Hokies Make a Change in the Secondary

"Stress fracture? Yeah."

It was a small correction, but it was something that Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Facyson said that stood out. The question was about how long he had been dealing with what had been previously described as a left tibia stress reaction, an injury that sidelined the sophomore for nearly all of spring practice, forcing him to work his way back during the first three games of the Hokies' season.

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons define a stress fracture as, "A small crack or fracture in a weight-bearing bone," often developing from overuse. Fittingly enough, that definition could also be used to describe what happened to the Hokie defensive backs last Saturday. East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden attacked the small fractures and cracks in DBU for a grand total of 427 yards and three touchdowns. Brandon Facyson was on the opposite end of coverage on one of those scores.

"I can't even describe to you how frustrating [the injury] really is," said Facyson. "Especially after I gave up some plays that I wouldn't have made if I was fully healthy. I'm not going to make excuses, if I'm injured or hurt I've just got to play with great technique, and I didn't. But it's definitely an injury that's frustrating me, on numerous accounts."

Facyson was pulled at times against the Pirates in favor of junior Donovan Riley, who was riding a hot streak after he housed a game-sealing interception against Ohio State the week before. Although, like Facyson, Riley also surrendered yardage in coverage, Donovan played well enough to force the coaching staff to re-examine the depth chart at corner.

"Well right now [Brandon's] not the starter," said defensive backs coach Torrian Gray. "Even in the first game William and Mary he was alternating in and out. And until he works himself back to the Brandon, movement-wise, of last year, he's going to have a different role right now."

That's a bitter pill to swallow, considering that Facyson was an All-ACC performer during his freshman season and showed a relentless knack for being around the ball and coming up with turnovers. The injury still holds him back, and it's obvious that he knows it too.

"I guess you can tell I'm not what I was last year, right now," Facyson said. "But, I will be and I've got full confidence, one hundred percent confidence that I will be, and I just have to work through it."

While that's the attitude of someone trying his best to be on the mend, this does seem like somewhat of a surprise considering that he was cleared to play in mid-August. How long has he been dealing with it?

"I had a bump on my leg all last season," said Facyson. "So I'm guessing I played with it all through the season last year, never really gave me problems, but I did feel a little something that wasn't right, something uneasy, every time I would take a step or whatever. So they did an x-ray and noticed that there was a little crack in my bone. Did one day of spring, they took me out of spring, and had to do some surgery on it."

That's something that seems more serious than many assumed, and it explains why a player as talented as Facyson has seemed off his game to start the season.

The most telling thing about the entire secondary is their group approach to every game, thinking about themselves as one unit as opposed to a group of individuals. While Facyson is hungry and motivated after temporarily losing his position, Riley is simply trying to do his job.

"Of course it's very exciting, but at the same time I'm still being humble and I'm still maintaining my role," Riley said. "That's just to be a great teammate and just play my position. I'm not trying to do anybody else's position or think I've become big headed or anything like that. I just want to play my position and help my team out as best as I can."

If Riley can help out his team like he did in Columbus, the Hokies' secondary should be in a better spot, at least until Facyson can make it all the way back.