Kyle Swanson / SPPSTyrod Taylor rushing for a 23 yard gain aganist No. 2 LSU.
He didn't have the luxury of debuting against a schedule padding bottom feeder at home. Instead he was thrown into the mix at Tiger Stadium, nicknamed "Death Valley" for its reputation as a place where opponents come to perish.
With the most people ever watching a Tech football game (and LSU home game for that matter), he didn't do too bad for a kid who graduated high school just four months ago.
He wasn't mind-blowingly spectacular, but he showed aptitude, leading Tech down the field with his 23 yard scamper, and thinking on his feet with an underhand shovel pass to junior tailback Branden Ore that gained another 19 yards. That drive resulted in the Hokies sole score of the night.
Watching him warm up on the sidelines, I was never concerned that he would lose his composure, leaving head coach Frank Beamer to answer as to why he let a prize prospect be subject to the irreversible psychological damage that could come along with playing a ferocious defense in one of college football's most intimidating environments.
I didn't worry because a couple years earlier I had seen all I needed to see that this was a kid who had it.
"It" being the moxie and cojones to carry a team on his back in times when the stakes are the greatest and everyone's watching.
Home on break during the fall of my freshman year, I decided to catch the Hampton High School-Phoebus High School playoff game on a Saturday afternoon, mostly to see what all the hype was about regarding Hampton's Tyrod Taylor, who was a junior at the time and uncommitted to a college.
Over 10,000 people were expected to fill the stands and the local paper had dedicated a full spread to the game.
A little background on those two schools would probably help explain why the game was so big and it was such a good indication of Taylor's makeup.
Phoebus has won three of the six last Virginia AAA titles. Xavier Adibi and D.J. Parker, current Tech starters, and Elan Lewis (out with an ACL injury) are among its recent alumni.
Hampton is the holder of 17 state titles and where Ronald Curry destroyed countless opponents with his arm and legs on the way to being named the National Player of the Year by nearly every major publication his senior year in 1998.
Phoebus was undefeated coming into the game, and Hampton's lone blemish was at the hands of Phoebus, losing 12-6 during the regular season.
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