My response regarding the State of the Program Discussion

Earlier today, Alum07 brought a very fair point to the table, and I wanted to touch on it in a little more detail.

I've been thinking long and hard (giggidy) about how to reply to this, because I really do value basically everything you have to say in here.... But french... this part right here:

"I know you kids have been brainwashed into believing that anything short of a national title was a wasted season."

I hate this mindset. Its such a me vs you kind of thinking. Its the stuff that we see all over the place at sites like TSL that has driven people over here. Its such a broad over-generalization of those who are complaining that it does nothing but try to invalidate the whole. I saw people pointing out the inability of our offense to be able to really put anything together, from 2005 through the end of the Stiney era, and routinely these people were silenced with this kind of condescending attitude. "Oh, you're just a spoiled little brat who can't appreciate winning". Its an insulting statement aimed to derail a conversation, and I just don't like it. So when I see someone as well respected as you start to say these things essentially validating those that want to create an 'us vs them' schism in here, it really gets under my skin, because I know where its heading.

Look, I value everything you say, and you're really one of the best analysts about VT football out there. Your posts are largely over the top in detail and more often than not so on point that it makes people wonder what position you have on staff. Even moreso, you're not afraid to call a spade a spade. I really do appreciate this, which is why I had to say something about this. You can take it as you will.

With that said...

But the fact is (and people don't want to hear this, but it is the truth) the program has been punching above it's weight class for 20 years.

While this may be true, for all intents and purposes, its truly sad that this is the case. Virginia Tech is now the largest major public institution playing football in the Commonwealth, which is home to a hotbed of talent. Its a school that is putting out 5k alumni a year, and is graduating more students than alumni are currently dying off. It is a Top 100 national university playing collegiate sports in the highest level of competition out there. In all seriousness, there really is no excuse to why we aren't massively better all around in athletics than we are right now. Its embarrassing that an institution with as high a profile as we have has yet to secure one single team National Championship in its history. I do realize that for most of our past we were a military institution, but we're nearing the 50th anniversary to when civilians started becoming a major part of the campus life. Its not like we just arrived on the scene, we've been here a while. We really need to get out of the "we're just a small school in the backwoods of Southwest Virginia" and realize just how big and important we truly are. We are one of the two premier universities in Virginia, and we act like we're in everyone else's shadow. At a certain point, I hope we can break away from our own self-induced handcuffs and realize our potential.

I apologize for the divisive nature of using the term brainwashed, and I didn't intend it to be provocative. However, as a long time fan who has seen a significant transition in the mindset of college football fan bases, using the term "brainwashed" reflects my observation of how things changed. At one time, winning conference championships and even getting to a bowl was a huge deal. Most would scoff at an Independence Bowl invitation, but when the Hokies made it there in 1993, it was a huge deal. A terrific case study for those of you who are not as familiar with the history of the game was Michigan's legendary head coach Bo Schembechler. Schembechler is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game. He is a god in Michigan and B1G circles.

Yet, Bo never won a National Championship. His record in bowl games was 5-11. He was 3-10 in what we now call "BCS bowls." Despite losing frequently to his biggest rival (won 11, lost 9, tied one) and a terrible record in bowls and high profile TV games, Bo was still god and left the program on his own terms. Fast forward a few years to Lloyd Carr. Carr won a national championship and owned Ohio State, yet when he retired/was pressed to retire, many Michigan fans wanted him gone. The mentality has changed.

The proliferation of bowls, and the warping of perception has created this mindset that anything short of a championship for every DI program is a failure. And, it isn't. Frankly, for every program but perhaps 6 or 8 schools (based on location, facilities, resource profile), a program should strive to win their conference. That should be a huge deal. And, for whatever reason, it isn't. That isn't just a problem here. It permeates college football fan bases.

And irregardless of all the points you made about Virginia Tech, the fact is, the commonwealth of Virginia doesn't produce terrific offensive linemen. Until very recently, Virginia has not produced great DEPTH at the defensive line position. And those are the positions that win championships. VT also doesn't have the singular huge donor (see Phil Knight or T. Boone Pickens) or a huge VT football is a way of life fan base where everyone, whether they can afford it or not, inundates the program with money ala Alabama. They don't have the profile. VT may even dominate the state's consciousness, but it isn't a state that is football-mad enough to make it into that every year-rare air.

The programs that do have those components:
1) LSU (kids who grow up in Louisiana want to play at LSU, spectacular talent. I am convinced Miles holds the program back, especially now that Alabama, the Mississippi schools, and Texas A&M are making inroads in the state because like VT, there is a local perception that the program is in a bit of a rut.

2) Alabama- National brand. Resources. Weakness is home state recruiting, but the National Brand and impact of all the games being on TV mitigates that weakness. When they have had good coaching, they win (Bryant, Stallings, Saban.) Bad hires are the only thing that has brought them down.

3) Any one of the 3 major Florida schools, WHEN THE OTHER TWO ARE DOWN. Resources-check. Recruiting profile-CHECK. But, when all three are strong, all three sort of counteract each-other and that is why you see one drop.

4) Texas- Has everything, except coaching. Mack Brown was no Vince Lombardi, but the school has so much stature that they overcame him. And he ultimately made it a mess. Mackovic before him was a dumpster fire. Much like LSU, poor coaching hires since Darrell Royal have hampered the program.

5) USC- Oregon has made a dent in California, but again USC has national reach and resources. Poor coaching since the first John Robinson-era besides Pete Carroll prevented the program from being there every year.

6) Ohio State- Recruiting profile is weakening because of the economic depression of the rust belt, but resources and support are second to none. When they have good coaching, as they have had recently, they will challenge for a playoff birth every year.

7) Georgia- This is why I cringe when I hear people mention Mark Richt as a potential replacement for Beamer. Georgia has terrific high school football and the Bulldogs are the dream place for most of those recruits. They have special talent. They don't have to annually face the best teams in the SEC West. A great coach would win national titles at Georgia. Goff, Donnan, and Richt are not elite coaches. That is the best job in the SEC that nobody talks about.

Every other school is on the outside looking in, and it isn't just VT. Tennessee fans have monster expectations, but Knoxville has many of the same challenges as VT. They have a huge, loyal fan base and a great resource profile, but they have recruiting challenges. Memphis has the most talent in Tennessee, but there are seven SEC schools closer to Memphis than Knoxville. For the Vols to reach the national championship discussion like they did when Cutcliffe was the OC, there are a couple of things that have to happen.
a. They have to dominate recruiting in North and South Carolina, meaning UNC, USC-e, NC State, Clemson etc have to be down. Those programs were down in the 90's, and Tennessee was a perennial contender.
b. SEC East schools must be down. See above. Besides Florida, most of the SEC East schools were not at their strongest in the late 90's. Alabama also was down, and Bama had been the roadblock to Tennessee before their breakthrough under Fulmer.
c. Everything needs to come together (resources, player depth, lack of injuries, and a handful of special once in a lifetime players) to make one or two legitimate national championship runs. Tennessee got Manning and got close, then had a ridiculous stable of RBs, WRs, OL, and DL to compliment Tee Martin when they made their 98 run.

Now, look at VT in 1999. Same thing. Michael Vick gave them the gamebreaker. They developed two guys nobody wanted in Corey Moore and John Engleberger into superstars. They had great linebackers and DB's who have largely been forgotten, running backs that were a perfect fit for Ricky Bustle's antiquated offense, and the only guy in college football (Andre Davis) that Vick couldn't overthrow. Everyone stayed relatively healthy (which was a huge boon for a defense that wasn't very deep) and the schedule set up perfectly. It was the perfect storm. There have been a couple of other times where many of the pieces were in place, but because of either bad luck or deficiencies in the team caused BY NOT HAVING THE RESOURCES/RECRUITING PROFILE, those seasons (2005,2009, 2010) didn't pan out. It happens: SEE OREGON (who has way more $$$$ and national profile and still has not won that crystal ball.)

So here we are, in 2014. The last three years haven't been good, and if Babcock makes the decision to move forward without Beamer, so be it. I will remember the good memories fondly and look forward to the next era. But, I reject, and will continue to reject the idea put forward that somehow the program has underachieved. I reject even more that the reason for the recent underachievement are coaches who are just sitting back drinking a RC Cola while the football world passes them by. Perhaps, just perhaps, kids just want to go somewhere else. And, given the resources that can be brought to bear, the relatively small number of potential recruits who grow up with VT at the center of their universe, and the lack of proximity of Blacksburg to recruiting hotbeds (757 is closer to Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Maryland, and UVA, and more accessible to many of the powerhouse schools via air travel), that really isn't shocking. When I was 17, if I was wowed by Alabama, and then Frank Beamer comes in and gives me a Leo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wallstreet sell job, but for whatever reason I don't love VT/Blacksburg, no amount of salesmanship will change my mind. And that is fair. As so many folks have pointed out, with the exception of Bruce Smith, Tyrod Taylor, Kevin Jones, Kendall Fuller, and Macho Harris, VT HAS NEVER GOTTEN THOSE PLAYERS.

Like I said in my reply to the post in the thread, if the hire isn't absolutely a 100% home run, based on the stature of the program, the resources available, and the enthusiasm (or lack there of that we currently see) prepare yourselves for a bunch of these 5-7/6-6 type seasons moving forward.

So, until we do or don't see a move, this is the last I will discuss the topic. Thanks for the forum.

CLOSE RANT