Tech wide receiver suspended following DUI arrest

By DARRYL SLATER
media general news service
Published: August 18, 2008

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech’s most uncertain position suffered another setback yesterday when projected starting wide receiver Zach Luckett was suspended indefinitely by coach Frank Beamer for violating team policy. The move could mean a redshirt freshman and true freshman will start at receiver when the Hokies open the season Aug. 30.

The press release announcing the suspension did not specify the violation, but Luckett, who turns 21 on Dec. 8, was arrested shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday in downtown Blacksburg for driving under the influence. It was Luckett’s second DUI charge in less than five years, Blacksburg police Sgt. Nathan O’Dell said. If Luckett is convicted, he would have to pay a mandatory $500 fine and serve 20 days to a year in jail.

Luckett was pulled over on the 200 block of Draper Road after Sgt. Gary Thomas watched him back his Mercury Mountaineer sport-utility vehicle into a dumpster in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven. Luckett drove away, turned right out of the parking lot onto Draper Road and was stopped less than a block later. Based on Luckett’s performance during field sobriety tests, Thomas brought him to the police station. Luckett’s blood-alcohol content was 0.16 percent – twice the legal limit – according to a breath analysis he was given at the station.

Luckett, a third-year sophomore from Mays Landing, N.J., also was charged with driving on a revoked license, which stemmed from his previous DUI arrest. That incident occurred somewhere in the state of Virginia, O’Dell said, but not in Montgomery County, according to court records. In June 2007, Luckett was charged with leaving the scene of an accident in Blacksburg, but that case was dismissed. In August 2006, just before his first season at Tech, he was charged with public urination in Blacksburg and paid a $25 fine.

Though Luckett had just two catches last year, he figured to play a prominent role when the Hokies begin their season against East Carolina in Charlotte, N.C. Tech’s coaches were hoping Luckett and redshirt freshman Danny Coale – their two likely starters – could replace at least some of the production they lost after last season when four senior receivers left. Luckett, 6-3 and 217 pounds, was one of Tech’s most physically blessed players. But position coach Kevin Sherman often said he wanted to see more consistency in Luckett’s performance.

Now, the receiver group will become even more inexperienced. True freshman Dyrell Roberts was listed behind Luckett on the depth chart. Roberts is learning the receiver position after playing mostly running back at Smithfield High. In Saturday’s scrimmage, he had three catches for 13 yards and returned a kickoff 55 yards.

True freshman Xavier Boyce is listed behind Roberts. Third-year junior Ike Whitaker is listed behind Coale. Whitaker, who moved from quarterback before last season, was the only receiver other than Luckett with a catch in college (Whitaker has three). True freshman Jarrett Boykin is listed behind Whitaker. Senior cornerback Victor Harris (Highland Springs High) also will play some receiver this season.

Luckett’s arrest is the latest blow, foreseen or otherwise, to Tech’s receivers. After last season, the Hokies lost seniors Eddie Royal, Justin Harper, Josh Morgan and Josh Hyman – who during their careers combined for 428 catches, 6,075 yards and 43 touchdowns. On July 1, projected starter Brandon Dillard, a fourth-year junior walk-on, suffered a season-ending injury to his Achilles tendon during player-organized passing drills on Tech’s practice field.