BUD FOSTER CHALK TALK
Date: June 9, 2014
Time: Social with hor doeuvres and drinks goes from 6:00-7:00. Q&A runs from 7:00-8:30.
Where: USA Today building in Tysons Corner (free parking)
What: An event put on by the NOVA Hokie Club featuring Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster, Defensive Line Coach Charley Wiles, and Network Analyst Mike Burnop. The coaches and Mr. Burnop will speak to the attendees as well as take questions. There will also be a raffle and items up for auction. Raffle items include two tickets to VT games, Hokie gear, and a signed VT lunch pail. Silent auction items include two VT/Miami tickets and two VT/UVA tickets. There will also be items up for live auction. These details can also be found here.
I have recently increased my involvement with the Hokie Club in NOVA by becoming a rep for the NOVA area. We very much want to increase attendance at the events put on in the area as well as increase overall involvement with the Hokie Club. To encourage attendance, especially amongst the younger Hokies, we are implementing a few new things for this event.
- Prepay before June 1st, $10, $20 afterwards (includes non-alcoholic drinks and food)
- Under 18 FREE
- All current VT students FREE with a VT ID
- Under 30, $10
- First 100 attendees receive a free VT gift
Another thing we are trying to improve is the location of events. We are struggling to find the optimal location that is convenient for the majority of people. Our recruiting night with Coach Stinespring was in Arlington at the Draft House, the O&M Event with Coach Beamer and Coach Wolff was at Westwood Country Club in Vienna (right outside Tysons), and this event, as mentioned above, is in Tysons. To try and determine what works best for everyone, we have created a survey on our main web page here. Please take a few seconds to vote for your preferred location.
Im going to be throwing up a post for each of the events we have throughout the year to get the word out. In addition, I also encourage everyone in the NOVA area to sign up for our mailing list here. For those of you that do not live within the NOVA area, I encourage you to sign up for the mailing list for your local chapter of the Hokie Club. Each chapter can be found here. The various chapters also put on events similar to this throughout the year. You do NOT have to be a member of the Hokie Club to attend these events, although I encourage you to consider joining if within your means (I plan on writing a post later about the importance of the Hokie Club and how it is vital to Virginia Tech's success in athletics as well as cost efficient ways to join). The money raised at Chalk Talk will go towards funding the new indoor practice facility. Scott Davis, the Associate Director of Development for Intercollegiate Athletics, said at our O&M Event last month that there is still approximately $5 million left to raise for the facility so every penny counts! Once that thing is built we can determine where to put the clock that counts up from the last time LOLUVA managed to actually beat us.
Lastly, when we made it a point to shake things up to increase attendance for this event, the first thing that came to my mind was the TKP community. Everyone on here is passionate about our Hokies. Not only that, but there is a large amount of younger Hokies on here. We want to increase membership and activity in general but it is no secret the Hokie Club is struggling to reach out to and engage the younger generation of Hokies. Over the past year or so I've seen the occasional chatter in various posts on here about the Hokie Club. It is my hope that I can act as a voice in our NOVA Hokie Club meetings. I want to solicit ideas and advice on how to improve our numbers and outreach methods. As I mentioned, I plan on throwing out a subsequent post with more information about the Hokie Club. Some information you may know, some information you may not. I hope you will all use posts in that thread and this thread for your advice, ideas, etc!
I hope to see you all next month! It's a great opportunity to listen to our coaches speak as well as mingle and socialize with fellow Hokies!
One last thing... big thanks to Joe for allowing me to write this post! It is much appreciated!
Comments
Updated with time and auction items.
Nooooo, I will be on the wrong coast!
Stupid vacation.
I'm on the wrong coast too, but it's for work...urrgggh. This is a great event and all who can make it, should make the effort to attend.
Awesome, thanks for the update. Definitely will be attending with some fellow hokies.
Crap. I just committed to help run an event that weekend.
The 9th is a Monday. Not sure if what you're doing spills over into the week. If it doesn't, hope you can make it out!
Oh snap, for realsies? Take a leg, you just made my day.
Committed? Well, If you haven't signed an LOI, you can still take official visits... Like to McLean, to see the USA Today Campus.
Jus sayin'.
Got my ticket and will be there. Looking forward to it.
Just a reminder that this event is this evening if you haven't gotten your ticket yet or have and forgot to look at the calendar.
Was going to post a reminder myself. Beat me to it. Thank ya sir!
Hope to meet a lot of TKPers tonight!
I had forgotten about this event and unfortunately am swamped work and travel coming up so I won't be able to make it tonight. That being said, I hope you have a great turnout and continue to post about events, as I'm very interested in attending in the future.
Quick question. I have ordered tickets, and I have an email confirmation. Is that what we use to get in?
Thanks!
EDIT: Just heard back. For anyone that prepaid using PayPal or by sending in a check, we have a list that will be at the door for check in. Just to be safe, might not be a bad idea to bring any confirmation you have.
Look forward to seeing ya there!
Gracias
True Foster chalk talk
Thanks to everyone that came out tonight! I hope it was an enjoyable event!
For those of you that could not make it and are in the NOVA area, it was announced that Whit has agreed to come up here for an event in August. We're still working on locking down a date and a venue but it will most likely be in the second or third week of August. Once everything is set I'll be sure to throw out a thread. We really want to pack the house for this event! Me personally...
Again, hope those of you that could make it out tonight enjoyed it!
It was a good event and I look forward to seeing Whit this summer.
Coach Wiles and Foster were both very candid and made some jabs at other schools and their education practices or lack there of, and the character or lack there of a couple head coaches that are on our schedule this year.
They both are extremely excited about Searels and what he is going to bring to the table as a coach and recruiter. Both echoed the sentiments of French and Joe to a more power blocking scheme from the oline and less zone blocking which foster said caused some mis-communications last year.
They look forward to the running game coming back around with the bigger backs on the roster in Trey/Marshawn/Shai & DJ Reid; specifically saying we haven't had a back break a tackle since David Wilson. Foster also stated they saw Shai do some things in non-contact drills that 'wowed' the coaches.
The are very very high on Wyatt Teller, Corey Marshall, Deon Clarke, Bucky, and of course the duo of Fuller & Faycson. They both are extremely high on Dadi as well they just want him to "marry the weight room" this summer. The sky is the limit for him.
Foster was non too pleased with the field goal kicking and turnovers last year citing that this should have been an 11 win team without half the missed kicks and non-defensive touchdowns we gave up.
Thanks for the recap. Interesting that they say zone blocking caused miscommunication problems last year...I was under the impression man/power blocking required even more communication. At any rate, it's encouraging to hear that they're excited about Searels. If the O-Line takes another step forward and a QB emerges, this will be a really good team, I think. And if special teams play improves. I guess that's a lot of 'ifs,' but none are unrealistic.
Now I really want to hear more about the jabs that were made...
I was there as well (Wiles dodged my question about their best pass rushers lining up over right tackle, which they have since 2004, and turned it into "we still say stud vs end but we don't flip sides" which I never even mentioned).
I want to be respectful of the fact that these types of forums are candid because they don't want everything they say going to the public. And, because they know that the ability to be candid is limited in the internet era, they were very guarded about any specific X's and O's.
Waking out last night, I think the following:
1) The nickel is the base defense now because of the spread, and they think Chuck Clark will be the nickel guy. If he can't, Kendall will move inside and one of the young corners will replace Kendall on the boundary (likely Riley.) I got the impression that Clark has the best ability to cover in man while still being strong enough to be effective in run support.
2) They are really excited about Corey Marshall playing inside, and even if they have depth issues at end, I think he will stay inside. They talked about how he was more productive inside as a freshman than outside as a sophomore. They really are high on Ekanem and expect big things (not just lip service, but their body language was much more engaging when talking about him.) They also lit up about Maddy, but he almost didn't happen. Wiles indicated that Maddy got the scholarship earmarked for Stephone Anthony. Foster visibly winced when Anthony was mentioned.
3) Reading between the lines, I think Foster and Wiles both knew, like I did, that Wyatt Teller's upside was much higher at offensive line than defensive line going back to when Foster was recruiting him. Both said if his technique matches his "want-to", he will be elite. Wiles also mentioned that Jonathan McLaughlin has cut a significant amount of weight after struggling through the spring with a sports hernia.
4) Foster said that Holland Fisher has talked to him about playing linebacker, and noted that most of Fisher's film at FUMA was him playing near the line of scrimmage. They will start him at safety, but don't be shocked if he ends up at linebacker. Foster also noted that the new spread-style offenses mean that they recruit corner first, and it is easier to move corners in to safety and linebacker than vice versa. He went out of his way to talk about how they like to take guys and put them in the best position to have success and help the football team, and recounted Demetrius Taylor, who moved from linebacker to end to tackle. He said "we would not have won the ACC without Demetrius Taylor at defensive tackle."
5) Wiles said that Coach Searels is looking to land 3-4 offensive lineman this cycle.
6) This is probably purely coincidence, but the entire night, Foster or Wiles didn't mention a single offensive coach by name besides Searels. He did however indicate how the Hokies should have won 11 games, and was visibly frustrated at how the Hokies left 82 points on the field this season (7 touchdowns on offensive turnovers or kick/punt returns, 11 missed field goals.) When talking about Searels, he did highlight how Searels wanted more power, and I think the coaching leadership wanted to go in that direction when making their choice to replace Grimes. They kept saying Searels "is Blacksburg" and is there to stay and raise his family. How they pushed it and kept coming back to it made me think that perhaps the staff is a little hurt by Grimes departure and felt like he used VT as a stepping stone job. Again, me reading between the lines.
This was my first event, and to be honest, I had hoped it was going to be more of a "Chalk Talk" as titled rather than recounting the previous season and talking about each position group coming out of the spring. There wasn't much insight that wasn't already available through Andy Bitter's great interviews and recaps.
Don't these clowns understand that a player's best position is mostly set in stone by the 10th grade and, if there is some lingering question, that recruiting analysts (aka guys in their boxers sitting at their basement computer) have the final say???
I too was hoping for more of a 'chalk talk' and more q and a would have been better in my eyes as well. I thought it was interesting as well that Foster kinda came out of now where and said for this team to be very good they need a qb that can manage the game and get the ball in the right places and keep the ball away from the other team.
I think I was sitting just down the same row as you if you were the one that asked about the de's lining up.
"OH BOY, IS THIS GREAT!"
Did you read this as being upset at the O coaches or just being excited about the Sereals hire?
I'd probably say more excited about the Sereals hire. I'm sure they of all people understand that last year was mostly about trying to extinguish the dumpster fire. That said, you can bet they're as frustrated as anyone (see Foster's comments) about having a championship-caliber defense lose at least 3 games because of offensive/ST mistakes.
No he wasn't upset per se, but you have to remember they were there to talk about the defense not the offense. As I said above and French stated too, Foster was non too happy about the 80+ non-defensive points the team gave up. Not only did it costs us games but as you could gather from his words, last seasons record will forever tarnish one of his best defenses he has fielded in his eyes.
Gotcha. That point really illustrates how tough it is to win it all. Everything has to click at the right time for it all to work out.
This is accurate. Foster said plainly that an efficient offense and good place kicking would have made the Hokies an 11 win team. He blamed himself for the bowl game loss but never specified where they fell short (the "why do you struggle with mobile QB" silly question never came up.) But, he plainly said that there were only perhaps a half dozen bad plays made all season by the defense where there were big busts that hurt the team. He didn't specify what those were, but I'd guess the Anthony Boone TD where Ekanem played his first meaningful play and got lost on a read option, the Andre Williams TD, the Christian Jones TD where he slipped behind Frye, and some of the CJ Brown scrambles.
And he had a right to be frustrated. While the defense wasn't perfect, I think they were pretty close to playing as well as they were capable of playing. Two of those back breaking plays were against two kids with zero experience playing their first meaningful snaps in big spots. Some of the Brown runs were broken plays where the D got caught in the wrong stunt at the wrong time. The margin for error was way too small.
As for Hundley, I am glad nobody asked. That wasn't scheme or effort. Sometimes a kid is just better. Michael Vick and Tyrod Taylor weren't great because every DC had bad schemes against them. Sometimes physics wins.
I won't go so far to say that he is upset at the offensive coaches, but the omission felt a bit off. Also, without saying Grimes name, they buried him. Between saying there was "some miscommunication there" about the zone blocking scheme, and then talking about how much Searels bought into being in Blacksburg and how well he fits and how he wanted to raise his family here and buys into the family concept yards yada yada, I got the feeling that he was also saying that the last guy didn't fit.
My feelings on the topic are public record. I think Grimes was outstanding, and until I see Searels start landing some recruits and then see an on the field product where the OL has fundamentals that are on par with Grimes yet more push, don't count me in the "yay Searels rah rah rah" camp.
I find it very interesting, though not surprising, that they would react to Grimes leaving like that. Blacksburg has been a place where people stick around a long time and there is a ton of loyalty among the coaches. I'm torn because I think it's good for the coaching staff to have a chip on their shoulders saying "you don't think we are a good enough to stick around?" but the other side tells me that what is in Blacksburg now is EXTREMELY rare and as we move into a post-Beamer era, whenever that may be, I'd be shocked if we'd see the same type of atmosphere.
To be fair, Wiles said he was calling and texting Grimes trying to get him to stay and was sorry to see him go. "Then I met Stacy and I was like Jeff who?" I think they're comments were more of a testament to how good a fit they think Searles is rather than any kind of animosity towards Grimes. They aren't really dwelling on Grimes at all IMO.
Were they unhappy that Grimes dipped out after only one season? Absolutely
Are they happy with Grimes' replacement? No - they're ecstatic.
I was there too, and I remember Bud mentioning Scot a few times as well as Searels. Also, I suspect the title of the event was mixed up somewhere on the internet because at the beginning of the chat, it was referred to as a mic night which makes a lot more sense
Wiles said something to the extent of "When we (Wiles and Bud) were at Murray State, the only issues we had was waking up for class... I would have done great at UNC"
*crowd erupts... Go Hokies!!
The little bit of news lately have got me excited about the future of the football team.