Charley Wiles, Torrian Gray Discuss D-Line, DBs, Respectively After Scrimmage I

Virginia Tech's coaches weren't made available to the media after the Hokies' first open scrimmage of fall camp. However, they did speak with BeamerBall.com about what they saw on the field. Among the defensive coaches, I thought Charley Wiles and Torrian Gray provided the most interesting observations. Emphasis is my own.

Wiles:

"Well, right now, I have three of the top eight defensive linemen out. But, that also gives some other guys a lot of work. I guess that's the positive spin on that. But, I need to get Dadi Nicolas, Corey Marshall and Seth Dooley back as soon as possible. They need to get their timing back, their condition back and get back in the mix. Vinny Mihota has been a standout in this camp. Vinny is just a football player. He's instinctive, he plays hard, he's quick, he's big, a lot bigger than any end we've had in a while and he packs a punch. It was great to have Luther Maddy out there for 18 plays. He's been struggling with a stomach virus and that slowed him down. Woody Barron is having a very good camp. I have a great battle right now between Woody and Nigel Williams for that third defensive tackle spot. Ricky Walker has been very good. We played him as a freshman last year for depth and he's off to a good start. Steve Sobczcak is a 300 pound kid who can move around. He has a heavy shoulder and has playmaking ability and I really like that it's important to him. Tim Settle got a big play in this scrimmage with an interception. Hey, this guy has a lot of talent, he's just a little heavy right now. He's young, we'll get him trimmed down and he's only going to get better and better. I'm excited about him. I think we have good talent level with this group and I like the effort I'm getting from these guys. It's fun coaching them."

Gray:

"Overall I'm pleased with the defensive backs. Brandon Facyson had a tackle, a pass breakup, two exceptional plays, great tackle on a screen play and had a very good scrimmage. Greg Stroman, had a tackle, missed a tackle on the sideline, but was solid. I'm pleased with Greg's camp so far. Chuck Clark was 4-for-4 on his make the plays, 4 tackles, a couple of technique errors, but I'm pleased with him, he's been very solid. Desmond Frye had a missed tackle and has a couple things we need to clean up. Kendall Fuller was 2-for-2 on his plays, he's just been great in this camp. Donovan Riley was 3-for-3 on his plays, we just moved him back to corner from safety, and he was very good with 3 tackles, 1 assist and 1 interception, and was very solid at corner. Mook Reynolds is a young guy who's coming along at both nickel and corner. Der'Woun Green was solid, he's now our second free safety. Adonis Alexander, I'm excited about him, he was 2-for-2 on his plays with 2 tackles and 3 assists. He's young, he's learning and he's only going to get better. Terrell Edmunds is trying to overcome injury and it was good to have him back on the field and he had 2 tackles and 2 assists. I think this group has a ton of potential. If we keep working hard, we can get there."