I'm not a Metallica fan, but I have always respected Virginia Tech's (usually successful) effort the last few years to blow the traditional, peppy field entrance into smithereens with the country's most hardcore kickoff:

Nothing says "impending doom" like 65,000 people screaming for blood at the top of their lungs over thumping heavy metal lyrics about uncontrollable night terrors, sure. But somehow I sense that, once you decide to prominently feature the punter in the routine, you're somewhat diminishing the intimidation factor:

Virginia Tech punter Brent Bowden is a rock star. Kind of.

Well, let's put it this way -- Bowden is good enough at the guitar to entertain the thousands of fans who will be packed into Lane Stadium on Thursday night for Virginia Tech’s game against North Carolina with his own version of Metallica's "Enter Sandman."

Bowden recorded his version of the song and taped a video of himself playing it last week. It will be spliced in with the usual entrance video.

Bowden is "kind of" a rock star in that he plays in his spare time -- you can listen to some of his original recordings here or click here to watch him shred and face off with a friend in "Guitar Hero" last year. It was not filmed in front of 65,000 people.

In fact, Bowden admitted to the student paper last week, before his that he'd be pretty nervous if thrust in front of Lane Stadium; if you want to spot him coming out of the tunnel against the Tar Heels, look for the guy in the back dry-heaving. But if his straightforward demo of the intro to "Enter Sandman" is any indication, he'll probably make it out alright.