Last summer I went down to Va. Tech to do a Michael Vick story. The Hokie media relations staff got me interviews with Mike, the Tech coaches and some of his buddies on the team. They were all pretty helpful and fun to talk with, but by far one of the more entertaining people I've ever interviewed was Vick's best friend, CB Ronyell Whitaker. He was comical and a great story teller and just couldn't stop talking, which is something opposing receivers know all about. Whitaker is also one of the East's top cover men. Anyhow, I must admit, I was a bit saddened to hear that Ronyell was trying to cut back on the yapping this fall.

Now that Mississippi State's Fred Smoot is gone, Whitaker would've been the game's top trash-talker... if you care about such things. (And as someone who is a fan of LT, John Randle and Warren Sapp, I must admit I do.) And last Saturday against UConn, a more toned-down Ronyell got beat on a 44-yard pass and then got called for P.I. near the goal-line. He also missed a tackle on the UConn QB at the one-yard line to surrender a TD. It was probably the worst half of football in his career at Tech.

At halftime, coach Frank Beamer got on Whitaker -- told him to be himself and get hyped up. Good advice, because Whitaker put the clamps on Husky receivers the rest of the game, only allowing a reception on a short out route (after which he blasted the WR) and the Hokies rolled over the Huskies. I was happy to hear the old Ronyell is back...even if wide receivers aren't.

·Gotta love the way Fresno State QB David Carr torched a good Oregon State secondary on Sunday. He was throwing deep outs and zipping balls into places even most NFL QBs couldn't. He is waaaay better than anyone outside of Fresno ever was led to believe. That said, he is just one of the reasons to root for the Bulldogs. DT Alan Harper deserves all-American talk and CB Kendall Edwards showed he might be the most vicious hitter in college football. The 5'11", 185-pound soph was flying around banging Oregon State players like he was another Ronnie Lott.

Bruce Feldman covers college football for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.