During Monday afternoon's press conference, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer discussed what the Hokies' running back rotation will look like against North Carolina. With former Co-No. 1 tailback Shai McKenzie out for the season with a torn ACL, Tech will take advantage of its running back depth to get touches along with Juice Williams.
"No, I think Trey will get in there and get more carries. You know, J.C., Joel Caleb did a nice job when he got in there the other day, we'll see where that practice goes. I think Sam Rogers is a guy that, he does everything. You know, he's got one of the best set of hands on the team, he blocks for those tailbacks, he ran one time the other day for about six yards, I think it was. And he's just a football player, he's just all football player. So I think we'll see him in the mix some too."
Indeed, Rogers did have a six-yard gain against Western Michigan last Saturday.
Rogers is more often targeted as a receiver out the backfield (8 catches for 56 yards in 2014), than he's called upon to pound the rock (2 rushes, 23 yards).
Tech's latest depth chart, released today, lists Marshawn Williams as the starting tailback, Trey Edmunds as the backup and J.C. Coleman or Joel Caleb as the third man up. Fan favorite, and savage blocker, Sam Rogers is the still listed as the No. 1 fullback.
Against the Broncos, Marshawn Williams rushed for 119 yards on 14 carries (8.5 ypc). Joel Caleb got the final four carries on Tech's last drive of the game. His 45 yards and first down ran out the clock for the Hokies. Trey Edmunds added 22 yards on 3 touches and J.C. Coleman chipped in a yard on his only touch.
Beamer added Edmunds looked like the "old guy", or the one that rushed 41 times for 228 yards and 5 scores in Tech's final three games of the 2013 regular season before he broke his left tibia during the Virginia game.
Comments
I'm revving up the Joel Caleb bandwagon again, you guys. I've got a lot of room left, so feel free to jump on.
I'd like to purchase one ticket, near the front, please!
I want on board this Pain Train!
I'm with you ... I've long been wondering what is going on in practice or the background because he seems to run well in the rare occasion he gets a carry in an actual game. I would love to see him get a few more carries.
Maybe he's just a gamer and doesn't show well in practice.
i've heard his pass pro is the biggest drawback. if he can make strides in that area, he'll likely see a bump in his carries.
I'm pretty sure Williams and McKenzie happened, for one.
With the right set of plays Joel Caleb could be a Percy Harvin kind of player in the system.
Whoever downvoted you must be a Denver Broncos fan.
Maybe they thought I was being sarcastic?
Could've been an accident also
Definitely.
You get a window to fix accidents now though.
Caleb a fine athlete and a decent running back, but in no way, shape, or form is he a Percy Harvin kind of player. In this system or any system.
FWIW, I was not the downvote...
The only way to find out if hes Percy Harvin is to give him a chance by using him like Florida gators did with Percy. joel is bigger, taller, he might even be better than Percy.
He is definitely taller and bigger than Percy Harvin. So is Caleb Ferris...
No offense to Joel Caleb, but there is a 0.00% chance that Joel Caleb might be better than Percy Harvin.
Percy Harvin is a freak among freaks and can do several things on the football ball field that virtually no else can do. Joel Caleb can do several things reasonably well on the football field but unfortunately none of them better than someone else on the VT roster.
Yep, Harvin had/has extreme quickness and amazing agility. Joel Caleb has great quickness, speed and agility but if Harvin's abilities are a 10/10 I'd put Caleb at a 7 or 8. (An average fit person would be a 3-4)
Shotgun no blitz
Yes, I'll get on that one as soon as I get off the Chris Mangu....ughhhh
Alright, Caleb it is.
I'll take one ticket.
I'll hop on. Everything about that kid makes him easy to root for (talked to him mom a bit after the OSU game too - nice lady). I think the move to RB was good for him, although I've been very happy to see him used a receiver out of the backfield as well. Shai's injury sucks more than just about anything that has ever sucked before, but I hope we can at least see a little bit of good come out of it with Joel getting some more touches.
You realize it means JCC getting less touches right
Less touches than ~1 a game? Not sure where that comes up.
I'm in as long as Sam Rogers is in the dining car.
I've been on the bandwagon ever since I first saw him play for my high school (yea Clover Hill!); so about 5 years now. My friends are probably tired of hearing about him.
Yep, I'd really like to see what Caleb can bring to the backfield. Been wanting to see that speed.
We revise the wild turkey formation like so: Bucky goes qb from the pistol, Juice at fullback, Caleb at tailback, Rogers at h-back. Keep Edmunds on the sideline for a breather while saying "that just happened"
Invigorating!
Opposing defenses trying to take down Sam Rogers?
A buckeye tried to deny his pussy touchdowns that one time... he failed.
The only thing that can stop Sam Rogers at this point is at least 4 opposing tacklers or the sideline.
I'm pretty sure I've seen the sideline move out of his way a few times...
Any kin to Bucky Rogers?
Coach Beamer is right. Trey looked like his old-self on Saturday. With Shai out, Joel was the clear number 3 Rb out there on Saturday. Joel is threat as a RB and WR and should get in more packages.
^^^^This! We all saw it. Let it be so.
More of Trey and Joel. Less of JC Coleman.
Amen and I second this motion. All those in favor, please raise your hands... All those against..... The ayes have it. The motion passes. Thank you everyone, that will be all.
Amendment in the nature of a substitute:
Williams runs until Williams is too tired to run anymore. Trey Edmunds runs until Williams recovers. Caleb fills in if one of the other two is injured. Coleman catches kickoffs in the end zone and takes the touchback.
I second this amendment. Let us now vote on the amendment presented by bblankin. All those in favor say "Aye". All those oppose, say "No." (crickets heard chirping in the background). The amendment passes by unanimous decision by Hokie Nation. Thank you all.
Motion passed. Yes?
Yes! ;-)
Still have a ton of respect and love for JC however. Great young man and a fellow Hokie. We just found some studs you have to have on the field.
Our future is definitely with the larger power backs, and not with the smaller ones. But, I do love mixing in the FB dives in NCAA.
I played with the formation subs and playbook edits and created the Wild Turkey with Bucky (Goaline Heavy with two Hbacks in front of him) and also got Deon Newsome in the slot in a few formations for the jet sweeps. I'm in 2016 season with a RS Junior Motley at QB. Read option all day, mix in a few throws. Last game vs. ECU he got 9 total TDs (4 rushing, 5 throwing, 153 yds passing and 160.rushing). Shai McKenzie had 120.yds and a TD, as well as a 40 yard receiving TD on a screen pass.
Final score 70-9 (they got a random safety after a coffin corner punt). I play on Heisman with the operations sports sliders, by the way.
Read option is the biggest cheese in the game though
I'd take the smaller ones as long as they have great speed and are elusive.
I wonder if Trey will get every other series, or how they will work that out... I wonder if he's able to handle that right now stamina wise, he's only been getting a series here and there up to this point
personally hate rotating it by series. If Shane wants to be a good RB coach he should be able to rotate based on the flow of the game not just by being lazy and doing it by series.
if they're going to rotate, maybe they should try every two or three series.
I would like to see them rotate by half. When the TB needs a blow they can run Hodges or Rogers for a play or two -- no need to substitute.
^This so many times.
I think 2:1 MW:TE is a good starting series ratio. I'd also like to see what MW could do with more regular work.
I'm glad he cleared that up. (sarcasm)
honestly if you were playing defense, would you want to have to stop Marshawn 25 times a game? i say 20ish carries for him, 10ish for trey and give whatever else is left to Joel
Maybe Rogers gets 4-5 carries instead of 1 every other game but I would definitely prefer to see Williams as the clear #1 with 15-20 carries per game, Trey getting a solid 10+ carries and then whatever is left for Caleb as a change of pace back. In some respects this should hopefully make it easier to go with the clear #1 and reduce this alternating series stuff.
I think Shane mentioned it to reporters the last game -- they need to get Sam enough carries that defenses have to respect the possibility. It will make his normal roles that more effective.
Yeah I bet Rogers gets more like 2 carries per game. 4-5 is a lot to give to your fullback, those are valuable carries that could be given to one of our 3 capable RBs.
This guy says "what?"
Alstott!
Hopefully not the last great rushing FB ever.
Beamer didn't make it sound like Williams would be a feature back this week.
Instead....with a bizarre turn of events, JCC is the feature back. /sarc
Why in the world would he not be the feature back?? He's started every game I believe. And this allows him to get more into a rythym. Scratching my head on that if it turns out to be the case. But I'll be rooting for Edmunds as well when he gets the rock.
When Frank says J.C. - is he refering to JC Coleman or Joel Caleb??
I've only heard the coaches call Coleman, "J.C.".
I think there was an ellipses missing, though. The quote should read:
"No, I think Trey will get in there and get more carries. You know, J.C., ... uh ... Joel Caleb did a nice job when he got in there the other day"
If you can't think of something nice to say, don't say anything at all.
^Should have been under Joe's comment...^
Ok,
I guess this quote is confusing me... "You know, J.C., Joel Caleb did a nice job when he got in there the other day"
Lumping their Saturday performances together seems strange - JC hardly played. Or was Frank just trying to talk about about Joel and when he called him "JC" corrected himself?
Maybe I'm just reading way too much into this. Anyways - i want to see Caleb get more opportunities. He really is a weapon out there.
I wondered the same thing when I read it.. I don't recall Coleman doing much of anything Saturday, I'd have to think he meant Caleb
Edit : went and looked, Coleman had 2 touches for 1 yard
I think this is just a Beamerism. You know, where he starts to trail off or lump parts of sentences together. I read it as:
Keep in mind that MW is a freshman. He is young. I like featuring he and trey together and show Caleb some action. Tigers should be good for 5 carries especially in short yardage. Caleb looked to seek out contact. He should be fresh in the second half. Now lefty, call one damn I right 24 blast!
Well, that would certainly lead to one hell of a pussy touchdown.
Leg for our feline infatuation good sir.
I think you have identified a clear mismatch on the field.
Check out that stiffarm!!!
These 2 statements are so true. Sam is a great example of what you want from a player. I was so happy for him that he got the go ahead TD at anOSU.
Fan favorite is right. My 9 year old daughter is sure to tell me every time Rogers subs in.
"Daddy, Sam is coming in to play. I see Sam Rogers."
And " He got the ball, Daddy, Sam got the ball. Go Sam. "
Cutest thing, she gets so exited.
My goodness, that's some excellent parenting right there.
Give that child a slice of pie!
Oh no, I did it again, didn't I?
I like that Marshawn is #1 and trey is #2, with our rotating backs every effin series a #1vs#2 doesn't matter all too much. I get worried that jc is going to be in the game more, Joel deserves a shot at #3 much more than jc at this point. jc has shown time and time again he just can't produce
Joel, ran well in Spring Practice and deserves the chance for some serious playing time. Against UNC, I'd like to see us use the no-huddle w/o player substitution to get our pace, especially in the second and fourth quarters, when the defenders should be a bit winded. I believe this will go to our advantage. Looking forward to our running game pounding away at the UNC Tar Heels this week in Chapel Hill. UNC offense is pretty good when not fighting among themselves, Bud's team has an excellent chance to frustrate them early and they will implode, as the UNC's chemistry is not strong this year. Could be the last year of Butch Davis Players not getting their respect or Fedora is just flexing his six pack abs too much. but this team will implode if we frustrate them. Ask ECU and Tiggers from Clemson.
So you're saying they will continue jockeying the rotation, not jacking!
If Joel Caleb can't take advantage of this opportunity, you have to seriously wonder what position he can actually play. I have lived in the 804 area my whole life and he was the talk of the town as the star QB at Clover Hill. I got to see him play live multiple times and the kid could do it all. It seemed fitting when he got to Blacksburg that they'd use him as a flanker, but I scratched my head a little when they switched him to tailback two years ago. Hopefully he can really bring a spark to this offense, cuz we're obviously gonna need it. If he can't, not sure I wouldn't just use him as the next Alonzo Tweedy aka Captain Special Teams.
It really boggles my mind what is going on with Joel. He was literally the BIG CATCH of that recruiting cycle. So many schools after him. every time he is on the field he looks like he can be dangerous if given the chance to stay out there and make it happen. Just not getting the chance.
He played QB in high school and was projected as a receiver. There's a reason VT doesn't do that anymore, and his name is Aaron Moorehead. Players like Davis, Roberts, Coles, and Caleb are great examples of excellent athletes, but guys who were not natural receivers, and therefore took a lot of time to develop. The move to RB was good for Caleb, IMO, because it's a much more natural position for him (most of his HS tape is him just taking off with it anyways), but it's still an adjustment in terms of reading blocks, knowing his steps, etc. He's still a young player and hopefully will get a chance to show his stuff here the next few weeks.
All good points there
Sorry should have been more clear, I know all that and I agree RB is better position for him. My question is more about why we can't find ways to use amazing athletes like this. I don't follow recruiting of other schools to know if athletes in other programs are finding the same difficulty seeing the field as VT's are, especially one as highly recruited as Joel Caleb. I have been calling for natural position players for A LONG time, but isn't the point of recruiting an "Athlete" is knowing that you as the coach need to find a way to use them as a weapon because they are naturally gifted? Or is it that our "athletes" were mostly recruited to fill gaps in bad recruiting cycles? I can't imagine Joel was recruited to fill a gap, but I suppose could be true for others.
NO JOEL IT'S TAILBACK
I think people are forgetting how good Trey looked at the end of last year. I really like Marshawn but he has 2 issues in my mind 1) he's not reading the right hole (not unlike Trey early last year) and 2) he's been putting the ball on the turf. Do yourselves a favor and watch a couple Trey Edmunds highlights, here's some from the Duke game last year:
I'm excited to see him back on the field and getting carries.
I wouldn't say Marshawn has an issue with putting the ball on the turf. He has one fumble on the year, the one that Brewer picked up and ran in. At the same time, that was the end of last year for Trey before breaking his leg and this is this year. Trey has only a few legitimate carries this season. He still has a ways to go to prove he's back 100%. If he gets back to where he was last year, I don't see him pushing for the top spot until after Miami. He'll see some carries this weekend and likely more against Pitt. Otherwise, look for Trey to be coming on in November.
He's fumbled 3 times we've just either gotten bailed out by the refs (OSU) or we've recovered it. Losing the ball 3 times out of 65 carries is a bit alarming. I'm a Marshawn fan but for someone who is always fighting for extra yards he needs to secure the ball better.
As for Trey, I disagree that he'll be coming on in Nov. I think you are going to see a similar split between him and Marshawn as it was for Shai and Marshawn and I wouldn't be surprised if Trey is a bit more effective just because he is better at reading the holes.
I'm going off of Hokiesports stats and he's put the ball one the ground once and we recovered it. Coleman has 1 fumble and Brewer has 2.
I think there's a reason that coaches have only given Trey 5 carries, 3 of which were in Saturday's game and it's not just because Shai and Marshawn were ahead of him. He still has to get back to where he was. I don't think it will be close to the Shai/Marshawn split. I think you'll see Marshawn with 60% of the carries, Trey with 20%, Rogers with 10% and Caleb/Coleman with the other 10%.
Sure he only has one that shows up on the box score, but to say he doesn't have a ball security issue is short sighted. It can be fixable, but it needs to be addressed.
Agreed here; Beamer kept saying he wasn't "back" yet which is why they were limiting his carries. So far this week Beamer has said he "looks like the old guy" and that he's going to be involved. Coupled with the fact that Shane LOVES having a rotation leads me to believe Trey will be getting a healthy does of carries.
WHY CAN'T IT BE SATURDAY YET!
yes yes yes... I think trey might be back to 100% however with the news about Shai it definitely accelerates Beamers quotes about him looking like his old self. Does this mean 60 30 10 in terms of carries for the rb's I'm not sure. But I would love to see some more Caleb.. Now doubt that really happens but the kid had some good runs late in the game, I'm not ready to give up on him quite yet.
Breaking arm tackles?!
*drools*
Love the highlights, but my gosh that game sucked. Total of 8 interceptions throughout the whole thing. The epitome of an offensive struggle by both sides. Probably the ugliest football game I can ever remember watching. The lone bright spot were Kendall's three INTs
NOOOOOOOO NOT THE ALL ORANGE UNIFORMS
Agreed. They are HIDEOUS and WE ARE NOT SYRACUSE!
Actually, that was Syracuse playing Duke last year. We loaned Trey to the Orangemen out of pity. We didn't play Duke last year.
C'mon, everybody knows this.