I won't quote Coach Stinespring, but there were a couple of comments that he made in response to my questions the NOVA Hokie Club Recruit Night last night.
1) I asked about the safety spot. He didn't saying anything about any of the young players, but he did say that Chuck Clark was one of the best communicators on the team and that he was a prime candidate to move back to safety. He repeatedly emphasized how the rover sets up coverage and alley/edge assignments to the boundary and the free safety handles those calls to the field.
2) I also asked about the center spot. He indicated that Kyle Chung was a kid they were very excited about, but it looks like his injury issues will cause him to miss the 2015 season. Eric Gallo is the only kid with experience, but they may look at Billy Ray Mitchell and Tyrell Smith to move inside and contribute. He mentioned Zachariah Hoyt may be a gray-shirt candidate.
3) He received the old "who will be the first freshman to play" question. He continually remarked about how Carson Lydon could get on the field immediately at the mike spot, so it sounds like Andrew Motuapuaka may have a battle on his hands. He felt that Mook Reynolds has the talent to force himself into the lineup like Kendall Fuller could. He mentioned Trevon Hill, Austin Clark, and Mike Arnold as three kids who they need to win jobs because of holes in the lineup.
It was very nice to meet several TKP readers. Thanks so much for the kind words!
Comments
David Chung? Isn't it Kyle Chung?
My apologize- mixed up names. Yes, Kyle Chung. Folks who attended, I think Stiney may have called him David too. Hmmm.
For those of you who are new readers, there are some guys who I will always butcher names. I still want to call Brent Benedict "Bruce" for some reason.
Bruce Benedict would be an excellent super hero alter ego name.
Did you say "Bruce?" I see some similarities...
The original Bruce Benedict!
Awesome stuff, French. What'd you think of the event as a whole? Anyone besides Stiney make it up there?
Scooter Davis from the athletic department was with him. It was pretty straight forward. They conducted an auction that raised just under $2000 for a Frank Beamer autographed helmet, a Facyson jersey, and 2 50 yard line tickets for the Ohio State game. Then Stiney did a fast run through on the recruits (I missed his comments on Tim Settle because I had to run to the restroom.) That saved more time for Q and A. I got to ask two questions.
The only bad part of the event were the boiler plate idiot fan questions. You feel bad that the coaches have to answer some of those questions again and again even though he spent an hour describing why they targeted specific players and they can't worry about the guys who they targeted but made a different choice.
I was all the way in the back, trying to ask about the safeties, and wasn't getting noticed. Luckily french60wasp asked my question for me! Unfortunately, aside from the remarks about Clark, there wasn't much meat to the answer. No tidbits on Reavis, Greene, Shegog, Frye or Fisher.
Agreed... I was hoping for more. I would really like to hear that the staff thinks Reavis can be the guy at the free safety spot. Reavis is a huge talent.
I'm going Tue. The 17th in Charlotte, I'll see if Shane has any insight on Reavis. Anyone else going? I know there are a few people on here from the QC. Any other questions anyone wants asked?
I'm planning on being there too
Ok cool. I like Scooter. Sounds like a neat little event, glad you got the chance to get out there and ask some questions. I can't imagine what it must be like answering question after question about what fans perceive to be your biggest failures of the year, especially when said failures are the decision of 17 and 18 year old kids.
No matter the location you can count on some people asking about the guys we missed. It's sad and annoying all at once.
Its one of my favorite events every year. If anything else, it gives you a chance to see what kind of a guy Stiney really is. I've gained much respect for him after attending several of these, since he is a great speaker, and his passion about the program really shows. Also, he's comfortable taking some light-hearted comical shots at himself with the OC jokes.
How concerned should we be that Carson Lydon may be getting on the field immediately? - Or is this just a subtle indication that he may be better than advertised?
I think it's just a straight up 'The coaches are really impressed by what they've seen of this guy so far' kind of deal. That and no returning starter at Mike.
The key for Lydon will be applying himself over the winter and continuing to impress at spring practice.
Lydon looks spectacular on film. Even though they are projecting him as a mike, he looked like the spitting image of Cody Grimm lining up outside. The difference? Lydon is 240, and Grimm wasn't jumping in front of slant routes for pick sixes. The kid was incredibly productive. At the very least, he will be a demon on special teams, as his highlights have him blocking a ton of punts.
I watched his interview on the signing day show on hokiesports.com and he scared me in a Sam Rogers kind of way. I think he might be lab created, just like Sam. Doesn't talk much, just focuses on football. He's going to be a good one.
Yeah, he's the kid who jumped off the film to me so far. I know Settle's film is ridiculous as well, I'm just tempering any expectations on Settle until the academics are....you know....settled.
Academics are not what scares me with Settle. I think the kid is the most talented DL they have landed since Bruce Smith. But when you watch his film and then watch him in the Under Armor game (where he looked significantly heavier), there was a major drop off. He is a kid that is going to have to figure out a way to get to a better level of conditioning.
And this isn't unique. Bruce Smith himself was a kid who coming out of VT the primary worry of NFL people was him managing his weight. Then when he got to the NFL, he completely changed his body, to the point where he almost looked like a different person at the end of his career.
Didn't Stinespring say something about Tim hitting the buffet a little too much last spring/summer? The extra weight bringing down his camp performances probably led directly to his drop in the recruiting ratings.
Note that he was listed as high as 360lb on 247, after starting the year at 335lb. The hokiesports.com recruit roster has him at 315, which is a much better weight for him I think. Hopefully Gentry & Co can get him on a nutrition plan that keeps him on the right path.
Agreed, it's going to be an issue for him. You are the expert here, I can't remember a space-clogger at DT for us. We want them quick, right? Its not just that Settle needs to be conditioned to play at a manageable weight, but the VT standard for DT's may be even lighter than some other programs. (would he be a good 3-4 nose?)
But I'm still worried about the academics. I haven't spent much emotional capital on Settle yet.
At 310, Settle is Luther Maddy quick, but has the size to fit up against teams like BC and Pitt that don't give a bunch of space to penetrate inside. At 350, it will be interesting to see how Bud uses him. Bud likes using that 30 front with 3 linebackers against spread teams. Those spread teams love the hurry up, so conditioning will still be paramount.
One of the things that caught my attention is the remarks about recruiting taller players this class. Especially at DB they wanted to get some more height on the field to be able to match up against taller WRs.
The ECU effect...
eh, this class was being put together a long time before ECU went all jump-ball on us. Remember in 2013 we basically shut their offense down, regardless of them having the same tall WRs.
Facyson is 6'2 and Clark is 6'3. I didn't really understand the logic. Stiney would have been fine to say that most of the DBs they recruited translate to safeties. Jarrett and Bonner were a bit undersized at the position.
Yeah I think we've been working in this direction the last couple years, at least in the secondary. Facyson is a great example. Other guys I can think of are Terrell Edmunds (6-2) Shawn Payne (6-2) Frye (6-2) Reavis (6-1), Shegog (6-2). Even Stroman & Fuller are 6-0+. Riley and Greene are the only guys in the secondary under 6-0, and they've both been in the program a long time. I think it just got put forth as talking point this time around. Maybe because of how the large # of tall guys ather other spots beyond DB, like Clark, Arnold, Nijman, Hill, Gaines, Fullwood, Edmunds.
Assuming Facyson is as healthy as he can get for the 2015 season, I could definitely see Chuck Clark at Safety. We definitely want him in the Secondary every chance we get.
Makes sense; having someone who has playing experience is a huge plus too since we have no returning starters at the safety spots.. It also allows for Mook to slide in at Nickle if Clark is a safety.
It really sounded like Clark is going to Safety. If Facyson isn't ready to go, either Riley or Stroman will be the other CB. Maybe Edmunds2 if he can make a move this spring.
Correct. Stiney was very complimentary of Clark's ability to communicate and get the defense set correctly. I am going to guess that Stroman and Mook (remember, he is on campus) will get looks at nickel. Reavis probably will too if he isn't slotted as the top free safety.
Clark at safety, Stroman, Mook, Reavis... man, there's a bunch of young talent in that secondary. Can't wait to see how Torrian uses it the next couple years.
And that doesn't factor Fisher, who all the experts had as one of the top recruits in the country. Hopefully he develops into the star that he was expected to be.
Yeah I've been under the impression he could be the best Safety/Rover on the roster
Billy Ray Mitchell could contribute huge this year? He didn't even dress once all last season, did he? Or was he redshirting?
I don't know if he will contribute. Stiney said he would get a look at center, as he played center some in high school. Right now the only kid they have who has taken a snap is Eric Gallo. They need more depth.
Billy Ray Mitchell redshirted last year and in an ideal world just about every OL brought in would be able to redshirt. Big difference for OL adjusting to college from HS.
They need to spend some time in West End.
Thanks for the summary, but I'm pretty bummed to hear we lost another OL (Chung) already for next year, heck before spring practice even starts. Injuries killed us last year and we need an injury free year. And center is a key position, typically makes line calls, like Mike makes calls on D with R/FS. Sounds like we need to have a plan C, D, and E for center position, just in case Gallo gets hurt, and we don't even know if he's legit yet. Man, I long for the day when we'll have 10 deep on the OL.
Love to hear they're high on Lydon and hope he has a great spring but does the hype mean that DVD is still injured - because I was hoping DVD would come back 100% to give A-Mot a run for starting Mike. I'd like to see A-Mot and DVD at Mike and give Lydon at least a year to learn position.
The three guys we will see at center this spring are Gallo, Mitchell, and Smith. I have no idea what the depth chart will look like.
It makes me wonder if Willenbrock will come back. I know the kid is undersized, but when I saw him play in those scrimmages and in drill work, the kid was one heck of a blocker. I wish they could find a way to use him.
"Undersized" is putting it pretty mildly there, but I agree. Every year I wonder why he's still around, but the dude's at least a solid scout team body. For a team with zero OL depth, that's not a bad thing to have. If only that blocking ability had come in a bigger body.
In NCAA video game they slotted him as backup FB/blocking TE
IMHO they aren't mentioning Reavis but he is a natural fit to move into safety. Clarks experience is huge but Reavis has all the tools. Ideally getting them both on the field together would work. Center is about attitude, football IQ, leadership. I see Smith as the most ready to hit the field with a year of playing prep ball but I have no idea if he can play center or not. Lyndon has a good shot due to size, if you are going to play a 5 DB defense regularly then you need some bulk at LB to compensate and Motouapouka doesn't quite have the frame.
Moto is 230 already and with a little room to grow. Bigger than many Mike LB's that we've had over the years. Not ideal NFL size, but fine for college.
He looks a step slow to react, or in coverage. I'm not sure if it is foot speed or knowing how to react to the play. If he is 230 it doesn't look like it.