Hokies Working to Resuscitate the Running Game

The last time the Hokies rushed for as few yards as they did in 2013, many of the players on Tech's roster were in grade school.

You have to go all the way back to 2006 to find the last time the running game was as limp as it was last season, and that team finished with two more wins than last year's squad did.

Suffice it to say that the coaching staff is looking for more from the ground attack this season.

"You hate to be a running backs coach of a team that's 13th in the ACC," said running backs coach Shane Beamer. "It's a challenge for myself for us to be better as a running backs coach, you want to be the coach for the team that finishes first, not next to last. So it's a source of motivation for all of us, we know that's not what Virginia Tech's about, we know we need to be better for us to be successful, and that's the plan."

With the paltry results came not only pressure on the staff, but on the players as well.

"As Virginia Tech Hokies, we have big shoes to fill," said starting running back Trey Edmunds. "Guys in the past, you've got David Wilson, Darren Evans, Ryan Williams right before us, so we definitely have shoes to fill so we go out each and every day and work on the little things, perfect the drills and play hard, and let the chips fall where they fall."

The Hokies insist they're not trying to make excuses for their poor performance a year ago, racking up just 1,557 total yards on the ground, but the younger Beamer does point to a few things that could've held the team back last year.

"Trey was learning the running back position kind of on the run," Beamer said.

There's no doubt that Edmunds' inexperience was an issue early on — after all, he was still learning how to be a running back full time after the coaches worked him at linebacker when he first arrived on campus.

"He improved as the year went along, but if you go back and look at the first half of our season, we were talking about his footwork the other day," Beamer said. "Trey will be the first person to tell you he was kind of all over the place in terms of the steps he was taking, the angle he was supposed to be on. He knew it, but doing it in games was a different matter."

Edmunds really did seem to get in a groove as the season went along, running for 228 yards in his last three games, but the broken leg he suffered in the final contest of the year prevented him from using the spring to build on that progress.

"Trey's showing improvement each day. He looked better day two than he did day one, day three better than day two," Beamer said.

Edmunds seems to have almost completely recovered, but the coaches are still a little unsure he'll be ready to start the season. As if the broken tibia isn't enough to deal with, Edmunds seems acutely aware of the burden on his group.

"We see what we have to do, we definitely have the expectations we have to live up to," Edmunds said. "We're going to try to perfect our craft on Saturdays, and this year on Fridays and Thursdays, we're going to go out and do all we can as a running back group to help the football team."

But while Edmunds had to bear the brunt of the load early last season, he'll have a little more help early in the year from fellow veteran J.C. Coleman.

Coleman had ankle problems throughout the year, famously managing to sprain both ankles on one play in practice, and that put a strain on the offense.

"Early in the season, J.C.'s hurt, he's not playing. You're going with Trey basically every snap until J.C. gets healthy," Beamer said.

The junior had a promising freshman season in 2012, but the overall malaise that settled over the offense that year limited his development. The staff was looking for him to play an important complementary role in 2013, but the persistent injuries really hampered him.

In response, he decided to work on his strength.

"I've gotten a whole lot stronger, picked up weight, so I feel like I can do it all," Coleman said.

Coleman will never look imposing on the field at just 5'7", but he hasn't let his diminutive stature deter him from working to out-muscle his opponents.

"I would definitely say I'm one of the strongest guys pound for pound on the team," Coleman said. "I kind of take pride in that. Since I'm not the biggest guy, I have to make up for it in other ways, whether it's my speed or my strength as well, so I always try to make sure I work hard in the weight room and make up for the height with the weight that I do have."

But the question becomes, where can Coleman help the Hokies on the field?

He's largely been considered a third down back before, but after just returning two kicks last year, he might be a prime candidate to get involved in special teams as Tech experiments with multiple players on the return unit.

"You've got to have a return guy and we'll have two back there most of the time," said head coach Frank Beamer. "I think with the way things are going with the rugby kicks and the ball gets all over the field, they start kicking away from one punt returner, so I think we get two and make sure we get the ball caught... We even thought about having three guys playing like in the old days."

The team will likely have to find ways to use Coleman elsewhere as freshmen Marshawn Williams and Shai McKenzie push for playing time right off the bat.

"I think those two freshmen I talked about are going to make us a lot more explosive outside," Beamer said.

McKenzie in particular has been the talk of fall camp. After missing spring ball while still recovering from a torn ACL, he's made fast progress so far.

"I've been pleasantly surprised actually. Physically he looks good," said the younger Beamer. "He didn't do anything in the spring except sit in my meetings and just watch, so you worry about how much he's hearing and absorbing, but he's been great. He sits in those meeting, he doesn't say a whole lot, but he's picked things up well. I like what he's about."

McKenzie seemed headed for a redshirt while working back from the injury, but now he looks like a legitimate contender for playing time right away.

Williams has had similar trajectory — it just happened a few months earlier. He had a superb set of spring practices and could bring some much-needed physicality to the running game.

"He's a guy that can move the pile," Shane said.

Williams seemed destined for a role as a goal line and short yardage back before concerns about his weight and his health surfaced. But now that he's back working in practice, albeit with limited contact, he seems back on track to contribute.

"All I can do is grind and get out there, but if the coaches say I'm not ready, I'm not ready," Williams said.

Williams and McKenzie certainly lack for experience, but Edmunds' injury let him focusing on mentoring the two newcomers this spring.

"Trey is a leader no matter what he's doing, if he's sitting on the sidelines or in a game," Williams said. "He helped me a lot I know, with my plays and just with knowing what to do in those situations and with Shai, he's taken a lot of strides to get better."

The one problem with such an influx of young talent is how to balance who plays and who sits. The freshmen seem ready to push the veterans immediately, which makes redshirting them difficult, and Beamer has admitted as much.

"We've had some young guys to the mix and I really like them all," Shane said. "It really is wide open."

He's made waves with his comments that all the running backs will play this season, but it seems like he's only allowing for the possibility of situational roles, not proposing a six-man RB rotation.

"You can't play four, you can't play six regularly and be any good," Shane said. "My biggest challenge right now is figuring out who goes out where. We'll have two or three that will be on the rotation."

But sorting out the running backs' roles is only have the equation in re-establishing dominance on the ground. New offensive line coach Stacy Searels is tasked with picking up where Jeff Grimes left off in overhauling the unit.

"In a perfect world, these kids would have the same coach and they wouldn't have to adjust to a new guy and a new way of doing things because we've all got our different way of doing things," Searels said. "But it's still football. It's not rocket science, it's football."

Yet figuring out the right combination of linemen that will pave the way for Shane's runner is probably closer to advanced mathematics than Searels lets on.

Searels made a number of changes to the line heading into the summer — most notably moving Laurence Gibson to the left tackle spot and moving 2013 starter Jonathan McLaughlin down the depth chart — but with Brent Benedict and Mark Shuman done with football, Searels has been forced to adapt once again.

Luckily, McLaughlin has the skill to slide back into the starting spot at right tackle without the team missing too much of a beat.

"I think Jonathan has got the ability to play both the left and the right," Searels said. "You've got to be able to move around."

Beyond just figuring out who to get on the field, Searels is also coping with implementing his own, more straight ahead, physical approach.

"If you play with toughness and be physical, you're going to be successful and these kids are working their tails off to try to do what we want to do," Searels said.

The staff also has to get the players used to a tweaked scheme now that Logan Thomas is off to the NFL. The inverted veer is no longer the end all, be all of the running game, and in comes a new emphasis on the inside zone.

Naturally, Searels isn't willing to say they've committed one way or the other just yet.

"We're going to be multiple offensively," Searels said. "Inside zone is part of our offense, but we're going to be multiple and be able to do a lot of different things."

Behind closed doors, Searels is a little clearer about what he wants from the running game.

"Stacy came into our running back meeting room one day and, we were putting in a couple runs...and the play that I had on the board when he came in the room was a little more spread out, and he said 'hey forget that spread out stuff, we're getting back to hammering people' and I think that's our mentality," Shane said. "That's Virginia Tech football and that's our best chance to be successful each week."

Instead of worrying about the new scheme or the new players too much, the coaches are focused on one number for the renewed running attack — 4.5.

"4.5 yards per carry is what we'd like to have per game, that's our goal as an offense," Shane said. "When we go into that Sunday meeting, we go in as a team. Scot (Loeffler) gets up in front of our team and says 'here's our goals each week. Here's the one we hit on each week.' Bud (Foster) does the same on defense. We do the same team on special teams. And it says 'average 4.5 yards per carry' and there's either a 'yes' or a 'no' right there."

The Hokies averaged all of 3.2 yards per carry last year, and disastrous results followed. Maybe keeping an eye on that simple goal will help them field a running game they can be proud of this time around.

"I don't think there's any question we're going to be better," Shane said.