers coach, and Bill Roth, radio play-by-play voice of Virginia Tech football and men’s basketball, were chosen for the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame on Monday. Congrats to both.

– Back to the coaches, having covered Auburn from September of 2008 to October of 2011, I can add a little perspective to the recent hires. I offered a few thoughts in a previous blog post, so I figured I’d reiterate them here.

Although I was not around for Loeffler’s year with the Tigers, I’ve spoken to a few Auburn people who were. The stats speak for themselves. It was an unmitigated disaster in 2012. The Tigers finished 2012 ranked 115th nationally in total offense (305.0 ypg), 112th in passing (156.6 ypg), 78th in rushing (148.2 ypg) and 112th in scoring (18.7 ppg).

I don’t know if that can entirely be blamed on Loeffler, who sounds like he was in a bad situation. His personnel wasn’t great, he lacked a viable starting quarterback and Auburn was trying to transition from an up-tempo, spread-based attack under Gus Malzahn to more of a pro-style scheme under Loeffler. Obviously, it didn’t take.

But I will point out that Auburn’s offensive decline had started the year before Loeffler arrived. Lacking a quarterback once Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton left and needing to replace a number of key starters, Auburn struggled in Malzahn’s final season as a coordinator, finishing 2011 ranked 100th nationally in total offense. Malzahn split after that year for the Arkansas State head coaching gig and Loeffler was hired.

That’s not to say that Loeffler will be good hire. He’s inexperienced as a coordinator (only two years running offenses) and is coming off a year in which Auburn scored 13 or fewer points six times (including a 49-0 shellacking by Alabama in the regular season finale). Still, this is a coach that was considered a rising star in the business only a year ago.

– As for Grimes, no news has broken that he has been hired, although it figures if he interviewed with Loeffler, there is a decent chance. He had a reputation as a good recruiter and teacher at Auburn, a guy who could be stern but also cerebral.

His veteran group was an underrated part of the Tigers’ national championship season in 2010 (after which he turned down an offer to coach for Mack Brown at Texas). Four seniors graduated, however, leaving Auburn thin and young the last two seasons, which led to struggles. By season’s end last year, the Tigers’  two deep on the o-line featured one senior, three sophomores, four redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen.

Grimes can recruit. Just look back through Rivals’ year-by-year database. It’s not to say he was solely responsible for bringing in all of these multi-star linemen — Auburn always did well recruiting-wise under Gene Chizik — but Grimes had a hand in it, which should count for something.

This has been posted elsewhere, but here’s also a nice video about he and his wife adopting a girl from Ethiopia.