Williams, Wang Ready to Power New-Look Tech Running Game

When the Hokies finally lace up their cleats for the season opener, all the questions about Tech's new-look running game will start to fade away.

When William and Mary arrives in Blacksburg for the start of the 2014 season, the endless hours of debate about who will start on the offensive line or which running backs will get carries will fall by the wayside in favor of watching what happens on the field.

For a coaching staff that's endured a barrage of inquiries from the media and fans alike about how they plan to revamp a running game that was one of the worst in program history last season, that's got to come as a relief.

But with just a few days left until the Hokies take the field, running backs coach Shane Beamer is likely feeling more anxious than ever.

Trey Edmunds is still trying to work his way all the way back from the broken leg he suffered at the end of last season, and while he's made some progress after a few desperately needed days off, he's not quite back to his old self.

"Trey looked pretty good today," Beamer said. "They've had three days off straight and it did wonders for a lot of their legs. He looked good though, he looked quick, he looked fast and he's a motivated guy to get back to where he was. I've got no question that he will."

Edmunds' injury woes will bump J.C. Coleman into the starting spot against the Tribe, with freshmen Marshawn Williams and Shai McKenzie in supporting roles.

Yet Beamer still isn't sure how exactly the rotation will shake out on Saturday.

"(I've got it worked out) a little bit in my head, but nothing that we've solidified at this point. We're still finalizing the gameplan," Beamer said. "As we put together packages, we'll figure out on Thursday where we want to be, how we want to split these carries up. J.C. will start and then we'll go from there. A lot of that will depend on how the game's going and who may get hot, so we'll see."

But one question lingers: are these two true freshmen ready for meaningful carries after just a few weeks of preparation?

"They better be, because they're playing," Beamer said. "I think Marshawn may be a little bit more (ready) than Shai just because he was here and he went through 15 spring practices. He's been out there and had more live action than Shai, but then Marshawn missed most of preseason, so Shai kind of made that up...They'll both play Saturday, they'll both carry the football, then we'll kind of see where we are from there."

Williams seems to have gotten in Beamer's good graces for reasons other than just his extra experience in the spring

"In the scrimmage on Saturday, just from a pass protection standpoint, you trust him in pass protection and he looked very natural running the ball," Beamer said. "He's got great vision for a big guy, a young guy. He sees things, he made some nice runs that require good vision."

His energy on the field also has Shane comparing Williams to former Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno.

"I coached at South Carolina, and I remember every time Knowshon got tackled, that sucker popped up and it was a sprint back to the huddle. Marshawn kind of brings that energy to the running back position," Beamer said. "I think our offensive line feeds off that, really the whole offense. He's a young guy but when he's in the huddle, he's trying to be a leader, just getting on those guys saying 'just get me a little bit of room and I'll make stuff happen.' He's got something to him."

Williams doesn't take all the credit for that attitude - he says he learned it from his days playing next to (future UVa QB) David Watford and Dallas Cogdell at Hampton High School.

"I can't really be a vocal leader, I can kind of lead by example," Williams said. "Me bouncing up, running into the huddle is my way of making us all play better...I've seen it work. That's what I learned and that's what I'm sticking to."

The fact that Williams is even on the field in any capacity, let alone inspiring the whole unit, comes a pleasant surprise to his position coach after weight issues and an injury slowed the freshman in camp.

"When we knew he was going to be out for a few weeks, I probably would've just sort of bet anything that he would've come back at about 240 (pounds)," Beamer said. "He worked his tail off while he rehabbed and I thought that showed a lot about him as far as his maturity."

But Williams says he never had any doubt he'd be able to drop the extra pounds once he cut out a certain dining hall.

"West End is what killed me, so I stayed away from there, and my weight's going down," Williams said.

Even as coaches openly talked about his weight issues, and fans started hyperventilating, he never got too worried about it.

"When the coaches say 'you've got to lose weight,' it's serious. But when everybody else says it, it just goes in one ear and out other. I don't have to listen to them," Williams said. "Losing weight was never serious to me because I know I can do it."

While Williams expects to get a considerable number of carries on the day, Coleman is the nominal starter, and he's ready to contribute.

"If I get hot, then they'll probably ride with me. If the other guys get hot, he'll ride with them," Coleman said. "Being a running back is all about rhythm. If you catch the rhythm, then you'll get hot."

After struggling with injuries for the first half of last season, the junior is keen on proving he's back at full strength.

"I didn't get healthy until about game 7 or 8. It took a while until I could really cut and do what I wanted to do out there, be at full speed," Coleman said. "I want to go out there, perform at my best and have a great game."

Left guard David Wang also suffered through an injury-ridden 2013, and he's similarly eager to prove he's back at full strength now that he's earned back a starting spot on the line.

He says his health hasn't been an issue in camp, specifically that he's been healthy "for the last couple weeks," but it still came as a bit of a surprise when he surpassed Wyatt Teller and Alston Smith to get the top job.

"It was a battle down to the last day, and when they released the depth chart, that was when I found out I was the starter," Wang said. "It was a last minute kind of thing, but I'm definitely happy to be playing."

For offensive line coach Stacy Searels, it was a matter of trusting Wang's experience over Teller and Smith's youth.

"He's been here six years, so he ought to have figured it out by now," Searels joked. "I'm pleased with his leadership. I think he realizes this is his last go-round. I don't think he's gonna get a seventh year. But the guy is practicing hard and doing a good job out there."

Wang says the realization that this would be his last season at Tech only seemed to hit him recently.

"It definitely hit me right after practice today," Wang said. "It hit me and I needed to say something to the young guys like 'this is my last go-round, same with the other seniors, I just want everybody to put that extra effort that I kind of gave to all our seniors in the past.' I just want everybody to play their best because I want to go out on top. It's important to me."

Despite the uncertainty on the line through the spring and fall, Wang says he's confident that the guys playing next to him will help him go out with a bang.

"I'm super happy playing next to Laurence (Gibson). I really like him as a tackle," Wang said. "He really reminds me a lot of Nick Becton and he was my favorite tackle here. And Caleb (Farris) I played with all last season, so it's just swapping sides."

The new left tackle's athleticism is what has Wang making comparisons to his old friend Becton.

"He's such a tremendous athlete. He plays so fast that I can trust him wholeheartedly, I know he's going to be there," Wang said. "And I lived with Nick, we kind of bonded over that kind of stuff, we played next to each other, that was awesome."

Wang is one of the few players on the line to overlap with Becton, and he's trying to pass on what he learned from other Tech guards the newcomers might've missed.

"I try to give them a few tips over the years from what I've learned from watching Greg Nosal, Jaymes Brooks, all those guards, and I believe I have a little bit more knowledge, but they're definitely picking it up in strides," Wang said.

Searels is a little less confident in how the two-deep is shaping up.

"I feel good about our first five, the second five we've got to improve, be more consistent," Searels said.

Although the Tribe might not stack up with Ohio State talent-wise, the line will still get a test against William and Mary's surprisingly talented front seven.

"They've got an All-American at defensive end (Mike Reilly), the two guys inside have size and are athletic, the other defensive end is a very solid player, the outside backer 6 (Airek Green) is very athletic, 50 (Luke Rhodes) is a tremendous mike backer," Searels said. "They're a tough front seven, I know that."

Wang agreed that he'd be preparing extra carefully for his final season opener.

"They've got some very skilled players and they've got a lot of experience in their front seven," Wang said. "A lot of people write them off because they're a smaller school, but we're definitely not. We know how good they are, they can play with the best of them. We're getting ready like it's a season opener against Alabama again. We're going to go 100 percent regardless."

Hokie fans are surely hoping that the run game that looked so promising against that Crimson Tide team a season ago comes through this time around.