Here’s the story I wrote for tomorrow’s News & Advance and Danville Register & Bee. It won’t be the last story I write on these two players.

By NATHAN WARTERS

(434) 385-5540

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Their Virginia Tech careers were only one practice old, and freshmen phenoms Logan Thomas and David Wilson already had a line of reporters waiting to talk to them.

That doesn’t usually happen to players who aren’t in a team’s immediate plans.

No, the excitement is palpable in Blacksburg. The Hokies are already gaining respect as a national championship contender. And if Tech’s first practice Thursday was any indication, Thomas and Wilson could factor into the team’s plans this season.

Both came away feeling good about their first days, and they were pressed into recounting the details afterward with television cameras and notebooks in their faces.

“It was good. I grasped some of the stuff and some of the stuff was completely new to me,” said Thomas, who was touted as one of the top multi-purpose recruits in the country last year coming out of Brookville High. “It’s going to take a little while to get used to, but hopefully I’ll adjust with all the film sessions and practice.”

Wilson said he was in his element from the start. It took him a short time, though, to get used to the thought of being a college player for one of the top program’s in the country.

“Actually, it didn’t hit me until I put on the jersey. I grabbed the jersey and walked out on the (practice) field with my helmet with the rest of the players and I saw the big Hokies sign (on the back of Lane Stadium’s scoreboard) and realized I was actually on the team,” said Wilson, who was rated the No. 4 running back recruit in the nation last season coming out of George Washington High.

The 6-foot-6, 233-pound Thomas spent his entire first practice sharing snaps at quarterback with starter Tyrod Taylor, backup Ju-Ju Clayton, Will Cole and Jeff Beyer. He played out of the shotgun, practiced three step drops, practiced handoffs and threw some screen passes, slants and takeoffs.

It wasn’t exactly rocket science – and as of Thursday evening he hadn’t even seen the Hokies playbook – but Thomas was happy nonetheless.

“I was way more accurate than I thought I’d be,” said Thomas, who spent more time catching passes this offseason than throwing them. “I was pretty happy with my throwing out there.”

The mystery all summer, even to Thomas, was what position he’d play to start the preseason. He first heard he’d start out at wide receiver. Then he heard tight end. Then quarterback. He found out officially on Monday.

“I wasn’t really preparing to come in here and play one position. I was trying to be prepared to come in and play multiple positions, so once they told me (I was playing quarterback), I just got it in my mind that quarterback was the way to go and I had to get myself ready for that,” said Thomas, who completed 58 percent of his passes for 1,535 yards and 20 touchdowns last season at Brookville.

Thomas isn’t a lock to stay at quarterback. He has been projected anywhere from tight end to wide receiver to H-back, but for now he is able to get a better grasp of the offense at a position that requires complete mastery of the playbook.

In fact, that’s one of the reasons the Hokies started him out at quarterback.

“I think he’s a guy who can do a lot,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said after practice. “I think he’s got a good throwing motion. I think he’s an accurate guy, and I thought this when I watched him in high school. I think he’s a guy that’s very gifted. He can do a lot of things, and one of them, I think, is play quarterback. I’m interested to see how he picks it up here in the next few days.”

Thomas said he’s ready to absorb as much of the playbook as possible. He’s willing to do anything to get on the field this season.

“I want to play. I don’t want to sit at all,” he said. “That’s not the type of person I’ve been, but if I have to, I guess I have no other choice.”

Unlike Thomas, there was no question where the 5-10, 200-pound Wilson would start his collegiate career. He was one of the top ranked tailbacks in the country last season at GW, and he just came off an impressive showing last month for the U.S. junior national team.

He showed some nifty moves Thursday, though he was mostly maneuvering around photographers, cameramen and coaches and not 300-pound defensive tackles.

Beamer’s first impression? “I saw a burst right up the pipe,” the coach said. “It doesn’t take him long to get back to the line of scrimmage.”

Wilson thinks there are enough carries to go around this season among he, Darren Evans, Ryan Williams and Josh Oglesby.

“Not to sound cocky or anything, but I feel we all can contribute and we all have something different to bring to the backfield,” Wilson said. “Ryan is kind of a shifty guy. Me with the speed and Evans with his power. Combine all those and you can’t lose.”

He too is trying to make his case to get on the field this season.

“I’ve been playing football since I was 8, and I can’t imagine missing a year, so I’ll do everything I can to make sure I get on the field,” Wilson said, who also practiced fielding punts during Thursday’s practice.

While Thomas and Wilson are both vocal in their desire to play this season, the decision isn’t theirs to ultimately make. Tech’s coaching staff will surely take the opinions of the players and their families into consideration, but if it feels like they’re better off sitting out this season, that’s what will happen.

The coaches won’t wait long to make the decision.

“After two or three or four practices, you’ve kind of got to make some determinations, and you can’t got a long time, because all of a sudden you go two weeks and (if) you redshirt them, that’s reps that somebody else could have had,” Beamer said.

“It’s so hard. If you say you’re going to play them, part of that is under the assumption that the guy is going to keep progressing, and that’s hard to say sometimes, too. It’s hard, but I think the good part is you’ve got some kids that you’ve got to make a decision on.”

From here on out, the onus is on Thomas and Wilson to prove to Tech’s coaches that they won’t be easy to live without.