Hokies' Ore temporarily third-string
BLACKSBURG - Branden Ore has been back on Virginia Tech's campus only two days, and he's already lost his starting tailback job.
No need to panic, though. His demotion appears to be only temporary.
Branden Ore, a 5-foot-11, 207-pound junior, missed all of the Hokies' summer conditioning work and was slightly out of shape when the team reported to fall practice Wednesday. As a result, Tech coach Frank Beamer dropped him to third on the depth chart, behind sophomore Kenny Lewis Jr. and former scout team player Dustin Pickle.
How long it might take for Branden Ore to reclaim the top spot is anybody's guess.
"Right now, I've just got to bust my tail out here and get back where I need to be," said Branden Ore, who stayed in his hometown of Chesapeake all summer long. "It's just a matter of time. ... I would say by the end of next week, I'll be right where I need to be."
Beamer was impressed by how much work Lewis and Pickle put in during the offseason. While they appear fit and ready to play, Beamer thought Branden Ore's conditioning could use some work.
Branden Ore didn't appear overweight. He might be a step slower, however, from where he was last season when he rushed for 1,137 yards and 16 touchdowns.
"We put a high premium on how you come back condition-wise, not only for Branden but for all of our football team," Beamer said after his team's first fall practice Thursday. "If somebody worked hard, we want to give him an opportunity to get his playing time."
Branden Ore, a first-team all-ACC preseason pick, could have avoided all of this if he had stayed in Blacksburg over the summer, but some unforeseen circumstances kept him from working out with his teammates.
He was planning on reporting for the second summer school session, but he said there was a death in the family of one of his closest friends and he wanted to be there to support the friend.
"I set up funeral arrangements and took care of his living arrangements. ... It was just him and his grandmother, and she passed. Now it's just him," Branden Ore said.
Branden Ore said he was still able to work out regularly while he was at home.
"I wouldn't say I'm out of shape. I'm in shape. I'm just not in the same kind of shape as these guys," he said. "The guys that have been here all summer, there's no way I can be in the same shape as those guys."
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