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Football 06/21/2021 13:57:00
Jim and Debbie Petrine’s gift honors family legacy on the square outside the weight room Links to history BLACKSBURG Longtime Virginia Tech Athletics and Hokie Club benefactors Jim and Debbie Petrine have made another substantial gift to Tech for help recognize all the families who have sent multiple members to play football for the Hokies.
Plaques acknowledging that football is a family at Virginia Tech have been installed in the Petrine Plaza located outside the football strength and conditioning complex. The 33 families who sent multiple siblings to play football for the Hokies have license plates installed, as do the 26 fathers who had one or more children follow their footballing path in Blacksburg. In addition, several uncle-nephew relationships are commemorated with plaques on the Petrine Square.
“We both enjoyed seeing so many of these families proudly represent Virginia Tech over the years,” the Petrines said. “While many of these families are household names among Hokie Nation, we wanted to find a way to permanently recognize all the football family relationships that have been so prevalent within the program. We couldn’t be happier with the look and feel. of the project. We hope that all these families can come to Petrine Plaza and share many good memories of their time playing at Virginia Tech. And of course, we look forward to many more young people following in the footsteps of their fathers, brothers and uncles in the years to come. Many football programs claim to have a family atmosphere; Virginia Tech is a reality. Go Hokies! “
Petrine Plaza documents the legacy of family members following their relatives to play football at Tech which dates back to the late 1950s when Joe Moss wrote for the Hokies. He would send his sons Andrew and Billy to play in Blacksburg in the 1990s. During the 1960s, Tech scholars Ken Barefoot, Frank Beamer, Ken Edwards, Scott Hawkins, and Lenny Smith all played at Lane Stadium and would later see one or more of their children do the same.
More recently, a couple of Tech football families have made their alma mater proud by achieving several notable firsts. Fuller siblings Vinnie, Kyle, Corey, and Kendall became the first four siblings to all play for the same college and all be selected in the NFL Draft. In 2018, Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds also made history, becoming the first pair of siblings to be chosen in the first round of the same NFL Draft. Their path to Blacksburg was paved by their older brother, Trey, who like his younger siblings is also on an NFL roster headed for the 2021 season.
The family tradition of the brothers following the brothers in Blacksburg is also alive and well on Tech’s 2021 roster under the direction of coach Justin Fuente. Current TE Nick Gallo is Eric’s younger brother, who wrote from 2014-17, while DB Jalen Stroman is the younger brother of current Washington NFL DB Greg Stroman (letter 2014-17).
Additionally, two sets of siblings are currently on the Tech roster. Junior LB Dax Hollifield paved the way for TE freshman Jack Hollifield to join the Hokies. Meanwhile, twin brothers Jayden McDonald and Jorden McDonald are preparing on campus for their first season at Virginia Tech.
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