Still a slow news week, and I’m working on some larger project stories right now, so I thought I’d pop in briefly on the blog to lead you to this article in the Arizona Republic by Scott Bordow about former Hokies and current Arizona Cardinals running back Ryan Williams, who is once again trying to come back from an injury.

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Williams has missed 27 of 32 possible NFL games because of injuries. In his rookie season, he ruptured his right patella tendon in the preseason. Last year, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

From what Williams said, the knee injury was still on his mind last year. From the article:

He took the toss from Kolb, looked up and saw Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes closing in. Williams didn’t try to go through Spikes or maneuver around him.

Instead, he gave in — and gave up.

“As soon as I saw Spikes coming to hit me I curled up and forgot about the ball,” Williams said. “It was something where I was trying to protect my leg instead of trying to protect the football. … It’s a scary sight being a running back and being scared to run the ball. That’s something that no running back should feel. I was pretty much scared all last year to get the ball in my hands.”

Williams was so fearful of re-injuring the knee he said it was a “blessing” when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against the St. Louis Rams on Oct. 4.

“It’s sad to say, but honestly I was happy because the first thing I thought about was getting my knee right,” he said.

Williams doesn’t sound like he’ll be the starter in Arizona. That’ll probably be Rashard Mendenhall, who worked with new head coach Bruce Arians when the two were in Pittsburgh. But it at least sounds like Williams is in the right frame of mind and better physically than he was heading into last year.

In case you couldn’t tell, this is a slooooow news week. Summer school classes don’t start until next week, so we’ll see then if some players from the latest signing class have enrolled.

I’m also trying to set up some opponent previews like I did last year, asking a few questions to an opposing team’s beat writer. I hope to have that up and running soon.

In the meantime, here’s a grab bag of links to start your Wednesday:

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– CBS Sports’ Bruce Feldman came out with his annual college football Freak List. Hokies defensive end James Gayle made it at No. 18:

18. James Gayle, Va. Tech, DE: One of the ACC’s best defensive ends, the 269-pound Gayle has vertical jumped 39.5 inches to go with a 400-pound bench press and a 4.6 second clocking in the 40 this past spring.

My guess is that Dadi Nicolas might make an appearance on this list before his career is over.

– New Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians sat down for a Sunday conversation on SportsCenter this week. The first-year head coach is a former Hokies, having played quarterback at Virginia Tech from 1972-74 and getting his coaching start there as a graduate assistant from 1975-77.

I don’t think I can embed this type of video on the blog, so here’s a link to it.

– And lastly, Spots Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel had a nice breakdown of what each conference’s bowl lineup might look like from 2014-19. Leagues are still jockeying for position with some games, something that shouldn’t be finalized for a few weeks, but here’s what Mandel thinks the ACC’s lineup of bowls will look like:

• 1. Orange
• 2. Russell Athletic
• 3-5. Music City/Gator*
• 3-5. Belk
• 3-5. Pinstripe
• 6. Sun
• TBD: Detroit bowl
• TBD: Military? AdvoCare? Liberty?

* The ACC and Big Ten will likely share spots in the Music City and Gator bowls.

Remember, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will become part of the college football playoff rotation, hosting semifinals on occasion. In years that it doesn’t, it’ll be an access bowl, one that hosts two of the top teams not in the playoff, regardless of conference affiliation.

The Russell Athletic Bowl could end up matching the ACC and Big 12, a change from the Big East. The next three games — Music City/Gator, Belk and Pinstripe — are in a pool to give leagues and schools more flexibility to set desirable matchups, make it easier for fans to travel and avoid repeat trips.

Adding New York as a possible bowl destination is a good thing. Other than that, the roster, at least on the upper end, isn’t too drastically different.

From a fans perspective, what does everyone think of the possible new lineup of bowls?

I caught up with former Hokies receiver  Danny Coale last week as he prepared himself for the start of organized team activities this week. Coale suffered every injury you could imagine during a frustrating rookie year, but he’s hoping to make the roster and make an impact in his second season.

Here’s how today’s story starts:

In the four years after he took a redshirt at Virginia Tech, wide receiver Danny Coale never missed a game, playing in 55 straight contests to conclude his college career.

So an injury-riddled debut season in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys couldn’t have been any stranger.

Coale suffered a stress fracture in his foot during Dallas’ first organized team activity last spring, endured quad and hamstring problems as he tried to make the roster and finally saw his star-crossed rookie season come to an end when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament while on the practice squad in November.

“It was just a mess of a year,” he said.

Now, motivated by last season’s frustrations and heartened by what he thinks has been an ahead-of-schedule rehab program, Coale is back with the Cowboys as they begin OTAs Tuesday, eager to prove to the club that he’s not someone who will spend all of his time in the training room.

“I just want to show them I am a player that can play healthy and stay healthy,” Coale said.

Read the entire thing here. And follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

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.

I’m on my way back from a bachelor party in Boston this weekend, so I’ll keep this post brief today with a couple of nuggets about some former Hokies in the NFL …

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First, here’s a story about Corey Fuller at Detroit Lions mini-camp, where he’s trying to prove he’s more than just a guy who can stretch the field. It sounds like he’s made some nice catches early on. From the story:

Saturday, he showed more of his repertoire on the short and intermediate routes. He made a number of terrific catches within 10 and 15 yards of the line of scrimmage, including one on a comeback route with cornerback Lionel Smith draped all over him that got a few ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from teammates.

Detroit drafted him as a developmental guy, because he only had one productive year in college, but Fuller insists his game is more than just a deep threat.

“It is true, I haven’t played much football, but then I don’t think that I’m that raw,” he told the Lions’ website. “I’m just trying to show them everything I can do, as well as learn as much as I possibly can.”

Fuller, a sixth-round pick in the NFL Draft, signed a four-year, $2.28 million contract last week that includes a $123,100 signing bonus. Fellow sixth-rounder and offensive lineman Vinston Painter signed a four-year, $2.27 million deal. That included a $117,932 bonus.

In other news, former Hokies receiver Marcus Davis was waived by the New York Giants after signing a free agent deal shortly after not being selected in April’s draft.

New York signed two veterans and three rookies Saturday but also made six cuts. Davis was one of the six.

He’ll still have a shot at latching on somewhere else. Jarrett Boykin did so last year. After failing to stick with the Jaguars following a tryout, he got a chance in Green Bay and made the team’s roster.