Immediate Thoughts on Yesterday and the Future

Yesterday was a lot of fun. It was a classic Virginia Tech football game. Tech ran the ball right down Cincinnati's throat, made some big plays on a special teams, and the defense made enough plays to keep this game out of reach for Cincy. In my opinion, this is one of the most complete bowl games Tech has ever played, start to finish. The only other bowl games that I can conjure up were the 2009 Chick-Fil-A Bowl, the 2000 Gator Bowl, and the 1993 Independence Bowl. Hopefully this turns a corner in bowl preparation.

I loved almost everything I saw yesterday. Whether it was Joey Slye being mobbed after making that 49 yarder right before the half, Shane Beamer riding Greg Stroman after his fumble return, or the entire team jumping up and down holding up 4 fingers at the end of the third, the energy and intensity were always there. My dad has been watching Tech football since the 80s, and he said it has been a really long time since he had seen the team do that (obviously it hasn't been since the 80s, but still).

Also, the fan support yesterday was incredible. With all these bowl games, especially ACC ones, being a quarter capacity, it was nice to see Tech sell out their allotted tickets and even take over Cincy's side. That had a huge effect on this game.

Now, let's talk about Shane Beamer. I'm not really sure how much Frank Beamer has left in the tank. My mom noticed in 2012 that Frank seemed not so much like himself (2012 was the year he lost all that weight; it was also the year things hit the fan). He's lacking intensity, unless it's him chewing out a referee. I was skeptical at first about Shane taking over field head coaching duties for this game. Now, I know it's one game, but I loved almost every second of it. I wish he would have handled the timeouts better at the end of the first half to perhaps give Slye a closer field goal, but all's well that ends well. Plus, if you heard Bud's post game interview (if you haven't, go listen), he seemed really confident in Shane. Y'all may know me as the Rich Rodriguez advocate, but Shane Beamer really opened my mind yesterday. Would I still not mind Rich Rod being hired? Yes. But would I be upset if Shane got some serious consideration or got the title "head coach in waiting"? No.

Speaking of Bud Foster, in 5 years when the conversation comes up on whether or not he's going to leave Tech, let's revert back to that post game interview where the man was in tears about Coach Beamer. Bud Foster is Virginia Tech football and Virginia Tech football is Bud Foster. I really do not see him leaving now.

The offense looked stout yesterday. Scot Loeffler called a very good game, as he did against UVA. Although I am still upset about what happened in the Wake Forest game, it's probably best to let it go and be happy at this point. This offense is very young and will only get better. The offensive line should get much better. When you give Michael Brewer time to throw, he is a good quarterback. Although he has made some poor decisions this season, but he's a true leader and probably got hit more than any Tech quarterback this season than I can remember. Plus, a full year of experience is really what this guy needed with the limited snaps he took at Texas Tech.

I am very interested in this offseason, more so than any for a long time. If Dwayne Lawson does commit to Tech like we all think he will, that'll probably put 5 guys in the mix for the starting quarterback spot (i.e. Andrew Ford, Michael Brewer, Brenden Motley, Dwayne Lawson, and Andrew Durkin). Right now I think Brewer will get the nod. He's a senior who has shown great ability and leadership. I think we will still see Motley in wildcat formations next year too. The rest, though, is up for debate. We are not entirely sure what Lawson will decide and how good he will be, we have no idea how good Andrew Ford actually will be, and we have no idea how good Chris Durkin actually is. I highly doubt Lawson will enroll early if he does commit, though, which will put him behind all the other guys when August comes. I cannot wait to watch this thing unfold, though.

Now, for the running backs. J.C. Coleman has looked incredible since the Duke game. He even set a record yesterday for most rushing yards by a Virginia Tech player in a bowl game. He beat out players like Kevin Jones, Lee Suggs, Ryan Williams, Darren, Evans, David Wilson, etc. That's pretty amazing given the offensive line Tech has had this season. Now, was there a difference in the level of play of the offensive line in run blocking between now and the beginning and middle of the season? Yes. But, J.C. looked amazing out there, and it'll be interesting to see what will happen when Trey Edmunds, Shai McKenzie, and Marshawn Williams are all healthy (it's pretty amazing to me that of all this players J.C. is the only one to stay healthy). One option I think the coaches should consider is moving Trey back to linebacker. With DiNardo and Chase Williams graduating, I could see the coaches at least considering moving Trey back to that side of the ball, granted he'd be a little small for linebacker, but DiNardo and Williams were pretty small too and did alright. Plus, we saw Justin Hamilton make the move from running back to safety back in 2005, and he was a wide receiver before he was a running back. But, as we found out this year, you can never have enough running backs apparently. I can't wait to see what unfolds.

Here's to yet another Virginia Tech football season coming and going. This is one of the toughest years we ever had to endure as fans, and it's certainly one of the toughest the coaches ever had to endure. But, with all the young talent returning, Bud Foster staying, and a healthy team (that's relative to this season), there's no reason we shouldn't be excited for 2015. Till September 7th, BEAT OHIO STATE.