Hokies cornerback Antone Exum wasn’t alone this preseason in thinking this year’s defense had the potential to be one of the best Bud Foster has ever coached, a thought that seems laughable in hindsight considering Virginia Tech’s depth concerns and offseason position changes.

After a season of growing pains, the junior chose his words more carefully last week, but he still didn’t hide his enthusiasm about Virginia Tech’s defense in 2013.

“I’m excited. We voice it all the time. We should be pretty good,” Exum said. “We don’t want to jump to conclusions or anything too early, because we thought that was where it was going this year. But next year, we definitely have the pieces to be a dominating defense.”

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Virginia Tech’s high defensive potential was a hot story in the preseason — including from this publication — although it ignored several red flags that would pop up in the first few months. The position switches the Hokies made in the secondary, a lack of depth on the back end and an injury to Tariq Edwards that ate at linebacker depth and forced Bruce Taylor to play out of position all effected Tech out of the gate.

Those issues combined with uncharacteristic missed tackles and lost leverage led to the Hokies allowing 495 yards or more in losses to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and North Carolina.

“Obviously, you hate to have growing pains, but we did [have them], especially on the perimeter,” Foster said. “And that was the discouraging part of the season, because I thought we could have stepped in. You always kind of feel like you can plug people in and you can be able to keep going, but obviously that doesn’t work the way you want it to.”

“We didn’t expect that at all,” Exum said. “But you can’t do anything about it once it’s done and we just tried to learn from each game.”

Virginia Tech did. Over the final six games, it allowed 299.2 yards per game, which would have ranked ninth nationally if stretched across an entire season. The Hokies got more sacks and forced more turnovers as players settled into new roles.

“And we didn’t give up as many big plays down the stretch,” Foster said. “And the big plays were kind of our nemesis, and some of that with some technique, obviously from a coverage standpoint. But you go back early on, especially in some early games, just some lost leverages, which are base fundamentals, we improved on. And I think that’s where we improved down the stretch. And proud of the kids from that standpoint.”

Here’s a look at the Hokies’ first four games against major conference teams (Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, North Carolina) versus their last six (Duke, Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, Virginia):

• First four: 438.3 ypg, 15 touchdowns allowed, 5 sacks, 5 turnovers forced, 31.8 ppg
• Last six: 299.3 ypg, 14 touchdowns allowed, 24 sacks, 10 turnovers forced, 25.5 ppg

A strong showing in the Russell Athletic Bowl against a Rutgers offense that’s far from explosive could send the Hokies into the offseason on a high note.

If defensive end James Gayle and Exum return for their senior years, Tech would have nine returning starters in 2013. Of those departing, only Taylor was entrenched as a starter all year, and he figures to be replaced by Edwards, a starter from 2011 who missed almost all of this season with a knee/shin injury.

The other seniors, defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins and whip linebackers Jeron Gouveia-Winslow and Alonzo Tweedy, were solid contributors but hardly irreplaceable. Derrick Hopkins and Luther Maddy started most of the year at tackle, while redshirt freshman Ronny Vandyke has long been proclaimed the future at the whip.

In the secondary, Foster thinks the moves Tech made last offseason — Exum to corner and Detrick Bonner and Kyshoen Jarrett to safety — will pay off more next year, now that the group has had time to adjust to their new roles. Another signing class will bolster the depleted reserves on the back end. It includes five-star cornerback Kendall Fuller, who could play in the same defensive backfield of his brother, Kyle Fuller.

It gives the Hokies plenty of hope heading into 2013, although Exum knows that talk is cheap.

“This year proved that just because that’s what it looked like on paper, that’s not how it’s going to have to go,” Exum said. “You’re going to have to go out there and prove that you’re worth that and prove that you’re that play-maker that’s on paper.”

I’m catching a flight back from Minnesota today, so I’ll keep the blog post short today and just throw out a couple of potential discussion points.

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1) The bowl season has barely started, so naturally the website nationalchamps.net has already put an early-bird 2013 Top 25 ranking.

Take this for what it’s worth, but preseason rankings are usually based on where teams finished up the previous season, and bowl results factor too much in how those final rankings.

Alabama, as you’d figure, is ranked No. 1. Virginia Tech is not ranked, which isn’t too surprising giving its 6-6 record right now. Those teams meet in the season opener Aug. 31 in the Georgia Dome in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff.

Kind of feels like 2004 with Southern Cal, doesn’t it?

2) The USA Today has put out its usual exhaustive look at coaching salaries, which you can access in this well-organized chart. (Although I’ll say it’s incredibly frustrating to navigate. Terrible re-design by the USA Today.) Here’s the main story, which basically says that assistant salaries continue to rise at a rapid rate.

A couple of things to note: First, these are gathered through public records requests, so some private schools (ie. Miami, USC, etc.) are not available. Second, this is for the 2012 season, so obviously many of the coaches on there are no longer with their school.

Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer had the 27th highest compensation of the coaches on the list at $2.428 million. The Hokies’ staff compensation of $4.839 million is 23rd nationally of the publicly available data.

Here’s a look at the compensation of the head coaches in the ACC last year. This is before potential bonuses that could be tacked on:

• Jimbo Fisher, Florida State — $2,750,000
• Mike London, Virginia — $2,556,460
• Larry Fedora, North Carolina — $2,448,605
• Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech –$2,445,700
• Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech — $2,428,000
• Jim Grobe, Wake Forest — $2,254,798
• Dabo Swinney, Clemson — $2,050,024
• Tom O’Brien, N.C. State — $1,936,225
• David Cutcliffe, Duke — $1,788,523
• Randy Edsall, Maryland –$1,604,000
• Frank Spaziani, Boston College — $1,094,976
• Al Golden, Miami — N/A

First, here’s a column by Aaron McFarling saying it’s time for a change at Virginia Tech with regards to offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring. This one’s sure to generate some discussion.

Second, here’s my article today about the Hokies using some of their practice time in the early portion of bowl preparation to evaluate some of their younger and inexperienced players with an eye on next season.

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In my story I briefly take a look at a few redshirts and younger players who might be counted on to have bigger roles next year. Here a closer look at a few positions of note in that regard (I’ll do these under the assumption that the underclassmen who have NFL decisions to make, choose to come back):

** Offensive tackles: Seniors Vinston Painter and Nick Becton played nearly every snap this season, putting together solid seasons but also leaving the Hokies with almost no experience at the position behind them. Redshirt sophomores Laurence Gibson and Mark Shuman are nominally the backups, although they’ve only played 22 and 25 snaps on offense this year, respectively, so it’s not as if there are any sure bets at the spots. Another redshirt sophomore, Nick Acree tore his ACL in the preseason and missed the entire year. He’s getting back into a running routine now and should be in the mix next season. Jake Goins is also listed as a right tackle. As mentioned in the story, there’s also freshmen Augie Conte and Adam Taraschke, both of whom redshirted this season. Conte is listed as a left tackle on the depth chart on Frank Beamer‘s website and Taraschke at right. Both have spent the season on the scout team, so it’s unclear how much they’ve progressed, although Stinespring seemed pleased with the maturity.

** Wide receivers: Tech will lose Marcus Davis, Dyrell Roberts and Corey Fuller after this year. That trio has combined for 120 catches, 2,026 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Redshirt freshman Demitri Knowles started getting more reps near the end of the season, as did redshirt freshman Kevin Asante, before a turf toe injury set him back. But as everyone saw in the first half of the Boston College game, removing a threat like Davis from the equation seriously impacts how those younger receivers operate. The Hokies will get a boost from the return of D.J. Coles, who should be approved for a waiver to get another year of eligibility after suffering a knee injury in the season opener. He’s a big receiving threat and is the team’s best blocker on the perimeter. Beyond that, it’s a lot of inexperience. Joel Caleb and Joshua Stanford were the two most-touted players from the freshman class. Caleb, a physical specimen at 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, needed a year to transition from quarterback to receiver. Stanford suffered a knee injury this year that kept him out of action. Beamer also mentioned redshirt freshman Christian Reeves and walk-on Charley Meyer as options. All seem like they’ll get an opportunity in a depleted receiver corps.

** Running backs: The only person who graduates from the group is Martin Scales, but given the lagging ground game this year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a shakeup of the depth chart coming. Tony Gregory, Michael Holmes and J.C. Coleman return, although it’s freshman Trey Edmunds who might be the one to  keep an eye on. Beamer sounded conflicted about the decision the staff made in September to redshirt Edmunds. They had to come to that conclusion fairly early in the season, before the Hokies’ running game woes became completely apparent. Beamer has compared Edmunds’ running style to Kevin Jones several times and said he stood out in the team’s physical middle drill. The Hokies didn’t often feature a running back who could run through tackles this year. Edmunds seems like a dynamic player who could do that. Stinespring said the defensive staff has told him they’ve been impressed with Chris Mangus on the scout team. The speedster suffered a shoulder injury early in the season that kept him out. Fork Union’s Drew Harris, a highly-touted prospect who failed to qualify last year, could enter the mix if he gets into school.

** Linebackers: This is really the only defensive position that will feature any significant turnover, and even then it’s limited. Bruce Taylor, Jeron Gouveia-Winslow and Alonzo Tweedy are seniors. Taylor is a starter. Gouveia-Winslow began the year as a starter but was supplanted and eventually moved to backup safety. Tweedy didn’t do much on defense all season until the very end, when he stepped up into a blitzing role and has thrived. Still, the Hokies have replacements who aren’t completely green. Junior Tariq Edwards missed all of this year essentially with a knee/shin injury. He’s close to 100 percent now and, with Taylor moving on, presumably will slide back into that backer position he previously occupied (more on Edwards a little later in the week). At whip linebacker, defensive coordinator Bud Foster continues to be high on redshirt freshman Ronny Vandyke, who he pegged as the future at the position even before this year began. Another year should give him time to grow into the role. Chase Williams and Deon Clarke will probably be the next in line at inside linebacker. On the outside, it’s less clear, although Dahman McKinnon was working there in practice the other day.

** Defensive backs: If Antone Exum decides to come back for his senior season, this whole group will be back. Foster expects the position switches the team made last offseason to pay off after a year that had some growing pains. What will be more critical for the Hokies, though, is creating some depth in the secondary, something that was severely lacking this year. Donaldven Manning was the presumed No. 3 cornerback because he enrolled early, but his season did not go to plan and he nearly left the team. In the meantime, Donovan Riley began to take those No. 3 cornerback reps. Michael Cole emerged as the third safety, but a scary neck injury against Florida State has his football status in limbo. Desmond Frye began to step up near the end of the year as a promising safety. But Tech will have other bodies in the competition, including Carl Jackson, Der’Woun Greene, Davion Tookes and Greg Jones among others. There’s also highly-touted verbal commitments Kendall Fuller and Holland Fisher who could figure in somewhere if they catch on quick enough.

Virginia Tech’s players report for preseason practice today, with the media’s first interviews to take place after the Hokies get on the field for the first time Tuesday night.

So there’s still one day of the waiting game, which will probably involve a overreaction about updated heights and weights as soon as the official roster is released. (I make fun of this, but I’ll be one of those making a big deal about a player adding 10 pounds in the offseason.)

Anyway, before the Hokies get going, here’s a look at some of the position battles to watch this August:

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Defensive tackle – Antoine Hopkins vs. Luther Maddy: Hopkins is the incumbent … sort of. He started last year alongside his younger brother before tearing an ACL against Clemson and missing the final eight games. Hopkins is back healthy, but he has a challenger in Maddy, a sophomore who got plenty of experience last year in Hopkins’ place and had a strong spring, when he was the defensive MVP. Hopkins is the bigger of the two, but Bud Foster wants some play-makers at tackle this year. Maddy, who put on a show for parts of the spring, certainly looks the part.

Whip linebacker – Alonzo Tweedy vs. Jeron Gouveia-Winslow vs. Ronny Vandyke: Virginia Tech hasn’t had a standout whip linebacker since Cody Grimm had an All-ACC season in 2008. Gouveia-Winslow started last year before a Lisfranc injury cut his season short. Tweedy battled a high-ankle sprain late in the year, returning to have a good showing in the Sugar Bowl. Vandyke, while only a redshirt freshman, is the future at the position, an athletic, rangy player who Foster has had high praise for. Colleague Mark Giannotto of the Washington Post reported that Tweedy and Vandyke might be the two players vying for the job, with Gouveia-Winslow third in the pecking order. It’ll certainly be something to watch.

Offensive line – Michael Via vs. the weakest link: Via sat out the spring because of knee surgeries, but offensive line coach Curt Newsome said he’d have a spot when healthy. That time is now. The fifth-year senior can play any position along the line, a versatile athlete who might be Tech’s ace in the hole, someone who can step in if one of the players who exited the spring as a projected starter doesn’t advance his game as much as the coaches hope. The biggest question marks might be on the right side. Coaches think right tackle Vinston Painter has turned a corner, although they’ve thought that before. Right guard Brent Benedict is still trying to stake his claim to a spot after sitting out last year following his transfer from Georgia. Via could play either spot or, failing that, provide depth elsewhere.

Running back – Michael Holmes vs. the rest: Despite never having taken a carry in a college game, Holmes was the clear frontrunner to be David Wilson‘s replacement at tailback coming out of the spring. A well-balanced runner who learned a lot in his redshirt year, he remains the best bet to get the most carries to start the season. But there’s no lack of competition. Early enrollee J.C. Coleman got a jump on this year by going through spring drills. Converted fullback Martin Scales is a power option. Tony Gregory returns from offseason knee surgery. And freshmen Trey Edmunds and Chris Mangus will be able to show what they can do. Tech hopes two or three emerge that it can rely on.

Tight end – Randall Dunn vs. Eric Martin vs. Ryan Malleck: The Hokies haven’t had a truly standout tight end since Jeff King, so it’s not really a featured position. But they have some weapons there. Dunn, who transitioned from wide receiver early in his career, brings a pass-catching element to the position. Martin, at 6-2, 264 pounds, is a power option who could excel at blocking in the running game. And Malleck is a sophomore who Frank Beamer called the most well-rounded of the group.

Punter — Anyone who feels like stepping up: When you punt as poorly as Virginia Tech did last year, nobody’s job is safe. So don’t expect Scott Demler or Michael Branthover to have an advantage just because they were around last year, or for Ethan Keyserling to have a leg up because he participated in the spring. It’s wide open, which means two freshmen walk-ons, A.J. Hughes and Hunter Windmuller, have as good a chance as anyone at winning the job. Is Beamer opposed to a true freshman winning the job? “Not if he’s the best one we’ve got,” he said at the ACC Kickoff. That sounds like an open competition if ever there was one.

Virginia Tech had one of its major issues solved when kicker Cody Journell was allowed back on the team last week, but questions persist about other facets of the Hokies’ special teams.

Beamer addressed a few of those issues at the ACC Kickoff last weekend. Specifically, why the team hasn’t blocked so many punts and kicks recently.

Once a calling card for the Hokies — you may have heard a reference or twenty about “Beamerball” during every TV telecast — blocks have been in decline lately. Virginia Tech had one block last year (a punt against Appalachian State that was recovered for a touchdown), matching its lowest total in the Beamer era.

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In fact, the Hokies haven’t recently approached their peak in 1998, when they blocked 12 punts, field goals and extra points. Beamer thinks part of the reason is the rising popularity of the three-man personal protector formation has made it more difficult to get to punts, although he added that should open up more opportunities in returns.

“Going to a three-man shield back there, those three guys are not usually great cover guys,” Beamer said. “So in effect, if you block the seven guys up front and get the thing started, then you’ll get some return yardage in there.”

True enough, Virginia Tech had strong numbers in the punt return game, even if it didn’t take one back for a touchdown. When healthy, Jayron Hosley was tops in the ACC’s best, averaging 12.7 yards per return. The Hokies ranked 30th nationally in punt returns, with a 10.8-yard average.

That number is consistent with what Tech has had in returns in recent years (12.4 in 2010, 10.8 in 2010), but still lower than the team’s hey-day from 1997 to 2003, when the Hokies never averaged fewer than 11.7 yards per return. The team peaked with an 18.2-yard average in 2000, boosted by All-American Andre Davis, who had a 22-yard average and returned three returns for touchdowns.

Beamer was encouraged by the return abilities of Kyshoen Jarrett and Dyrell Roberts in the spring. The former returned a punt for a touchdown in a scrimmage and the latter is the school’s all-time kick return leader, so Tech has some weapons.

The punting game, a thorn in the Hokies’ side last year and something that was bailed out by now-departed receiver Danny Coale by the end of last season, is another issue to watch this August. Tech ranked 108th nationally in net punting last year and last in the ACC.

Michael Branthover, Scott Demler and Ethan Keyserling rotated reps in the spring, although none was impressive enough to seize hold of the job. Beamer sounded optimistic about an incoming freshman like preferred walk-ons A.J. Hughes of Terre Haute, Ind., and Hunter Windmuller of Oakton getting into the mix.

“I think we’ve got a couple of freshmen coming in that are going to get a great opportunity to punt for us. I’m just looking for consistency,” Beamer said. “If you’re a good punter and a consistent punter and you’ve got good fundamentals, there’s no reason why you can’t carry that over from a practice to a game.”

Would Beamer have any hesitation using a true freshman punter to start the year?

“Not if he’s the best one we’ve got,” he said.