At what point will the likely 5th string, red shirting, true freshman QB become the greatest player to ever set foot on the VT campus? And at what point will this no longer be true?
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I emailed you, but I hit send before I added the PS regarding what you thought of the past couple weeks of The Simpsons. The one from 4/20 where Flanders gets a dog that likes Homer better has some killer jokes. A true bright spot in the latter years.
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On passing plays, what was the average number of seconds between the snap of the ball and the quarterback getting pressured or, when he wasn't pressured, throwing the ball? How does last season compare to the LT3, Tyrod, and Vick years?
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Andy can you do an article talking about any long terms plans in staffing, facilities or programs the athletic dept. has made public? Are there plans to open the practice facility on game days like I read in one proposal? Has anymore thought been given to creating some sort of entrance plaza to Lane? More of the behind the scenes operations look.
Edit: Emailed it in
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Is the media getting away from the dated metrics of yesterday (TOP, YPG, PPG)?
What metrics does the VT staff use? Back in the day, Beamerball.com used to list the 20 goals or something that the team tracked per game (plays over 20 yards is one I remember). What are they using today? I know we have individual game scores, how is that determined?
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Thank you Andy for the continuing AWESOME coverage, even in the slow offseason.
The spring game seemed to raise more questions than answers in the secondary. It seems Revis and Clark had good games, but there was some shaky coverage during some of the spring game (and in earlier scrimages as well.) It seems Jarrett and Bonner may be hard to replace.
I was expecting Foster to use 5 DBs to confuse coverages against spread teams this year, but do you think we have 5 reliable DBs for that scheme?
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How was our offensive efficiency last year on a game to game basis. Compare that to the average efficiency teams that we faced allowed over the course of their seasons, and how did we do. Were we consistently better in the game than what the defenses averaged? Were we consistently worse? Did we get significantly better or worse against their averages as the season went along? I'm wondering if any trends emerge, and if there are any current red herrings that some fans are pointing towards that might not tell a full story.
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Has Whit talked to Beamer about updating Beamerball.com?
Seems like it would be in line with our new focus on social media, getting the coaches on Twitter, having players tweet about games, getting on SnapChat etc.
Then there's Frank Beamer's own website which is just a bit outdated...
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How has Shane's development of the running backs compared to his predecessor? Have Shane's backs shown statistical improvement, not just in terms of YPC by also in terms of reducing fumbles? Developing as blockers? What about how Shane has distributed carries compared to his Hite did it?
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This may have been done, and if so I apologize, but how about an article on the "flip side" of recruiting. We all know about the numbers game and are familiar with redshirting, greyshirting, limited scholarships, walk-ons, preferred walk-ons and such. But how about the other end of it? How about the attrition that allows the numbers to work out? Maybe do an article on how many team members are lost to injury, transfer, "personal reasons", asked to leave the team etc. on a yearly basis, and how do those numbers stack up to schools nationwide? Maybe investigate how many openings for scholarships are due to straight graduation numbers and how many due to other factors.
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How does the state of Virginia compare to other states in terms of its top talent going to in-state P5 schools? Seems like a lot of top players head out of state compared to other states. Might have to do some sort of averaging as states like Texas and California that have about 8 P5 schools will probably have a higher % than others.
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What exactly is Dork Magic, and where did it originate? How did Sam Rogers become fully dipped in it....was there some secret ceremony, or is it a birthright? How will it be passed on to the next deserving player?
What about a breakdown of offensive pussy touchdowns vs. defensive pussy touchdowns over the last 10 years, taking into account strength of schedule, injuries, redshirts, weather, interference from the northern lights, specific local geographical magnetic anomalies.....
OK, sorry Andy - I'm done......couldn't resist being a douche, but you had to figure 95% of the responses were going to be like this.
I'll actually spend a day thinking about a serious question........can't guarantee I'll come up with one though.....
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Obviously it would be difficult to prove correlation vs. causation, but a breakdown of the average weight of VT's front seven by year and their corresponding ranks in run defense (i.e. ypg, ypc, S&P efficiency rating) would be nice.
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More trivia research than anything else, but does Don Strock's school-record 527 passing yards in a game also hold the distinction (notoriety) of being the most passing yards by any quarterback in NCAA history without throwing for a touchdown?
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Pick any year, and the VT roster for that year. Where are they now? For example, the 1999 team: Wayne Ward is a high school teacher and athletic director in Florida (very cool). Andre Davis runs a nonprofit foundation in Myrtle Beach (also very cool). Corey Bird is . . . You get the idea. What other things, cool or otherwise, are our former players up to?
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How well is Tech really doing as a football program, considering football success (wins) as a function of dollars spent on football (staff, salaries, operating budgets)? How does Tech measure up against previous National champs, big spending programs, or other ACC schools?
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We know that 2010/2011 recruiting classes have turned out to really haunt us for the past few years, but was there an indication at the time that it would be the case? From what I've seen the rankings were about in the same range (20-35) yet the talent never showed itself. In terms of ratings, perception, competing offer lists, was it possible to forsee that kind of drop off? Did it have more to do with coaches just not developing the talent that we typically bring in? Or maybe a combination of both and just a nother data point that recruiting rankings put far more weight into the schools offering than the actual players' talent level?
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I think it's partially that we had a lot more attrition in those classes than normal.
If I'm remembering who has left correctly while looking at 247's list of commitments for 2010/2011 I come up with the following:
2010
4*: 1/5 Finished Senior Season on team, 4/5 left team or didn't complete career because of injury
3*: 5.5/14 Finished Senior Season on team, 9.5/14 left team or didn't complete career because of injury (counting Mark Leal as half, since he was on team half of Senior Season)
Other: 1 unranked prospect from Hargrave signed letter of intent, appears to have not enrolled.
2011
4*: 3/4 finished career or currently on team, 1/4 left team
3*: 6.5/18 /finished career or currently on team, 9.5/18 left team or didn't complete career because of injury (Keven Asante counting as half because he left team then rejoined later), 2 who signed letter of intent never enrolled (Dadi Nicolas also isn't listed as having enrolled, assuming due to name change).
Also, 2010 was a flukey year with our OL recruits. Gibson was solid, Caleb Farris was a hard worker with a low to medium ceiling, Mark Shuman should have been great but was lost to injury, and Arkema was a career backup. We followed that up with only Jake Goins in 2011, who never saw the field. Basically two linemen in two years. That catches up to you.
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It was pretty well known within the program and those that follow VT recruiting closely that those years weren't up to par. 2011 was especially bad. There's a reason that the staff shakeups happened when they did (first because of recruiting in 2010-11, then because of the 2012 offense).
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Comments
What a great idea. Let me put on my thinking cap...
At what point in the season will the backup QB become more popular than the starter?
OH OH I know this one...

First incomplete pass!
How many players have ever suited up for VT? And what is their total,combined weight, in grams?
-or-
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
The answer to both of those question is Sam Rogers
If Alston Smith played at ODU, by how many points would Motley have to score to beat them?
Backup QB?
At what point will the likely 5th string, red shirting, true freshman QB become the greatest player to ever set foot on the VT campus? And at what point will this no longer be true?
Having fun yet Andy?
Yeah, this is just how I envisioned it going.
I emailed you, but I hit send before I added the PS regarding what you thought of the past couple weeks of The Simpsons. The one from 4/20 where Flanders gets a dog that likes Homer better has some killer jokes. A true bright spot in the latter years.
On passing plays, what was the average number of seconds between the snap of the ball and the quarterback getting pressured or, when he wasn't pressured, throwing the ball? How does last season compare to the LT3, Tyrod, and Vick years?
Andy can you do an article talking about any long terms plans in staffing, facilities or programs the athletic dept. has made public? Are there plans to open the practice facility on game days like I read in one proposal? Has anymore thought been given to creating some sort of entrance plaza to Lane? More of the behind the scenes operations look.
Edit: Emailed it in
Metrics.
Is the media getting away from the dated metrics of yesterday (TOP, YPG, PPG)?
What metrics does the VT staff use? Back in the day, Beamerball.com used to list the 20 goals or something that the team tracked per game (plays over 20 yards is one I remember). What are they using today? I know we have individual game scores, how is that determined?
Thank you Andy for the continuing AWESOME coverage, even in the slow offseason.
The spring game seemed to raise more questions than answers in the secondary. It seems Revis and Clark had good games, but there was some shaky coverage during some of the spring game (and in earlier scrimages as well.) It seems Jarrett and Bonner may be hard to replace.
I was expecting Foster to use 5 DBs to confuse coverages against spread teams this year, but do you think we have 5 reliable DBs for that scheme?
I have one that I have been wondering...
How was our offensive efficiency last year on a game to game basis. Compare that to the average efficiency teams that we faced allowed over the course of their seasons, and how did we do. Were we consistently better in the game than what the defenses averaged? Were we consistently worse? Did we get significantly better or worse against their averages as the season went along? I'm wondering if any trends emerge, and if there are any current red herrings that some fans are pointing towards that might not tell a full story.
What is the success rate of opponents to drive the length of the field and score in the last 5 years? (30 yard line or further)
Has Whit talked to Beamer about updating Beamerball.com?
Seems like it would be in line with our new focus on social media, getting the coaches on Twitter, having players tweet about games, getting on SnapChat etc.
Then there's Frank Beamer's own website which is just a bit outdated...
It is free now so probably not very high on the priority list these days.
I get your point..but twitter is also free.
And SnapChat. And Facebook. Not sure what being 'free' has to do with anything.
How has Shane's development of the running backs compared to his predecessor? Have Shane's backs shown statistical improvement, not just in terms of YPC by also in terms of reducing fumbles? Developing as blockers? What about how Shane has distributed carries compared to his Hite did it?
Contrast yards per carry by number of total college starts by the offensive line on average. That would include the line after injuries.
This may have been done, and if so I apologize, but how about an article on the "flip side" of recruiting. We all know about the numbers game and are familiar with redshirting, greyshirting, limited scholarships, walk-ons, preferred walk-ons and such. But how about the other end of it? How about the attrition that allows the numbers to work out? Maybe do an article on how many team members are lost to injury, transfer, "personal reasons", asked to leave the team etc. on a yearly basis, and how do those numbers stack up to schools nationwide? Maybe investigate how many openings for scholarships are due to straight graduation numbers and how many due to other factors.
How many Mike's Burgers could Leonard eat in a year if they were free, and delivered to his door every day?
(You need to set this up as a real world experiment in order get research intensive...Work out the details and let my people know.)
If you get this worked out, I'd be glad to house sit for you while on vacation, etc. I'll buy my own beer.
What, if any, correlation exists between the score in the spring game and regular season offensive stats?
How does the state of Virginia compare to other states in terms of its top talent going to in-state P5 schools? Seems like a lot of top players head out of state compared to other states. Might have to do some sort of averaging as states like Texas and California that have about 8 P5 schools will probably have a higher % than others.
What exactly is Dork Magic, and where did it originate? How did Sam Rogers become fully dipped in it....was there some secret ceremony, or is it a birthright? How will it be passed on to the next deserving player?
What about a breakdown of offensive pussy touchdowns vs. defensive pussy touchdowns over the last 10 years, taking into account strength of schedule, injuries, redshirts, weather, interference from the northern lights, specific local geographical magnetic anomalies.....
OK, sorry Andy - I'm done......couldn't resist being a douche, but you had to figure 95% of the responses were going to be like this.
I'll actually spend a day thinking about a serious question........can't guarantee I'll come up with one though.....
you at least gave him questions he could research and find while also getting a couple good laughs in
Dear Andrew,
If you were to have some nuts on your chest, what would they be called?
Ding-ding-ding: You're correct, they are called chestnuts.
If you were to have some nuts on a wall what would they be called?
Boom! You got it there Andy, they are called Walnuts.
Last question.....If you had some nuts on your mouth what exactly do you think they would be called
Survey Says........................??????????????
Downvote! The last line is "If you had some nuts on your chin..."
At least be appropriately inappropriate.
Who's "Andrew" anyway?
If your Greg Paulus: Deron Washington's
Obviously it would be difficult to prove correlation vs. causation, but a breakdown of the average weight of VT's front seven by year and their corresponding ranks in run defense (i.e. ypg, ypc, S&P efficiency rating) would be nice.
More trivia research than anything else, but does Don Strock's school-record 527 passing yards in a game also hold the distinction (notoriety) of being the most passing yards by any quarterback in NCAA history without throwing for a touchdown?
I only took a day and some change, but at least Andy got one solid suggestion.
Uniforms...
Pick any year, and the VT roster for that year. Where are they now? For example, the 1999 team: Wayne Ward is a high school teacher and athletic director in Florida (very cool). Andre Davis runs a nonprofit foundation in Myrtle Beach (also very cool). Corey Bird is . . . You get the idea. What other things, cool or otherwise, are our former players up to?
I'd love to hear about this. Once players leave the school and NFL, it's like they just disappear.
How well is Tech really doing as a football program, considering football success (wins) as a function of dollars spent on football (staff, salaries, operating budgets)? How does Tech measure up against previous National champs, big spending programs, or other ACC schools?
We know that 2010/2011 recruiting classes have turned out to really haunt us for the past few years, but was there an indication at the time that it would be the case? From what I've seen the rankings were about in the same range (20-35) yet the talent never showed itself. In terms of ratings, perception, competing offer lists, was it possible to forsee that kind of drop off? Did it have more to do with coaches just not developing the talent that we typically bring in? Or maybe a combination of both and just a nother data point that recruiting rankings put far more weight into the schools offering than the actual players' talent level?
I think it's partially that we had a lot more attrition in those classes than normal.
If I'm remembering who has left correctly while looking at 247's list of commitments for 2010/2011 I come up with the following:
2010
4*: 1/5 Finished Senior Season on team, 4/5 left team or didn't complete career because of injury
3*: 5.5/14 Finished Senior Season on team, 9.5/14 left team or didn't complete career because of injury (counting Mark Leal as half, since he was on team half of Senior Season)
Other: 1 unranked prospect from Hargrave signed letter of intent, appears to have not enrolled.
2011
4*: 3/4 finished career or currently on team, 1/4 left team
3*: 6.5/18 /finished career or currently on team, 9.5/18 left team or didn't complete career because of injury (Keven Asante counting as half because he left team then rejoined later), 2 who signed letter of intent never enrolled (Dadi Nicolas also isn't listed as having enrolled, assuming due to name change).
Also of note, Andy already does a look back at the recruiting class that has just graduated. Here's the look he did at the 2010 class back in February
http://www.roanoke.com/sports/columns_and_blogs/blogs/andy_bitter_virgin...
Also, 2010 was a flukey year with our OL recruits. Gibson was solid, Caleb Farris was a hard worker with a low to medium ceiling, Mark Shuman should have been great but was lost to injury, and Arkema was a career backup. We followed that up with only Jake Goins in 2011, who never saw the field. Basically two linemen in two years. That catches up to you.
It was pretty well known within the program and those that follow VT recruiting closely that those years weren't up to par. 2011 was especially bad. There's a reason that the staff shakeups happened when they did (first because of recruiting in 2010-11, then because of the 2012 offense).