Hokie ClubTwo of the brightest stars in Virginia Tech football history – center Jake Grove and tailback Lee Suggs – were inducted into Virginia Tech’s Sports Hall of Fame this past weekend in Blacksburg.
Grove was a unanimous All-American and the 2003 winner of the Rimington Trophy, presented to the nation’s top collegiate center. Following the 2003 season, he was named a first-team All-American on all five of the major teams, becoming just the third unanimous All-American in school history. After graduation, Grove was the second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders. He played six full seasons in the NFL – five with Oakland and one with the Miami Dolphins. Despite nagging knee and shoulder injuries, he started 56 of his 66 games in the NFL.
Suggs rushed for 1,207 yards and led Division I-A in scoring during the 2000 season. His 27 rushing touchdowns and 28 total touchdowns that season are still all-time school single-season marks, as is his 168 total points that same season. He was named the co-BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous pick for first-team All-BIG EAST after setting six conference records.
In 2001, Suggs tore his ACL in the season opener against Connecticut, but bounced back strong with a personal-best 1,325 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns in 2002. He scored touchdowns in all 14 games, setting an NCAA Division I-A season record for most games scoring a TD, a mark he still shares. During his Tech career, Suggs set the NCAA record by scoring at least one touchdown in 27 consecutive games. He still holds Tech’s record for total touchdowns (56), stands second in career points (336) and is sixth in career rushing (2,767).
I had the chance to visit with Grove and Suggs this past weekend during their visit to Blacksburg for their induction.
Bill: Guys, congratulations to both of you. What does this honor mean to you?
Jake: “I’ve been given a lot of awards over the years, but this one is special because the people who worked with me and who helped make this happen are here. It means a lot. These people saw how I prepared and that I was passionate and that I cared. And they cared about me.”
Lee: “It’s been great to be back. I’ve gotten to see a lot of my teammates and people who I haven’t seen in years, so it’s a very special time. For me, to be from Roanoke and to go to school just up the street at Tech, it’s a very special honor.”
Jake: “It’s kind of ironic that it rained here on Hall of Fame weekend for the BC game because, when I was a kid, I could only come to Tech games when my rec league game would be rained out. I was 8 years old for my first game at Lane Stadium. It was against Bowling Green, and it was raining. My dad and I were talking about that, that it was all wet, just like the first game he brought me to.”
Bill: Jake, do you remember when you first arrived on campus here as a player? Did you think you’d ever be in the Tech Hall of Fame?
Jake: “Ha, the first thing I thought about was ‘did I belong?’ That Coach Beamer took a chance on me because, to be honest, I didn’t think I could play. I mean, I didn’t know if I could. I just wanted to show him that it was worth his time offering me a scholarship. Even if I couldn’t play, I was going to at least work hard.”
Bill: You didn’t have very many offers coming out of high school, did you?
Jake: “I had a partial offer to VMI and a full scholarship to Virginia Tech. That was it. Coach Beamer and Coach [Rickey] Bustle came to my high school to look at someone else. Then two weeks later, Coach Bustle called and said they were offering me a scholarship.”
Bill: A lot of schools missed on you, Jake.
Jake: “Well, once I got here, Coach [Bryan] Stinespring and Coach [Mike] Gentry made it happen. Coach Gentry was very instrumental in making me what I am. The thing I always remember was that Coach Gentry didn’t care if you were good or not. All he cared about was that you would work hard. I wanted to do well for him. He measures you through your effort, and I always felt that the one thing I could control each and every day was my effort.”
Bill: You turned out to be more than good – one of the best players in Virginia Tech history and one of the best centers in college football history. Was there a point during your career that the light went on; when you knew you’d be a good player?
Jake: “Well, (pauses) I remember this: In 2000, we were playing at Miami, and it was really hot down there. I had to block two guys on one play – Damione Lewis the defensive tackle and Dan Morgan the middle linebacker. They were the best of the best, great college players who were both good NFL players, too. We had a third-and-5 and ran a zone play. I knocked down Lewis and then hit Morgan so hard that I about knocked myself out. We got the first down and I said to myself, ‘If I can block those two guys, I can block anyone.’”
Bill: Lee, how about you? Do you remember your first big game?
Lee: “Well, I was really excited for the Georgia Tech game in 2000, but then it got cancelled because of weather. We went down to East Carolina a couple weeks later, and I had a big night in my first real prime-time game. I remember getting a lot of confidence that night at East Carolina. But the real big game was Pitt. We were losing, and Mike [Vick] got knocked out of the game. Coach [Billy] Hite came into the locker room at halftime and challenged us. He told us that one of us had to step up because Mike was out for the game, and we were going to have to run the ball in the second half. I knew it would be me. I knew I would be the guy (he rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns as the then-No. 2 Hokies rallied to beat Pittsburgh).”
Bill: UConn.
Lee: “Oh man. Every time I see UConn play in any sport, I think about that play.”
Bill: That play occurred during the 2001 season opener. Early in the second half, you took the handoff, ran down the left sideline and then … disaster.
Lee: “It was a zone play. I got through the line and went left. I got to the second level and saw the safety. He had a bad angle on me, and he was going too fast. He was going to over-run the play. I was going to cut back, and if I got by him, I was going to score. No doubt, I was going to score. But I planted my leg and went down, and there was this sharp, burning, shooting pain in my knee, most painful thing ever. I got up and walked off the field, and the trainers looked at my knee. They didn’t tell me anything, but I could tell by their faces that it wasn’t good.”
Bill: You had torn your ACL. You were lost for the season after opening day on 2001.
Lee: “It was hard. I didn’t want to watch football after that, wanted nothing to do with it any more. But Mike Goforth [associate AD for sports medicine] and Keith Doolan [senior director of sports medicine] worked with me. They kept me going every day at 8 a.m., rehabbing and coming back. I lost a little speed, but the knee was stronger than ever.”
Bill: We have a young man on our team now, Shai McKenzie, who tore his ACL this year for the second time. He’s working with Mike and Keith now.
Lee: “And he’ll be back, too. The technology now is so much better than it was for me. He’s in great hands.”
Bill: “Jake, you saw Lee come back from that knee injury. What did you think as his teammate?
Jake: “Lee worked so hard to come back. He never once said a negative word. Not once. It was amazing to watch him recover from that and then set all those records in 2002. He was never a guy who talked a lot, but he was a quiet leader who led by example and delivered every game. I mean every game.”
Bill: Lee, you scored at least one touchdown in every game when you came back – all 14 games and an NCAA-record 27 straight games overall – after the ACL injury. Yet in your Hall of Fame speech, you gave the credit to the doctors and trainers, and to Jake, André Davis and Jarrett Ferguson.
Lee: “How could you not want to run behind Jake Grove? I mean, look at him! And André Davis would stretch the defense. And Jarrett just led the way into the end zone. Really, I just followed my fullback. Running the ball depends on so many things. I was just lucky to have a lot of great teammates.”
Bill: You guys share this wonderful trait called humility that is special. You’re so very genuine as well, and that’s one reason why you were so popular as players here. Tell us what you’re doing now.
Jake: “I’m coaching my high school football team with my old high school coach, and that keeps me busy. Plus, raising my two little girls. I live with my wife on our 260-acre farm in Forest.”
Lee: “I’m working for United Social Sports in Washington, D.C. We have 100,000 participants in adult leagues in the metro-D.C. area in sports from kickboxing to softball.”
Both Grove and Suggs spent much of the weekend talking about their families and their coaches and teammates. They were special players who earned their degrees, were named All-Americans, and had NFL careers. Now, they’re both parents of beautiful kids and raising families. These two guys were Hall of Fame players and Hall of Fame people even before they were elected into the Tech Sports Hall of Fame. They have worked so hard and certainly earned their well-deserved place in Tech immortality.
Congrats, guys.
Bill,
In your opinion, what’s the best team Virginia Tech has played in our lifetimes (we are both 29)? Your answer is critical because a beer is on the line! Scott and Mike, Richmond.
Hi Scott & Mike,
With there being a frosty, cold one at stake here, I appreciate the enormity of this response. From my perspective in the booth, the best teams the Hokies have played are:
No. 1: the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. This has always been my ‘go-to’ answer for this question. That Miami team that played at Lane Stadium featured a staggering 17 future first-round NFL draft picks and included Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis, Andre Johnson, Jeremy Shockey, Bryant McKinnie, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow, D.J. Williams, Frank Gore, Jonathon Vilma and dozens of others. In fact – and read this next line closely – 38 Miami players from that 2001 team were selected in the NFL Draft. And players from that team have been terrific NFL players, too, totaling 43 NFL Pro Bowl appearances (and counting) as of 2014. Miami won the BCS title that year by crushing Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. In fact, the ’Canes’ only close game was a 26-24 escape at Lane Stadium.
As a side note, both DeAngelo Hall and Kevin Jones played in that game for the Hokies, meaning between the two teams, 19 eventual first-round NFL picks played in that game, a Lane Stadium record.
No. 2: the 2004 USC Trojans. Pete Carroll’s Trojans started the year No. 1 and finished No. 1 after crushing Oklahoma 55-19 in the BCS title game. The team featured a ton of NFL talent and two future Heisman Trophy winners, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. USC beat Tech 24-13 at FedEx Field.
No. 3: the 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide. Nick Saban’s team finished 14-0, including six wins over ranked teams. In fact, Alabama finished 4-0 that season against teams in the top-10, including wins over No. 1 Florida (SEC title game) and No. 2 Texas (BCS title game). The team featured Heisman Trophy winning tailback Mark Ingram. Alabama beat No. 7 Virginia Tech 34-24 at the Georgia Dome.
No. 4: the 1999 Florida State Seminoles. Coach Bobby Bowden’s team ran the table that season. Led by quarterback Chris Weinke, that year’s Heisman Trophy winner, and receiver Peter Warrick, the ’Noles were No. 1 wire-to-wire and beat the Hokies in the BCS Championship Game at the Sugar Bowl.