BLACKSBURG -- Torrian Gray had waited weeks for Brandon Flowers to think about his football future, and in the hours before last Thursday's Orange Bowl, Gray finally asked Flowers whether he was going to leave Virginia Tech early for the NFL. Flowers said yes -- the answer Gray expected.

"I'd have been more shocked if he had come back," Gray, Tech's second-year defensive-backs coach, said yesterday.

Flowers, a junior cornerback, was projected as a second-round pick by the NFL's committee that advises underclassmen on where they might be selected. One of the nation's top corners, he was a two-year starter and finishes his Tech career with 158 tackles, 17 for a loss, and 10 interceptions, including two he returned for touchdowns.

Gray might also have to worry about replacing his other starting corner. He said Victor "Macho" Harris, a junior from Highland Springs High, told him upon returning from the Orange Bowl that he is "50-50" as to whether he will leave early for the NFL. Gray said the NFL committee estimated Harris would be a third-round pick.

"I would say he'd better position himself by coming back another year," Gray said, echoing the advice he gave Harris.

Flowers also could have improved by returning, Gray said, but he is closer to his peak as a player. He excelled this season by pressing receivers less often than last season, trusting himself to give them space so he could jump on passes and pick them off.

He had five interceptions, two more than last year. Three of Flowers' five picks occurred in man-to-man coverage, "which is unheard of," Gray said, because 90 percent of a corner's interceptions come in zone coverage.

Flowers, who turns 22 next month, attended Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham in 2003 after graduating from Atlantic High in Delray Beach, Fla. He redshirted his first season at Tech after breaking his right leg. He was a third-team Associated Press All-American last year and a first-team American Football Coaches Association All-American this season.

His talent was so apparent to Gray, himself a former second-round pick, that the coach said during the middle of the season that Flowers was ready to turn pro. The last Tech players to leave school a year early for the NFL were running back Kevin Jones and cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who both left after the 2003 season.

Flowers did not return a telephone message.

The leading candidate to replace him at the boundary corner spot is rising sophomore Rashad Carmichael, who backed up Harris this season. Also in the mix are rising junior Stephan Virgil, whom Gray said is just slightly behind Carmichael, and Cris Hill, a Highland Springs graduate who redshirted this season, his first in Blacksburg.

"Physically, he wasn't ready to play," Gray said. "Athletically, he's got great tools. Mentally, he still had a lot as far as learning the position. That kind of made it easy as far as not playing him this year."

Gray would consider using a rotation at the boundary position, which is emblematic in its inexperience of Tech's defense, which must replace seven of 11 starters for next season. The returning starters are whip linebacker Cam Martin, rover Kam Chancellor, defensive end Orion Martin and, for now, Harris.

Gray knows Harris is capable of playing in the NFL but still sees areas in which he could improve. "I think Macho is in a position where he can really better himself a whole lot by coming back," he said.

A two-year starter at the field corner spot, Harris was a first-team all-ACC selection this season. He had 36 tackles, broke up 11 passes and intercepted five. He has nine career interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He returned five punts and six kickoffs this season, including one kickoff for a touchdown.

Harris, who turns 22 next month, did not redshirt his freshman year after being a Parade All-American at Highland Springs. He told Gray that he had to discuss his decision with his family as the deadline to declare looms. "Got to hear something from him soon," Gray said.

Harris' father, also named Victor, did not return a telephone message.