Hokies Discuss Duke, Dadi and the Up-and-Down Offense

Hokies' defensive line coach Charley Wiles was his typical upbeat self Tuesday evening, even going as far as jokingly referring to his star defensive end Dadi Nicolas — who has dealt with multiple hand injuries throughout the season — as "lobster boy".

But claws or not, every member of the Hokies' defense made one point abundantly clear — Nicolas is playing well, despite a scratch in his sacks column.

"Out of the d-line last week against Miami, he graded out the highest," said an impressed Ken Ekanem.

Several other videos, notes and quotes from Tuesday's media availability are below.

Bud Foster

Charley Wiles

Stacy Searels Talks Offense

Offensive line coach Stacy Searels met with the media for the first time in several weeks and was greeted with a question relating to the seven sacks his unit conceded against Pittsburgh.

"It all goes back to fundamentals and technique," said Searels of his group's lackluster performance. "When things, and you gotta give Pitt a lot of credit, they're a really good defensive football team, I hate to go back and talk this far back, I've tried to forget this. I appreciate you bringing it up (laughs). But when things get haywire in a game, when things get tough, sometimes guys revert to doing the wrong stuff instead of trusting that the fundamentals and techniques will work. That is something that we've been trying to preach. We haven't got it perfect yet. We haven't got it close to where we want it, but that's what we're working on."

And while Searels has noticed some improvement, more so against N.C. State than last weekend's loss to Miami, he remains far from content.

"We gave up some sacks that shouldn't have happened again," said Searels of the Miami loss. "...It's doing what you're coached to do, doing what you're drilled to do in practice each and every day and make it a habit. Have great habits on game day. Regardless of the situation of the game, regardless of the opponents you're playing, you have the same fundamentals, the same technique, and you do it right all the time."

As offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler has done on several occasions, Searels pinned much of the offense's struggles on simply failing to execute.

"We've all made mistakes. The issue with this offensive football team as you've heard before is our execution," said Searels. "It's not the quarterback screwing it all up. It's not the running backs screwed it up. It's not the receivers screwed it up. I can go across the offensive line this last game and each person had, if we eliminate not a minor, a critical mistake, if we eliminate one critical mistake...and it's not like one guy's having five. This guy has one, this guy has one, this guy has one. And they all add up. You gotta execute as a unit. I think that's our biggest issue."

But even after a second-straight subpar start to the season in Blacksburg, Searels hasn't lost faith in the Hokies' offense.

"You keep working. You keep grinding," said Searles. "You keep working your fundamentals and technique. You keep preaching effort. What I told these guys is 'hard work will bring a profit. You work hard, you do your job each and every day, it'll work. It will pay off.' You gotta believe that and do it every day."

Travon McMillian Solidifies No. 1 RB Spot

Redshirt freshman Travon McMillian enrolled at Virginia Tech as a quarterback, and the Woodbridge native was promised he'd get a fair shot at his high school position. But after racking up 196 rushing yards over the past two weeks, the quarterback-turned-tailback is beginning to make waves throughout the Hokies' offense.

"I didn't realize that he was that kind of running back," said offensive guard Augie Conte of McMillian. "Most of the time when you have running backs that come in from playing quarterback in high school, sometimes they go through a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to contact. I knew he was a fast guy. I knew he was a quick guy. But I'm really pleased that he's kind of embracing the role as a punishing running back which is always enjoyable to block for as offensive linemen."

Clearly enamored with the emergence of a dynamic tailback, Searles noted the fact that McMillian consistently picks up more than what the play is blocked for.

"Travon's done a heck of a job," said Searles. "I like it that we don't just get what the play's blocked for. Anybody can get what the play's blocked for. He's doing some, he took it to the house a couple weeks ago against North Carolina State. You wanna talk about that game (laughs)? When he hit that sweep outside down the left sideline, that was awesome to see someone take it to the house. We need some home runs like that. That excites the whole football team. Offense, defense, everybody."

Dadi Nicolas Remains Sackless

It took defensive end Ken Ekanem several weeks to record his first sack, a fact that makes it a little easier for him to relate to what Dadi Nicolas may be going through right now as the Hokies enter Week 8. But even Ekanem, a fellow edge rusher who has played with Nicolas for several years, can't fully imagine the pent-up frustration that Nicolas is dealing with.

"I was frustrated after like two or three games," laughed Ekanem. "I can't even imagine for him right now."

Knowing that Nicolas remains a dynamic player, Ekanem thinks the first sack could get things rolling for his defensive counterpart.

"I think you can tell when he gets around the quarterback, a couple times the quarterback's been in his grasps and he just slips out of it. I know it's frustrating for him," said Ekanem. "...Once he gets a sack, I think he'll start going."

But when that time does come, Ekanem almost half-expects a 15 yard celebration penalty to follow.

"Unfortunately," joked Ekanem. "Hope not, but I would understand."

Michael Brewer To Start Against Duke

Michael Brewer will make his return to the starting lineup against Duke on Saturday and it seems the day couldn't come soon enough for the senior signal-caller.

"It's definitely been a long ride preparing the way that I did and this team did throughout the summer. Put a lot of hard work in and then to see it kind of slip away there in the first game was pretty tough," said Brewer. "Definitely been a lot of adversity trying to get back, but I'm back 100% and it feels good to be back in that saddle."

After feeling his way through Miami, Brewer hopes that his timing will be much improved after a full week of No. 1 reps in practice.

"Timing obviously wasn't where I wanted it to be at that point," said Brewer of his performance against the Canes. "You can never have too much timing with your guys out there. Today was awesome because it just felt like you got better as practice went on. Throwing to those guys and kinda getting back into that rhythm that I had with them over the summer and then throughout training camp."

And after "graduating" from Mike Goforth hits to thundering blows from Miami defensive linemen, Brewer is confident that he's 100% healthy.

"It was just once I got hit once, it was like 'Alright, this thing's good. Let's get it going,'" said Brewer.

Despite the fact that Ekanem doesn't see Brewer too much during practice, he can still sense a growing level of excitement from the team now that their starting quarterback is back on the field.

"We're really happy to have him back," said Ekanem. "He was a leader in the offseason. We were really looking forward to see what we could do this year. I think, from that sense, a lot of my teammates are really energized that he's coming back."

Hokies Preview Duke

Despite opening as a 6 point favorite (which has since fallen) over the Blue Devils, the Hokies have nothing but respect for No. 23 Duke.

"It sounds pretty cliche, Duke, they're extremely smart," said Brewer. "They're able to line up in so many different defensive looks, so many different defenses. I think that's made it hard on teams to game plan just because you never know what you're going to get. You might go twelve snaps in a row of a different coverage, blitz, and front. It's pretty wild how they can be so good, so sharp in so many different things. Not a lot of teams can do that. That's why they've had a lot of success."

With a team that can be so multiple on defense, Brewer thinks being able to improvise effectively will be essential in Lane Stadium on Saturday.

"This week we gotta be really good with the basics. Making sure that we're on point with everything that we do because you're not always gonna be in the perfect play against these guys," said Brewer. "Sometimes you gotta make something happen out of nothing. We'll practice that way and hopefully it'll translate to Saturday."

Searles singled out star safety Jeremy Cash as a standout player for the Blue Devils' defense.

"They will send the house at you in third down and red zone. They're athletic. 16 (Cash) stands out as a really, really good player," said Searles. "They've got a lot of good players over there. I think their coaches do a tremendous job putting them in good situations."

On the other side of the ball, much of the talk Tuesday was centered around how quick the Blue Devils get rid of the ball and how it allows them to stay ahead of the sticks.

"They throw it really quick. They disguise a lot of their passes, half their passes are play-action," said Ekanem. "We just gotta do a good job recognizing that as soon as possible and get back there, apply the pressure."

With the possibility of a third conference loss looming over the Hokies' heads, Conte was clear that the team remains hard at work despite the disappointing first half of the season.

"Everybody's still working hard. Nobody's really hanging their head," said Conte. "Everybody's kinda putting their nose to the grindstone and making sure we're doing everything we can to prepare for Duke."

Additional Quotes

Michael Brewer

ON IF HE PUSHED TO GET IN THE MIAMI GAME:

"Of course I'm constantly trying to get back in it. Trying to push it. It was the same thing with my rehab constantly 'Hey, let's do this. Can I do this?' and 'Hey, let's take a couple steps back, you're not ready for that.' Football's the same way. I'm just like 'Hey, when can I get some reps?' Basically the moral of the story was you can't get a bunch of reps until you're cleared just because those other guys need the reps. That's kinda how it went down."

ON IF HE TOOK REPS FROM BRENDEN MOTLEY OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS:

"Not once was I taking any of his reps. It was more of maybe Dwayne and I splitting some reps with the two's basically just trying to get my feet wet again."

Cam Phillips

ON BUCKY HODGES:

"Bucky is (a) freak athletically. We try to get the ball in his hands a lot, just find mismatches. What he did last year, teams have taken notice of that and try to game plan for him."

ON RETURN OF MICHAEL BREWER:

"I guess it does feel kind of refreshing. It's not like we weren't as confident in Mot as we are in Brewer, or else the coaches wouldn't have played him. We think he played pretty well even though we went (3-3). Just getting one of our brothers back healthy. I guess things may flow a little smoother."

Augie Conte

ON MICHAEL BREWER AND BRENDEN MOTLEY AS LEADERS:

"I mean obviously it's good having a little bit of depth at quarterback. I think Brewer adds, nothing taken away from Motley, Motley was a good quarterback when it came to leadership, I think Brewer's a little more vocal when it comes to being a leader so hopefully that will help."

ON EMERGENCE OF TRAVON MCMILLIAN MOTIVATING HIM:

"I wouldn't say more motivated, but I love seeing a running back make yards after contact. It doesn't necessarily motivate me a little more, it just seems a little more fun to watch. Just when it adds another element of toughness. I think it makes not necessarily our job easier, but it's easier to wear the defense down when you got a running back who can make punishing runs like Travon McMillian's been doing. I wouldn't say it's a motivator, it's just fun to watch."

ON SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PITT AND DUKE:

"Pittsburgh brought a lot of stuff. It shouldn't have been anything we couldn't handle. They (Duke) do bring a lot of stuff, but it shouldn't be anything we can't prepare for."

Stacy Searles

ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OFFENSIVE LINE AND RUNNING BACKS:

"The way I figure it with the running back, o-line relationship (is) sometimes you may have an offensive line that's not very good, but you got a great back. And that great back, he's breaking tackles and he's making runs and you start thinking you're pretty good and you get better as an offensive line. Sometimes you got an offensive line that's really good and the back may not be as good and you road grade people and they make plays and they get even better than they are.