French on the Bench

As I wrote in my review of the running attack, I anticipate that most of the Virginia Tech rushing offense will come from inside and outside zone stretch plays to both the strong and weak side. Critical to the success of the stretch play is the ability to create seams in the back side pursuit of the defense for the tailback to cutback. Defensive ends and outside linebackers have success by crashing inside to fill those cutback lanes. The offensive chess match requires the base run plays to have counters built in that force those defenders to stay at home.

The best tool at Scot Loeffler's disposal for doing so is the basic bootleg play. The bootleg is a fake handoff with the quarterback turning his back to the line of scrimmage and then rolling away from the run action. The most used route combination for bootlegs has the receiver nearest to where the quarterback rolls, often the fullback or the H-Back away from the run action, run a short out route to the flat. The tight end or wide receiver on the run side drags against the grain of the defense mirroring the quarterback's rollout.

The most heavily scrutinized Virginia Tech player when the Hokies take the field against Alabama on August 31st will be quarterback Logan Thomas. Logan suffered through a debilitating 2012 campaign where he took a physical pounding, never fully established trust with his receivers outside of Corey Fuller, and completely lost the touch and accuracy that made him look like a bonafide first day NFL draft pick towards the end of the 2011 season. Scot Loeffler was tasked not only with re-establishing the Virginia Tech lunch pail mentality on the offensive side of the football, but also rebuilding Logan Thomas as a quarterback.

Those efforts produced mixed results in the spring. In two scrimmages, Thomas had some struggles in the face of a heavy pass rush and a limited playbook. In one scrimmage, he looked dynamite throwing deep skinny posts, fades, and bootlegs. The spring game, against the back up secondary and basic defenses, appeared to be a vehicle to give Logan a dominant performance and build confidence for the build up to the Tide.

Run the football. Those three words will define the 2013 Virginia Tech season. The Hokies will win if they can run the ball effectively over 30 times a game. Running the football will set up play action, and play action will give the Hokies the opportunity for big gains. Running the football will allow the defense to be aggressive on limited snaps, rather than being forced to stay on the field for long stretches. Running the football will lead to victories. I made the trek down interstate 81 for one reason. I wanted to see the Hokies run the football.

Perhaps for me, nothing was more disappointing than the inability of the offense to run the football against the second- and third-team defensive groupings. I didn't expect them to be a well-oiled machine. It requires strict adherence to simple blocking rules, but with that simplicity comes a feel that can only be developed through experience. What is the precise moment when you should peel off a down linemen to go to the second level? These things take time. Nevertheless, when your top five offensive linemen go against your 6th-12th best defensive linemen, you expect the top offensive line to win those battles. Why didn't it happen on Saturday?

We are now over two weeks into the new era of Virginia Tech football, and the changes in identity that we hoped to see are starting to take. At the same time, reading the comments here and on social media, there seems to be an some apprehension about the continued struggles to run the football, especially in the red zone. I have spent the last two weeks reviewing what little bit of film I have access to, reading commentary from the beat writers, posters here, and speaking on the phone with people who attended the scrimmage whose football acumen I respect. I want to share some of the observations I have had and perhaps touch on some things that have not received much ink over the last two weeks.

Unleashing Hell- The Bud Foster Defense

"I want this to be the toughest football team we've had here at Virginia Tech" — Frank Beamer

"What I'm worried about is developing the toughest line in the ACC" — Jeff Grimes

Before writing this column, I frequently lamented how Virginia Tech football lost the identity that lead the program's rise to prominence. Hokie football in the Frank Beamer era meant one thing: win or lose Tech's opponent left Lane Stadium bruised and battered. The program revolved around the Lunchpail ethos of outworking other teams on the field and in the weight room while being as physical as possible. Offensively, the scheme was antiquated, but the men who executed it left an impression in the chewed up turf, the sore chests, and backsides of their opponents. On a 3rd-and-3, you had confidence that your offense could get four yards. That is how you win football games.

With Antone Exum's health now a concern, Virginia Tech suddenly has a hole in the secondary that might provide an opportunity for a young player to have immediate impact next season. Kendall Fuller seems best suited to fill in at Exum's spot at boundary, but third corner remains a question, especially with Detrick Bonner desperately needed at free safety. While Donaldven Manning, Donovan Riley, and Davon Tookes have experience, recruiting expert J.C. Shurburtt seems to think that Cequan Jefferson could fill that role.

Initially, Cequan Jefferson was a bit of an unknown quantity when he committed to Virginia Tech (his only offer) early in the 2013 recruiting process. After reading Shurburtt's comments, I decided to take a look for myself. What I found was an incredibly polished defensive back, whose highlights demonstrate the ability to play all three critical techniques for a Virginia Tech cornerback (off-man, inside out press, off-robber) right now. He also has incredibly fluid hips that allow him to be beaten and recover, and a natural aggressive ball-hawking ability that lends itself to playing disguised zones from the field corner position, read the quarterback, and then leave his man to make a play on the football.

Editor's Note: In order to bring you the best coverage and analysis, we're not just going to post a capsule for every prospect that signs today. Instead, French is going to watch all the film available for each signee, and he is going to write a more comprehensive film review. This is as time intensive as it is in-depth, so expect these posted periodically as spring practice approaches. --Joe

With the hiring of Scot Loeffler, Bucky Hodges would appear to be the quarterback prospect with the best chance to succeed Logan Thomas. Hodges is a prototypical Virginia Tech quarterback. He isn't a prototypical pro-style drop back passer, nor is he a system oriented spread-option QB. Instead, he an athletic quarterback who wants to do most of his damage in the pocket, but is athletic enough to extend plays and still make throws downfield.

Hodges is a physically impressive 6-5, 220-pounds. When I watched film of his play as a junior, I had immediate concerns about his arm strength.

The staple of Virginia Tech's offense in the Frank Beamer era for over two decades was a bruising running game. While we screamed about Logan Thomas's inaccuracy, the lack of blocking, and playmaking by wide receivers, the complete inability of Virginia Tech to establish a running game was the biggest impediment to winning football games. Virginia Tech had moderate success running off tackle power from the I formation, occasionally got the read option going from the spread, and once in blue moon they got 3 yards on a toss sweep. But, more often than not, the Hokie offensive line went east west, and the running backs went nowhere. The end results were a confused Frank Beamer and 3rd-and-12s.

If the Hokies want to return to dominance in 2013, the first task for new offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler and offensive line coach Jeff Grimes will be to establish a cohesive concept for running the football that Virginia Tech lacked last season, and then instill the attitude and fundamentals necessary to dominate using such a philosophy.

The Philosophy

From the moment it was clear that the Hokies could not win the ACC Coastal Division title, every game in the 2012 season became a stepping stone to a program-defining moment in the Georgia Dome on August 31st. Making a bowl allowed for 3 weeks of additional practice that could be put towards getting repetitions for young players who would be counted on to contribute next season, and the bowl matchup versus Rutgers stood as an opportunity for Frank Beamer to learn about the makeup of his 2013 roster and coaching staff.

The lessons learned from the Russell Athletic Bowl serve as a microcosm for everything that has frustrated Hokie fans since Ricky Bustle left the program. Bud Foster's defense advanced, utilizing the 4-4 scheme with aggressive blitzing against the run and pass, but he added elements of Dick Lebeau's zone blitz by frequently dropping ends and tackles into coverage, and playing a seemingly more effective fire-zone in behind the blitz. At the same time, the offense seemed to be more of a vaudevillian comic sketch that would have been more appropriate if the theme from Benny Hill was dubbed over the voice of Joe Tessitore.