Coaches interviews begin in about an hour, with the first wave featuring Virginia coach Al Groh, among others. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer is slated to go in the last group, closer to 5 p.m. Here’s what we’ll do today. I plan on spending a good chunk of time at Groh’s table to gather stuff for tomorrow’s Virginia notebook. But I’ll try to also snag a few snippets from each coach at the kickoff and post here as the day goes along. So check back often.

A couple of quickies before the day gets going, though:

* The media balloting is in, and two-time defending ACC champion Virginia Tech is the pick to win the title once again. The Hokies received 79 of 87 first-place votes in the Coastal Division, ahead of Georgia Tech. Florida State is the pick to win the Atlantic Division. The full results:

COASTAL
1. Virginia Tech (78 first-place votes) .... 512
2. Georgia Tech (9).............................. 415
3. North Carolina…............................... 350
4. Miami ............................................. 282
5. Virginia ........................................... 148
6. Duke ............................................... 120

ATLANTIC
1. Florida State (56) ............................. 479
2. Clemson (14) ................................... 387
3. North Carolina State (10) ................... 364
4. Wake Forest (7) ............................... 295
5. Maryland .......................................... 157
6. Boston College .................................. 145

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WINNER
1. Virginia Tech ..................................... 69
2. Florida State ...................................... 7
  Georgia Tech ..................................... 7
3. Clemson ............................................ 2
  North Carolina State ........................... 2

PRESEASON ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1. Jonathan Dwyer, Ga. Tech ................... 39
2. C.J. Spiller, Clemson ........................... 28
3. Russell Wilson, N.C. State ................... 16
4. Christian Ponder, Florida State .............. 1
  Vic Hall, Virginia ................................... 1
  Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech .................... 1
  Riley Skinner, Wake Forest ................... 1

* Lots of folks are wearing blue ribbons with an orange “V” in the middle as a tribute to the late Michael Colley, the Virginia media relations official who passed away suddenly earlier this month. Colley was the point man for Virginia football and was widely respected not only for his depth of knowledge of UVa athletics, but for his dry wit and keen sense of humor. There was a nice impromptu tribute to Colley last night at the hospitality room, as folks gathered with Virginia’s Jim Daves and shared stories and laughed at anecdotes about Colley. The University of Virginia—and Virginia’s media—has lost a valuable ally, and any tribute to Colley is worthwhile. A diary is being passed around at the kickoff, and once filled, it will be sent to Colley’s parents.

* Today’s festivities opened with the sixth annual Skeeter Francis Memorial golf tournament. Tee-off was early (7:30 a.m.), but fun was had by all. Congrats to the winning team, which featured our Media General colleague, Jay Jenkins of the Charlottesville Daily Progress. My group finished second in spite of my abilities off the tee, not because of them.

* Ten must-watch ACC games this season, in no particular order:

—Alabama vs. Virginia Tech, Sept. 5: The Crimson Tide jumpstarted a BCS run by routing Clemson in Atlanta last season. Meanwhile, the loss dropped the Tigers into a funk that eventually cost Tommy Bowden his job. Both teams should be ranked in the top 10 and both open the year with BCS title-game aspirations.

—TCU at Virginia, Sept. 12: Precisely the sort of game TCU loves to play, on the road against a BCS conference opponent. A dangerous intersectional opponent for the Cavaliers, who can ill afford to get off to a rough start at home.

—East Carolina at North Carolina, Sept. 19: ECU could be a BCS party crasher if it can navigate a ridiculously tough schedule, which includes games with UNC, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

—Florida State at BYU, Sept. 19: FSU has already traveled to the Mountain Time Zone to face Colorado. BYU should prove to be a tougher test.

—Oklahoma at Miami, Oct. 3: If the ‘Canes are truly back, they’ll hang with the powerful Sooners. If not, they’ll lose by 30.

—Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, Oct. 17: Winner will have the inside track to the Coastal Division title.

—N.C. State at Florida State, Oct. 31: The Wolfpack are a darkhorse candidate to win the Atlantic title, but they won’t get there unless they can take down the ‘Noles in Tallahassee.

—Clemson at N.C. State, Nov. 14: Two of the league’s best running backs—Clemson’s C.J. Spiller and N.C. State’s Jamelle Eugene—on display.

—Georgia at Georgia Tech, Nov. 28: The Bulldogs tend to take their state rivals for granted in this matchup, but the Wreck manages to hang with UGa nearly every time.

—Virginia Tech at Virginia, Nov. 28: The finale for Al Groh? If the Hoos are 5-6 again come Nov. 28, maybe it will be.

I’ll be back later with more updates. Keep checking back.

4:15 p.m. UPDATE

A few snippets from the first four coaches in the interview room:

—Virginia’s Al Groh

On the Cavaliers’ starting quarterback situation, specifically addressing Vic Hall:

“Since it’s a unilateral decision, and not one made by a committee, I can say with some certainty that he’ll take the first snap” at practice Aug. 6.

So yes, it seems Hall is the No. 1 quarterback heading into the Cavaliers’ fall camp. Whether he holds off Jameel Sewell or not is still anyone’s guess.

On his job security, and whether or not he has addressed it with his players

“It’s not about me. It’s about the team. I don’t address it with me, so why would I address it with him.“

Later, Groh was pressed on the question, and how he would assess the program, with it only making one bowl appearance in the last four years.

(After a long pause ...) “We try to do the best we could every year. We’re not perfect. We try to learn something along the way. We see every season as its own season, and we leave the assessment to everybody else.“

On the maturation of offensive lineman Will Barker, who was arrested last summer in an incident at a Charlottesville nightspot

“Will has really made a big step in everything that’s he’s done. His overall maturity, his purposefulness, how he takes advantage of every practice. He was, at best, a mediocre practice player early in his career. He was into the games more than the practices as a player. This spring, he had it screwed down and on every down tried to become the best he could be. He has embraced everything that has been asked of him. A year ago at this time, if you said, ‘OK, write down the names of the players who you might think you would send to the ACC kickoff in 2009,‘ Will would have been well down the list. This particular year, it was an easy choice to pick him as one of the players to represent our team.“

—Miami’s Randy Shannon

On the team’s second year in a new home after moving from the Orange Bowl to Land Shark Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins

“Nothing against the Orange Bowl, but sometimes, you’d go into that locker room, and you wouldn’t know what was in there. Maybe it was a couple of extra garbage cans, or something like that.“

Anything that moved, someone asked?

“Yeah, that too.“

On the Miami-Florida State rivalry, and the potential for a Miami-FSU ACC title game

“Everybody wants to make it all about a Miami-Florida State championship game, mostly because Miami has a reputation. But we haven’t been there. This league is deep. Last year, we had 10 teams go to bowl games. You can’t go 12-0 in this league.“

—Florida State’s Bobby Bowden

On playing Miami early rather than late. The teams open against each other on Labor Day.

“I’d rather not play them at all. (Laughs.) But early or late? I’d rather open with them. You can study them all spring long. You get them later, and you only get a few days. That’s tough.“

On the lack of sniping between coaches in the ACC. The interviewer referenced small tiffs between SEC coaches.

“I don’t know. They’ve probably got a lot more egos over there. They’re paying more money there too. I don’t care to have someone I don’t like. I don’t want to deal with that. I already had Tommy around. That was dang tough.“

Tommy, of course, is desposed Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, Bobby’s son.

—North Carolina State’s Tom O’Brien

Updating the status of linebacker Nate Irving, a senior who was involved in a car accident last month and was charged with reckless and careless driving

O’Brien said there will be another trip to the doctor next week to further diagnose Irving’s laundry list of injuries, which include a compound leg fracture, a punctured lung, a broken rib and a separated shoulder.

“The boy is lucky to be alive,“ O’Brien said, noting the top of Irving’s car was smashed so thoroughly that the hood was crushed all the way down to the dashboard.

O’Brien also expressed some sympathy to the extra pain Irving will be going through once he tries to walk again.

“That’s really tough when you’re on crutches and you have a separated shoulder,“ O’Brien said.

On Bobby Bowden’s claim that “that dang N.C. State quarterback” is one of the ACC’s great gamebreakers

“I think he’s a great college quarterback,“ O’Brien said. “He’s also a freshman that’s played very well in his final four games. I’m not going to anoint him or put him in the Hall of Fame or give him the Heisman trophy.“

O’Brien noted that he’d be surprised if Wilson was still in Raleigh by the time he was a senior. Wilson is a tantalizing baseball prospect who is playing both sports at N.C. State. He’s a redshirt sophomore this year in football and a junior in baseball (since he didn’t use a redshirt year in that sport).

“If he’s here as a senior, it’s because his baseball plans have fallen apart,“ O’Brien said.

Wilson was limited to 27 games and 23 starts this season because of a knee injury he suffered in the Wolfpack’s PapaJohn’s.com Bowl game against Rutgers.

5:36 p.m. UPDATE

—Boston College’s Frank Spaziani

On navigating through a difficult offseason, which included massive coaching upheaval and the news that star linebacker Mark Herzlich, the ACC defensive player of the year, was battling cancer

“They’ve handled it like we trained them to handle it. I’d like to think I’m more than just a guy who diagrams Xs and Os. That’s why mommas send their babies off ot us. We’re here to turn them into young men.“

On some wacky memories of coaching in the CFL

“We had the Flutie Rules. I played against Flutie twice in the Grey Cup and he beat us both times. Then I had him on my team and we lost. He only wins when I’m plying against him. How’s that for wacky?“

On Bobby Bowden

“He’s a legend and it’s an honor to be in the same fraternity as him. When he says something, I listen. Of course, he’s at the front of the line, and I’m at the back. So I have to ask people in front of me, ‘Hey, what did Bowden say?‘

—Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson

On the Yellow Jackets’ option scheme

“Schemes have something to do with it. But yeah, the team that executes the best, regardless of scheme, will win. My hope is that if we run something for 20 weeks, and you only have four days to prepare for it, that we run it better than you can stop it. If not, we’re not doing our jobs.“

“We had more plays of 20 or more yards (67, according to the Georgia Tech media relations staff) than anyone in the league. It’s not just three yards and a cloud of dust. And that includes all of those teams that throw it 50 times a game.“

“We’ve always had a lot of people visit. We’ve always been open to that. That’s the thing with film. There’s no secrets. Turn it on, and there it is.“

—North Carolina’s Butch Davis

On chasing Virginia Tech

“They’ve set the bar, no question about it. If you expect to get to the ACC championship game in our division, you better beat Virginia Tech.“

On the talks of a possible early signing period for football, much like there is for college basketball.

“At our spring meetings a couple of years ago we voted unanimously on a December signing date. We didn’t want a May or a June date. It just didn’t make any sense. You don’t have a chance to see those kids at that time, and they don’t have a chance to come see your campus. But for some of the kids who commit early and some of the JUCO kids, it makes sense to have a date a little before the February date. I suspect it won’t change. Bobby Bowden said if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and February 3 has been working pretty well for us.“

—Clemson’s Dabo Swinney

On offensive philosophy

“I want our offense to attack. I want to be able to dictate. I want us to run it when we want to run it and throw it when we want to throw it. For that to happen, we need the offensive line to come together.“

What’s tougher, establishing a championship tradition, or sustaining it?

“I think getting there. I really do. Because that’s a mentality, that’s a culture. Once you get there, that’s a whole ‘nother thing. You fight complacency and things like that. But they know how they got there, and it wasn’t by not working hard. But kicking in that door, that’s the toughest thing.“

On true freshmen playing

“For freshmen to play, there’s got to be a real need at a position. Depth’s got to be a problem, or an injury, and the freshman is just better than the other kid. I hate wasting a kid’s year, though. It just drives me crazy. If I’ve got a bunch of freshmen beating out all of my veterans, then we weren’t recruiting very well to begin with. That’s not a good thing.“

6:47 p.m. FINAL UPDATE

—Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer

On Michael Vick

“I think he can affect a lot of people with how he comes back. I think the big picture thing is that he want do the right things to get back to playing in the NFL.“

On Stephen Virgil, the latest in a long line of strong VT cornerbacks?

“I think so. He made some big, big plays last year for our football team. He’s a kid who makes big plays.“

Do you embrace outside talk of being a national title contender?

“I think starting out with a team like Alabama, that’s a very exciting opening game. We’ve sold all the tickets we can sell. They sold all of the tickets they could sell. I firmly believe if you win a game like that, you can get unbelievable momentum going forward. You lose, and you can still get back into it. You can’t get ahead of yourself. Last year, I think there were a lot of teams in the ACC that were about the same. Whoever comes out and takes it to the next level can make an impact on the national picture. I think we’re all stepping it up a notch. I don’t mind high expectations, as long as you don’t forget what got you those expectations—lots of togetherness, lots of hard work and a lot of grinding.“

—Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe

Wish you could play a few games that weren’t so close in the second half?

“Absolutely. It would be nice to drink some Gatorade and sit on the sideline laughing and giggling and enjoying the second half. That just doesn’t seem to happen.“

On Wake’s receiver situation

“What’s different this year is that this receiving corps is by far the fastest we’ve had since we’ve been at Wake Forest. ... The biggest problem with this group is in many cases, they haven’t been durable. That’s going to be a key.“

ACC becoming an offensive league?

“I hope it’s a little better for us. Our offense needs to be better. We put our defense in a lot of bad situations last year. Looking at it on paper, you should see some more offensive production out of teams in the league, but there’s still a lot of good defenders. It’s tough sledding out there.“

(NOTE—the power just shut off in the media room. Maybe they’re trying to give us a hint ...)

—Duke’s David Cutcliffe

On DT Vince Oghobaase’s return to Duke, and how Cutcliffe convinced him to forgo the NFL Draft for a year

“The smile on my face was huge. It was an area we lacked depth in with Vince. Without him, we’d be in trouble. We flew out to Houston to see his family. I’m not a guy who gives advice unless I’m asked for it. But I wanted to (Oghobaase’s family) to seek the right place to find the right information. A lot of times, agents and friends will have agendas. They did a great job in researching it and found the right answer for them. And the right answer for us, too. (Laughs.)“

On having the same coaching staff back for a second straight year

“That’s something that hasn’t happened at Duke for at least 20 years. I don’t mind losing coaches when guys get head jobs or make a decision to go to the NFL. This carnival, I don’t like it. But our coaches really like Duke, and they’ve found it’s a place they want to stay.“

On his recruiting philosophies

“I realize great players are easily identifiable. I’d love to see all of those five-star guys come to Duke, if they’re the right kind of people. But the three-star, the two-star guys, there’s not enough evaluation done on those guys. (Recruiting services) have no way to get thorough information on them. Guys go to combines and they fire up these numbers; this guy runs this; this guy sparks at that, whatever that means. But if I turn on the tape, and I don’t see him make a play, I’m not recruiting him. Good players make plays. That’s kind of our philosophy.“

—Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen

First off, it should be noted that “Fridge” is looking rather svelte these days, having dropped nearly 100 pounds.

On some of the things he teaches

“Perseverance is one of the most important things you learn in our football program. You’re not going to be successful in everything you do in life. Do you quit? It took me 32 years to get my first head coaching job. Do you know how many times I was told no? Keep working.“

On naming a coach-in-waiting: Assistant head coach James Franklin

Why do this, you’re not even close to retiring, one reporter asks. It’s not like you’re Bobby Bowden.

“Well, Bobby Bowden’s not coaching at Maryland. It’s tougher. You don’t have to go out and raise $500,000 a year (at Florida State). You need to plan a gala and a golf tournament every year at Maryland. And that gala is just like putting together a game plan. Everything has got to be just right.“

OK ... that’s all for today folks. Check out stories from Nathan and myself in the News & Advance tomorrow, with news and notes from the media day, along with a story by Nathan on Virginia Tech’s Greg Boone.