In the furor that followed Marcus Vick's dismissal from the Hokie football team back in January, we were asked not to write anything more about Marcus ... as in, ever again. But in watching the news reports of Marcus' presence at the NFL Combine, he's an intriguing case to watch. I don't find myself rooting for him either way, to succeed or fail, I just find it interesting to watch the reactions to him.

News about Marcus at the Combine falls into three groups:

• Quotes from (and reaction to) his media interview session shortly after arriving in Indianapolis
• The times he ran in drills
• Reports that he failed to appear properly contrite in interviews with NFL team representatives

Vick's first task after arriving at the Combine was to face a gaggle of reporters who had plenty of questions for him about his character. He appears to have done a good job in that interview session, in which he said things like "I'm not [a bad guy, or a villain]. I wasn't raised that way. Anybody that really knows me knows that" and he blamed his trials and tribulations on "Just poor decisions. Basically, poor decisions. That's the most important thing to me right now, just making the correct decisions when no one's watching."

The reaction from the press was a little skeptical, but mostly positive and forgiving. ESPN.com's Michael Smith wrote last Saturday:

How are teams, such as the Eagles and Packers, both of whom had spoken to Vick prior to his meeting with the media, supposed to believe he won't make the same mistakes again?

For starters, he can present himself as sincere and genuinely remorseful as he did when reporters confronted him about his issues. Tell you what: If it was a show, then the younger Vick is a better actor than he is a quarterback. He came off as exactly what people who know him well says he is: a good kid who thanks his brother, became a millionaire himself at 18 and who's made a few mistakes that have been magnified because of his last name.

Bill Wolverton of the Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star went one better than Smith, writing:

Here's the read: The Bears should take Vick in the first round of April's draft. He's a better quarterback than his brother, Michael, and he was undeniably believable here.

Wolverton added, quite forgivingly:

Here's the other thing about Vick: None of his arrests have been for violent crimes. The Gator Bowl situation was sad, sure, but he did that to a player who spent the game taking aim at his knees.

Having impressed the press, Vick set about the drills, and as you can imagine, grouped with the quarterbacks, he was impressive there, as well. He is fast, after all. Vick ran the second-fastest 40 time with a 4.42, second to Reggie McNeal's (Texas A&M) 4.35. Vick posted the third-best vertical jump at 36 inches and put up the fastest short shuttle at 4.08 seconds, one of the best times in the combine across all positions.

But then came the interviews with team reps, and while no one has been quoted directly on Vick's performance there, a number of Combine reporters, including Todd McShay of Scouts, Inc. (writing on ESPN.com) have noted unnamed sources who said that Vick came across as "smug and arrogant" in his team interviews. McShay said ominously that "a number of scouts" told him that they had taken Vick off their draft boards.

Marcus apparently went 2-and-1 over the weekend. He impressed reporters and stop watches, but not the team reps. McShay's comments, while they make for juicy copy, probably don't paint the whole picture, though. And as any player who has been through the draft process will tell you, it doesn't matter if 95% of the teams don't like you. All it takes is one who does, and you're in.

In the four years since he took over as offensive coordinator (OC), critics of Bryan Stinespring have asked one question over and over: with his responsibilities as OC, offensive line coach, and key recruiter, was too much heaped on Stinespring's plate, compromising his ability to do any one of his jobs well?

That question will never be answered, but in the wake of the recent changes to Virginia Tech's football staff, it appears at first glance that some of "Stiney's" responsibilities have been reduced. And a lot of them have been passed to new hire Curt Newsome.

Newsome's credentials as an OL coach and a top recruiter in the Tidewater area have been trumpeted as the reasons for his hiring at Virginia Tech, and Newsome has been handed the offensive line coaching duties. Stinespring will now coach tight ends. For those of you counting at home, that's fewer players.

On game day, the OL coach will now be on the field with his big uglies, unlike the last four seasons, when Stinespring was in the booth, and Danny Pearman would handle the OL during games.

As far as recruiting goes, Newsome will now team up with Jim Cavanaugh and cover the fertile recruiting ground of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. Stinespring will no longer recruit in those areas, where he has had great success throughout his career, and will instead recruit Danville, Martinsville, Roanoke, Lynchburg, and Hargrave Military Academy.

In commenting on Stinespring's new recruiting territory on BeamerBall.com, recruiting coordinator Jim Cavanaugh had a very interesting quote. He said that Stinespring's new areas will enable him to make "day trips," and he referenced wanting to keep the offensive coordinator "as close to Blacksburg as we can."

To me, the changes in coaching responsibilities and recruiting territories all seem to add up to shifting Stinespring's focus more towards coordinating the offense, and not overloading him with other responsibilities. If that's the case, we now know why Curt Newsome was deemed such an important hire.