Bud Foster addresses Hokies' Defensive Struggles Against East Carolina, Looks Ahead to Pitt

A major factor in Virginia Tech's loss to ECU was the defense's inability to wrap up ECU QB James Summers as he zigzagged his way through Tech defenders and finished with an eye-opening 169 rushing yards.

What was the reason behind the Hokies' inability to contain the Pirates' athletic quarterback?

According to defensive coordinator Bud Foster, it had nothing to do with his scheme, but more so the basic fundamentals of tackling.

"I'd call the same defense," Foster exclaimed. "We had a great fit, but we missed the tackles. We couldn't have been in better position."

"That was just poor technique. It was more technique than it was anything else."

According to Foster, slippery field conditions contributed to Summers galloping his way to several large gains that otherwise would've been 2- or 3-yard runs.

"We slipped a couple of times," Foster said. "When they were in empty (formations), we were in great shape, but guys were slipping and sliding all over the place and he (Summers) wasn't."

Adding fuel to the fire was Summers' ability to use his legs to keep several drives alive on several third-and-longs.

"That was probably our worst game in a long-time on third-down. We should've gotten off the field."

Additional tidbits from Foster

• He said the defensive line's pass rushers must do a better job of keeping mobile quarterbacks in the pocket and not creating lanes for QBs to escape.
• Words he used to describe Pitt's group of running backs: "Young, powerful and explosive."
• Foster compared Pitt's style of play to that of Boston College in terms of running the ball and playing hard-nosed defense: "It's going to be one of those 12-round battles."
• With the losses of rover C.J. Reavis, CB Kendall Fuller and the questionable utilization of nickelback Greg Stroman, Foster described the secondary as "being a little bit all over the place right now."
• Regarding Stroman's performance against ECU, Foster said he was often in good position, but got outmuscled and couldn't finish plays.
• Not surprisingly, Foster said Pitt WR Tyler Boyd presents a plethora of matchup problems for the secondary and how he's been utilized on snags, short routes, screens and deep throws. Foster also pointed out he has to be careful about paying too much attention to Boyd because that would then open up room for Pitt's run game.

Player quotes

DT Corey Marshall:

ON THE DEFENSIVE MINDSET THE TEAM HAS FACING PITT:

"Just get physical. That's a highly physical team over there. We give them all the respect in the world. They're a lunch pail-type team. They want to come in, run it 50 times a game and throw it 14 times. We just have to get ready for that type of physicality."

ON IF HE PREFERS TO FACE A RUNNING TEAM LIKE PITT:

"Uh, I think it varies from week-to-week but I definitely love the challenge. Somebody challenging you physically, saying they're going to move you. We're ready for anything, honestly. We've seen it all. It's just going out and executing, being gap-sound as a defense. These last couple weeks, we've kind of underperformed in that regard. It has not been the scheme, regardless of what the fans say. Regardless of what anybody says, it's never been the scheme. (Coach) Bud's (Foster) had top-ten defenses, you know, the majority of the time he's been here. We just got to execute."

ON IF HE READS WHAT THE FANBASE IS SAYING ON WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA:

"I mean, I can't speak for everybody in the locker room, but I don't pay attention to it at all. We're focused on what we can control. I can't control what anybody else says, so why would I waste my time and energy on that? You got to focus on what you can get better at and what we can get better at is being gap-sound and fundamentally sound."

ON WHAT HE THINKS HAS BEEN THE ISSUE WITH TACKLING MOBILE QBS:

"We have a bunch of sure tacklers. That's something we practice. It's just coming in and making the smart play. I think this year, more than some (years) in the past, we just haven't been fundamentally sound with that. But, that's something that we'll shore up because we have good tacklers up and down our defense. We just got to come up and thud guys and get them on the ground."

ON WHAT HE'S SEEN ON FILM FROM PITT RB QADREE OLLISON COMPARED TO THE INJURED JAMES CONNER:

"I mean, you can see a lot of (injured running back) James Conner in that kid. To be a freshman, you got to tip your hat to him. He's not running scared. He's running behind his pads and he's running with a purpose. I don't want to say there's not a drop-off because there's a little bit of a drop-off. He's not (James) Conner, but he's a great player in his own respect and it comes back to being physical again from the frontline to the secondary."

ON THE BENEFITS OF HAVING LB ANDREW MOTUAPUAKA BACK:

"Just from a communication standpoint, he brings a calmness with him. He brings a good energy and having 'Drew back and having our leader back will definitely be good. He was great in practice today and was moving around great, so I hope he's ready to go. He looks ready to go."

ON PLAYING NOON GAMES COMPARED TO NIGHT GAMES:

"Just from a preference standpoint, I probably prefer a noon game just to get into the swing of things pretty quick. But, I mean, they (coaching staff) do a great job of giving us the same routine every single week regardless, so we're always in that same mode whenever the game's kicked off."

RG Augie Conte:

ON WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT HOW THE OFFENSIVE LINE HAS PLAYED THUS FAR:

"I mean, I'm happy with the progress we've made in the run game. There is always room for improvement. I think we've kind of developed a better mentality on the offensive line when it comes to the run game, but there's always room for improvement."

ON THE DIFFERENCE IT MADE NOT HAVING O-LINE COACH STACY SEARELS ON THE SIDELINE:

"I mean, it was obviously a little bit different. I mean, I think his teachings and his philosophy of a tough, physical offensive line were with us. I mean, not having him there is obviously a little bit of a disadvantage when it comes to schemes and stuff like that and just having him on the sideline talking to us about what's going on the field."

ON HOW IT'S DECIDED WHICH OFFENSIVE LINEMAN GETS THE FOOL'S HAMMER FOR THE WEEK:

"It's not supposed to symbolize who plays well in a game. It's supposed to symbolize who puts in effort and shows determination to get better. I thought our practice habits needed to improve from last year and they have. That was just one thing to kind of help it along."

RB TRAVON MCMILLIAN:

ON WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT THE RUNNING BACK ROTATION THUS FAR:

"I think we're being successful with the way we're rotating it right now. Um, all of us are getting some burn and all of us are helping the team out. So, I'm just doing my job."

ON IF HE FEELS HIS ROLE IS EXPANDING:

"Yeah, definitely. I'm getting more involved in the passing game a little bit more. Against Ohio State, I didn't get that much burn. I probably had 15 plays or something like that. Now, I'm thinking I'm getting 25, close to 30 plays. So, I mean, it's just going to keep expanding and I'm trying to utilize my reps as much as possible."

ON IF HE THINKS HE CAN BE THE FEATURE BACK THAT GETS A MAJORITY OF THE CARRIES:

"Yeah, definitely. I feel like I can be that guy. J.C (Coleman) and Trey (Edmunds) have been here and have that experience. I'm just going to do what the coaches want me to do. I'm just going to try to utilize my reps as much as possible."