Justin Fuente wasn't overly thrilled with the Hokies' first scrimmage of spring ball. It was largely expected — few teams open the spring firing on all cylinders.
But with another week of practice came another opportunity for players to ease their new head coach's concerns, and it seems the Hokies did just that during Saturday's scrimmage in the Beamer Barn.
"I at least walked off the field on Saturday feeling pretty good...when I hadn't always felt like that," said Fuente. "I didn't just throw my feet up on the desk, but I felt OK about it. I felt better."
A sizable portion of Fuente's growing comfort level could very well be a result of a thinning quarterback competition in Blacksburg. As was speculated last week, Junior College transfer Jerod Evans and redshirt senior Brenden Motley have taken the lead in the Hokies' quarterback competition.
"Jerod and Brenden took most of the reps with the 1's and at times were really efficient and at times could have been a lot better," said Fuente. "Those two guys have kinda leapt ahead a little bit in terms of where we're at. Doesn't mean that any decisions have been made, far from it. But starting today, that's kind of how we'll have those guys handling the majority of the reps with the 1's. It doesn't mean those other guys are done or redshirting or anything like that. We're in the infancy of it. But through nine practices, that's where we feel like those guys are at."
Shibest Takes Over on Special Teams
There's a new big whistle running the Hokies' special teams units this spring, and he knows he has big shoes to fill. But despite the towering expectations that come with coaching special teams at a place like Virginia Tech, Fuente feels confident that James Shibest is the man for the job.
"We drill fundamentals in special teams more than any place I've ever been in terms of coach Shibest and his teaching progression. It's fantastic," said Fuente. "I think it manifests itself in giving us the best chance on Saturdays. It doesn't mean anything bad never happens, those things happen sometimes. But getting our kids fundamentally sound and believing what they're doing, I don't think there's anyone better."
But despite the ringing endorsement from his boss, Shibest warns the Hokies will be moving slowly on special teams this spring. It's a new system with new schemes, Shibest explained, and the learning process will take time.
"It's coming along very slow right now. It's just because everything is new," said Shibest. "Obviously what coach Beamer's done here has helped us tremendously in the fact that these guys know that this aspect is very important. You can just tell how attentive they are in meetings and their effort in the field going through drillwork. But it's different. Scheme-wise and drill-wise, we're all different."
Perhaps no aspect of special teams will diverge from the past more under Shibest than the punting game. Four-year starting punter A.J. Hughes has departed, and redshirt junior punter Mitchell Ludwig — previously seen primarily on kickoffs — appears primed to take his place.
"I think he's got great potential," said Shibest of Ludwig. "He's got a great opportunity to go take that role. I wish we had another guy or two possibly competing there, but we don't. We got (Jackson) VanSickle there. The other great thing is Joey Slye can do that also, too. He's been working there. We've been impressed with Mitch. We didn't know much about him. He hadn't really punted here, not on game days anyways. But he's done well this spring, so we've been happy with him."
And long accustomed to Frank Beamer's pro-style punting formation, Hokie fans could be in for another shock come September as Tech transitions into a three-man shield punting look.
"We're a shield team which is the big guys in the back," said Shibest. "We were a pro-style or traditional-style for many years where I've been at different places, but this is kind of the new fad or the new thing (in college football). We'll have the capability of doing some rugby stuff out of it. It all depends on what the punters can do."
But while Shibest may be tweaking some of Beamer's schemes, he's not messing with one of the core traditions of Beamer Ball — starters will still feature prominently on special teams.
"The thing we always try to do is get the best personnel out there that we possibly can," said Shibest. "It's gonna win or lose you games."
But despite Fuente's appreciation for special teams and the sterling reputation of Shibest, time and space constraints — along with injury potential — greatly limit how often the Hokies can do full group work. For Shibest, those natural constraints of his job leave the emphasis squarely on the fundamentals.
"We do very little full group stuff (in the spring) and really do very little full group stuff in the fall. It's all a progression of the drills," said Shibest. "You just kind of build to the one play. Now obviously we do full group stuff. We're just a big believer, you've gotta teach them the fundamentals and what you gotta do. You can't just throw them out there and do full group work without the teaching part of it."
Tuesday marked the first time the media had officially met the Hokies' newest special teams coach, and the Texas native did not disappoint. Shibest was animated, friendly, and enthusiastic, not the least bit hesitant to tell us exactly what he thought about his group. For a brief moment, it was almost as if longtime defensive line coach Charley Wiles had morphed into a special teams coach.
Had we gone crazy? Senior defensive tackle Nigel Williams assured us otherwise.
"I feel like they both grew up in the same house," joked Williams. "They both talk the exact same. I'll be in a special teams meeting and I gotta look over to make sure that's not coach Wiles. It's kind of crazy when you hear both of them on the field at the same time. It's kind of like an echo."
Competition The Name of the Game at Running Back
Just a few months removed from a breakout freshman campaign that saw Travon McMillian rush for 1,043 yards, many Hokie fans likely assumed McMillian would be the clear starter heading into spring practice. But Zohn Burden, the Hokies' former receivers and current running backs coach, made it clear Tuesday that there's no depth chart set in stone at the tailback position.
"Travon is a competitor and he understands that it's not about last year, it's about right now," said Burden. "It's about moving forward and getting better and working his butt off and competing everyday. Like I said, it's a competition. He's gotta earn everything with me as a new position coach, but also with a new offensive staff. It's more about him just getting out there and proving himself every day."
And while McMillian certainly figures to emerge from the spring as the No. 1 tailback, he'll be pushed by a bevy of talented young backs, perhaps none more intriguing than redshirt freshman Deshawn McClease. At just 5'9" and 177 pounds, the diminutive but fleet of foot McClease could present the Hokies with a valuable change of pace option after McMillian.
"He can go out wide, you can send him in motion, he's just a guy in space that can give defenses some trouble," said Burden. "He's a speedy guy and a smart kid out there. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He brings that kind of element to the offense...I think the sky's the limit for him right now."
And in Fuente's up-tempo offense, it's likely several tailbacks will be utilized throughout the season. Fuente seemed high on McClease's potential Tuesday afternoon, the Virginia Beach native's versatility and speed no doubt enticing to the Hokies' offensive guru.
"He's a shifty, speedy back I think that's got some unique skills," said Fuente. "I like the way he's approached spring ball. I like having, just in general terms, I like having a variety of different tailbacks. I don't like them all to look the same. I like having a big guy, a small guy, and guys that can motion out and play in the slot and guys that are big that you don't wanna do that with. McClease certainly fills one of those roles. He's a smaller, speedier, shifty back that still runs the ball inside."
For his part, McClease is embracing the competition this spring, eager to find a way onto the field in his second year in Blacksburg.
"I see a huge opportunity," said McClease. "I came here to make a big impact on and off the field here at Tech. So I'm getting my opportunity."
But no running back conversation is complete without mentioning Sam Rogers, the Hokies' fullback/tailback hybrid who has emerged as one of the team's most respected players over the past several years. And now that Burden has begun to work personally with Rogers, he's beginning to appreciate the notorious work ethic of the Hokies' senior leader.
"Just meeting with him, I have about four or five meetings a day because Sam comes by," said Burden. "If it's one meeting, I know I got four more because Sam's gonna come by. That's a good thing. You want that."
So while Rogers might be more traditionally known as a fullback, Burden promised that the Mechanicsville native will continue to play a prominent role in the Hokies' offense.
"He looks good when he carries the ball, so we say, 'Why not?' He's one of our best players on offense, if not the best," said Burden. "We feel like you wanna have a guy that you can trust with the ball in his hands. But it's not always about with the ball in his hands. It's about the things he does without the ball in his hands."
Foster and Greene Discuss the Lunchpail D
2015 may not have gone exactly to plan for Bud Foster and the lunchpail defense, but the Hokies' longtime defensive coordinator certainly hopes to get his unit back on track this fall. And while Foster feels reasonably comfortable with the Hokies' first group on defense, depth at key positions has been the talk of spring ball.
"Obviously when we talked before, we're young at defensive end," said Foster. "(Redshirt freshman) Trevon Hill's got a chance to be dynamic. Very explosive, very instinctive. Still learning, but shows some flashes of really being a dynamic football player."
And with highly-touted freshman cornerback Khalil Ladler and Brandon Facyson both out for the spring with injuries, the Hokies are painfully thin at cornerback. Adonis Alexander and Greg Stroman provide the Hokies with quality options in the first group, but Foster hopes Ladler and Facyson will be healthy come fall camp.
"You have an idea about Brandon. But at the same time, he's been nicked up," said Foster. "He needs to get out there because we're doing a couple of things a little bit, not that we're doing anything differently, but we're playing a little bit more zone coverage, probably. Ladler's a guy you would just like to see. Period. I've seen him on high school film, but I'd like to see him out there now. He's going through walkthroughs and those type of things, but it's still different from doing it full speed where you're tying your mind and your feet together. He's a guy that I'm hoping can figure in. We'll see. He'll have to catch up a lot this summer."
At the safety spot, Foster raved about fifth-year senior Der'woun Greene on several different occasions Tuesday afternoon. And while Greene is still waiting for an opportunity behind both Chuck Clark and Terrell Edmunds, Foster thinks the switch to more zone coverage will only benefit the Portsmouth, Virginia native.
"Der'woun has just always been a really, really good football player," said Foster. "Probably his liabilities might be, Torrian (Gray) would have told you, might be playing man coverage. We're looking at playing with a few more eyes on the ball (this year). Particularly in today's game, people are spreading you out. If you're just always playing man coverage and a play pops, there's not much back there to defend against it. We just wanna make it snap again...We've been pretty good about that over the years. I wanna get back to that. And really, that plays more to probably Der'woun's strength a little bit. He's great attacking the line of scrimmage. He's just got some experience back there that I really like and trust."
Foster compared Greene to former Virginia Tech safety Dorian Porch, another defensive back who spent much of his career in maroon and orange waiting for an opportunity before finally emerging in his senior season.
"I think he's a guy, I'm hoping he'll come along and have a bigtime senior year like we had with guys like Dorian Porch," said Foster. "Guys that we're safety guys, rovers that were kind of backup guys, but in the end we ended up winning a championship with those guys. Not to say that's what we're gonna do this year, but those guys were very productive and a key part of our success. I think he has a chance to do those things right now."
Additional Quotes
Justin Fuente
OPENING STATEMENT:
"Thank you all for coming out. Before we start, I do want to announce that next Tuesday night we're gonna invite all the students out to practice. It should be a good event. We'll bring them out for the second half of practice. They can get in with a student ID. Pete (Moris) will have all the details on all that sort of stuff which I think we'll release later on. We'll even let you all (the media) come too if you'd like. It should be a fun event. We're planning on that on Tuesday. Should be a fun evening. We had a good scrimmage on Saturday morning. Both sides competed, there was good give-and-take on both sides of the football. Big plays made on both sides of the ball. We're still, again, heavily in the developmental stages of identifying personnel. Kind of echoing the sentiment I had a week ago about our older players, been really pleased with those guys. Some of our younger guy's we've got to continue to develop to play at a consistent level.
ON IF DESHAWN MCCLEASE CAN BE AN EVERY DOWN BACK:
"I think anything's possible. We've got some competition going on there. I would say that spot is wide open. Sam Rogers has been fantastic. But other than that, all those other guys are up in the air as far as I'm concerned. I don't know if he'll end up being an every down guy, but I know he's out there competing for playing time."
ON PLAYING MULTIPLE RUNNING BACKS:
"I don't go into it with any preconceived notions. Obviously if you've got one guy and he's head and shoulders above everybody else, then that's where you go. Historically, from my time at TCU to my time at Memphis, when we got to be pretty decent, when we just started out we were just tring to find somebody to carry the ball, but when we got to be pretty decent at both places, at TCU and Memphis, we've played numerous people. I believe in that. I believe in trying to get people involved in the game whether it's wideouts or tight ends or running backs. I think everybody practices better. Just overall continuity is better. But you have to earn that. You have to earn that playing time. We won't just play guys just to play them."
ON THE BANNING OF SATELLITE CAMPS:
"I'm happy that the ACC's in line with everybody else. That was my biggest thing. I just felt like whatever it was, whatever we all decided or they decided I guess I should say, I wanted it to be all in line. So one way or the other, I'm not gonna jump on a soapbox about that, about satellite camps. Text messages, that's another story, but satellite, I'm just glad we're in line."
ON NCAA LIFTING TEXT MESSAGE BAN:
"I don't understand why we passed that. Coaches have been against it. The premise behind using direct message was that the prospect gave his permission for you to contact them. Now there is no shutoff valve with text messaging. My understanding was we were all in line that and that's how we handled it a year ago. And then you read in the newspaper that it's been changed."
ON THE FRESHMAN WR'S:
"They've looked like freshman. I really like their attitudes. I like their work ethics. I think they're highly-intelligent kids. Got some development to do. I would say Divine (Deablo) is maybe just a little bit further along just because he's a bigger, stronger kid. I like them. I like the way they're going. It's good they came in mid-semester. It's good they're gonna have spring and then the summer and then two-a-days to get ready to help give us some depth."
ON IF HE LIKES PUTTING STARTERS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
"Absolutely. Huge part of the game."
ON VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY HELPING THE HOKIES:
"It's interesting. We're continuing to build our library of film. So when we go out there and practice, we'll continue to gather data of film so that in the summertime we can group them all together by plays. Then quarterbacks or linebackers or whatever position group, can then put it on and take some mental reps. I think it's a really neat system. I think it's gonna be beneficial maybe as much for the guy that did not take the rep as anything else. I think it's a pretty unique way to get mental reps when you're not out there. Like I said, you've gotta kind of build your library up in order to fully utilize it, but I'm looking forward to getting it all put together for the summertime and into the fall."
ON DEVIN WILSON:
"He doesn't say a word and just works his tail off. Every day he shows up and jumps right in there. Certainly the situation's not too big for him. He wasn't timid at all. He's working diligently to get caught up mentally with what we're doing and kind of see how it goes. But he's done really well. We love having him out there."
ON IF THE EVENTS OF THE QB COMPETITION HAVE SURPRISED HIM:
"I tried not to go into it with any preconceived notion. I like the 3 younger guys. I think they're working diligently to improve. I like the way they're going about their business, their demeanor. There haven't been any real big surprises, but I didn't go into it thinking it would go one way or the other."
ON JACK CLICK:
"Great demeanor. Incredibly competitive. He's a very good athlete. Big strong kid. Incredibly happy that he's here. I think he has a chance to develop and work himself into giving him a chance to be a good player."
ON INJURIES:
"It's part of our young development. The schedule's printed, the tickets are going out. We gotta find guys to play. That's the bottom line. You all, along with everybody else, don't really care if people are out or whatever. We've gotta find a way to get the job done. That's what we're out there practicing right now."
ON DEPTH AT CORNERBACK:
"Well Adonis and Stroman have been really, really good. We've got work to do behind those guys."
ON ADJUSTMENT TO TEMPO:
"It's segmented out. We don't do that all the time, just doing some of our tempo periods. And there's still somebody coaching on the fly. Judging by the scrimmage, it certainly wasn't perfect, but we weren't out there holding their hands. We got the coaches off the field. We lined guys up wrong, we called it wrong, we didn't say anything. The execution level, at least from an operational standpoint, was pretty high. Not where it needs to be."
Bud Foster
ON STANDOUTS IN HIS DEFENSE:
"The guy in the back end that really is sticking out right now to me and having a great spring ball is Terrell Edmunds. He's playing our rover spot and just very active, very physical. I've been real pleased with that move...We just don't have any depth (at cornerback) right now with Facyson being out. At linebacker, Motuapuaka has been out with a calf muscle and things. He played (Saturday) for the first time and was a little rusty. I like where Tremaine Edmunds is progressing. He's not there yet. But at the same time, I'm really excited about his future, too...The whole scrimmage, probably on both sides of the ball, you saw some good things, but we've got to be consistent in what we do with our execution and that was the takeaway. But I'll tell you, the effort was good. We scrimmaged indoors. You guys know in the past we've always had a crowd there which kind of jacks the kids up. So it was just us and the walls in there, but I liked how we competed against one another."
ON THE TEMPO OF THE OFFENSE:
"The tempo of the offense, it really makes us better. It makes our kids think and obviously offensively too. But it's good for us at the end of the day. That tempo, and I saw where Memphis was 18th in the country in number of plays and tempo and all of those kind of things. That's good for us in that preparation. And not just mental and physical (standpoint), but let's just get ready to go and be able to sustain playing a number of plays at that tempo."
ON KEEPING MOOK REYNOLDS AT NICKEL THIS YEAR:
"Right now, we've been primarily (keeping Mook at nickel) because of depth, too, and what our offense is doing personnel-wise. They're a little bit 3-wides and that type of thing...They will get into some two tight ends, but we're keeping him (at nickel) and letting him get all those reps right now. And what we're doing, we've got Der'woun Greene working at backup safety. Who could play both spots. Jacque Alleyne is working at the rover spot. That just allows us to get some guys on the field and get them a lot of reps. We had Mook penciled in as our nickel guy and he's gonna stay there. I'll tell you, though, he's being pushed everyday by Anthony Shegog who I really like the way he's playing right now. Probably the other day, Mook's just gotta learn to stay at home. He's got great instincts and plays with great vision. Good football player. But sometimes his eyes will get him in trouble where he's just gotta make sure he stays at home. That's just learning the position...I like that position right now, I really do."
ON ANTHONY SHEGOG:
"Anthony's a little bit bigger. He was a converted safety. He's a 6'2", 215 pound kid where Mook's more in that 6 foot, 190 pound DB kind of guy. I feel like Mook can probably cover a little bit better, but Anthony's done some really good things. Just a good, steady, heady football player."
ON NOT BEING ABLE TO PLAY ZONE LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF INJURIES:
"Yeah, that was really it as much as anything. It started snowballing and we didn't know exactly, you had guys, you had Adonis, he started out at safety and we just moved him around. Same thing with Mook. Same thing with Edmunds. Next things you know you couldn't make adjustments because they hadn't repped some of the base principles that you want out of certain schemes and whatnot."
ON DER'WOUN GREENE:
"Der'woun's high school film was outstanding. He was a guy who was just a vicious hitter. He still is. He's a good football player."
James Shibest
ON PLAYING STARTERS VERSUS BACKUPS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
"We're not ever gonna sacrifice people unless they're ready to go play in open space. The thing about special teams is you're dealing with a lot of open space, a lot of field out there to cover. So it takes good athletes. Hopefully you've got a core of 6 to 8 good backup guys that can do that....But we try to add some mixture in it too in some areas to get some guys that maybe that's their only role. They're not a backup on offense or defense, but I think it builds great team chemistry with everything to find two or three guys like that also. Just depends where you're putting everybody. But we're gonna put the best personnel we possibly can out there."
ON SCHEDULE OF INSTALLING SPECIAL TEAMS:
"Yeah. We're trying to get all that taught so when we get into fall when we're moving a lot quicker we can continue to get better. I know this week we're doing some good on good which we'll put speed out there on the field so we can get a great evaluation, number one. So when our personnel's put together this summer, hopefully we've got it pretty close to what it'll be for the fall."
ON HOW MUCH THEY PRACTICE SPECIAL TEAMS:
"It's never enough for me, so I'm always begging for extra time. But he does a great job emphasizing it. It just varies. It can be somedays from 10 minutes to 20 minutes. It just depends. But we're gonna spend the time. I'll tell you where we spend the most amount of time is in fall camp. We're getting a lot more time, a lot more walkthrough for teaching and prepping these guys. As the season goes on, we've got time restraints so it's always tough. Meeting time and all that, we're gonna put enough time in to make sure we have a chance to go out and be good."
ON THE RETURN GAME:
"It's always tough. You try to evaluate the returners more on what they do on offense and defense. It's their playmaking abilities. Because we don't go down and cover live kicks or anything. Obviously with Stroman, we're excited about him at punt return. But we'd like to see him have the ability to do that at kick return, too. It takes special people to be back there in those spots. There can be some big collisions at times, too. Ball security and all them other things are as critical also. And decision making. We're looking at several guys at kick return. I know Greene's done it before. Looking at Mook a little bit, too. Basically guys that are playmakers on offense or defense with some speed you try to get back there. But punt return's a whole different issue because their decision making and all those other things involve a little bit more than the kick returner. We sure feel good about Stroman. I watched the last two years and boy he's an explosive player. If we can just get hats on people, he'll make one or two miss hopefully and we'll have a chance to have a great return team."
ON DEON NEWSOME:
"Kick return, he's working a little bit right now. But a lot of these guys we're training in different areas. In the front part of the punt return group too, he's training their also. Cam Phillips has the opportunity to do some of them things...We're trying to train these guys in different areas just to find out again, the whole key is that our team's are close to being are what they are in the fall so you don't waste reps."
Zohn Burden
ON ADJUSTING TO COACHING RUNNING BACKS:
"Not that big of an adjustment. I've previously coached DB's. I went to wide receivers and then back to DB's and back to wide receivers. The transition hasn't been that difficult. One thing I like is the staff that we have. Coach Fuente and Coach Cornelsen, they're making it tremendously easy for me. Those guys have a lot of experience coaching different positions as well. I believe Coach Fuente used to coach running backs as well earlier in his career. And then Holmon Wiggins played running back. There's guys in the room that you can bump ideas off of and we are gelling well together. It's making it a whole lot easier for me."
ON SHAI MCKENZIE:
"Shai's full speed ahead right now. He's doing well. He's competing hard...He's trimmed down. He looks good. His body looks good. He's confident. He looks like from what I've seen a couple years ago, he looks very similar to that guy right now."
ON RUNNING BACKS COMPETITION:
"Right now, everybody's getting the same amount of reps. They're all competing. You've got Sam Rogers in there at tailback. Steven Peoples is in there getting carries. Everybody's getting their chance to run with the first group. We're gonna see at the end of the spring who's the top guy.
ON STATUS OF MARSHAWN WILLIAMS:
"Marshawn, he's just in meetings, working out. He's in practice, but he's no contact right now."
Greg Stroman
ON SWITCHING BACK TO CORNER:
"Coach just comes to me and tells me what he needs me to do and what he wanted me to do. I talked to coach Mitchell, and coach Mitchell's like, 'You're gonna be a corner.' That's how the spring started."
ON IF HE'S OK WITH SWITCHING BACK TO CORNER:
"Yeah, definitely, fine with it. Whatever coach needs."
ON HAVING TWO COACHES IN THE SECONDARY:
"It's a little different, splitting the safeties and corners up. But we're handling it pretty well. It's pretty cool to be, meetings go a little bit faster with less people. You're focused on it a little more."
Der'woun Greene
ON HIS ROLE THIS YEAR:
"It's basically the same role being that I came back as a fifth-year senior this year. It's kind of a bigger role being in that we have a change with the coaching staff. A lot of the younger kids look towards the fifth-year seniors for support...I think the role is big, but nothing I can't handle."
ON PLAYING MORE ZONE BENEFITING THE SECONDARY:
"I think it'll benefit all of us. Playing a lot of man-to-man, you depend on the defensive line a lot more. Playing zone, they depend on us."
ON COACH SCOTT:
"Him and T-Gray are the same, basically. They expect a lot out of you. If you don't give it, they're gonna get after you."
ON COACH SHIBEST:
"Always amped up. Probably one of the livest coaches we've got right now. He just comes full of energy and we try to feed off that."
ON TREY EDMUNDS:
"We talk all the time. Trey, he'll always be a Hokie. He just made a decision to go play elsewhere. But he got his degree from here, so he'll always be a Hokie."
ON IF HE FEELS PRESSURE TO GET ON THE FIELD IN HIS LAST SEASON:
"I think that's the expectation I set for myself. I'm trying to get on the field just like everybody else."
ON IF HE COULD EXPLAIN PRONUNCIATION OF HIS NAME (PRONOUNCED "DARE-EE-ON"):
"April 23rd, you can ask my momma (laughs). She'll be here (for the spring game). She can explain all that to you."
Nigel Williams
ON HIS GROWTH:
"I think this spring I've definitely stepped into the role of a leader. I have a lot of younger guys looking up to me because of what I know and what I've experienced since I've been here. I just hope to carry that throughout the season and help push these guys forward through this change and through this season. It's a long season. The season basically starts right after the last bowl game. It's not just those games throughout the fall."
ON THE YOUNGER GUYS LEANING ON HIM FOR HELP:
"I remember my freshman year, I used to lean on Skip (Hopkins) and Luther Maddy. I'm just glad I can relay that on to Tim as well. I remember a couple Saturdays in the fieldhouse, just me and Tim and Woody and Ken Ekanem, kind of just going over plays, some of the terminology. With coach Wiles and Bud returning, it's all kind of the same terminology and stuff...Being able to help him, being able to help some of the other younger guys pick up some of those things, will only make us better in the long run."
ON TIM SETTLE LOSING WEIGHT:
"I've noticed that he's gotten a lot faster. He's able to handle a lot more snaps throughout practice. It's only helped him out to get a better chance to get on the field. Tim was already a really good athlete before and him losing weight as only helped him out even more."
ON MENTALITY THE LAST FEW YEARS:
"Kind of regressing a little bit last year as opposed to two years ago, kind of seeing that role change but understanding that Luther was back and healthy, I kind of took that in and kept preparing everyday as if that could be my day to play and start that game. This game has a lot of adversity. You gotta know that at any moment, you could be that guy. Bud reiterates that every day."
ON HIS GROWTH:
"I think I've become a better student of the game. Watching film and being a hard critic of myself. I think I am the hardest critic of myself. Just constantly after practice, I go home and watch film. Come in the next morning and watch film with the guys. Just constantly try to build up off of that. I think I've mastered taking care of my body a lot better."
ON ORIGINS OF WATCHING MORE FILM:
"Talking to Luther and Dadi last year and seeing how much that helped them throughout the years. Coach Wiles always reiterates coming in here and being a student of the game. Don't just limit yourself to when the team comes in, when the guys come in."
Deshawn McClease
ON RB COMPETITION:
"It's very competitive. Nobody has a solid spot yet. Coach lets that be known. You have to compete every day, whether it's scrimmages, practices, in the classroom, everywhere."
ON J.C. COLEMAN:
"I leaned on J.C. a lot. We went to the same high school...We've had a pretty good relationship for a long time. I leaned on him a lot....He was basically my mentor."
ON COLEMAN'S ROLE IN HIS RECRUITMENT:
"He played a big role. Like I said, I've always looked up to him since I was a freshman in high school."
ON COLEMAN'S REACTION TO HIM BREAKING MOST OF HIS OSCAR SMITH RECORDS:
"He did take it well. Every record I broke, he called me after everyone. Just congratulations, you know, continue to get better and stay hungry. Get ready to work for when you get to college because it's a different ballgame, and it is."
ON FEELING INTIMIDATED BY TRAVON MCMILLIAN COMING BACK:
"I don't really look at it that way. I just look it as competition. He pushes me, I push him. We all, as a running back group, we all push each other. We don't really look at it like, 'This guy is the big dog.' We're all competing."
ON LEARNING FROM SAM ROGERS:
"I like being around Sam. He's a great person. I could speak for all the other running backs too, Sam is like another coach. If we need little pointers or something, he'll help us. He helps us improve, on the field, off the field. Whatever it is, Sam is always there."
Comments
Which wagon do the Lawson truthers hop on?
All of them.
Lawson could be a great player for us down the line but I found all the people saying he was going to leave early for the NFL pretty cringeworthy.
I am in complete agreement
The save him for the future wagon. Still pissed at the old staff for burning his shirt last year. He very clearly was not ready for that, even in the limited packages he was used. What a complete waste to burn a year getting him focused on developing a small set of plays for the offhand chance he got into the game.
Wouldn't be surprised if they just redshirt him this year
I agree. Then next year we are in the same situation as we would be regardless. R-So
Agreed but I like the fact the he will be a R-So that redshirted under Fuente and Cornelsen than under the previous regime. I'd be more upset with a redshirt taken last year as the benefit of his redshirt would have been lessened because he would have been learning Loeffler's system and not our new system.
Redshirting doesn't mean you learn more. It actually means your less of a teaching priority to coaches and are further removed from game situations that motivate kids to really put in the work.
I'd be surprised if he's back next year and doesn't transfer.
Only time will tell. You have to wonder, though, where would he transfer to? If he's having trouble cracking the two deep at VT with two other lightly seasoned QBs why wouldn't he redshirt?
If he transfers he'll just have to start all over again with the 3rd offense in 3 years. Maybe some people view that as a good thing. Maybe not. I don't really know.
If he redshirts and uses the off year to learn as an understudy and be coached by a proven QB coach he'll be setting himself up better for success, one would think. He'll still have 3 years of eligibility and, in all likelihood, the only possible person ahead of him would have only 1 year. So he rides the pine as QB2 for a season (with the potential to assume the starting role in the event of injury) and then could potentially have 2 full seasons as a starter at the D1 level. Presumably in an offense that, by then, will have more talent and will be more effective.
I guess my argument is that if he has his eyes set on the NFL and he truly believes he can get there he should be able to win the starting job at a D1 school. If he can't do that yet he's probably not ready for the NFL and I don't see how transferring anywhere else would speed up the process for him.
If he transfers I have to imagine he would be dropping down a level (DIII or Juco) to get playing time. That might be all he needs to further his career, but I doubt it.
edit:typos
Boston College.
That's actually an interesting thought. I guess if he really likes Scot that could be possible. Is that a move that VT would want to block? If so, could they?
I believe, he would have to sit two years for transferring to an ACC school.
Man, if I were him I think I'd take my chances with 1 redshirt year at VT as opposed to 2 years mandatory bench duty anywhere else.
Fuck Matty Ice.
the guy could certainly transfer to a DIII school and get the spotlight he needs to catch NFL scouts eyes. I mean, aren't there a ton of NFL QBs who played at the sub-FBS level? Alternatively, say he's not good enough for the NFL. If the kid just wants to play some football and be the star for a little longer before real life hits, then going DIII is also a good option. There are lots of good schools, education-wise, that don't put out P5 level football teams.
Valid points. I thought he had his sights set on the NFL. And maybe he could get there via a DIII school. As you pointed out, other QBs have. I wonder if that point is a bit of a red herring though. How many DIII QBs who were ultimately drafted to the NFL started their careers unable to crack the 2-deep at a middle-of-the-road DI school?
I would assume (I haven't researched it at all) that most of the DIII QBs who made it to the NFL started at the same schools from which they graduated. They were probably gifted players who flew under the radar in HS and weren't able to get the opportunity to compete at the DI level. They may have even spent their time in college with a chip on their shoulder, busting their tails to improve as much as they could to get to the next level. Maybe, if given the chance originally, they would have been stars no matter where they played college ball.
That's all conjecture, of course. If he really just wants to play and isn't expecting to get to the NFL then a transfer makes sense, I guess.
if he wanted to go pro and transfer to a lower level it would have to be 1-AA/FCS level. if he did that he wouldn't have to sit out and would be in a league that's produced NFL-caliber quarterbacks (Flacco, Carson Wentz is the projected top QB this year)
if he transfers and plays right away at a lower school can he again transfer back to a higher school right after or does he have to sit a year still? just curios wasn't that the cam newton route??
Cam Newton spent a year playing JUCO ball before transferring to Auburn. Not sure if that was to get him reps or if it was just to raise his profile so he could earn a bigger signing bonus...
And he also spent a year stealing laptops at Florida before going to JUCO
How many DIII QBs are in the NFL?
Someone would take a chance on a guy who was highly regarded out of high school. Worst case scenario he'd go to a 1-AA school. If he loses the job to Evans it seems unlikely he sticks around.
if Lawson loses the starting job in 2016 to Evans, he still has a clean shot at being the starter in 2018 and 2019. There's something to be said for developing mastery of an offensive system and setting yourself up for success rather than bouncing around to whatever venue will get you on the field no matter how unprepared you are...
Jackson is Lawson's actual long-term competition, as he will have that same shot at being the starter in 18/19 and nothing I've seen gives Jackson the edge on Lawson.
"if Lawson loses the starting job in 2016 to Evans, he still has a clean shot at being the starter in 2018 and 2019. "
Yeah no. It's really hard to unseat the incumbent. Evans would have to be hurt or be really bad for Lawson to have a shot.
Evans and motley will both in all likelihood be gone in 2018 (barring a redshirt from evans); at that point it would be Lawson, Jackson, Hooker (knock on wood) and presumably another recruit
I thought Evans is out of eligibility after '17. Is that not the case?
oh yeah definitely hard to unseat a returning starter, but I was talking about after Evans eligibility is used up. He's a Junior for the 2016 season. Don't think he has a redshirt available, but if he has a season-long injury he may qualify for a medical hardship waiver since he was injured at Air Force.
I'd be surprised if he transfers.
I could see it. His high school coach that we hired as an offensive quality control guy (or whatever it was) is no longer on the staff this year.
I never did like the smell of that one.
If they redshirt him, it's because they can...not because want to or need to. The missed redshirt last year is probably a non-event. For a variety of reasons -- both good and bad -- the likelihood of Lawson being at VT for 5 yrs is small.
The former (offensive) staff didn't have much of a long-term perspective.
They also didn't have much of a long-term future.
Did we know that Khalil Ladler is out with an injury?
We did, but I'm getting a sense that you didn't.
In all seriousness, he's rehabbing a torn ACL that happened in high school.
Was coming off an ACL injury his senior year. Don't think this is a new injury.
Great read, and thanks for the detailed update!
Joey, nice work man. That was a big juicy meaty piece of writing. So much to digest.
That's much better than throughout the possession.
How many games until I have to eat my hat for ever complaining about stroman returning punts?
Doesn't the NCAA frown on using your hats? /s
Wait why isn't football played all of the time?
Great article. Wondering about Bud's comments regarding looking more to a zone defense this year. My dumbass opinion is we should have zoned a little more last year. Wondering if Coach F chatted Bud up on this???
Injuries and freshman. Couldn't trust the guys to know their assignments in zone. Man is easier to learn.
This. Bud isn't going to run your standard cover 2 you see on NCAA. It will be disguised and we will have some interesting drops and zone blitzes. Also have to adjust and shift the zone when they motion guys, etc.
Bud mentioned he was forced to play so much man last year because they had no other choice
If Motley is our starting QB, it's going to be a long season.
Why should we trust the brand new head coach to be able to make the best decision for the team. I'm sure the coaches in the stands will let everyone know what the team should do, especially if: there is a RB rotation, a screen pass or Motley is the starting QB.
At the end of the day, I think Evans is going to be the starter. I think Fuente is trying to give the senior some encouragement.
Based on what? Considering no one has seen a full practice but the coaches whoever comes out as the starter will have earned that spot and the trust Fuente places in him.
Based on Fuente going after Evans right when he was hired. He went out and got his guy who has more experience than anyone on the roster. Motley never threw for 1,000 yards in high school and besides the Purdue game last year looked mediocre at best.
I see nothing wrong with you stating your opinion.
Even if it may be wrong.
Please enlighten me on who you think the starter may be?
The guy that the takes the first snap against Liberty as chosen by the coaches.
*arbitrarily equivocal ambiguousness*
I can't tell you who he is. I can only tell you how awesome he'll be.
Coaches already said they are not afraid of letting Liberty be the final test before choosing a starter.
Unless it's a trick play, a la Bills and Tyrod's first game.
Didn't that keep Tyrod from some bonus money?
Thanks for the positive comment!
You're welcome! If we are just going to end every conversation with, "Whatever coach decides," then this place will get boring in a hurry. We are supposed to be having conversations about the "What-ifs" and the opinions. That's what internet threads are for.
Edit: Some people think only factual evidence is allowed and that you can't have an opinion without being a troll. So once again, thanks for sharing your opinion! This conversation could have turned into, "I find it interesting that you think that. Could you please elaborate? My thoughts are...." But unfortunately it didn't.
What-ifs are great. Flaming players is not. End of story.
Edit: It's very difficult to put any insight into this discussion when Fuente has explicitly said that the offense he runs is tailored to the players he has at his disposal. What he runs here will likely be very different than what he ran with Lynch or with Dalton. It's not outside the realm of possibility to think that either Evans or Motley could be effective for him.
I agree with these last 2 comments by BMW-Baller and Hokie_x3_Hi. Opinions are welcome, but what in
is an opinion worth having a progressive conversation on? If we started with
I think it could lead to good conversation. Let's not make assumptions about kids that we don't even have a personal relationship with, none the less have an idea of how they are performing this year.
ok before I reason this out I want to say 2 things upfront. 1) I upvoted vatech03 because he definitely should not be downvoted for his opinion. and 2) I am debating on downvoting his other posts simply out of sheer hate for the use of "VATECH". makes me cringe whenever I see it.
and now the reasoned answer in dialogue:
Vatech03: If motley is out starting QB, it's going to be a long season.
me: Ok, it's unquestionably obvious that this is based on his inconsistent play last season, but a counter could be he now has real gametime experience under his belt, is with a new coaching staff that has history of developing successful QBs and even though inconsistent last year displayed at least a semblance of having the tools necessary to deliver wins.
vatech03: ok, yeah, I'll give you that, but I feel that if he really had the tools necessary the staff would have felt confident in him and would have gone after another freshman recruit rather than JUCO transfer.
me: good point vatech03, and I say that holding back the projectile vomit I have from actually saying "vatech". But I would counter and say that Fuente has been on Evans since Memphis and wouldn't pass on him now. If anything he gives competition to QBs and makes the group as whole better.
vatech03: true, true... but likely Fuente has been pursuing Evans this whole time from Memphis because he believes fully that he will succeed in this offense. That's probably more telling than anything.
me: damn, that's a good point. And Fuente has a history of choosing to play the younger QB to mold them into a more prolific passer over multiple seasons. Damn, vatech03, I guess I will have to hold that vomit back a little more and shake your hand at a well reasoned and non-flamewarish point of view you have there.
Boom. reasoned out.
I personally hate the "coaches will decide what's best" mantra, because here is the only sensible reply to that comment:
yes, the coaches will decide... EVERYTHING. How does that help the conversation? there is absolutely nothing to say to that to continue a conversation and have a discourse. So instead of pointing out that the sky is in fact still blue, and pigs are not yet flying how about ask vatech03 a reasoned question in response? create a dialogue. ask open ended questions.
vatech03 in fact gave an opinion. One which I somewhat agree with. Not the long season part, but I am 100% confident that Evans will be the starter. for the exact reasoned dialogue I wrote above. Anyone who wants to try to convince me with reason the other way feel free. Anyone who wants to give me the "coaches know best mantra" need not reply, because that is just noise. And this website and Hokie community is meant to be about signal not noise.
minor rant over. And this is not meant to be at HokieFireman or anyone in particular, just stating my opinion on this subthread as I see it. because I see it more and more on TKP. And also stating why I think Evans is absolutely the starter.
Fernley I love you but I disagree. If you or anyone had come in and made the argument about why player X would be the starter then the response would be a conversation back and forth or just general "no I disagree". But when the opening statement is a slam on an individual player and by association the coaching staff who would decide the starter then that is a wholly different conversation. When someone questions without reason a player of the brand spankin new coaches what should someone (me) respond with? As far as I know no one on TKP has seen an entire practice with the QB's yet someone already knows that the decision to start player X is a bad one?
Love flows in both direction my friend.
I get your point but I would offer that for one, is it really a slam? Frankly, Motley last year was a long season and he didn't even start the entirety of it. That's not a slam on him, it's just my opinion of his performance last year. So is saying this season would be similarly long a slam? I don't think so. It's simply a negative perspective. A slam would be like what that other guy did on social media saying Motley is " a bum" when James Gayle stepped in. That is a slam. Simply having a negative opinion does not make it a slam.
secondly, despite no one having seen any practice one could make a reasoned argument and have discourse, as I demonstrated. There is enough information without having seen any practice to make such a debate already.
Again, I want to say I didn't intend that to be at you. More that I think the idea that we can't ask vatech03 to explain his perspective before reverting to the coaches know best mantra is the wrong tact to take. Otherwise, if this spring is any indication on how much Fuente is willing to release to the press, topics here are gonna get seriously dull fast during offseason.
Can't concentrate... Too long to read on phone...painnnnnnnnn
I see nothing wrong with someone asking someone what they're basing their opinion on.
Ok I'm tired of hearing this silly argument. Fuente going out and getting Evans does not mean that he is automatically biased in favor of him. I don't care if Evans is the next Cam Newton, Fuente is still going to evaluate everyone objectively based on how they perform in practice. Whether Fuente recruited him or not will not affect his fair judgement.
Yea and that's pretty typical for a QB in a Wing-T offense. Besides he's almost 5 years out of high school ball. If you want to analyze his throwing ability look at what he's doing right now, not what he was doing when he was 14-18 years old.
Sigh. Now you're giving a subjective, unsupported evaluation of a guy based on just one game which just happens to be his second game ever starting at the college level and his first start against an FBS opponent ever. Oh and he threw for 2 TD's, no INT, and ran for a TD in that game.
I do... if Evans is the next Cam Newton, we're winning the National Title this year, baby!
It was Purdue bro, give me a break they are one of the worst teams in the FBS (6-30 record the last 3 seasons). Liberty will be more of a game than Purdue. He followed up that game with a 3 interception loss to Pitt at home and a 2 interception loss at Miami.
Yea did you watch the Pitt game? I think there might have been some other issues on the offense that factored into that one...
Either way I wasn't arguing his viability based on that one game. You were the one arguing against his viability based on that one game.
By the way have you even considered the differences in Lefty's system and Fuente's system and how they will affect someone like Brendon? Based on what you have said so far I take it that you haven't.
EDIT: By the way I have upvoted all of your negative comments. Intelligent discussion is always invited and encouraged here (as there has been plenty of about the QB's over the past few months) but I think most people had problems with your first comment primarily. Don't just bash a kid and definitely don't do it without giving a reason.
Let me end this opinion debate.
"Evans is going to be the starter" - Justin Fuente
(Quoted from when we hung out last weekend at my apartment after I had finished a liter of jim beam he randomly showed up at my apartment on a unicorn and told me)
purdue> every team evans played against.
switch the roles and I don't think im that far off from evans playing poor last year as the back up for VT and motley putting up some pretty darn good numbers in playing D2 ball. motleys offense didn't require him to throw in highschool. that doesn't mean he wasn't or wouldn't have been able too. clearly someone must have saw something he didn't walk on to VT nor was it his only offer from a D1 school that didn't run the triple option.
I also have an opinion.
and it is my opinion that the QB race was open to whoever won it. and if motley wins it it will because motley won it and is better than evans.
I dont know about that. It seems pretty clear that the number 1 JUCO QB from every class can play. If Motley wins, it means hes a much improved quarterback from last year, which is great, but I dont get it, why are people writing Evans off. I think it honestly comes down to stars, if he was a 4-5 star qb in high school people would be going nuts, maybe not, I dont know, I dont get why people want to write him off because he did well in JUCO, nobody seemed to write off Chad Kelly for Ole Miss last year and Evans is a MUCH higher rated QB...
Ive never seen him play, who knows what kind of player he ends up being but I am pretty excited to hear what the students come back with from the scrimmage next week...
I don't think some of us are writing Evans off as much as we aren't ready to admit that he is head and shoulders above Motley just yet. It's not a knock on Evans at all. I for one think Evans will end up taking the reigns but it looks to me like far more fans are writing Motley off than Evans.
Does it stand to reason that Motley has to be head and shoulders above Evans to be the starter? Tie goes to the younger guy, no?
Absolutely. Good point.
Thanks for pulling these rankings. I found it interesting that Cam was #3 that year. I had to look up who was rated ahead of him. For anyone else wondering: Bruce Irvin was #1 and Wayne Dorsey was #2. One of those guys panned out pretty good.
Devil's advocate: Holland Fisher
What I was more trying to get at is that I remember people saying Cam was one of the best players to come through JUCO, so I was surprised he wasn't #1.
Yes, I was surprised at that too. In hindsight, he definitely should've been rated #1.
holland fisher went to prep school, not JUCO i believe
Edit: Never mind, you're right. He went to Fork Union prep school.
This is also true.
he's gone to both now. he had a pretty solid season at JUCO last year. He'll be back playing D1 football after this year I believe.
I just did a linear regression on the JUCO Rank/QB Rating data you provided since there appeared to be a slight trend. From this small sample of 8 QBs the regression popped out as:
QB Rating = -0.4996*(JUCO Rank)+172.65
with an r^2 of 0.767. Assuming this is enough data (which it isn't), is a good measure (which is isn't), and can be used to predict QB Rating (which it can't), and if Evans is the starter (which we don't know), then he will have a QB Rating of 169.2.
Boom. Book it.
FACT!
Now O/U the VT starter having a QB rating of 169.2, what are you taking?
im not writing him off by any means. I think evans is good I just think motley is just as good and I think the battle will come down to the middle of the fall. Idc who wins. I do stand up for mot though. I don't think a lot of people are giving him a fair shake based on how he played last year vs compared to how evans played last year. and I just don't think that's a fair comparison. fwiw I want WHOEVER wins the job to keep the job and run with the job. ill be supporting whatever hokie is at the helm this year. I really like all of them. the times ive had issues is when we had 2 QBs that are so different from each other. the contrast in playing style of QBs to me is not good for an offenses rhythm and production for either QB.
My first though was, "come on Fireman, don't be baited by this guy. He's obviously just trying to be a
troll/be funny. I'm sure he's not serious." Sadly I was wrong.EDIT: Well based on the down votes I guess some people didn't like the troll comment so I axed it as to not hurt any more feelings.
You're absolutely right, September 3rd - January 9th would be a long season.
it's going to be the exact same length regardless of who the QB is
-Mike London
Actually, it is considerably shorter if your QB is terrible and you fail to make a bowl game...
none of our QBs are that terrible. We'll be fine. Regardless of who starts.
well if we're going by the idea of "trust the coaches to pick the best QB": last year Motley backed up brewer(because brewer was better) and we still almost missed a bowl game winning only 6 games, beating the likes of UVA and GT by 3 points, while losing to duke and UNC by 3; so if Motley hasn't progressed as much as we all hoped, and evans actually isn't as good as we all hoped, we could end up with a QB worse than we did last year and potentially miss a bowl game
that being said I don't think this is likely and i'm not worried. I see the logic used for the argument, I just don't agree with it
also, this is assuming no progression/regression from the rest of the team
The whole part about trusting the coaches assumes that the ones coaching offense had any idea what they were doing. Which after 2 seasons of .500 ball and plenty of head scratchers all the way around in execution, pre-snap readiness, play calling, terminology/jargon, player evaluation/rotation/development, is highly in doubt.
I just don't buy into the idea that Motley is so terrible that if he wins the starting job we're in such bad shape that we could be going 5-7 or worse. FWIW I don't think Motley will win the job. That is based on little more than pure gut instinct and is beside the point.
I don't like comments like "If (player X) does (thing y) then (result z)". This is a team sport. Each player has an important role and every single player (yes, even Sam Rogers) will make mistakes throughout a game. That happens. This team isn't going to win or lose solely on the shoulders of one single player. Not if the coaches know what they're doing.
I believe firmly that Fuente and his staff understand how to teach and develop their players. I trust Cornelsen to coach up his QBs and put together game-plans that will protect younger/inexperienced players and play to the strengths of the team. Furthermore, I expect him to be able to teach the players effectively so that they know what they're supposed to be doing out on the field. I got the sense that Loeffler's offense was too complex for the kids to pick up in limited time. I believe our new offense will be easier for the kids to learn, understand, and execute because of the way it will be structured and taught.
None of what I just said above puts any onus on any single player. The coaches are ultimately responsible for putting the players in positions to succeed. If they put a player who isn't ready into a situation where success is extremely unlikely that is not, IMO, the fault of the player (in most cases) and therefore I just don't agree with nor do I wish to engage in reasonable discourse with people who make brash statements like "If Motley is the starter then we're in for a long season"
That, to me, is disrespectful to Motley, who is a kid trying to do what he can to help the team we root for win, and it is unfair to him and other players on the team.
Now if you're of the opinion that Motley won't start then I agree with you and would like to hear sound reasons. If you're just here to say that we're going to suck if he starts, I don't have time for that garbage.
With a new coach, new system and our 2 year starter (minus some injury games of course) gone I would guess the competition is wide open. Fuente and his offensive staff get the benefit of the doubt on who they think will run their system best for a year or two until they get all their own recruiticorns in place. In the interim I expect a few rough seasons but by year 3 this team should be back to competing for the ACC...
Year 3? I thought we were talking the ACC Championship this coming year, and the playoffs in 2 years.
TBH I was thinking playoffs this year.
I think sadly Motley loses out either way - if he wins the starting job by the coaches I dont know if hell win the starting job from the fans, I think theyll call for Evans or Lawson after the first incomplete pass.
He would have to come out lights out for a few games before fans would probably trust him, and even then, one bad game and the boo birds will start flying.
I think if Evans comes out looking good in the spring game hell have a long leash
I really don't think the coaches will care what the fanbase has to think. Motley will really need to screw up to be Boo'd, which I hope never happens by a VT fanbase of any of our players. If he is playing that badly, odds are he will be replaced anyways. If Fuente says Motley is our guy, then I am fully behind him. We haven't been able to evaluate any of these players like they have so any of us would be pulling it out of our ass to say who is the better QB.
Twice last year I was at games where VT fans booed a Tech player.
"Fans" slashed Maurice DeSchazo's tires his senior year.
Some guy in the row behind me cheered during one game when Motley went down because he wanted to see Lawson play. I jump on his ass so fast he ended up apologizing lol.
I remember last year right after the UNC game had ended, and there was one guy in the student section berating something about VT. He had been bashing Loeffler and the team all game, and it was just kinda disappointing to see a VT "fan" do that when everybody else was trying to pay homage to Frank. His friends even stood up for him which made the whole thing much more disappointing since it was an emotional day for hokienation. But I digress, every fanbase will have those fans
I heard more BS from VT "fans" last year than I ever have. It was embarrassing. Lots of trash talking to each other in the stands. One chewed me out for leaving with two minutes left in the OSU game as I went to meet up with a close friend at Tots. The other was the 70 year old man who threatened to run over my tailgate because my cooler and table were in his spot in a half full parking lot. A dozen cops had to show up to put and end to that ordeal. I will admit that I've had my fair share of embarrassing/dumbass drunk moments in Lane that I regret, but last season seemed particularly bad from what I saw of other Hokies. I don't know what it is, but hopefully this team wins more and puts everyone in a better mood.
I have no dog in the fight...Im just voicing my concern, I get the impression from this regime that, they dont really have a dog in the fight either, they havent been coaching these kids for 5 years and going to go with the senior whos put the time in, I dont really get that impression, I think whoever wins, wins because theyve shown their the best option at quarterback...
My fear however, is the fanbase doesnt trust Motley and theyll turn on him quicker than Evans/Lawson.
http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-football/2015/10/10494/techs-embarrassing-17-13-loss-pitt-prompts-frank-beamer-promise
...Clearly, fans will call for the backup quarterback (echos of Freshman 'Tyroddddd', 'Tyrooooooooddddd' calls from the Lane loyal)
Heck, I remember when Tyrod was booed off the field and Glennon was cheered going in against Duke.
I didn't believe you so I looked it up. 2 ints, a fumble and then they put Glennon in and we win 14-3. I miss those days.
Ugh, bringing back bad memories. What a miserably cold, terribly played football game.
Wasn't that the oddly timed 5 PM game on ESPNU the Saturday before Thanksgiving? And that was when no one got ESPNU outside of the super ultimate pay out the nose for every channel under the sun packages.
I remember being in a hotel room in North Carolina that day at a family reunion watching the StatCast on ESPN.
Proof positive that the QB on the bench is always the most popular guy on the team. That same season, Glennon was getting bashed mercilessly any time anything went wrong. Then Tyrod struggles and immediately Glennon is the hero. Fans are fickle, that's for sure.
That entire situation was made worse by the fact that Frank seemed to cave to popular opinion. Frank should have taken his lumps with Glennon in '08 and maintained Tyrod's redshirt like the original plan called for, but that went out the window the minute we lost to ECU. There was a bit of a lack of leadership on the part of Beamer and O'Cain that took a bad situation and made it worse.
Or 2007...that LSU game was a loss already.
They were watching the 2007/2008 offenses waste some of Bud's finest defensive work. It's fortunate the fans just booed and didn't throw urine bags on the field.
... am I missing a tradition where we all have urine bags with us?
What, you don't?
Not in a bag. Why do you think I have seats right next to the guardrail in the SEZ?
Always be prepared for any and all situations.
Frustrating is a colossal understatement. I just hated that Glennon became the scapegoat for that overall trainwreck. He had his flaws, but I still think the biggest problem with those teams was the O-line.
110% agreed.
eerily similar to our offense the last two years, if the O-line protects...
I agree with you but Glennon didn't help himself. It would have been one thing for Glennon to suck and not be a jerk in person, but his attitude off the field did not help him with the fans when he didn't play well on it.
And in the ultimate cyclical argument was he disgruntled off the field because of people chanting for the backup?
His commentary of games has been awesome.
Really really good points. I would hope that our fan base wouldn't "turn on" any kid but sadly that is the nature of the mob.
Heck I wonder what will happen if Evans is the starter and doesn't end up living up the expectations that many fans have for him. Would the Motley naysayers all of a sudden start chanting his number? Or maybe people will call for JJ's probably redshirt to be pulled. After all when one player doesn't live up to our expectations (no matter how unrealistic) we just turn our attention to the next newest toy in hopes that they will bring about some sort of miracle turn around.
This is just my thought on the fan sentiment and it could be off, Im wondering if other people feel the same way:
Lawson
I think Lawson has the most hype - I think if he started he'd have the longest patience from the fans, if he came out and played lousy but had one amazing play, I think people would be like 'See!, See!, I told you Lawson was great!'
Evans
I think Evans comes in second - I think if he comes out efficient, he gets the support but if he comes in hot, his hypemachine I think will be unstoppable, even if he has a bad game or two, people will shrug it off if he comes in looking really good, I dont know what to think if he looks out of it in the spring game, its weird, I feel like people want to hand Lawson the keys before anyones really seen anything from him, I dont know if its the Stars or what, but Evans basically rewrote all of the JUCO QB records playing in only 8 games, I still feel like hes a little under the radar, people wrote off this signing class, when he statistically has to be the best QB weve had since Tyrod, maybe it was the timing of signing early
Motley
Lastly Motley, I think if he has to look really, really good in the spring game to get some momentum and even then, I think the fanbase doesnt seem like they trust him, one game and I think they start calling for the bench, I dont think he has the Hype so I feel like we like him okay if he plays well, but if he even plays mediocre I think the masses turn on him,
Jack Click
I think if Click comes in and wins (down the road, sounds like that trip sailed this season) I think if he plays well, hell get support and people will say "Fuente, QB whisperer, taking overlooked guys and making them NFL potential", - this one Im not so solid on, but I could see it.
Itd be interesting to hear some other peoples take on where the fans are leaning...
Sadly I get this feel too. I don't understand why people are upset that he is in the running to start. It doesn't necessarily mean that the others are as "bad" as what they think Motley is, its more of how improved Motley could be in another full year at VT.
It's funny, I have the exact opposite feeling about the situation as does "the masses." I'm excited about Motley contributing his senior year. He's worked hard for it and I like his athleticism.
I'm skeptical of Lawson. He's done just enough knucklehead things to make me wary/weary.
I will be excited to start the season with Evans as the #1. I will be fine if it's Motley. I will be concerned if it's Lawson.
I'm just curious what "knucklehead" things Lawson has done that you're referring to?
To my knowledge, he slept through a 6am QB meeting and missed a practice for a class project and has been speculated by the masses as being lazy during some practices. But to me, that's one minor mistake and a whole bunch of speculation, none of which I would classify as "knucklehead".
I recall a lot of extrapolation and speculation last season when Loeffler said that Lawson needed to get some things straightened up off the field. It's probably grown from there.
Loeffler also said we would have a good offense last season.
Edit: By saying "lot of extrapolation and speculation", it seems that you are implying we as fans were really digging for a reason to push Lawson off the pedestal. Disclaimer, I don't admit to that being one of those fans.
In his defense, he wasn't expecting the starting QB to go down in the first game. Also the offense got better as the season went on.
Not trying to start an argument, but one of the qualms people have is that Leoffler didn't prepare the backups well enough to take over in said event. No one ever expects their starting QB to go down, especially in the first game, but you should always be preparing for it.
I'm saying I recall quite a few discussions based on a single line uttered from a coach, everything from he was struggling academically, missing his kid back at home, didn't have the loyalty of the locker room, ego problems, etc. All complete speculation that got repeated a bunch and some people (not pointing at anyone specifically, speaking generically) seem to have accepted as fact.
Hey that had that one good practice performance that convinced people the offense would be a machine.
The mob is Rome. Control the mob, and you control Rome. Are you not entertained?!!!!
I am done now, thank you.
Well this comment certainly touched off a firestorm.
Let me say that I don't care for the wording here, as it come very close to an insult against Motley. Mot was put in a very difficult position last season, forced into the starter's role when it was obvious Lefty had spent most of the off-season getting Brewer completely comfortable with the offense. Brenden played his nuts off, and the defense shoulders a fair share of the blame for the losses we suffered with Motley as the starter. Beyond that, I think Motley is much better suited to Fuente's offense than he was to Lefty's. Mot is not a pro style QB, and I think a lot of what Fuente does on offense plays to his strengths. I could see him being a successful leader of the offense under the new scheme.
Having said that, I think Evans will eventually win the job, because I think he's the better quarterback. Both Evans and Motley have arms, but from the film I've seen, Evans doesn't sail his long ball. They both have size, but Motley has had some tweaks that make me question his durability. And the biggest knock on Motley is the lack of pocket awareness he displayed last year. That will probably be mitigated some by the pace of Fuente's offense, but if you can't sense blind side pressure until it's stripping the ball out of your hand, that's a real problem in any offense.
Mot has some issues with his game. For that reason, I agree that Evans will be our starter, while I also disagree that it will be a long season if Motley wins the job.
Was about to comment on this thread again and then
Message received. Cat's cannot have watermelon, ever.
That looked like me when I went in ladies bathroom.
I thought you were in North Carolina?
Isn't it OK there?
(ducks)
You should duck after that. :-)
Let's not forget that we're running an entirely new offense; not to mention new coaching styles and philosophical changes. It's impossible to say what that will bring out of any QB. Motley was in a much different situation last year, he wasn't exceptional but he showed incredible athleticism and arm strength. Based on what CF is trying to do, if the coaches feel he's the best guy for our new system, I'd be excited to see what that means.
Exactly. It is a simpler system and seems to be more structured with fewer reads. If it lets him go out there and play without his mind being tied up because of a complex system, then he could very well be the best QB on the roster. Don't take this the wrong way, I am not saying he isn't smart or anything like that but it is no secret that Leoffler ran a complex offense that you had to have down 100% in order to really succeed in. Brewer came in as a pure QB and it took him 2 years to get it.
I would love to see Sam Rogers out there coaching one day. He seems like a great person to be around and have as a mentor.
From these interviews it sounds like he's already out there coaching
Yeah! Definitely getting some early experience.
Ahem, you forgot his middle initials. That is Sam MF-ing Rogers.
Some of us prefer to not think of our mothers that way. Honestly, though, there's no greater honor for a Hokie.
Umm, phrasing?
I'll chime in on the whole "I think so and so should be QB" discussion...
I'm going to be excited about whichever one of these young men wins the job because I have no other reason not to trust these coaches at this point. I have no dog in the fight. I simply love that we finally have a legitimate competition at that position.
I obviously share some of the same concerns about Motley regarding his erratic play last year, but kids that age mature at different levels so who the heck really knows how he's grown. The thing that concerns me most about Motley is his ability to stay healthy. He seems a bit fragile. In a perfect world you'd like your QB to play all year.
I would be perfectly fine with Evans as the starter and Motley as the back, if the QB whisperers (Fuente & Cornelsen) say so. The icing on the cake would be to groom Lawson & Jackson as future QBs on the roster.
This is how I think it will end up. Evans as the starter, Motley as the backup, and the others redshirted with the caveat that Lawson will be the third stringer. The only question I have is whether Lawson will really be the guy we put in if we have to actually put the third stringer in, because I think Click might get some snaps as well.
I think Motley will do well in Fuente's offense, which as I understand it is not based on making a ton of complicated reads. I felt motley got in trouble last year when he was trying to think too much. As for the other guys, I have no idea.
My main concern with Motley is accuracy. If Motley improves from the 56% last year to the mid 60s, then yes, he'll be alright in Fuente's offense.
I'm pretty sure Evans will start over Motley because he's made no mistakes so far.
I'm pretty sure that if Evans does start, it won't take long for many fans to forget that Motley made mistakes.
I'm pretty sure that if Evans and Motley both get used, some fans will be calling for Lawson.