Pry declared Kyron Drones, Bhayshul Tuten, and Malachi Thomas to be questionable
Virginia Tech Football: Brent Pry Updates Kyron Drones' and Bhayshul Tuten's Health Status
I know injuries are part of the sport but, what are the odds most of your best weapons will be out so often?
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Its like the end of the beamer days. That team that beat osu in the shoe ended up with 22 injuries to the 2-deep before the end of the season.
It's like someone wound up to kick me square in the shins, but missed and hit me about 2 feet higher instead.
Ah, the thigh!
Just means more Schlee
Isn't he also banged up? I thought that was why they kept Drones out there even though he clearly wasn't able to be effective vs Clemson.
Drones out might not be such a bad thing. Tuten out hurts tho.
In any case, Bowen showed against cuse that he can still find points without those guys. What we really need is for the defense to show up in a big way. Maybe Pry spent a little more time on that side of the ball with the extra prep time. Maybe, just maybe, our defense will be able to make a couple stops.
Schlee and Coney gonna make Duke have to think on every mesh.
Bold of you to assume we'd ever hand the ball off to Coney.
Any news on Gosnell?
The Syracuse game was lost due to coaching decisions and the defense not the offense. Bowen called a good game with Schlee and Coney. I have faith that Duke is as bad as I hope.
We also had Thomas that game. The bigger issue is that Thomas AND Tuten are listed as questionable again leaving the backfield to be just Coney. He's had some solid runs but he's also fumbled a few times and isn't ready to be the only back with no one behind him.
This is my theme from the other post. Our 3rd running back is too young to carry the load- so in terms of talent we have a grand total of two real P5 running backs on the roster. That is my point.
Prieoleau was 3rd......We are down to 4th string
Prieoleu was second before he got injured he was promoted over Thomas for better play.
The opposite of the Fuente strategy
Thanks for the chuckle... leg
Yeah Prioleau kinda throws a wrench in that narrative considering he was taking carries from Thomas before injury. Our RB room is solid especially when you have a feature guy like Tuten. Injuries to that room have decimated us we have 5 capable backs 2 of which can probably carry 80%+ of a game load the others would have to be a 50/50 split at minimum - Mason hasn't even seen game action before and he's now RB 2...
Tuten - injured, Thomas - injured, Prioleau - Injured, Coney - Healthy, Mason - Healthy (RS)
This seems like a very well balanced room in regard to talent and age unless you want a Fuente RB room 3 injuries there are going to make for a tough go.
Overall point stands- we need to split with Duke and UVA to make a shitty bowl game. If we had depth and talent all down the roster, we wouldn't be in that position.
Not a lot of teams are going 4 deep with starter quality, experienced players at RB these days. If you're good enough to start and you're 4th on the depth chart, you're probably transferring somewhere else.
I want to say I looked at other schools' RB rosters when Fuente had so many. If I recall correctly, most had 4, maybe 5 scholarship backs and then a couple walk ons for about 7 RBs on roster.
So most schools, your 4th string is likely a freshman or RS freshman, knocking on the door of walk-ons.
They had a extra week to get Coney and Mason ready. If that bye week was used correctly, they should be playing against Duke. The young RBs have talent, just not the blocking scheme.
Same with QB. Watson or Belfort should be ready for Duke. Back up QBs may not have the talent of Drones or Schlee, but maybe one can step up.
Call me crazy, but I would rather have a healthy Schlee playing QB than the injured Drones we rolled out for the Clemson game. Even if he can technically play, Drones was not doing well and you could tell something was off.
^^^^ This!
Yep late in the season at all levels of football guys are nicked up. You can play "hurt" guys... you can't play "injured" guys- if you do, you failed to develop depth around them and you are hurting the team by playing them in a limited capacity.
Not gonna lie, there have been times where I think I would've felt better playing a healthy Schlee over a healthy Drones.
Schlee had more offense in one quarter against Clemson than Drones did in three.
Being honest with myself, based on performance witnessed, Schlee is better than Drones especially at passing. He just isn't a battering ram.
I am going to set my back patio as a tailgate. Saturday sit out there all day with a grill and some coolers and tables and present some of this positive energy to the cosmos, propel them to victory.
Egbert all day Saturday (8 PM game time):
I'll be there around noon! What should I bring?? 😋
Some of that warm beach air would be nice,
Sounds like Tuten, Gosnell, Jones, Keller, Holloway were in blue. Drones didn't have a full practice. Thomas didn't practice
Playing Holloway 4 plays vs liberty to burn his redshirt is looking like money now. chess/checkers
He's still eligible for a medical hardship waiver this season
Right, which is why Pry should go after Cam Rising in the off season.
Thomas is now ruled OUT according to CBS Sports.
The Drones injury has me wondering about next season. Originally, it seemed like he would use this year to build his draft stock and jump to the league. Now that seems very unlikely. Does he come back in 2025? Does he transfer?
With a young receiving corp next year, coming back does not seem like it is in his best interest. I'm not to sure what the market would be for him if he opts to transfer, though.
yeah, he's for real in a tricky spot - it might depend a bit on what happens with the coaching staff in the off-season. I don't expect Pry to make any major changes but if he does, I would expect it to be Marve. If he surprises everyone and lets Bowen go, then maybe we see a mass exodus on the offensive side, including Drones.
If we beat UVA, there will be no staff changes unless someone gets poached for a better job, IMO. Maybe UNC throws money at Mines? something like that. If we go 6-6, Marve wont be fired. Unfortunately.
I am hoping you are very wrong. I want Marve gone if we finish the regular season at 7-5. We lost too many games because of complete defensive breakdowns.
Believe it or not, I've seen two articles this week saying Marve was rumored to be heading to the NFL. They lost me when they referenced the great year he was having at VT, lol.
I've seen a lot of talking heads talking positively about the VT defense. IDK if it's just a lazy take, or if they see something we don't. SP+ has us with the 33rd best defense... which is fine I guess?
I would hate to see the 80th defense, I have no faith we can get off the field on 3rd and long, which is insane that I feel that when we've been top 40 each year in plays over 10 yards allowed. And we're top 25 last season. It doesn't feel like it. Once you combine that with the fact we are 101st in time of possession and our defense is on the field for 4 more minutes than the offense. It really is just a bit of an odd feeling
I mean, you saw it in 2018 when Bud was dealing with heart problems and a roster turnover - that was a defense outside the top 70. I think the worst JHam defense was similarly ranked.
Bud's last year looked like a defense that wasn't old enough to adjust, they looked great in the 1st half but got killed in the 2nd half when adjustments were made.
Hamilton's defenses looked like we tried to use Bud's defense but with zone and no one knew where to go, but you could easily see why it failed and it made some sense. I dont know why this defense fails, I see the player making mistakes but it's not like they're running two different defenses, they've been in the scheme 3 years, we have a number of juniors and seniors, it's just odd.
Shows you SP is fucking bullshit. When Duke is running free what does SP fucking get you? nothing. Thats the problem with "advanced stats"- watch the fucking games. Duke running untouched? where does that show in the SP? Games are played by players, momentum, emotions - not a spreadsheet. Ask Aaron Boone how the spreadsheet looks when judge hits .175 when it matters? What does WAR say as the yankees get killed by the dodgers in the series? Fuck SP. Our defense sucks- Dukes receivers were uncovered most of the night.
SP+ isn't bullshit - it's a predictive ranking that focuses on the things that statistically lead to wins (efficiently moving the ball, explosive plays, turnovers, field position, and finishing drives). It's very similar to what Vegas uses to set lines pre-market.
But anyways - when you see that a team's results are underachieving vs their SP+ rankings, it doesn't mean "SP+ is fucking bullshit" - it means some combination of (a) your coaches are holding your players back, (b) you're getting unlucky, or (c) your schedule is harder than you think.
"explosive plays"- like Duke with no hokies defenders in the zip code in the first quarter- yes agreed. Watch the games. the SP "predicts our defense is decent, until kickoff that is. Or the 3rd quarter of cuse. Or Aaron Judge being babe ruth- until it matters of course.
Statistics and predictive modeling is based on a collection of data. A single event or a small sampling does not change the statistical and/or predictive result.
VT should have beat Duke based on post-game win expectancy. But, several blown coverages is an outlier event that changed the outcome. (Seems like VT always finding a new way to lose.)
WAR is a cumulative and combined stat on how well a baseball player performed over time, and most useful across an entire season. It provides a facilitated means for comparing players at different positions. It does predict future performance.
Predictive models and statistics always include error and variance. VT was predicted to have a 60% chance to win at Duke, so Duke winning by 3 was well within the predictive result. And any conclusion made from a predictive model should also include the confidence of the prediction.
Don't waste your time.
Marve's had great weeks, certainly. But a great year? I'd love to know what Hokie team they're watching. I will compliment Marve when he is able to follow a great week with a second consecutive great week. That hasn't happened much since he's been here, and it hasn't really happened at all this year.
We could only be so fortunate....
I also hope you are very wrong on Marve. All I want for Christmas from Pry and/or Whit is a new DC. Not a shiny new one. I want a competent one, can even be someone that is worn around the edges as long as he knows defense.
we all hope he's wrong. Unfortunately, I think we all also know he's probably right. I'd be SHOCKED if we finish 6-6 or better and Marve is fired. In fact, I'd be pretty surprised if Marve is fired even if we lose out.
That said, I'm in complete agreement. I hope he's fired regardless. Defense has been a big problem for us for all 3 years he's been here and it hasn't improved at all. This season was a massive disappointment and the biggest culprits are completely bungled end-of-half management choices and the failure to get a stop when we really need one. Pry can't really fire himself so he's left with firing Marve. I don't have a lot of faith that he'll do that but we'll see. I'll be encouraged if he does. If he doesn't, I'm writing off next season as a painfully dismal one.
The real risk for us is if some quarterback guru convinces him (wrongly) that he can get Drones in the NFL.
Drones has less of a chance than Jerod Evans and his chance was really just above zero.
I think the real chance is he transfers. Someone can grab him for about what we paying his NIL (I doubt we would match) and promise him a draft grade. He hasn't been developed and that's going to be on his mind.
If Pry wants to keep him, he needs to bring in another QB coach (maybe co-OC).
No limit to the number of coaches anymore, so it's a lot easier to do that now than in the past.
But opens up the opportunity for too many cooks in the kitchen.
If they're good cooks, then yes chef
You don't want Top Chef, do you?
Anything but Hell's Kitchen!
Ideal scenario for the O is if Pry can snag Joe Moorhead and retain Bowen to season under him a while longer as co-OC. Keeps continuity but Moorhead is far more experienced and has QB coaching experience, unlike Bowen.
If Moorhead is on the table you ditch Bowen all together. Moorhead is a top 5 offensive mind the sport.
I think the idea is Moorhead is going to be poached away for how good he is so Bowen would be his understudy and would take back over when he moves on. I'm not saying I like or agree with that idea, but I think that was the thinking
That seems quite unlikely.
...like, you think it's unlikely that was his idea? Or unlikely that it would happen?
Because, I agree 100% that it would be unlikely to happen. But I'm pretty sure that was the idea
It's unlikely that Joe Moorhead - a proven OC who would be hired by any blueblood in an instant - would come to VT to be an analyst or non-play caller. And if he were to come in as a playcaller, Bowen wouldn't stick around for (what is effectively) a demotion.
Your best bet in this hypothetical world where Moorhead mentors Bowen is that Moorhead would come in as an offensive consultant (a gig where he could have a lesser workload/no direct responsibilities, but still get good pay).
IMO, from a pure play design/play caller perspective, Moorhead is up there with Lane, Sark, Leipold, Riley, etc as some of the most creative offensive minds in college football
Maybe Bowen would just leave completely, but realistically he's not going to be able to get a lateral job as an OC elsewhere if he's fired. He's going to have to step back to G5 or take a position coach job with a P4 team at best. If Moorhead is his long-time mentor and he and Pry are still on good terms, I think staying on with the co-OC title (Moorhead still leading the show) and a positional coach would be the best scenario for him. Plus by all accounts he has been a good TE/OL coach and is known as a strong recruiter. Maybe he never again takes the full OC reins at VT, but a few years under Moorhead in a co-OC role could lead to better OC opportunities elsewhere down the road.
Unless he wants to go back to the NFL or something, don't think it's a crazy idea.
Agree...I think there is a very good chance Drones hits the Portal.
Whether it was his idea, Bowen's or some combination thereof..there seems to clearly have been an emphasis to feature more Dropback in the scheme this year.
And the results have been....disappointing/underwhelming/not encouraging. If the goal was to showcase Drones for the NFL, it was a failure.
Despite that, I fully expect a P4 team needing a QB to throw a juicy NIL offer his way and try to convince him that they have the secret sauce to get him to the NFL.
Maybe it sways him...maybe not but I would not be surprised to see him in a different jersey next year.
Some school like Auburn would pick him up, convince themselves he can be the next Cam Newton. And maybe he can.
And perhaps the relationship with VT is getting stale. Although VT 2025 would be better with him at the QB spot, it probably makes sense to turn the page, and get Belfort, Watson, or a transfer ready.
But man if 2024 VT could only muster 6 or 7 wins, what is the expectation for 2025. Pain? I guess we'll see whether these coaches can be developers of 3-star talent.
I think we were all expecting a big drop off next year given the amount of experience leaving or presumed to be leaving. If you're an optimist, you can view it as a chance for some younger guys to step up and show us what they've got.
The good news is there's been a lot of promise in the young kids that have played snaps this year.
Combine that with the stellar coaching and we could see less of a drop off than expected.You are correct, next year will be a shit show.
Are there any optimists left in our fanbase?
(sadly rhetorical question)
Yes there are! I'm one!
Does this make me an optimist?
I am a low expectations fan. I want a clean program that bowl qualifies every year at a minimum. I want a good shot at conference championship at least once every 3-5 years.
I definitely lean optimistic. I still expect a win against Duke and UVA. I still expect growth from the underclassmen and a few good grabs in the portal this offseason.
Reasons for optimism:
1. O-line has shown growth, younger OL is as good as the seniors.
2. Studs in the WR room.
3. Woodson, Spencer, Lovett, Copeland, and Reddish is a good group to build out a defense foe the next two years. Abbey, Stevens, G. Williams, T. Williams have potential to be stars.
4. Although it doesn't feel like it, VT has actually improved each year under Pry.
5. Portal evaluation has overall been good. Some misses, but some major hits.
6. Pry is good at introspection. (But to be determined if he can improve the coaching staff and his own personal coaching abilities.)
The biggest issues or reasons for pessimism:
1. Coaching inexperience has led to misevaluations on which players to start/play, inopportune play calling, an game mismanagement resulting in losses.
2. QB play has not been good enough. No bona fide top-level ACC QB on roster.
The sad part is Pry did hire a game time manager to help with the time out issues. He has been incompetent and is going to be let go at end of season hopefully.
Wait who's that? I feel like this is the first I've heard that?
Co-worker has a spouse in the Athletic Department. Not going to name names, but Pry did hire somebody to assist and they have not been doing a good job.
This "game manager" has been mentioned by Pry in the postgame presser. I think he's more of a guy that looks in a book and determines what to do on 4th down, based on percentages. I don't know that he suggests when to take timeouts. But I honestly don't know what he does, this is just my conjecture from the very few words said by Pry on him and the fact that Pry seems to be the only one making decisions on timeouts.
Can't go 13-5 without losing 5.
Sure, Drones wasn't hard to repla e with Schlee and still have a good offensive plan. Coney looks like he might be really good, not tuten but still good. Lane and gosnell will be missed but I think Jennings and Felton will easily be replaced. Young LBs have really started to play much better. Young DBs look better than expected, though Mose needs some work. But if Stroman is back, him and Reddish with Mose worked I to the rotation looks good on the back end. Delane didn't do himself any favors so NFL and transfer looks less likely, hopefully he can grow this off season. We just need to figure out how to replace APRs production on the line and we have something cooking assuming the coaches use the talent a bit better and they improve
Bleacher Report is projecting Delane as a late first round pick. This was from three days ago.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10135871-mansoor-delane-nfl-draft-20...
Wow really, have they watched him this year?
We start every season undefeated, baby!
Haven't seen much to back it up, but I don't feel like Watson or Belfort is the future at QB1. Might be surprised, but I think we see a transfer QB starting next year if Drones leaves.
He's going to transfer to a school that needs a somewhat competent QB to finish out their roster. No he isn't what we hoped he develop into before the start of this year, but he is going to attract a lot of schools that can most likely drop a bigger bag than VT. Plus, with almost all weapons gone after this year, he probably sees it's better for him to go build up his brand at another school with a competent QB coach/OC
No chance he declares for NFL, unless he's taking some advice as Jerod Evans did.
Evans would have surely made a different decision if he had the NIL and transfer rules of today. I think he would have stayed in VT if he had NIL, or maybe he gets paid big NIL dollars at an SEC school.
that's a good point... I would venture to say the ladder of the situations you posed.
Evans had the numbers, for sure. But Fuente was still a "QB guru" at that time with a few NFL draft picks to his name. All in the past now. We can only hope for a Evans to fall in our lap these days.
Whomever lied to that kid that he was an NFL prospect should be ashamed. Somebody told Evans- an inaccurate one read QB that he was an NFL prospect. we never learn. It's a different game. Which is why people on here that think APR is a second round draft pick are going to be disappointed.
If I recall correctly Evans needed money for a family issue. He hoped that would come from jumping but we all got to see the results.
If I needed money and I couldn't consistently hit a multiple route slant pass, I might finish my degree and find an honest job.
Confirmed: Davi is the starting QB at Duke
(Note: Please don't take me serious. I have no idea who is playing QB or RB.)
I read your comment. Stared hard at the tweet. Accessed the tweet. Very seriously considered texting my friend group about it. Came back to TKP. Then I scrolled down far enough to see your disclaimer. What a rollercoaster of emotions
SAME
Your welcome.
When I saw on Twitter, I definitely did a "hmmph, that's interesting." I imagine it's just Vitor loving on his son, but it's peculiar timing.
I am expecting it to be Schlee on Saturday, but again, no idea.
Not out of the realm of possibility. Drones is questionable and Schlee himself was pretty banged up. I don't get the sense Pop is the next guy in line, kind of get the feeling it's Davi/Kelden Ryan or another transfer for next year. So would be interesting to see a heavy dose of Davi, Brodie Adams, Chanz Wiggins, and some of the other young guys tomorrow. Guys like Jennings and Felton have been so disappointing that it's time to go to the younger guys in the pipeline IMO. Sunk costs at this point.
Agreed, but I do think they are definitely still playing for this season. I imagine a healthy Schlee is the move, and Schlee was practicing. For the WR position, I think Green and Adams need to be seeing more playing time than Jennings and Felton simply based on the fact that I think they would provide VT with a better chance to win.
lmao. This was me earlier today at work. Someone hacked the official Dallas Cowboys page and put Daniel Jones on the active roster. I about left work, but thought about it some more and hit up Reddit for confirmation first.
He's smaller than Pop Watson, which is not easy to do.
A friend relayed a question from his GF who was watching the game with him on Saturday. "Why do VT's quarterbacks look like children?"
this after the camera shot of Belfort and Watson walking to the bench together, and the follow-up shot showing them sitting on the bench next to each other talking