Over the last couple of days several members of Thekeyplay community have asked me for my reaction to the daily offensive line depth chart changes. I have not attended practice, so I can't comment on how each player is performing, or the level of summer work that each player underwent in order to improve. I am not sure that speculating on their performance is fair, but I would like to comment on how Grimes is using the depth chart. Laurence Gibson and Andrew Miller seem firmly entrenched, but Jonathan McLaughlin, Mark Shuman, Caleb Farris, Brent Benedict, and David Wang seem to be deadlocked in a battle over three starting positions.
"I'm not settled at all and I really like it like that," Grimes said Monday. "I told them in our first meeting: 'Nobody has a position. Nobody's earned anything yet and everyone has the opportunity to win a job.' I don't have necessarily a specific deadline to say we've got to have our starting unit by the end of Week 2 or Week 3. We're just gonna let it play out and let the best five prove it to us."
New offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler said he'd like to have a starting five on the offensive line sooner rather than later, but Grimes appears to be taking a more patient approach.
My initial reaction was one of frustration. The Alabama game is a mere three-and-a-half weeks away, and seeing so much volatility in the depth chart worried me. If you're like me, then you want a cohesive unit that can start to develop the timing needed to smoothly execute combination blocks, and the communication required to effectively protect Logan Thomas. That familiarity takes time to develop, and the lack of experience coupled with the new system leave us grasping at straws for evidence that somehow the competition will create that chemistry. I want to see three candidates clearly establish themselves as starters, so Grimes can speed up the learning process. Install, install, install.
Despite my initial reaction, moving people around this week is a smart move. Many things have changed since the spring. Coach Grimes has a healthy Andrew Miller and David Wang. Brent Benedict (from 301 in spring to 292) and Mark Shuman (314 to 295) are lighter. Jonathan McLaughlin benefitted from several extra months of summer strength training and conditioning. Grimes is trying different combinations with different lineups to not only find his top five guys, but establish the five guys who can work the best together to open up holes and keep Logan Thomas upright. Each player has had the summer to study the playbook and work on individual skills. Now, they can compete at full speed with a better grasp of the fundamentals of the offense. The crme will rise to the top quickly.
Grimes likely has a starting lineup in mind, but for those who may not win jobs, injuries could result in players who are not his first choices being needed to contribute. He needs everyone fighting for jobs on the field, and fully engaged in the classroom while he installs the full offensive blocking scheme.
The learning curve is very steep for every player playing offensive line, and the toughest job for a coach is keeping the guys who don't get many practice repetitions mentally engaged. While my experience is playing for a D3 program, I know that if players don't feel like they have a real chance to beat out the players up the depth chart, they have a tendency to check out mentally and go through the motions. If they do not feel that they have an opportunity to compete for a starting position at the beginning of camp, they may check out mentally during the install process. Those guys who are second-tier in Grimes' mind are still a rolled ankle away from being counted upon to contribute. He has to keep them engaged.
I expect to see the lineup changed through the scrimmage on Saturday. Live contact work over the next two days and the scrimmage on Saturday should allow a pecking order to develop. I imagine that we will see a starting five next week, while the backups continue to get some rep work with the ones during game preparation. But, unlike Curt Newsome, I do not expect Jeff Grimes to rotate his offensive lineman unless injury or poor performance forces his hand on gameday. Hopefully, we see leaders start to emerge this weekend. If that happens, Grimes can devote the rest of camp to molding five guys into one unit. The offense needs a unified group up front to run the football like Virginia Tech teams that established the Hokies as a national power.
Comments
Good look, french.
A few years ago, Alabama played Clemson to start the season (with CJ Spiller and James Davis running the ball). I had a pick'em at my office and everyone else went with Clemson, while I chose Alabama. Everyone thought I was crazy, but they had graduated, I think, four starting offensive linemen the year before and continued to shuffle their guys up until a week or two prior to the game. Different from us, as some of our guys have starting experience prior to this season, but still concerning.
In case you don't recall, Alabama went up 21-0, won 34-10, and Davis/Spiller were held to zero yards. I don't want to be too much of a pessimist, but Coleman/Edmunds haven't proven to be Davis/Spiller and we're also shuffling the line.
This...
Can't underestimate the psychological effect of letting the boys compete for a realistic shot at the job.
That said, lets whittle it down and get the 1s and the 1.5s most of the first team reps to build that chemistry.
Happily for Grimes (although, really, it's pretty unfortunate), he doesn't have enough bodies to have much past the 1s and 1.5s.
Hopefully he'll differentiate himself in a lot of ways from CN
I don't mind. A big key is being able to produce...the Redskins hardly had an O-line to brag about, but with the zone blocking scheme, a decent passing game, and a solid running game, the O-line flaws were masked. The Hokies find themselves in a similar situation, so hopefully the same will pan out for them. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be good enough.
I am suprised that Shuman is back at left tackle in any capacity. He looked very comfortable at left guard during the spring game, especially for someone who had one day of experience at the position. Benedict has been a right guard since coming to Virginia Tech, so his move to the left side suprised me a bit. It looks like Miller is going to be the guy at right guard, so someone is going to sit that is a pretty good lineman.
Center is a work in progress. Last season, snaps were a major issue, and the center is also leaned upon heavily for setting pass protections and communicating fronts. Farris has an experience edge over Wang at the position, while Wang has more general game experience. I know several folks have commented about how the center has to matchup against Alabama's nose tackles. In the running game, the center often has to chip the nose and get to the linebacker, while the guard on the back side of the play has to scoop the nose, so a premium has to be placed on quickness. I wish I could get down to Blacksburg on the 10th to see how these battles are playing out, but it will have to wait until the 17th for me.
If you want to pay for my gas ill go on the 10th for you :)
per @Beamer_Ball: "Saturday's open practice will include a scrimmage for primarily younger players. The first full team scrimmage will be August 17." So you're probably better off making the 17th anyway.
My thought mirrors to French with one caveat, I think McLaughlin has the left tackle spot on lock down, because he has shown to be surprisingly strong at that position. Where he is slightly weak is run blocking, but that's where the scheme needs more pulling guard. The right side of the line sounds like it becoming clear, but to repeat Grimey's words, "Don't read too much into it."
I suspect the week leading up to the kickoff in Atlanta, Grimes will have his best 5 guys ready. Who they will be is unknown, maybe to hide his hands and prevent Nick Saban from scheming against him.
I don't think any of these guys are without their faults; the less Nick Saban knows about them the better! In Grimes we Trust!
8 guys fighting for five spots:
Tackle: McLaughlin, Gibson, Shuman, Conte
Guard: Miller (starter), Benedict, Farris
center: it sounds like Wang, if healthy, will be the starter. Farris is the 2.
I don't know how you guys feel but I have always hated David Wang. He is an injury prone lineman that I have seen countless highlights of him not even attempting to make a block when he pulls. He will pull around and then fall on his face without touching a soul. I think this happened 4 or 5 times alone in the Carolina game last year. I literally cringe when he is mentioned in a starting lineup.
Understand what your saying but a lot of your frustration could be contributed to absolutely terrible coaching. Moving Wang to center is a great move by a great coach. He's a smart, heady player that needs to be in a position where he can use his shorter frame to greater advantage.
Terrible coaching is an understatement, based on what Duane Brown has said about his time at VT
I must have missed, but care to elaborate?
A thread from a long time ago
I always thought Wang was soft and terrible. It might have been coaching some but I remember watching him get blown up time and time again last year. He got pushed into LT 3 plays in a row at one point. He had no drive at all. He may be better at center but he was a terrible guard.
He was playing hurt most of last season. Should've been benched in favor of someone with 2 healthly legs, but that's on the coaches.
But seriously, I've never been a fan of his and thought that he was a liability more than an asset, but I trust Grimes and if thinks there is something there then there must be.
I actually feel that way about Farris. Watching the Rutgers game alone was enough to make me nervous about his abilities. Honestly, he's done little to make me feel better through the spring/fall so far.
Luckily the Center rarely pulls.
There are so many Wang jokes that could be done with just this one, tiny sentence.
From the whole thread, really...I can't resist:
I hate it when Wang flops around on the field. A Wang pull is a serious problem. Wang needs to drive harder.
Really sucks when your Wang gets hurt almost every time he plays.
"Two years with a broken Wang will really get after ya" - CFB
That Wang is a real hard worker.
That Wang really plays a rough and tumble style of ball.
Wang really cleared a nice hole there.
Wang caused the pocket to collapse.
That Wang really holds firm
Wang plays dirty...
So, you're saying that there is no pulling Wang?
It is well documented that I'm not high on Wang's ability (especially his footwork), but I will give the lineup the benefit of the doubt until I see them play.