Bitter blog - A pre-spring Q&A with offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler

By: Andy Bitter on March 12, 2015, 11:59 AM | 38 comments

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/columns_and_blogs/blogs/andy_bitter_virgin...

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Comments

Hokie_x3_Hi | 11 years 3 months #

AB: You met him [Max Warner] during Lawson's recruitment?

SL: I met him two years ago through this process, and he's a college guy and he's excellent. I've had a lot of really, really good guys that I've worked with. Some are coaching in the NFL for right now and he's excellent. He's knowledgeable. He's a college coach. We hired him because he's a college coach, not anything else. He knows what he's doing.

AB: Do you worry about the optics of that situation at all?

SL: No. Because if Dwayne Lawson would have went somewhere else, we were still hiring him. Period. We hired him because he was a great coach, not because of Dwayne Lawson.

Well that's that then.

fenix420 | 11 years 3 months #

Interesting that he still talked about Shai as an option.

hokie07ME | 11 years 3 months # ^

And it's going to be exciting to watch that room sort itself out, but just like I said, we know what Shai [McKenzie] is. We've got to just hopefully see ... there's a lot going on right now.

maybe not so much of an option...

VTrumpet

🎂🎂🎂

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| 11 years 3 months #

This was great, thanks Andy

hokiefan89

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| 11 years 3 months #

Colt Petit, I can understand, not sure how I feel about Chung, maybe he is better than I think. Still keeping an eye on Gallo and Smith at Center, because Gallo was the number 8 center in the nation his senior year. Osterloh and Hanson surprise me, I thought maybe Pfaff at guard and Conte at tackle and McClaughlin at the other tackle spot then throw in Gallo and Teller, plus Billy Ray Mitchell was well spoken of not that long ago. I am also wondering about Clark, Arnold, and Plantin. Either way the players should be getting used to Searles and we look like we have good depth! Maybe Hoyt or Tarashke (if I spelled it right) will surprise some people.

HokieAlum6144

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| 11 years 3 months # ^

I talked to Stacey on Sunday and he stated that right now he is moving McLaughlin back to left tackle because there is nobody else. We need to hope for a lot of tackle development this spring and fall.

HokieEnginerd | 11 years 3 months # ^

I am going to be worried about our O-line depth until proven otherwise. I still think we are a year away from getting production out of that group.

HorseOnATreadmill

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| 11 years 3 months # ^

Whoa.

Enginerd.

I'm honored to give you your first leg.

Made a good point, too. Every time we replace someone I think the same thing. I worry less about the O line this year, though, than I do the safeties. Our secondary is usually a big strength, and we'll be breaking in two new starters, both down the middle of the field. Since the O line has been a weakness for seemingly forever, I just figure we plug new guys in and, hell, we get what we get.

cds7c | 11 years 3 months # ^

I interpreted his comments on Center to mean "We don't have any idea about who will play Center. You should be scared."

Jander75 | 11 years 3 months #

Good stuff, if nothing else you have to admire Loeffler's optimism...

TechHokie13 | 11 years 3 months #

And our mentality has got to be off the charts. And you'll see that at practice when you come. It's going to be a thousand miles and hour, and if not, we'll start it again.

krak_t | 11 years 3 months #

AB: How much has the support staff additions helped the last couple years?

SL: Oh my gosh, it's unbelievable. I've been at places that it's been overboard with people, but I think coach [Frank] Beamer's vision of bringing other people in has really helped our program. Our recruiting ,I think Charlie [Cantor] is doing a great job. I think Thomas [Guerry] is doing a great job. And there are only so many hours in a day. Period. And this job, you can literally work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, non-stop and there's still something to do. And obviously with them hiring the people that they're hiring, you can really start focusing on what's really important and to the core. My deal right now is getting these quarterbacks better. Period, end.

And then second, really making us tight with our package of who we are. We know who we are now. There's no searching. We know exactly who we are and what we want to be. And my job right now is to focus on the quarterbacks and focus on really making a tight package that we have an identity and we're ready to rock and roll. Period. And recruiting. That's it. Everything else is irrelevant now.

Mooreheads Axe | 11 years 3 months #

I talked some trash about Lefty last year, and I'll admit some of it wasn't warranted. But damn it's hard not to like the man. Listening to AB pick his brain and listening to how excited he is about the up coming year, it's impressive.

Beamer's Auto Garage | 11 years 3 months #

Did anyone else notice how many times he mentioned how quiet Zohn was? I'm not sure I know how I feel about that.

HorseOnATreadmill

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| 11 years 3 months # ^

I noticed that too. It struck me as a little odd, but Zohn (pronounced "Kevin," apparently) has been a good coach and recruiter for a while. Maybe it's just his style.

french60wasp

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| 11 years 3 months #

"If Dwayne Lawson would have went somewhere else, we were still hiring him. Period. We hired him because he was a great coach, not because of Dwayne Lawson."

TechHokie13 | 11 years 3 months # ^

BUT THIS MEANS LAWSON WILL START DAY 1, RIGHT???? WHY ELSE WOULD THEY HIRE HIM??? HE 'S THERE TO COACH LAWSON CAUSE IT WAS A PACKAGE DEAL!!!111one

VTacajoe

DO OR DO NOT...

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| 11 years 3 months # ^

mogwaiaredangerous | 11 years 3 months #

That's gotta get you pumped. He sounds like a man who knows he has something to prove and is getting after it. Psyched for this season.

Rocco

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| 11 years 3 months #

"Blocking. We were not good on the perimeter blocking."

While I'm glad that he recognized this, I'm a little annoyed that he recognized it and kept calling WR screens/jet sweeps that called attention to how bad the receivers were at blocking.