Day 2 in pads produced some highlights for young defensive backs who are looking to create depth in the secondary.
#21 Reggie Floyd was getting work with the first team D... I believe he was at free safety but it was hard to tell (he was at free or rover for sure.) Came up and fitted nicely on a back and the defense got pretty hyped.
Jahque Alleyne had a beautiful interception on a slot press drill. WR ran an outside release fade. Alleyne stayed right in his hip pocket, turned, and found the ball for the INT.
Anthony Shegog, who looks much bigger, got matched up against minute CJ Carroll on a fade route. Shegog doesn't get turned around (and may have gotten just a bit of the jersey) but breaks up the pass without interfering.
Pass Rush/Protection Drills
Jimmie Taylor vs Yosh Nijman- Nijman has looked terrific in these drills since the beginning of the spring. Here, Nijman gives a little ground, but still beats Taylor with the initial punch. Taylor tries to bull back and then drop his left shoulder to dip underneath Nijman. Nijman calmly delivers a second punch to push Taylor past the pocket. Big win for Nijman.
Tim Settle vs Colt Pettit- Tim has a great first step and pushed Pettit into the backfield, then follows up with a crossface and swim move. Settles crossface is a bit high- if he makes contact to the head that is a head slap and could be penalized, but this is an easy win for Big Tim.
Seth Dooley vs DeAndre Plantin- Dooley looks the part, but I am not sure what he is trying to execute here. He attempts a speed rush with his head down like he is just trying to run through Plantin's outside shoulder. He gets the edge on Plantin, but Plantin recovers and gets square. Dooley spins himself back into contain position and then rips, but at that point the quarterback would be gone or released the ball. This is a "eh" kind of win for Plantin.
Trevon Hill vs Jonathan McLaughlin- Hill has great get-off, but McLaughlin got a great push and met him square. Hill attempted a spin move that was so good, it turned McLaughlin completely around. The only problem is that Hill got himself a bit tied up and his leg buckled. Hill recovered and ripped back through the outside to get the win... but you can see flashes of what could make Hill an explosive pass rusher. You can tell- he isn't quite comfortable yet. It is coming.
Other Notes
Coach Fuente mentioned Peoples in interviews yesterday, but it seems like Chris Cunningham got more camera time with the top group. Cunningham is a strong natural receiver and will have to improve his blocking at the point of attack to win the job. He is certainly getting a good opportunity to prove himself.
We didn't get any team work clips. It looks like practice was finished with some up downs. There were some dead legs instead of good chopping before the "UP DOWN." Man, that brings back some bad memories.
Comments
Day 2: Still no Lawson in these videos. Starting to get worried guys. Really hope he's not thinking about leaving the program!
/s
This isn't getting old at all
IMO, if people still find TE to QB jokes funny, then this is fair game too.
Those will NEVER get old.
Yeah, and fuck Mattie Ice.
But that's not a joke, that's a way of life.
Something, something, Drew Harris, something, something, it's pronounced "Kevin"
great to see the positives of the O-Line as well.
Ok, added HokiesFB on snap chat yesterday.... Thought the daily snaps would be sent after doing that but apparently not... What am I doing wrong besides being over 50...
They don't send them out like normal snaps. They are stories, so you won't get a notification that a new one is out, you have to go to the stories section (bottom right button)
If you're on the camera screen...swipe right to left. You should see HokiesFB under "recent" near the top, underneath a row of headlines you may not care about. If you've already viewed the story, it'll be all the way at the bottom.
Thank you both!
I'm still under 30 (barely) and didn't know how to view the snaps either. Thanks for asking and thanks to those who answered.
Middle drill footage from twitter that wasn't on snapchat. I need to get a few minutes to wrap my head around this but here it is for your consumption:
First rep, Colt Pettit gets a nice down block on Dee Fullwood as an extra tight end. I couldn't tell who the full DL group was, but I saw Fullwood, Walker, and Dooley. Then Settle and Gaines comes in on the left side of the DL. The next rep, Settle splits a zone block in between Plantin and Pfaff. Nobody really picks him up (when it looks like it should be a double/combination block with Pfaff sliding off. Pfaff gets knocked down, but this is more a missed assignment than a whupping, but it doesn't make Pfaff look good.
Play side, Ricky Walker absolutely destroys Demetri Moore with a rip move. That is a whupping. The great DT penetration negates excellent inside zone blocks by Yosh Nijman Tyrell Smith, and I believe Xavier Burke.
[fast forward two weeks...]
Coach Vice: "Why can't you guys put it together?"
O-line: (everyone points in the direction of the defensive staff)
Oh man do you NOT want to be the guy using the other guys as an excuse (I don't know if he's been allowed to stop running laps yet.)
because I have too much time on my hands tonight...
rep1 defense:
DL = Fullwood (47), Walker (98), Williams (8), Gaines (11)
LB = Galante (37), Moto (54), Edmunds (49)
DB = Clark (19), Floyd (21)
rep1 offense:
OL = McLaughlin (71), Teller (57), Gallo (54), Conte (72), Osterloh (67)
H-Back = Cunningham (85), TE = Pettit (58)
QB = Jackson (17), RB = Rogers (45)
On the left side, Cunningham easily seals Galante outside while Pettit gets a quick step inside and seals Fullwood. Fullwood sees Rogers angling outside and makes a nice rip move to fill the gap, however Clark is also filling that gap and Rogers makes a nice cut back inside Pettit's block to get down field where Floyd tags him.
In the middle, Walker easily beats McLaughlin with a quick move to the inside, but McLaughlin seals him away from Rogers who is aiming at Pettit. Same thing with Moto & Teller.. Moto gets great penetration but Teller gets enough of a bump to push him well out of the play. Meanwhile Gallo has completely worked Williams, bulldozing him to the backside and opening a big lane for Rogers.
On the right side, Conte stands up Edmunds and Osterloh seals Gaines. Floyd dives toward the outside early but loops back and tracks down Rogers for the stop a few yards downfield.
Clear win for the offense.
-----------------
rep2 defense:
DL = Fullwood (47), Walker (98), Settle (97), Gaines (11)
LB = ?? (?48? 18?) Huelskamp (56) Moss (50)
DB = Greene (23) and Carpenter (38)
rep2 offense:
OL = Nijman (69), Moore (77), Smith (79), Pfaff (74), Plantin (62)
H-Back = Peoples (32), TE = Burke (82)
QB = Click (11), RB = McClease (33)
On the left side, Burke stands up the mystery LB and pushes him outside. Nijman locks up with Fullwood and also clears him out. Smith releases and quickly gets a hat on Huelskamp and is able to drive him outside easily. All great blocks that lead to nothing, because...
Inside, Walker and Settle thoroughly abuse both the Guards with quick rip moves. Moore at least stays on Walker giving McClease a chance to duck though, but Settle puts Pfaff on the ground with a great rip/shove and is there waiting for McClease as he tries to avoid Walker. The play is blown dead, and McClease keeps going before Greene finishes him off.
On the right side, Peoples gives Gaines a nice pop but doesn't sustain the block very long. Plantin releases immediately to chase Moss who is angling inside, but can't cut him off. Plantin ends up blocking nobody.
Almost looks like Pfaff and Plantin were both trying to release off the line to pick up Moss, with Pfaff just giving the shoulder to slow Settle down long enough for Plantin to get established. But Plantin just took off after Moss instead.
Clear win for the defense.
Terrell Edmunds shows how to fill the alley at the proper angle.
Facyson and Edmunds both winning against Ford and Peoples on those blocks. Perimeter blocking is a major focus in lots of these drills. Option pitches, quick screens- we have seen a bunch of pressure on those edge defenders in the clips that have been made available.
Is it just me or does it sound like someone is hyping Justin Trudeau?
"Good fit, Two-two!" #22 Terrell Edmunds
French, a recent quote from CJF (roughly) said that he is least concerned about or OL right now. Do you also share his optimism for our OL?
Liking how the secondary seems to be doing well ahead of the season.
"Big Tim" aka?
They should have vinyl wraps on a bus of
"Tim's Route" will go travel to each dining hall and end at McComas Gym.
EDIT: I have the Photoshop skills of LOLUVA's Sports Marketing, but
I love that picture of Tim. It looks like he is wrecking-ball-ing two guys and he's on the way for the quarterback. That he appears so much larger than everyone else makes it all the more tragic for all involved.
I think Floyd is going to be a great player.
I really like more option in our O with the talent we have. It was a staple in the pre Tyrod glory days and helped move the chains. Hope we get it fine tuned and it is effective.
More video- Hodges vs Stroman, Ford vs Alexander, and Phillips versus Johnson- with two highlight reel catches by Devin Wilson.
Be interesting to see how much of a role Wilson has this season
when he keeps making catches like this.
Not sure if you've covered this before, but in light of the 1 game suspension and the video we've seen since spring:
1. Is Adonis a clear starter
2. Is his position on the field certain
3. Who starts in his place for Liberty?
4. ... too soon to tell?
Given Bud's commitment to Edmunds at rover, Alexander is the clear starter by default. The only other experienced option is Stroman. While some fret about Stroman in man coverage, I am much more worried about Stroman (who was a HS QB and is relatively new to corner play- 2 years experienced) playing zone coverage where he needs to be in the correct leverage and area and jump the play. As I noted back in the summer, based on my film review, I think the safer approach would have been Edmunds at corner and Alexander at free safety (with Clark at rover), but Alexander has the best upside of all the corners. He just has to get comfortable with when to turn and run (VT's receivers seem to beat him deep in a bunch of these clips-again, we don't know if there is live pass rush when it happens so take it with a grain of salt.)
Hokies need to develop 2 more corners who may not have to play, but are capable of playing effectively, in this class. Ladler, Alleyne (who could be an option at corner or free safety), and Johnson could all figure there.
you think alexander has the speed to play corner or are you hoping he can press well enough and has the length to account for that lack of speed? Just seems like we are doing him a disservice trying to play him at corner because if he has a shot at the next level I don't see that as being his position. I know he is way faster than this, but the last timed electronic 40 I saw from him was a 4.9 in high school.
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/combine/_/...
NFL doesn't mind switching college CB's to Safety as long as that player demonstrates the mental ability to handle covering the back end and can bring the physicality in the run game. Alexander has the potential to be another Jimmy Williams type All-American at CB, which will only boost his draft stock. And as much as the NFL loves fast CB's, they also love tall CB's who can play physical against some of the bigger receivers in the league.
yes. his issue isn't speed. He lets receivers get into his cushion and turns to run a bit too late. His range has allowed him to recover in big spots (see the deflection in the endzone and the INT vs UVA where he busted both coverages) and his excellent man coverage against Tulsa. However, in the spring and in several of these snap chat clips, he is letting the receiver get into his cushion and by the time he turns to run, the receiver is by him. It is a technique and timing issue, not an athleticism issue. His game speed (point A to B) is faster than Edmunds.
Edmunds was more consistent with his man technique, that was why I thought he was the safer short term bet at corner. Foster is playing the long game here. I still have concerns unless Ladler, Payne, Johnson, Alleyne, or someone else can give them some reps. Foster says he is playing more zone, but watching West Virginia film, Mitchell was a true man-press (not man leverage coverage) guy (they pressed Baylor the whole game) and I think they are going to try to put those corners on islands even more if the corners can hold up physically.
My 2 cents is that he is a clear starter at corner opposite Facyson, and I would guess Mook or Stroman will start in his place, with the other being the nickel.
Stroman will start for Alexandria against Liberty. Mook will be the whip.
Shegog's role will be interesting. He is decent, not great in coverage, but he ok and looks like he has bulked up a bit. If they try to get him on the field, he may play more than whip (although I have only seen him at whip.)
Seems like Shegog is more of a whip or rover than Mook because of his size. Could he be kind of what Ronny Vandyke was supposed to be?
Bitter reported last night or this morning that Stroman will get the start in place of Alexander for the Liberty game.
Alexander is definitely considered 1st string
19 is clark isn't it not Johnson?
correct- got numbers mixed up
Two obvious questions 35 seconds in:
The throw locations are really sweet - keeping the defense away...
As exciting as all this is, there's a part of me that hopes someone in the athletic department is waging a serious misinformation campaign against UT and that the Vols crap themselves when they see our "Wild Rhino" package with Settle taking snaps under center.
My sauces say they're calling it the Thanksgiving Turkey package.
Is that because we're gonna build up so big a lead in that game after thanksgiving that we can start messing around with plays that would never fly against a real team?
Your cranberry sauce?
Perhaps in deference to UT we can (with a nod to Bud) rename it the "Scalded Dog" offense?
I read where we're switching from boundary/field corners to simply a left or right.
Can someone explain this?
my best guess is that instead of the corners playing on one side or the other based on which hash-mark the opposing offense is centered around the corner will always be to the same side of the field regardless of offensive positioning laterally
a boundary corner will always line up on the side of the field closest to the sideline (or boundary) which could be the left or right depending on which hash-mark the ball is on. If you have dedicated left and right corners instead of "field" and "boundary" then the corners won't switch positions based on where the ball is placed. Instead, they'll just stay on whichever side they are assigned (left or right). They'll both play "field" and "boundary" throughout a game.
may be a part of the strategy to deal with up tempo teams...minimizes the amount of shuffling required.
I'd be interested to get French's take on this
Yes, as am I. This is the first I am hearing about us going to strict left and right-side corners. I have been a fan of our boundary and field set up for a long time.
Maybe it'll simplify things for the DB's and make it easier to get in the right position.
I can't wait to see Mook get a couple of cracks at corner this season.
Me too. It's only a few videos but the kid hits hard.