Tough road to playing time for Painter

It's easy to spot Vinston Painter among Virginia Tech's defensive linemen. He's the 6-5, 315-pound guy with arms that look as if they could cause irreparable damage to the human body. It's harder to remember that Painter is just an 18-year-old freshman.

Painter, a tackle, looks ready to contribute. He's bigger than both of Tech's starting tackles, John Graves and Cordarrow Thompson. In preseason testing, Painter bench pressed 410 pounds -- tied for third-best on the team. Defensive line coach Charley Wiles said Painter runs as well as or better than some of the tackles who will play this season.

But, "Can we get Vins ready to play for us this year defensively?" Wiles said. "It's going to be hard. If we'd have had Vins in the spring, then we could have had him ready to play."

Tech recruited Painter as an offensive tackle, but he asked to try defense when he arrived. Wiles said the move is not "an experiment," though he knows there's still a chance Painter eventually could end up on offense.

Wiles said it will be hard for Painter, listed as a fourth-stringer, to get enough reps in practice to prepare him for game action.

"And then there are so many unknowns right now on whether or not he's instinctive enough," Wiles said. "Is he going to play fast enough? He certainly can run well enough. But will he play that way?"

Ore announcement to come Tuesday

West Liberty (W.Va.) State College will make an announcement at noon Tuesday regarding the status of former Tech running back Branden Ore. School spokesman Steve Cohen declined to elaborate yesterday on the nature of the announcement.

Ore, who was kicked off Tech's team after last season, has been trying to gain admission to Division II West Liberty so he can play there for his final season of eligibility. He is Tech's fifth all-time leading rusher.

Coale was almost a Cavalier

There's at least one thing that makes redshirt freshman Danny Coale stand out among Tech's receivers -- and among most receivers in the country, period. He almost played college lacrosse.

Virginia offered him a scholarship when he attended Episcopal High, a private boarding school in Alexandria that has a strong lacrosse program. Coale's older brother Kevin plays lacrosse at Virginia and will be a senior next spring.

"Through time, I realized that's his thing and my passion is here," Coale said. "Tough decision for sure. I definitely miss it, but I'm glad I'm here."

Scrimmages open to the public

For the second consecutive year, fans will be allowed to attend Tech's preseason scrimmages at Lane Stadium. The scrimmages are Aug. 12, 16 and 22, and are scheduled to run from 3:15 to 5:30 p.m. The final scrimmage, Aug. 23, is closed. Last year was the first time any scrimmages were open to the public. -- Darryl Slater