BRISTOL, TN (WSLS 10 SPORTS) - The Bristol Motor Speedway wasn't used for stars and cars on Saturday night, but it did come with its fair share of famous Hokies. Frank Beamer has been out of the spotlight since his retirement but the legendary head coach made sure to make an appearance for the biggest game in history, and admits he misses the competition.
"It's different, you miss the players, you miss the game, you miss the competition, but I think more in terms of how fortunate I was to be in a place I love for 29 years," said Beamer.
Also recently retired Peyton Manning made his visit to Bristol to take part in the corn flip along with Hokie Hall of Famer Bruce Smith. Michael Vick returned to cheer on his former team as well as some players who were a big part of "DBU" came to support the current players, Redskins DeAngelo Hall and Kendall Fuller. As he prepares for his first game in the national football league, Fuller is on the outside looking, and though he wasn't playing on college football's biggest stage, he understood how they felt.
"I always catch up a couple of the babies figure out what they might be doing this week game plan things like that just always wishing them good luck telling them to have fun," Fuller said.
In the end Tennessee's stars on the field shined brighter than Virginia Tech's did, taking the 45-24 win.