Virginia Tech football: 10 Hokies who defined Bud Foster’s Lunch Pail players
By Josh Yourish
DE. John Engelberger. player. 447. Lunch Pail. . 7. John Engelberger. . 1996-99
John Engelberger perfectly embodied everything the lunch pail stood for. He was a former walk-on who became a star defensive end by the end of his four years in Blacksburg.
Engelberger finished his career at Virginia Tech with 26.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss. He was drafted in the second round of the 2000 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers and played in the league for nine seasons.
Bud Foster loved to take unheralded high school players like Engelberger and develop them into stars. Even as a star defensive end, Engelberger still kept his work ethic. As a senior, he won the Paul Torgersen Award which is given to the Hokie who constantly demonstrates a commitment to hard work and great effort on the field.