BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer says he’s ready to get started and feeling great. The Hokies’ coach opened his 29th spring practice Tuesday, not quite four months after throat surgery forced him to step back from many of his duties and let his staff handle the football operations. Beamer, 68, had surgery Dec. 6. He did not provide any details about what prompted the surgery, saying only that he’d had “some work in there on my tonsils.” He missed most of the Hokies’ preparation for the Military Bowl and coached from the press box. His son Shane, the associate head coach and running backs coach, along with Beamer’s other assistants, guided the Hokies on the sideline. The game was played Dec. 27 and Virginia Tech beat Cincinnati 33-17.
