I know we're winning and all, but this is a fireable offense.
Virginia Tech had two No. 17's on the field on its successful 58-yard field goal at the end of the half pic.twitter.com/tNSfJBCXvt— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) September 28, 2024
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Second time this year. Would be fourth huge special teams mistake of the game if they caught it.
Twice is egregious.
Even more so as this was after the dumb TO Pry called instead of running the clock. They had a freaking TO before this and still screwed it up!
somebody needs to be dismissed
Stu?
This is not a good Coaching Staff.
I'm back on my '22 bullshit. Fire Holt... Into the sun.
We have (at my last count post Vandy) THIRTY-FUCKING-TWO sets of duplicate numbers on the football roster.
Even Pop Warner eating-grass-instead-of-playing-on-it teams don't do this crap.
This! So much this. Coaches need to get their heads out of their asses and coach. Kid doesn't like not having duplicate numbers, show him the door. Do you want to win or not?!?!
guess what? there's over 100 players on the roster. duplicate #'s are a fact of life in college football and aren't going away. (all the more reason the coaches shouldn't be screwing this up)
Only about 70 dress on game days.
There were only 80 VT players dressed for the game, unless we messed up that too (ACC travel teams are limited to 80).
Still on the coaches
Fire em all. The whole staff. Pry. Whit. Sands.
hilarious lol
Our coaching staff is garbage. MAC wannabes.
Given the number of players on teams now, why not open up the numbers to go to 200 or something like that...?
Or, negative numbers might be fun
Instead of a 3rd digit I think they should allow emojis.
💩🔥
Man, Pry really managed himself a hell of ballgame today.
Drones gets sacked on 3rd down and Pry calls timeout with 25 seconds left before we kick a 58-yard field goal. Miami had one timeout so they would've either had to spend their last timeout or let us run the clock down and kick as time expires. Then we give them great field position with a squib kick and gift them their own 56-yarder.
Turns out he had two guys on the field wearing the same number again and got lucky to not have those 3 points wiped off the board.
Then we run a fake field goal, which was his least egregious bad decision, but we had 3rd and 4 and could have run it twice with Tuten/Drones if we wanted to go for it. Too cute when Tuten is running all over them.
Then the most infuriating was the clock management allowing 20 seconds to run off the clock after Felton's 1st down catch. Then Drones runs for 1 and Pry stands around for 6-7 seconds before calling timeout. After taking timeout he shakes his head like he's mad at someone else for not doing his job.
I don't know who said he's our Mike London but that's exactly right.
My thought live was that he was waiting for a horse collar flag in that 6-7 seconds.
More like Scott Frost than Mike London.
Either way, not good.
Just fuels my belief that VT is baby Nebraska.
Without the Nattys
Hence the baby Nebraska comment
Mini corn.
I thought we had gotten rid of corn. It makes sense now why we're still having issues.
You know the program is in a bad place when I'm wishing Pry was our Bo Pelini or Bronco Mendenhall instead of our Scott Frost or Mike London.
I honestly don't know how anyone can expect fans to continue supporting this coaching staff. Heads gotta roll or I'm checking out
Stuff like this has to be on the coordinators or an assistant. There HAS to be someone out there at the very fucking least making sure we don't have 2 guys with the same number on the field at the same time
This is the simple shit. This is the obvious shit. This is the shit a head coach shouldn't have to fucking worry about because it's stupid to even have ourselves in the situation to have it happen.
And yet, it's twice this year.
Pry, the guys you have hired aren't good enough. You have to fix this. And if you don't, you aren't going to be a head coach for much longer.
Its overwhelmingly simple....if you play Special Teams, you dont get a duplicate number. For any reason. Ever.
Don't like it?
Go cry to your "NIL agent" about it..
You know those jerseys where you can slap on a name tag? Why not just do that with numbers? Just slap on a new set to all 11 guys that way it would never happen.
eInk jerseys. Change the numbers between plays!
Invent the future!
There are 100 single and double digit numbers to choose from. There is no reason for anyone on the team to have duplicate numbers
If we have this many people on the sidelines making fake signals/play calls, there's no excuse to not have one person to check for duplicate numbers on the field
How do we have enough money to hire The Wiggles to be on the sideline for every game?
Don't go back and rewatch this play on the TV version. After we ran Nelson out there late (after a timeout!!), our signal guy in purple yells to Pry "There's two #17's out there!" and Pry didn't do anything. It was utterly egregious.
Also, Nelson has been wearing #17 for 3 years, why did we let Love switch from #97 to #17 this year?
"why did we let Love switch from #97 to #17 this year" - why? stupid non football winning bullshit. That's why. Who cares the reason beyond that. Does wearing 17 help him kick the ball further or more accurately? nope, not at all. It's a non winning reason, whatever the fucking reason.
To be fair, there wasn't anything Pry could do at that point. He used his last timeout and, even if they had one available, you can't take multiple timeouts in a row in college anymore.
The point though is that it should never get to that point. This happens to about one school a year about one time. That's one time in about 1800 games. The Hokies have now done it twice in five games.
I agree with that 100%. I was just responding to the point of Pry not doing anything in the moment. He honestly probably was better off playing it cool to not draw any attention to it because the refs clearly didn't realize it somehow.
I'm going to award a point to Pry here. And also to you for pointing out that he did the right thing in that instant.
It would never happen ever if you didn't issue duplicate numbers. They do not help you win in any way shape or form.
Do we even know that we've only done it twice? Was Nelson only out there because of how long the field goal attempt was?
He could have signaled someone to drop to the ground with an injury? 😅😪
I said this last time. From my perspective, someone's job should be on the line.
Luckily, they didn't call it, but this can't happen.
It's clearly not fixed and COULD have cost us ANOTHER GAME.
There are 65 players max on the travel squad. This is a fact. What is also a fact is that home/away/scrimmage/spring game/visits to the hospital- we NEVER dress out 100 players. NEVER have, NEVER will. So for a losing program that can't win close games and pisses on themselves constantly- can we do one simple FUCKING thing, and get rid of the stupid, unnecessary , bullshit, nonsense duplicate numbers. Can we fucking do one thing to help us not fucking lose???? It's so fucking fixable, its not funny. But if we must do nonsense - fire whomever is responsible for issuing those fucking duplicate numbers to special teams players. FUCK.
Preach. This should've been addressed when they were handing out numbers, let alone after it factored into the first game of the season.
This article says it's 80.
It's been 72 since 2009. So not really a fact.
His point, I believe, is that you don't need over 99 numbers, so no need for duplicates in a two-digit system.
The hokies - the team I am speaking of, never travels 80 players - ever.
Slept on it, this is WAY worse than the double 0's against Vandy. There is a possibility that either 0 could be out there, however in this situation there will ALWAYS be one of the #17s as he's the kicker. This means Cole Nelson can't play on any ST play with the kicker. Why are kickers and punters allowed to have a number of an offensive or defensive player is way bigger a screw up thay an offensive and defensive player on the field at the same time.
And Nelson himself should have known that.
Quite frankly, if he's wearing the same number as the kicker, theres no reason why he would ever practice being on the field for a FG or kickoff.
Inexcusable that he would ever think he should be out there. It should never be in the cards. It's a scenario that cannot happen, so how would he possibly screw that up unless there was some inclination he ever should be out there.
This. He's gotta know the kicker has the same number, he just has to.
More importantly, the coaches should know.
Yes, but. Not more or less importantly in my opinion, but equally important that the player who may have insisted on having that number in the first place have sense enough to recognize this issue. Not some sometime player, not some position player that can go both ways or whatever, but the DAMN KICKER ON A FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT.
Please excuse my shouting, but this to me is flat out inexcusable.
This is what happens when the leaders let the loonies run the asylum.
How about pick another number kid that one is taken? If they threaten to transfer then....
There are 24 players that should get to pick their numbers first. Once those are gone, they should be gone. After the 24, there are 76 numbers left for 60 or fewer players on game day. Stu "Holy Shit" Holt makes it Rocket Surgery.
memory is hazy but was this around the time APR was dinged up? Maybe Nelson was filling in for him (similar to how Ali Jennings was filling in for Jaylin Lane on the Vanderbilt punt return. Coaches have to be aware that the "automatic" substitution of the backup guy for that role can't happen without a jersey swap.
We don't dress 100 players for any game. Get rid of the duplicate fucking numbers. End it. Now. Having 2 number 17's will NEVER help you win a game. NEVER. It will help you lose one when you are penalized and out of FG range, etc. Get rid of it- end it.
Hate to agree, but I do. Nothing wrong with wearing 97 as a DE.
replying to my own question here - I read TSL's recap of Pry's answer about the two #17's.
Nelson was on the field only because the ST coaches screwed up and didn't get the entire FG unit out there in a timely manner and they had to find an 11th man. First time he's ever been on the field for a Hokies FG attempt.
Pry took the blame for "grabbing the nearest big guy and sending him out there" but IMO fault lies with the ST coaches for not having the FG unit on the field. Pry said something about the coaches going back and forth between punting and kicking before choosing to kick. that probably created some confusion in the ranks and the 11th guy on the FG team didn't get the memo that he was supposed to be on the field.
Also once Nelson was lined up in formation there is no substituting him out without calling a TO which we didn't have, and even if we did, couldn't call anyway because you can't call back-to-back TO's in college football. So the coaches just had to hope that mid officiating crew missed another call.
All that AFTER a timeout...weak sauce
The TO should be used to make that decision and if you're not sure have both teams ready.
Yep and could have had about another 25 seconds if he had let the clock run down instead of immediately calling it.
More unnecessary losing shit. Losing- not winning as crept in the program. We allow duplicate numbers that has never helped a team win one game in the history of sports. EVERYTHING we do should be about winning. We fuck up the stupid number thing multiple times. That' what losing programs do.
Lol, DC I don't disagree with you on this one and I understand the frustration, but shit man you're sounding like a broken record.
It's such an absurd thing to have happen. DC can say it as many times as he likes. This would be like if any of us walked into a job interview wearing mismatching shoes. It's just absurd
I've thought about this alot. DC should keep harping on this. He articulates this subject very well. Out of all the missteps that we have seen, play calling, time-management, gap fitting, all of that, the one thing that is the easiest fix is the duplicate number thing. Pry can show the fans, the donors, the world, that he will never, ever, ever, ever allow duplicate numbers to be a penalty under his leadership again! Face it, if you're a player, and if you are not one of the best 100 (numbers 0 - 99) players on the team, you shouldn't be dressing and you shouldn't have a number!
With the scholarship increase it could even be a new motivation tactic for players to earn their numbers like how walk-ons have earned scholarships
I understand the concept of this, but it just feels too Bronco- and UVa-esque.
Ok fair lol
DC,
What are your thoughts on the 9th year senior playing for Miami??
all of my brothers on here know my thoughts. It's absolute horseshit and not in the spirit of the game. In this particular ludicrous case, one of his injury years should have been covid- if we are talking about preserving ANY pretense of limited eligibility for college athletes. He gets injured for the year twice- one should be a redshirt, one should be covid, right? That is "fair" and according to the rules- which as I have opined- don't exist anymore. Fucking Cam Rising is playing for Utah this year FFS. So don't ever come at me with "eligibility rules" - that are waived CONSTANTLY. At any rate, my thought is that you have fucking 5 years post high school to play 4 seasons- you know- the rule. In McCormicks case- being 10 years removed from high school is a total fucking joke that everyone knows is a scam, etc. I am sorry the kid had bad knee injuries, but 5 years post his HS graduation, he should be ineligible. This is college sports, right? There are no Alex Rodriguez 10 year contracts here. 5 to play 4. I don't even like the "if you graduate, you can play somewhere an additional year" rule. I think that is bullshit- it makes it 5 to play 5. So yes, until someone comes out and says- this is not college, fuck the rules, play as long as you want- the Miami kid in his 9th year is a total crock of shit. He is older than Justin Herbert - who is in his 5th year for the Chargers. Yeah, the college plot is fucking gone here.
The good news is he should be finishing up his second PhD this year.
If this was North Caroline, he'd probably already have been given a couple by now.
I saw on TV a young woman in VT gear (but in a weird color, I want to say blue?) tell Pry something, and it looked like she mentioned 17s.
It was too late at that point for Pry to do anything, and thankfully the refs missed it.
I don't agree with the "get rid of duplicate numbers" people, I am *certain* other schools do this too - their coaches just have better attention to detail and don't fuck it up regularly.
Getting rid of duplicate numbers is a one time activity. Attention to detail is an all the time thing. The former is easier to implement, but either would be appreciated.
agreed. I don't really see a good reason not to get rid of the duplicates, but if there is one, just make damn sure you don't send two players with the same number out onto the field. Me, personally, I try to poka-yoke as much as I can so if I were in charge each player would get their own number, no questions asked. It's so much easier to avoid that error by not even allowing two players to have the same number to begin with.
From Pry's perspective, it literally cost him one game. He could be 3-2 right now instead of 2-3 if it weren't for the double zero blunder (and, just imagine if the double 17s had been caught at the end of the first half of Miami?!?!). He has to ask himself: was that one loss worth allowing players to have duplicate numbers?
Pry is 1-10 in one score games. His margin of error is nil/zero/none. If I am him, I am cutting out all bullshit in the program that does not actively HELP YOU WIN. first up is the duplicate number bullshit. Doesn't do a fucking thing to help you win a game- nothing.
duplicate #'s are college football 101.
Miami had a WR change jersey with a different number so he could play defense on that last second hail mary play
wtf cant we have guys change shirts to avoid this issue?
VT was using two numbers for Johnny Garrett. He had a number (don't know what) and the #79 that he was wearing when he replaced Chaplin? And it had no name on it.
Rutgers had a player on every kickoff return using a different number as it was announced to the crowd every time.
Yeah, C'mon.
This isn't that complicated, but your system just has to accommodate it, not ignore it.
I don't care how they fix it, but they DO need to fix it.
Of course I thought that in the game before, too.
I agree with the sentiment but it's embarrassing that this coaching staff can't handle such a simple thing.
Pry and his crew are *shit* at the little in-game management details that matter.
I will play devil's advocate and argue the other side of there never being a reason to have multiple people assigned the same number. The only way multiple numbers make sense is if you had say, Schlee and Love or Schlee and Moore have the same numbers. That way if you try a fake, you swap Schlee in for one of the kickers, or the holder, and maybe the opposing team doesn't realize the swap. Safer to have the backup QB pass on a fake kick than a specialist. Other than that, yeah,there's no reason it should happen."The only way multiple numbers make sense" is never. It doesn't help you win- does nothing for winning. BTW- the ole number switch-a-roo in a trick play scenario is a dead ball foul as well- a penalty- has been for years.
Then I withdraw my comment and stand with never.
I thought that the trick play in question they had swapped numbers the whole game so when the backup QB came in to punt it was a different number than his normal but the same one from the entire day
How do we get an answer out of Pry as to why this continues to happen and to explain the thought process of having all of these duplicate numbers?
I want to see somebody ask Pry has he reassigned number to eliminate duplications and if not, why not.
The thought process has nothing to do with winning football. It goes something like this... player X "Yo I would look fly in number 0..I would look good in that" Equipment guy- There are already 2 other number 0's. Coach- Go ahead and allow him to look fly or have his pee wee number, etc. That is literally the thought process. Never does it cross your mind to ask- does it help us win.
If Clemson could have a guy whose only job was to keep an overly-excited David Venables on the sidelines by hanging onto his belt, then certainly VT could dedicate someone to making sure no duplicate numbers are ever used again.
Like the Daniel Rodriguez nonsense, offering Herbstreits son as a holder, the Venebales belt loop kid was 100% optics/done for no other reason than media hype. Venebales didn't need a student manager to hold him on the sidelines. lol. Clemson wasn't his first job. If it was an issue that approached penalties, Dabo would have had him up in the booth. Fake optics. There is a lot of fraud in that program. Too bad we can't beat them on the field.
There actually was a staffer who pointed it out to Pry (one of the younger guys in the bright colored shirts on the sideline). You could see him point it out to him on the broadcast and someone has isolated the clip on Twitter.
Unfortunately, Pry had idiotically called all of his timeouts at that point, so he kind of had to just pray nobody noticed.
So yes - we need a staffer for duplicate numbers, a staffer to manage timeouts (anybody who's ever played Madden would probably work), and maybe a staffer to stand behind Bowen and remind him to give the ball to Tuten.
"A staffer to stand behind Bowen and remind him to give the ball to Tuten." - 100% for this, and the only one we "should" need as we pay Brent Pry handsomely to do basic head coach things
This caused me to chuckle.
I appreciate your cynical (justifiably so) sense of humor
Well Love got the #25 this week, so significantly less chance of doubling numbers in FGs this week!
Pry said "Hold my beer"
oooo now it's a game!! Let's take bets on which number will be doubled this week!!
I'm gonna go with 38
Watch out for Jayden on kickoff this week guys.
But who gets the second #25???
lmao - exactly Pry out here playing chess.... If I give the kicker 25, I can't fuck up having a duplicate number cost us points on a FG again.
Well, unless it's a DIFFERENT number that's doubled up.
Maybe that's the disconnect.
Petition to make every number up for grabs every week, no duplicates. You want an in demand number? Beat out the other 3 guys who wear it now in practice.
Make it so you can challenge your teammate for his # via an Oklahoma Drill.
Alabama just gave up a first down to vandy by having two #2 on a punt return on 4th and 4
It's just how Vandy wins games
They clearly know how to work that.
That is some serious 4D chess the Vandy coaching staff is playing.
Vandy has used *punt*, the opponent has hurt itself in its confusion. It was very effective.
The 4th dimension doesn't begin to understand Vandys level of chess.
Not sure if this has been said anywhere else, but we could have beaten the team who just beat the #1 team in the nation, if we hadn't had 2 number zeroes on the field. WTF?
Sure, but now we have our QUALITY LOSS.
Well, Alabama, the previous #1 team who also beat another previous #1 team, was called for having two of the same number against Vandy. So either Vandy has some sort of voodoo doll, or Bamma coaches are lost because having duplicate numbers doesn't help you win, or so I've heard.
Can you please articulate how having 6 guys wearing number 1 helps you win a game? I am all ears.
Here's what I said!
"having duplicate numbers doesn't help you win"
Done.
It helps when they're on the other team. Vandy has proven this.
Realized when I was playing the 2034 season of my Hokie dynasty that there are two #5s on the field. I guess EA Sports old tagline still holds:
"If it's in the game, it's in the game" 😂