My 2 cents on the current state of this program (Long Read)

I'm just an average fan who loves Virginia Tech more than cake and pie combined. I've been reading TKP for a while and talking to people around Hokie Nation, and these are just some of my thoughts after watching this bowl game and reading some of the reactions.

Yes, we are down and out. This was not the Hokie team we were used to seeing from the 1990's-2000's. However, Every football program that has existed, has down years, they are inevitable. and If someone told me that our down years would have 7-6 and 8-5 records, I'd take it. Look at Florida they went 4-8, they're not even in a bowl game this year. Many program's down years dont include bowl games. I'd like to keep that in perspective. The true test will be, can we come back to that same national prominence.

Leal is a backup. He's spent 4 years as a backup, therefore he practices as a backup. It is not fair expect a person who's spent 4 years taking back up reps, to come in cold off of the bench and play like a starter. Leal made mistakes yes, but this game shouldnt count against him in terms of the starting qb competition for 2014. Speaking of which, that's going to be fun to watch. lots of talent, lots of youth, I look forward to reading Andy Bitter's articles and TKP insight on this topic once spring practice has started.

This Defense was good. they were very good. But they're not the dominating defense that we've had before. We've had players just take over games (Corey Moore, Deangelo Hall, Macho Harris), this defense (partly due to injuries) did not feature any of those players. Yes, Kendall Fuller will be special, but the key word is will, he was not a dominating player this year, a player who damn near shuts down 1/3 of the field. One of the tall tale signs of this is the lack of defensive touchdowns, we had 1 this year and before that we went i think 2 years w/o one. D-hall and others had a nose for the endzone/big time plays. Jack Tyler was a great player and I truly enjoyed hearing his story and watching him play, but he didn't dominate games like a Cornell Brown or Xavier Adibi did.

Our offense did not have a playmaker outside of LT3, and when he went down it showed. Will our offense have a playmaker next year? Edmunds will be back, Mangus and Wright looked pretty solid. but solid isnt a playmaker. The last time we were lacking playmakers on the offense, we put Macho Harris into some of our packages, maybe its time to have a repeat and use Fuller or Facyson? get some athletes in space and see what happens.

One of the key reasons we were so good at returning punts was because teams were so afraid of our punt blocking rush so they could not put as many resources into covering the punt return, allowing for easy returns. They are no longer afraid of our pride and joy, so our return game has suffered. As to how to fix that issue, and the kick return issue...you got me stumped on that one, but that's why i'm not paid the big bucks to coach.

I'm all for being optimistic about recruiting classes. But remember, many recruits turn out as busts for a variety of reasons. so while being optimistic, keep caution. Also remember, Virginia Tech has won many games with recruiting classes that were not even in the top 30 if i remember correctly, so its not always about recruiting rankings.

I will admit, the game may have passed Frank Beamer, it may be time for him to go. But for me, CFB is the guy who brought us from the depths of suckville. I've heard a story, before CFB started coaching, we played Alabama and got shellacked something like 50-7 or something absurd. Later that Year Alabama Beat auburn alot to 0. A bama fan had a bumper sticker that read "come on Auburn, even VPI scored 7." Thats how bad we were, we were the butt of jokes. CFB comes in, in the middle of NCAA sanctions, when no one else wanted the job, and brings us to the edge of a national championship, brings us 5* recruits, ESPN college gameday comes to our campus multiple times, we get more money, better facilities, all of this and more as a byproduct of his coaching. Am I extremely disappointed at the lack of a national championship and the end results of these two past seasons, yes. But I will never want to fire CFB (unless he does something illegal, but that's beside the point). He is, in my mind, The Man. you dont fire The Man. CFB can coach as long as he'd like, he's earned it, and I will ride w/e wave we get with him.

And my last point, We are all Hokies here....except for a few spies. We love Virginia Tech. some people have different ways of showing it and have very different opinions. Please be respectful, here and in person, remember our community guidelines. We dont downvote because we disagree with someones opinion. Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion regardless of what facts there are/arent or what the future may or may not hold. If someone says "we suck," dont downvote them. It's their opinion, let them have it. Apply that to the real world as well. Dont wage personal attacks against each other please. We all love Virginia Tech.

Hokie Football is taking a break, but If you're looking for someone to root for in the absence of football....our Women's Basketball team is 10-2 right now....just a heads up.

Go Hokies!