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Virginia Tech begins emotional season vs. East Carolina

Sep 1, 2007 - 12:08 PM East Carolina at No. 9 Virginia Tech 12:00 pm EDT

BLACKSBURG, Virginia (Ticker) -- At long last, the Virginia Tech football team can help distract their grieving fans.

The ninth-ranked Hokies will take the field for the first time since a campus tragedy when they open their 2007 season against East Carolina on Saturday.

On April 16, a Virginia Tech student murdered 32 classmates and faculty members before taking his own life. It was the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history.

"It may be for a sad reason, but everyone seems to be pulling for us," Hokies left tackle Duane Brown said. "In a way, I think we'll kind of be America's team. People who don't even follow Virginia Tech tell me, 'I'll be rooting for you.'"

The Hokies went 10-3 last season, including 6-2 to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division.

Virginia Tech returns eight starters on both offense and defense, including star fifth-year senior linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi, who helped the team lead the nation in scoring defense in 2006.

East Carolina also came in second in its division, going 5-3 in the Conference USA East, and finished 7-6 overall.

Entering their third season under coach Skip Holtz, the Pirates have a new quarterback in sophomore Rob Kass, who is taking over for James Pinkneyk, a nearly 2,800-yard passer last year.

Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 8-4.