Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Harry Lewis will transfer from Virginia Tech, a Hokies spokesperson confirmed Monday.
"Harry hasn't gotten as many reps as I would have liked to have gotten Harry," d-line coach Charley Wiles said in April. "His natural hand down is a right-handed stance. We've played him out of the left-handed just because we don't have that many guys that can play out of a left-handed stance. But Harry's shown some improvement. He has. I wish there was more reps to get him right now, but we've been pouring all the reps into Tim and Ricky and Nigel and Woody right now. I think Harry's time is coming right now."
Although, the 3-star Phoebus HS product projected as a reserve rather than among Tech's two-deep this season, Lewis' departure affects the Hokies' depth in future years.
Nigel Williams and Woody Baron are seniors. Beyond Tech's starting duo, Ricky Walker (r-So.), Steve Sobczak (r-So.), Tim Settle (r-Fr.), and Jarrod Hewitt (Fr.) comprise the Hokies' scholarship defensive tackles.
Considering Wiles travels 5-6 defensive tackles, and Virginia Tech doesn't hold a commitment from a 2017 DT, the cupboard is not quite stocked.
Comments
*sigh*
DT is still too crowded for Mihota to move back, I say he stays at DE regardless of the rumors. Best wishes to Lewis!
Bold prediction- Mihota will make this defensive group better than we saw from Dadi last year. The speed was a blessing and a curse on the edge. I hope that Wiles and Foster recognize that Mihota will be fine instead of trying to move him inside where they have bigger pocket pushers.
Good to hear you say this because I said the same thing the other day. I don't want him moved back to DT, tired of hearing that he isn't a "prototypical DE at VT". He has the tools to do very well.
VT fought off Bama and several others for him, he was a beast vs. UVA and played well in the bowl game. Play him.
key words "at VT".
agree 100%
Yeah, and we've too much depth at QB for him to swap positions that way
good luck Harry
That is a bummer. I thought the kid could have been a contributor.
Best of luck, Harry.
Understandable that this happens with coaching changes, but ugh.
When the DL coach says he is having trouble finding reps for a guy that's not a good sign.
I have a feeling he was looking at a tall mountain to climb for playing time, best wishes.
Yes, he was looking at being no better than our 4th tackle in 2017. He didn't want to settle and chose to instead be a walker so maybe in 2017 he could play with some other sobz.
Baron a major major Sett back, Hewitt find a good fit for hit skills.
Hill be Dooley missed.
I'd say he did want to be Settle, though.
Good luck to the kid, but to be honest, this is the first I've even heard his name.
Good luck to Harry Lewis . Im guessing that means more reps for Tim Settle. That's a scary thought. Settle terrorizing opposing teams' offense.
Lightly relevant,
The name reminded me of this song. My grandfather listened to this in the car all the time growing up.
Side note: His first hokie game was the great Bowden beatdown in Lane in 2007.
He wasn't able to settle into a position on the two deep, completely understand why he wanted to leave.
Yes, this. With Nigel and Woody starting and two guys earning the backup positions who have high expectations, the next line of guys was going to have a hard time getting reps. It's too bad, he'll be missed, but I don't think this will change our expectations too much.
This move still makes no sense. Between him and Lydon, the number of young players leaving early in their career is getting a little out of hand. To transfer (and lose a year of eligibility) just because you're not getting playing time as a freshman seems shortsighted. Almost no one contributes their freshman year, and to expect playing time that early is a little silly. Sure, this year he wasn't going to be doing much, but next year both starters are gone and there'll be a lot of positions up for grabs.
It's a new coaching staff and, from all accounts, everything has been fast paced and intense. My guess is that "playing time" is a generic reason and it could be that they just don't mesh well with the new staff/style.
Definitely true. There's a lot that goes on that we never see or hear about. Best of luck to him at any rate.
didn't know Bud and Wiles were new? In Carson's case I think playing time was a big issue and the main reason he left.
They aren't but the practice tempo and the expectations for the entire team have changed. The strength and conditioning staff changed. The expectations for the entire team changed. Also I'd argue that they are a bit "new" as both (or at the very least Foster) have been reportedly re-energized by Fuente.
Very telling statements. It's crazy to think that expectations are now focused on conditioning, playing fast, putting in the work in the offseason, attention to detail, sense of urgency, etc. Really shows how stagnant we had become in recent years. I feel like all the expectations of being back the last couple of years were nothing more than lip service at this point.
I will say best of luck and man up. If you want reps then earn them, nothing is given at this level of ball!
I can understand being lured by the idea of playing time, but if he doesn't drop down a level he is going to sit for a year. At Tech, he would be sitting for a year behind a great line, getting coached up, eat food from the best rated University, and getting his free education.
Right now, I would definitely plan on breaking into the two deep if two of the top four are graduating.
anyone have stats for transfers over the last two decades? Is there really an alarming number of transfers from our program or is this just a case of off season chicken-little-itis?