[Mark Umansky]
After impressive debuts last Saturday against William & Mary, freshmen Shai McKenzie and Marshawn Williams are listed as co-starters to begin this week of practice as Virginia Tech prepares for its upcoming trip to Columbus to face Ohio State.
On Saturday, McKenzie rushed 9 times for 106 yards and a score, Williams 12 times for 46 yards. J.C. Coleman, Tech's starter for William and Mary, is listed below the pair along with last year's starter Trey Edmunds. Coleman rushed 10 times for 20 yards and a score against the Tribe. Trey Edmunds did not receive a carry Saturday, but played on special teams. Edmunds is still recovering from a broken left tibia suffered in the Virginia game at the end of last season.
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Three cheers for a competent coaching staff decision!
Hip hip!
i hate to admit but i as actually thinking the staff wouldnt do this... but i couldnt be more excited they did. jcc is such a good hokie and his attitude is incredible but it just didnt translate on the field. im so pumped for saturday seeing shai and marshawn getting the carries
Since no one else will, HURRAY!!
GETTING EXCITED
One person wants you to calm down.
How could you not be thrilled with this? 3-4 years of these young fellows.
Better order some extra ice baths for anOSU's linebackers and secondary.
Solid choice; and hats off to JCC for working his ass off and being a team player.
I was paying close attention to Edmunds when he was on the field. IMO, he did not look 100%, to the point where it looked as though he was favoring his leg significantly coming off the field after one of the kickoffs.
Prior to the game, my hope was that he needed to mentally get over the hump, but now I worry it is more physical. I hope he gets healthy and gets back to where he was, because he has the talent.
In the meantime, it is nice to know these freshman are stepping up!
Did anyone else notice this about Edmunds and draw similar/different conclusions? I'm surprised it hasn't been given a bit more attention.
Broken tibias are rough, I broke mine two years ago and can still feel it occasionally. It also took way longer than 6 months to feel back up to shape, let alone being hit by 240 lb freaks of nature on a regular basis. I think it will be a much longer healing process than he might think and I hope the staff takes it VERY slowly with him. I really like trey and I hope he can rebound from this and come back 100%
Thanks for the input. Yeah, I don't know much about that type of injury or the rehab. I'm with you on taking it slow. Hopefully, the staff will give him a small role this year, build on it each week and keep him positive and moving in the right direction.
Yep, it was obvious just from watching him run on to the field. I believe this will be a year long process to get back to 100%
I also paid close attention, and I actually had the opposite reaction, but I may have seen what I wanted to see.
Thank gracious! I am grateful for Coleman and the effort he has put in over the years but he has not consistently performed...ever? I know he's had good games, but nothing like the running backs of old. Outstanding call by the coaches, I am really excited to see what our new guys are capable of.
Yeah he only had one really good game and that was the Duke game his freshman year
Agreed. These two frosh RBs are the clear top choice(s) for the ground game this season. Shai was explosive and MMFW pounded the players on D. That being said, JCC did not bring game on Sat. Maybe he will get some more opportunities this year, but he struggled hard in that game much like a majority of last season.
This is very good news indeed...
Fantastic job Shane Beamer!
Congratulations to Shai and Juice, and tip of the hat to JCC for alway giving his all.
I think JCC will be much more effective as a guy coming out of the backfield on 3rd downs. Small and quick enough to sneak out of pass protection and pick up big yards.
ETA - This shows a couple important things.
ONE: We are going to put our best people on the field to win games.
TWO: Those best people might well be freshmen. This plays really well for recruiting.
Playing the best on the roster seems to be a decent strategy.
"Small and quick enough "
Well...at least one of them anyway
I'd really like to see trey healthy enough to get a few carries at OSU Saturday along with our two freshman.
i dont think it will happen
Agree, see my conversation with eshiben5 above.
What, Shane may give carries to the most deserving back? If he let's McKenzie or Williams actually establish a rhythm I just may have died and gone to heaven. No offense to JCC. He works his tail off and is a great Hokie, but he just isn't as talented as our freshmen. Or Trey, for that matter.
Yippie Ki Yeah !!!
All aboard the freshmen hype train! Choo choo!
Yes. The best backs on the roster are the starters, showing that we will play the best players regardless of age. This bodes well for recruiting, and as a bonus anOSU has virtually no film on these two guys. Having a veteran like JC on the bench is almost more valuable than starting him.
If they remain atop the depth chart when Trey is back to 100%, we'd be in the best shape we could possibly be in. Dynamic young talents backed up by experienced talents.
Everyone's collective reaction as these two trains roll down the field:
Additionally:
I am honestly really surprised by David Wang doing that well. I didn't notice that from him especially considering how anxious he looked in the first quarter. For the running backs, I totally agree with the new depth chart. That was the only spot I was shocked by going into the first game, but I'm glad the coaches made the right decision going into Ohio State.
We seemed to be running the ball better when Wang was in there instead of Wyatt. Maybe first game jitters for Teller, but seems like the Gibson and Wang combo on that left side is pretty good.
Teller only played two meaningful series. One was the series that ended in an INT. Teller got a holding call which I didn't see. Teller was part of a double team, and when Gibson got the DT's pads up, Teller pancaked him. His lowpoint was also a pancake, because he went to zone block a linebacker and just threw a shoulder at him, see here.
00:26:37–00:26:46
The linebacker slides right off and just about meets Williams in the hole. But, Teller recovers and gets just enough of the linebacker that Williams can cut and get extra yardage. Teller plants the LB on the ground in the process.
His next series didn't come until McKenzie broke the 100 yard mark. Teller had another pancake that you can find in the giftory thread and a couple of nice scoop blocks.
His big issues remain the same. He has to get his hands up quickly before defenders get into his body. And, the staff has to trust him in pass protection. I didn't see any protection busts by Teller, but he didn't get any work in pass first situations like the 2 minute drill that lead to the field goal before the half.
Would I start Teller? Absolutely. With the exception of communication on pass protection (Teller is an inexperienced player), Teller can get movement that Wang has not been able to generate in three years of playing time. Wang will be where you need him to be, but he isn't driving an elite one technique out of the hole. Teller has the ability to, even if it takes some time to learn the technique to go with the ability.
I can't wait to see how these guys perform against Ohio State.
Does anyone know JC's YAC?
Thanks for sharing Andy's tweets. Thos is very positive inside the numbers view of how Wang and Rogers played on Saturday. Is it Saturday yet? The Ohio St game cannot get here soon enough! Go Hokies!
Giggity giggity!!
Thank you!!!! Please no more JC Coleman runs in the goal-line and I will be one happy camper! Shai needs to get the majority of the carries though. He is much more comfortable in the zone scheme, spill him with Williams and you have a deadly combo.
We should be using JC more on triple option type plays or jet sweeps. He needs to have hit full dipped before he gets the ball the dork magic.
What?
Is "full dipped" and "dork magic" a new thing? Haha
I smell a new TKP meme brewing...
I don't know what this is, but it is awful and hillarious all at once and set the stage for some of the dork magic a few posts down...
JC got that Dork Magic for sure
If the coaches can harness this power, I think he will be a starter again
Is it bad that I wanted one of those power gloves when it came out?
the fact that you wanted one isn't bad, the power glove itself is bad. . .bad in the good meaning.
^^^^THIS x 1,000.
The real question is whether or not he can upgrade his dork magic to geek level:
You make a very compelling point here.
that was my reaction as well
Not sure if dork magic is allowed by the NCAA, but if it is I can't see a flaw in the logic.
I'll have whatever he's having. That's some good stuff.
This is kitty-cat score territory he's dipping into. If he has a newsletter, I must have a subscription.
Leg leg leg leg leg and Guntar sends into legendary status with a picture that made me splort.
"With the power vested in me by virtue of being Sam Rogers, I hereby fully dip you in dork magic."
And here I had always assumed that a Hokie football baptism would involve bourbon, turkey drippings, and Hoo tears, spilled from the Commonwealth Cup. I stand corrected; clearly all one needs is dork magic and Sam Rogers performing the ritual.
Just followed a link for the origin of dork magic and don't understand how this isn't plaid. VT football baptism - love it! We should start this tradition with Pry...
No way dork magic was 7+ years ago. It was just yesterday, right?
I love this place so much
Wow. Words fail me.
Maybe JC's problem is that he doesn't know how to activate his dork magic??? I dunno...
He needs to drink on of these first. Needs full mana
This is why I should comment more often instead of just lurk. I need to give out legs for this!
You're on your way my son. Soon, you shall be able to go forth and tell other people that you are happy about the things they said without saying anything at all.
After the posts above this is the straw that broke the camels back and brought a few tears to my eyes from laughing more than I should have at work. Thank you sir!
This is what happened to me. I was chuckling until I saw the image, at which point I blurted out a laugh that was a little like a sneeze. I thought 'splort' was the closest word.
FWIW, this has been added to the inside jokes/memes thread.
Buffalo Wild Wings?
And another famous TKP catch phrase is born...ok two catch phrases!
Fellow TKP members, please allow me to clarify the situation. Unfortunately my I-pad had a little too much fun on our Hokie Saturday and might have participated in some dork magic. For that, I apologize.
Good night.
I don't think there is any need to apologize. I'm pretty sure you started something magical!
Yup, I'm glad I was here to witness a key moment in TKP history.
these are the best kind of posts. how we get things like "don't deny my pussy touchdowns"
man, I wish that guy and kennyhokie were still around. loved them
...and because the internet needs more John Boyer memes:
OHHHHHH IS THAT Prof Boyer??????? So awesome. World Regions FO' LIFE SON!
Who didn't read that last one in Boyer's voice?
The second time through made me laugh even more. First time I didn't get to see every one of the memes. This is favorite site. Other sites are favorite too, but this ones more favorite.
I am just thankful that with better play calling, OL coaching and recruiting we no longer have to count on Stiney figuring out how to fully dip players in his dork magic to put up points on offense.
Its about time Shane! Stats don't lie. As of now, Marshwan & Shai are the best backs. Im still not sure JC is #3. Caleb runs pretty well on Saturday.
I'm trying to understand the dork magic...is this it?
Close. But pretty sure that's doink magic you got there.
Now, if we can get Kyshoen off of punt returns.
I've heard we may see Greg Stroman back there possibly
Just want to say, nailed it ^^^^
He moved them to co number 1s but how will the rotation work? How will the carries be split? They were split pretty evenly last week amongst the 3. I would like to see a 60%, 30%,10%-situational kind of split. We need someone who we can say, "This is our guy and when he is tired, you better watch out because this fresh fella is gonna come bust you in the chops". Thats just my $.02
Well I'm all for it. This is how you breed healthy competition, by putting the best players on the field regardless of time spent in the program. I'm hoping they continue to push each other, support each other, and bring the best out of the running back corp each week. If you watch the pre-season camps and videos, these guys look like they are having a lot of fun and really like the team. There is a lack of attitude and me-first vibes (a la Marcus Vick) and these guys generally want to see the team be successfull first. You can see if from the coaching staff (Moorehead, Beamers, etc) on down through the QB Brewer and his comments, to everyone. I am liking this squads attitude, easy to root for.
Anticipating that #dorkmagic...
Bring back the magic, Coach Pry
In the form of hiring an OC who is the best at putting this team in position to succeed and ironing out the minutia.
Holy thread revival Batman!!
I was legit excited at first that 2 current freshman RB's were going to get to start in the bowl game...
The original dork magic comment is somehow even better than I remembered it.
Shai McKenzie and Marshawn Williams
Honestly rereading this gave me a sad knowing how this story ended. We really got unlucky with the injury bug with our running backs in this era.
Inadvertent trick headline.
That is the real dork magic.
we need to get that origin comment to plaid, come on gang
edit: I'm so proud of y'all
I did my part (since I wasn't on here for the original comment).