Leadership folks, from the smallest guy out there...
#Hokies WR Willie Byrn says QB Michael Brewers made 3 mistakes Saturday. "I made 7. They just go unnoticed because of the position I play."— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) September 22, 2014
WR Willie Byrn says if #Hokies use noon kickoffs as an excuse for losing, "than we're a soft team that's not going to win a lot of games."— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) September 22, 2014
#Hokies Willie Byrn said team focused on details going into Ohio St game. Since then, they've been sloppy and "practice translates directly"— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) September 22, 2014
#Hokies WR Willie Byrn reiterates what he said after GT loss at today's presser. Need to be "more annoying, more picky" about little things.— Hokies Journal (@HokiesJournal) September 22, 2014
Comments
This is a Team Captain stepping up, and I say give them hell, Paperboy!
Wow, so Willie Byrn says that Noon games should not be an excuse for the Hokies? Hmm... How about that?
Then Willie says the team hasn't been as focused since the Ohio State game? Hmm... How about that?
Credit to Willie for not hiding behind weak excuses, finger pointing, and manning up about the team as a whole needing to play better. I respect him for being honest about it and not using excuses. I like that guy. He's a Hokie.
The Hokies won as a team against OSU and W&M. The Hokies lost as a team against ECU & GT. It s time for the entire team to get back to winning way by cutting down mistakes. They did it against OSu, they can do it again against the rest of the ACC.
We have had some amazing walk-ons over the years, from Grimm to Byrn to Coale to Rogers, these guys that have to earn it really seem to "get it". Hopefuly he can teach these young kids a few lessons before they are the "old men" on the team
Rogers
Coale wasn't a walk on, but we were the only D1 school to offer him a scholarship for football (he had a few for Lacrosse apparently). The rest of your statement was spot on though
I think it was that school just off I-64 that offered him as a walk-on in football. Originally his first (desired) choice because of family ties, but he quickly embraced his Hokieness.
UVA offered him that signature win, but he responded that he wanted more than one win, and that his chances were wide open at Tech.
This is exactly what you expect out of a Leader/Vet on this team. 0 excuses we just have to play better and it starts with the little things first.
Speaking of being a leader, I would also like to point out that Willie constantly turns 2 and 3 yard catches into 9 and 10 yard gains. He is contstantly fighting for extra yardage, making people miss, and fighting off tackles. One of the smallest guys out there and he plays with a huge heart!
I absolutely love that Willie stepped up to the mic, tried to fall on the sword, and give real answers. I have to agree with him on the lack of focus and attention to detail since the OSU game. However, his 7 mistakes I am pretty positive didn't directly lead to 17 points for the away squad on saturday (maybe they did). It was a team loss on Saturday, Offense, Defense and Special teams all had major mistakes. Hats off to Willie for at least stepping up and delivering some truth about what the team has looked like the last 2 weeks.
QBs get all the credit and all the blame.
I could be reading into this a little too much, but those quotes are not flattering at all on the coach's behalf.
Obvious team losses generally paint that picture anyway.
Is there such a thing as "Captain Speak?" Because Byrn is just rephrasing a classic Beamer'ism: "Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."
Byrn is offering up an easily digestible solution to the last two weeks problems: fix the details and we're fine. I'm not sure he's wrong because I see a good team who has let two winnable games slip through their fingers, but it's not reflective of any systemic failure. Does it reflect poorly on the coaches? Sure, but not as bad as "We were totally lucky against OSU, we're not that good and more losing is on its way."
I agree with the first point but its a little worrying that its coming from a vet player. IMO its sounding like we had a relax week or 2 of practice letting the little things slide and now its starting to show.
I don't think its schematics I think its paying attention to detail. We have shown we can move the ball but when a 2nd and 1 turns into a 2nd and 15 and then a 3rd and 9 its a drive killer.
I think it's important to remember that in college coaches are only allowed so much time with players. Due to the limited practice time allotted, self-motivation is extremely important at this level. The coaches can chew out players and make them run until the cows come home, but that's taking time away from other aspects of practice. It's important to find the right balance and prepare as best you can for each opponent, but there's only so much coaches can say/do to get the team ready.
I think we see a different Virginia Tech team this Saturday. Leadership like this is sure to change the tone of practice leading into Michigan(west)
Was won of my favorite players before this quote. Certainly even closer to the top of the list now. Heart, leadership, and character. Great attributes to represent our University.
Willie Byrn's got a big ol' set.
so we got some brass and some steel, anyone confessing to lead or gold?
Gold is a relatively soft metal. I'd leave that out unless it was plating the steel or the lead.
Cue the players only meeting; stage right...
Well done is better than well said, hopefully this team can right the ship and bring the focus they brought to anOSU the rest of the way. The talent is there, the heart is there, and I think the coaching is there. Look at what ECU did to UNC, (70!) and this team was able to keep them off the board for almost 3 quarters. I hate the fact that GT gets the tie-breaker given the history of that game usually deciding the coastal, but plenty of football left.
Well said, Willie. I have always been a fan of his. He was definitely giving it everything he had on the field Saturday. Fighting for every yard, every inch. Lead by example, that's what I like to see. Maybe this team will turn things around. Let's hope.
I'm not gonna lie, the first time I saw the title to this thread, I had to do a double take.
Preach it Willie
Much better to hear the stuff Willie said than the classic "we lost to a great team" or "they made more plays than we did."
The reason you didn't hear that is because flat out lies are rude.
GT is not a good team. They have a really fast qb, and one good linebacker that we couldn't get away from. That's it.
They didn't make more plays than we did. The only plays they made are the ones we gift wrapped for them.
Not directing harshness towards you, Oki... I'm still just stunned. There are no moral victories to be taken from either of these games the past two weeks. This team lost two games they should have won. Period.
Maybe Willie is on to something. Maybe they're soft.
The team as a whole might currently have a soft identity, but Willie certainly is not...
that game was ridiculously hard
I guess I'm just used to the generic complements of the team that just beat us rather than telling the complete truth of why we lost. These complements mostly comes from the coaches but its better to hear a player being honest.
Speaking of Willie: You can either go to hokiesports.com or click here to hear his dulcet tones!
...or you can just go to the forum topic that was created RIGHT after this comment. It also has the video on youtube. I have failed. The forum topic URL is here.
You were right to post this as a comment. I really don't think a YouTube video of something like this deserves its own thread, when we already have this topic dedicated to the Paper Boy.
I think we have a team that is learning to close. Look at the last two weeks. ECU is a legit top 25 program. They won 10 games last year, they are trending that way this year. They play solid defense. They're a tough out on anyone's schedule. Save for a couple of plays, they win at USCe, and they were without their starting DL stud. They just hung 70 on UNC, last year they put up 56 on them. We had them even in the 4th Qtr, and lost in the last seconds. While GT is not as talented as they've been in the past, their offense is still a difficult system to defense. We made tons of mistakes (penalties, int's) and we only lost in the last seconds again. This has all the signs of a team that is loaded with talented youth that is in the process of learning consistency, and the consequences for being inconsistent. It's still very early in the season, and there's a lot of football yet to be played.
I might be the only one that wasn't seriously upset at the defensive play against GT. Yes, we let them get a few too many big plays, but for the most part after a big run or two early, the defense buckled down and held them for most of the game. At the very end of the game we had a couple of breakdowns and that shows our lack of depth.