Virginia Tech announced Wednesday that Adonis Alexander and Houshun Gaines have been reinstated to the football program by head coach Justin Fuente. Alexander and Gaines will sit out the Hokies' season opener against Liberty on September 3, but will be available for the remainder of the season if they continue to operate under the (undisclosed) parameters Fuente has set for their full return.
Thank God for everything I have because I know exactly how it feel to have something you love taken away because I took it for granted.— 36clips (@Adoniskaaaaa) July 13, 2016
Both Alexander and Gaines had been suspended indefinitely following their April arrests for possession of marijuana.
Alexander started eight games in the Hokies' secondary as a true freshman in 2015 and was penciled in as a starting cornerback prior to his arrest. The Charlotte, North Carolina native drew rave reviews from former secondary coach Torrian Gray throughout his freshman campaign.
"All he's done is scratch the surface with his potential," said Gray following Alexander's seven tackle performance against Purdue. "He's still learning every day...As far as ability goes, and potential, he's a special guy."
Alexander switched to corner late in the 2015 season after a rash of injuries wreaked havoc on the Hokies' young secondary. There were some early blips along the way, but the freakish athleticism of Alexander was on full display in a potential game-saving play in the Hokies' twelfth-straight victory over rival Virginia.
Gaines is expected to contribute in the Hokies' two-deep at defensive end this fall, a position longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster labeled "as green as green can be" on multiple occasions this offseason.
Gaines impressed throughout the spring and stepped into the first unit opposite of Ken Ekanem after Vinny Mihota was sidelined with a right foot injury in April. Along with fellow redshirt freshman defensive end Trevon Hill, Gaines will surely be relied upon to provide key depth this fall at a position of utmost importance to Foster's defense.
"Gaines has really done a nice job...Improving each day," remarked Wiles midway through the spring. "Are they (Hill and Gaines) ready yet? No. But those two guys have kind of emerged as the next couple of guys behind Ken and behind Vinny."
Redshirt junior Seth Dooley also figures to enter the mix at defensive end this fall, but the Salem native's health remains a question mark after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. Mihota has been a consistently solid player for Wiles over the years, but concerns over his speed have not dissipated. The message seems clear — if Gaines can clean up his act off the field and continue to perform on it, playing time at defensive end should be ripe for the taking.
Alexander and Gaines also represented Fuente's first public discipline of players, perhaps setting a benchmark for any future transgressions. Much like his predecessor, Fuente appeared swift, albeit fair, in his punishment process. If the pair of promising defensive standouts in fact return on September 10, Foster's unit will get a welcome boost as they take on the Vols in Bristol.
Comments
The girl in the GIF... priceless :)
sums up UVA football
that one chick is whiter than mayonnaise.
Patti Mayonnaise
"Mayonnaise a lot of Hokie fans in Scott Stadium this year..." - My redneck friend who is a UVA fan
I'm not proud of it but I've subconsciously thought, "Take that, bitch" every time I've ever seen that gif
To be fair, she's exhibiting more fandom for UVA than I've seen in their entire grandstands before.
No doubt. If even 1% of UVA "fans" cared as much as her, we'd have a lifetime of highlights of their devastated reactions. But instead they sell their tickets to us so we can't see their reactions on tv
We'll always have this one from their game against ND last year:
I'm estimating she jumps roughly a foot in the air, where she is at peak elation.
(rough math ensues).
So the time from elation to despair at UVA is roughly a quarter second.
Yeah. Sounds about right.
This made me so very happy. This is now going to be a thing at the end of the year leading up to our traditional win.
She was happy because the game was over and she could go the lacrosse game.
I'd hit it
I think the player would have been ejected from the game.
/s
The mayo bottle right?
Pretty sure that is Tina Fey
If I'm not mistaken, Tina Fey has said she didn't fit in and wasn't crazy about LOLUVA. Doubt seriously she'd be that animated at one of their games.
In speaking of girls at UVA "Most of them owned horses, or at least resembled them"
This is what I expected. A misdemeanor first time offense doesn't deserve more
Not to mention it could send the wrong message to recruits if Fuente made an example of them and punished them for any longer than one game. It would look like he's out of touch with reality and doesn't let kids learn from their mistakes. They probably had to be suspended for a game, but anything more than that would've been overkill
*unless they went to Alabama.
Hey man! They are working outside. WITHOUT air conditioning.
So who do we see more of against Liberty? Maybe see what Shawn Payne or Duwayne Johnson can do at CB? Move Edmunds back to CB and play Alleyne at safety? And 2nd string DE's Hill and Fullwood or Dooley? I'm curious to see what some of these guys can do with a little experience.
I would look for Dooley to start opposite of Ekanem.
you misspelled Mihota.
Considering Wiles has stated his intention to move Mihota to tackle and that Dooley will no longer be behind Ekanem but opposite him, I would say I spelled Dooley correctly.
when did he state his intention to move mihota to tackle? I think that's where he should be, next year, but we are definitely deeper there and have heard nothing of the sort recently.
During the spring
FULLwood, FULLer, close enough
Glad to hear it. I hope that they've truly learned their lessons and for God's sake, someone make sure they don't get ahold of any pepper spray.
Glad that's settled. I would wager there was a lot of behind the scenes punishment going on that we'll never hear about. Those guys may be pretty familiar with the steps in Lane Stadium...
As an aside,
This has always been something that has bothered me. Mihota isn't necessarily "fast", but he is strong. Instead of pure speed, he was bull-rushing guys into the backfield. He sure seemed to be affecting plays by collapsing his side of the line.
my advice for them? Just look down. Don't look up til you see 5Q in stencils next to your feet. Then turn around and try your best not to lose your footing on the way down. Rinse and repeat.
For punishment purposes, it would be better for them to stop at 4Q! Then run back down.
because making them run 48 fewer steps is more punishment?
Nit-picking here, but the 5Q mark is on the metal bench, not on the concrete. The last step is marked 5P, because the seat for the second-to-last row is on the floor of the last row. As a long-time 5Q guy, there always seems to be a dispute with someone who's new to the nosebleeds thinking that I'm in their 5P seats. The row markings are painted where your butt goes, not where your feet go.
touche
Wiles really wants to move Mihota back inside. If Dooley breaks out since he won't be stuck behind Ekanem I would expect Mihota to solidify his position as a tackle.
God forbid we have anybody larger than 220 at DE
We don't want to play 3 tackles and Ekanem either
our tackles are better than our ends this year. may not be a terrible thought, but mihota wouldn't be the 3rd tackle i'd have out there.
Not only that, but Mihota's supposed lack of speed should keep him from running himself right out of the play and opening a huge running lane for the QB like some of our speedier DEs have been so fond of doing lately.
Agreed. We are much deeper at DT and the way Mihota played last year why not leave him at DE and see what happens....he beasted on UVA.
Why? Because:
A) Wiles cannot coach size at DE
Or
B) while stellar our defense is predicated on speed and cannot play size, therefore our DBs are OLB, OLB are DEs, DEs are DL/OL
Or
C) because of A and/or B elite recruits that have true size and speed that want to stay at their position and not be moved to either fill in gaps in poor recruiting cycles or be a cog in a good, but gimmicky, defense that needs their size at a position they don't want to play at, do not sign with us.
Or
D) All of the above
A) false
B) kind of true, but mostly because of...
C) except the defense isn't "gimmicky"
IIWI
Because he would be more effective at the tackle position
your entitled to your opinion, but he was plenty effective last year at End especially in his start against lolUVA
so the current evidence shows that he is more effective at End. I guess if Wiles gets his way and plays End size at DT again then we will see how he does there this year.
That has everything to do with discipline and nothing to do with speed.