After the Hokies lost nine of their 10 fumbles through the first two weeks of the season (giving them the dubious the distinction of topping the nation in that particular statistic), it would seem that Tech's coaching is making ball security an all hands on deck sort of issue this week.
Indeed, from Justin Fuente on down, Tech's offensive players are being bombarded early and often on the practice field to help the Hokies reverse course against Boston College.
"Everyone's running around, Coach Fuente's even running around trying to knock the ball out of your hands," Ford said. "Ball security has been a huge emphasis in practice...The scout team will try and rake the ball out. Running by a water boy or one of the coaches, they might try to poke the ball out as well."
The methods aren't that far off from the boxing glove on a pole that former running backs coach Shane Beamer was notorious for employing, and Ford says that's the one bit of consolation he can take from the whole experience.
"That thing hurt," Ford said. "We have some things similar, but nothing to that extreme."
But with "up-downs" as the punishment for putting the ball on the ground, Ford notes that the subject is no joking matter these day. Luckily, he points out that he has yet to fall victim to that particular bit of punishment.
"Me? No," Ford said with a wide smile.
Yet something as simple as ball security is hardly Tech's only issue to confront in practice after the tough loss to Tennessee. OL coach Vance Vice is still trying to sort out his rotation, particularly as he works to get some consistency out of his would-be starting left guard, Wyatt Teller.
"Wyatt's day-to-day," Vice said. "I love Wyatt, I really do. He knows it, and he's the first one who will tell you, he'll have a day where he's focused and on point and he'll have a day where he's not. Gradually, he's getting better every day right now. I'm excited where he was. Of course, we've got to be smart at all times. We want to be hard, smart, and tough. Smart is part of that. He'll be the first one to tell you that's some stilly stuff that is silly penalties, unnecessary. I ran him for one of them."
Because of those mental mistakes, Teller remains in a battle with Colt Pettit for the full time job. Similarly, Vice is hoping to push Eric Gallo a bit by working in Kyle Chung at center.
"I think Kyle had some antsy-ness to him because that was his first extended (playing time)," Vice said. "He had come off of an injury in the spring and worked all summer and has had some great practices here and the thing I appreciate about Eric is he comes every day and shows up. We talked to him. He's gonna alternate snaps there."
But no matter who takes the lead in those battles, Vice hopes to establish some quality depth along the line.
"I'd love to have five guys, 10 guys, 15 guys," Vice said. "With the tempo and everything, we're gonna have to play more than five. I've made the mistake before of five guys playing 102 snaps in a game. I'd be kidding myself if I could you there were as good in the fourth quarter as they were in the first. Competition is always healthy. Both of those guys have been going at it. Both of them played in the first game and they both ended up playing the other night.
He's not the only coach wrestling with depth issues — after all, Bud Foster just learned Tuesday that he'd be short one more linebacker with redshirt junior backer Jamieon Moss leaving the team.
"I talked to him today," Foster said. "He's got some things he's working through that are private and not football oriented. We wish all of our guys, I want them health and happiness when it's all said and done. Eventually football's gonna be gone. Ultimately, I want him to have success in life and to be happy. That's what I told him today. Am I disappointed or upset? No. I want him to be at peace of mind in whatever he's dealing with.
"I told him today and as I told him when I recruited him, this is a relationship for a lifetime. I'll stand on the table for the guy for whatever he wants and needs. We'll be here for him, not just when he's through here, but for the rest of his life. That's kind of who we are and who we've been. We're gonna live that, too."
Moss only played sparingly behind Tremaine Edmunds, but his departure opens up the door for true freshman Tavante Beckett to assume the understudy role right away.
"You know, we've got Tavante Beckett who's a freshman right now, who I really like," Foster said. "He was working his way into the two-deep anyway. The kid has a nose for the football, he's not experienced at all. He got a couple snaps the other day, about seven. He looked like a freshman, had big eyes and all that. I think he's gonna continue to get better as he moves forward. We would be able to probably play (Sean) Huelskamp at both right now, potentially.
"And then, worst case scenario, a guy who I really, really like — we've talked about as a staff — Anthony Shegog would be a guy if another injury were to happen. He's played, he plays our 'bandit' in our 30 package which is like backer. He would know what to do, he's a good football player. You guys have seen that. He's got a nose for the ball and basically when we play Georgia Tech, he played the same position as the backer. I would feel good about him being a guy that could pick it up and learn pretty quickly."
Bud Foster
ON IF HE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO COACHING AGAINST SCOT LOEFFLER:
"I am. In this business, there's a lot of friends out there in the business that you come across. You don't particularly — I look forward to the competition. Do I look forward to that battle with him? Not necessarily. Just because of our friendship. He's gonna prepare and I'm gonna prepare. I know this, I think Scot's a tremendous football coach. One of the smarter guys that I've been around. Extremely knowledgeable. I think a great quarterback coach. I think an outstanding coordinator who's got a lot of great ideas. He's known Steve Addazio a long time. They worked together at Florida. I enjoyed working with Scot here and we're gonna have our hands full with this group. I've got a lot of respect for the guy and (he's) a great football coach."
ON IF HE HAS ANY INSIGHT TO HOW LOEFFLER WILL PREPARE:
"I'm sure there is a little bit (of insight). They're running BC's (Boston College) offense. What I've seen is a little bit of Scot's wrinkles in it, particularly in the passing game. I think the run game, I see a lot of what BC likes to do and they're playing to their strengths, which is big linemen (and) multiple tight ends (and) big backs. You're gonna see a lot of that. A lot of pounding and a lot of max protect and take some shots and those type of things Scot likes to do as well. It's gonna be a middle drill for 60 minutes as far as our prep. That's how our games have been. We've got a lot of respect for BC. These games have been extremely close over the years. Tight ballgames. Great battles. I'm sure Saturday's probably, I hope it's gonna be the same type of battle when it's all said and done."
ON IF BOSTON COLLEGE LOOKS LIKE A DIFFERENT TEAM THIS YEAR WITH PLAYERS RETURNING FROM INJURY:
"They do. They look improved up front. You've got three guys back from last year. Experience, as you've heard me say, is a great teacher and you see those guys playing better. The quarterback is a guy that has some experience even though this is his first year at BC. He's started a couple seasons at Kentucky. You see a guy playing as a seasoned veteran. And then he's got some talent around him. I think that's the one area that Boston College has improved. I think their skill kids have steadily improved over the years. They have some weapons on the outside that we've gotta account for without a doubt."
ON WHAT HE SAW FROM HIS CORNERBACK ROTATION:
"Greg (Stroman) had a chance to make a couple of plays. The first (touchdown) is when they took it over on the 5-yard line. He was right there. He just, on the fade ball, he went to split his hands and missed the guy's hands. He was in position and we just need to make that play. The second touchdown, he was a deep-half and really was just poor technique. He let the guy kind of eat him up. He had a guy underneath him and he should have been backpedaling all the way to the end zone in my opinion. They ran that same play later on and I think it was Facyson on the boundary and didn't have a chance because he had plenty of depth and was over the top and couldn't throw it to that guy. The rush got to him."
ON IF ADONIS ALEXANDER IS MENTALLY READY TO RUN THE DEFENSE:
"Yes and no. Adonis, the other day, played really solid except for one play. We had a missed tackle that bounced outside and he's supposed to leverage the play. If he leverages it, even though it's a missed tackle, it's a no-gain play to two-yard play. It turned into a 40-yard play because of leverage. That's a cardinal rule for any DB, especially corners, is don't let the ball get outside of you. He had a safety coming in and then Adonis was almost right behind him. He needed to be outside and leverage the ball. We had another safety coming to the ball. Worst case scenario we're gonna tackle him for a 5- to 10-yard gain and let's move on. Instead it's a 40-yard play and they get great field position and turn around and score on the next play. I think that's the play they scored on Stroman. About a handful of plays, but at this level, a handful of plays can get you beat. You take two of those, you take a couple of the quarterback runs, it's that one right there, which was a missed tackle and a lost leverages. You take a quarterback run that got him down the field that we had Trevon Hill that bent and was supposed to set and take the quarterback instead of bending and taking the dive. And then the last touchdown was, we were man free and our safety was supposed to be coming down on the quarterback and he's chasing the dive. We're gonna take care of that in that scenario. It comes down to execution and you take those handful of plays out of it, they had 330 yards, that takes away three scores and half their yardage when it's all said and done. That's the encouraging part, but we've gotta execute. We're striving for perfection. At this level, it's only a couple of plays a game that makes the difference. Obviously those couple of plays determined the outcome of the game when it's all said and done."
ON IF MOOK REYNOLDS HAS GIVEN HIM THE VERSATILITY AT WHIP THAT HE'S LOOKING FOR:
"He has so far. This'll be a week he's gonna be tested. Anthony might play a little bit more this week, in particular bigger personnel groupings — 22 and 23 or 32-type personnel groupings. He's a tough kid and a hard nosed kid. You guys see he's a playmaker. I like what he's all about."
ON IF THE ATTRITION AT LINEBACKER IS CONCERNING:
"Yeah. We lost a couple of guys. Now we've got several committed. They can't get here soon enough. That's part of it. It's a new group, a new era. This is not, I think what happens with some guys is they get caught up in playing time and they've got to understand that you earn your playing time. It's not ordained or given to you. You've got to earn that. There's a lot of different roles on this team. To be a good football team, it takes everybody to buy into that role. I'm not saying this about Jamieon, he's a totally different situation, but I think some other guys have left, that was kind of their mindset. I think it's a little selfish they're not looking at the big picture. They're looking at themselves rather than, 'How can I really help this football team and this program to be an elite program.' Everybody has a role. You're time's gonna come. But that time is earned, it's not just given to you. You've gotta be productive, you've got to perform, you've got to be consistently good. The end result, if guys leave because they're not playing, that's the reason why. They haven't lived up to those standards."
ON IF THE WHIP POSITION IS BEING PHASED OUT OF THE GAME BECAUSE OF THE NEW SPREAD OFFENSES:
"Well I wouldn't say it is, but it is at the same time. I think there's certain groups, if you're a team that's gonna play just strictly quarters coverage and you're not worried about matchups, then you can play — like Iowa, they'll play with three linebackers, Penn St. will play with three linebackers at times — in today's offenses, that'll catch up with you. You're getting those kind of guys in space that all of the sudden there's big plays being made. It's a matchup game more-and-more when you start spreading the field. Getting as good of athletes on the field that can match up with their athletes and make plays in space, I think that's the way you have to go to be successful. It's hard. You guys see the stats. Unless you're an Alabama, and they're in a different league, but you can still look at what Ole Miss does to them and some of these people who have the spread offense, they're gonna move the football. (Alabama) does a great job of keeping them out of the endzone. That's where we need to be a little bit better. There's a lot of offense out there. It just takes one missed tackle or two guys in the same gap or bad leverage and the next thing you know, you've got a guy in space that's running free for a few yards. That's the nature of the game. That's where we've got to get right now in our recruiting and that type of thing. We've got to get some more athletes in here, but I'm excited the direction we're going."
ON IF MOOK REYNOLDS IS PHYSICAL ENOUGH TO PLAY WHIP AT THIS LEVEL:
"I think he is. There's certain things, maybe you don't like certain matchups. We'll get Shegog in there. We've talked about that a little bit. He's a 215 to 220 pounder. We can role-play those guys. We've done that over the years. Anthony's ready. He's ready."
Comments
Sorry for the extended video today. Loads of classwork and a late-running media availability forced me to use some video today.
Is it me, or does anyone else think that Coach Foster just been Mr. Chatterbox this year with these pressers?
Interesting, but I noticed the same. Maybe its to do with Bud having a bigger role in the whole structure than before, he is the Associate Head Coach, and hence bigger responsibility across the board.
It's probably partially about him being an associate head coach but also I think it goes back to that article about how excited he (and Coach Wiles) is about the new identity this team has. He's still true to form in discussing where improvement is needed but he seem's really optimistic and I think he has a lot of faith that this defense can be very, very good (not that they're not good now, of course).
I love it.
It's like getting that brand new car. This team still has that fresh off the lot, new car smell and Bud finally has a potential high power offense to complement his shut down defense
Yes but I feel like we just took said car over a speed bump too fast and scratched the underside per last weeks game. Sure it doesn't affect the performance and to the naked eye, its still brand new but we know the blemish is there.
Good point. I also feel that Fuente has given a much wider berth to Bud than Beamer did. Also, I guess Coach Fu is more of a hands off guy compared to Beamer, and hence Bud is expected to have more communications responsibility too.
I've always thought that Bud has given great answers in pressers. He gives depth to his answers and understands that is what the writers are looking for.
The main thing I notice this year, is Bud seems to be sneaking a recruiting pitch into his responses.
"I told him today and as I told him when I recruited him, this is a relationship for a lifetime. I'll stand on the table for the guy for whatever he wants and needs. We'll be here for him, not just when he's through here, but for the rest of his life. That's kind of who we are and who we've been. We're gonna live that, too."
I've noticed this similar sentiment in recent pressers too when discussing the tradition of brothers at VT and also the "family" culture at VT. Sly move by Bud and co. to try to get that message out there.
Definitely second (3rd 4th 5th) this, my first thought when reading this article. It's a truly amazing thought to imagine what our defense can do with T.O.P. and field position back on their side.
Oh, and execution. But it's so much easier to execute when you're fresh and your offense is doing something with the ball.
I thought we were supposed to ignore TOP this season.
geez I need to get better at this
The biggest problem isn't that Wyatt makes mistakes. It's that he seems to be committed to making the same mistakes over again. The fact that he didn't adjust his technique after the first illegal block is what the issue was. He didn't get pulled after the first one, and he wasn't made to run for the first one. The first mistake is an honest one. The second is stubbornness.
And like I said in French's film review, it's not enough that Wyatt's the most aggressive blocker we have. Under Fuente's offense, the OL has to block the right way to set up and sell the play. Throwing the wrong block or using the wrong technique can blow up a play, even if the block itself is an IHOP.
IMO, I really don't think Wyatt nor the coaching staff really knew why he got the first penalty. One of the coaches should have clarified with the referees why he was penalized, instead of just yelling at Teller. It's a weird rule, that involves weird timing and probably never a point of emphasis in practice. If the coaches under stood the reason for the penalty call the first time, i.e. that he left his feet to block a defender after the ball left, then relay that information to Teller, he probably doesn't do it a second time.
With film review, I hope the coaches are stressing to not leave your feet at any time. If you don't dive at the defender, you won't be called for the foul.
Foster is always great at getting an explanation from the Referees. I see it after every penalty on his defense. I didn't see any coach talk to the Refs after either of Teller's penalties. The camera, however, was only on Fuente, so maybe Corn or Vice talked them and it wasn't shown on the screen.
Yeah, that was kind of the impression I got also. I don't think the coaches really knew what was going on with the blocking below the waist penalties. Otherwise, they would have made it abundantly clear to everyone and Cunningham wouldn't have done the same exact thing after Teller had already been called for it twice.
As far as I know he was the victim of a recent rule change applied for the first time this year. I think the refs may have been emphasizing it a little more with the nationally televised game, but it is up to the coaches and the players to get an explanation as to what the officials are looking for and the get it right on the field.
FTFY
I think Fuente knew exactly what he was penalized for. It's a new rule for 2016, you think he's not aware of it and the conditions it might be called? And no doubt it was emphasized to Teller (who has a history of cut blocking in situations that don't require it.) to avoid making that kind of block.
Whether or not it was a good call (i.e. whether the ball was out of the box yet) is irrelevant.
The important thing that Teller made a poor blocking decision. Just hit the guy up high and interrupt his pursuit angle. No need to go low and turn and easy block into a borderline penalty. That's why Fuente lit into him.
Teller likes to wreck defenders and put them on the ground either by pancaking off the line or by cut blocking in space. Trying to always do that when the situation doesn't always call for it is selfish. Fuente made it a point in the press conference to talk about the need for selfish play to go away. Not only Teller, but he is a contributor to that problem right now.
And Vice may have only punished him for the more blatant violation later in the game but the point stands - even if coaches reviewed the film and put the first one in the 'bad call' category, the first penalty was still Teller's fault. He has to adjust how he plays for the offense to be as successful as it can be.
If you watch the video, Vice channels his inner J-Law to describe one of Wyatt's penalties, and follows that up with the comment about running him for one of them.
via GIPHY
Besides being flagged for the same penalty twice in a game, what other history does Teller have of making the same mistakes over again?
It's unfair to assume Teller's issue is flat out stubbornness. If his technique is off, then the coaches need to fix that during practice. And given all of Tech's fumbles, I have doubts about the attention to detail happening throughout the week. Football plays occur at bang-bang speed, it's all reflex and instinct, not conscious decision making.
Vice's comment about Wyatt being "day-to-day" is the most forthcoming assessment as to why he's not starting. And it's absolutely Fuente's prerogative to demote him if he's not honed in on practice each day. However, great leaders find a way to motivate those they are in charge of.
Beat me by a minute. I also think it's unfair to criticize a player after a penalty that is just now being called this season.
The best example I can think of is the fact that for the second consecutive year, he found himself second on the depth chart in the off season despite being far and away our most aggressive blocker. The only difference being that unlike Searles, Vice didn't reinstate him at number one before the season started. That tells me whatever got him in Searels' doghouse probably repeated itself. If that isn't a good example of stubbornness, I don't know what is.
(Conjecture, sure, since neither Searles nor Vice discussed what the situation was, as it should be.)
I also get what you're saying about great leaders motivating, but that's not a maxim. Sometimes personality conflicts are too great to overcome in a supervisor relationship. Do we fault Kevin Rodgers for failing to get Marcus Vick to play to his full potential? (Not comparing Wyatt to Marcus, just making the broader point that sometimes you can have a great coach who can't get through to a talented by headstrong player.)
Either way, we need whatever the issue is to get resolved, because Wyatt Teller has the distilled essence of Jake Grove running through his veins, and we need him on the field.
I'm willing to bet last year he accounted for 80% of our late hit penalties on the o line.
he had holding issues I don't remember late hit issues. The rest of the OL didn't have much aggressiveness in them, so wyatt may be at 100% of the late hit calls on the OL.
Hmmm. That sounds familiar...
sounds like football
Yes, and will always be when playing high caliber opponents. I believe that Foster will soon have a more consistent offense to complement his defense. Assuming he can get better LB play, I think this team is scary by the end of October.
it does...but it is also true.
attention to detail is the difference in winning and losing several games a year.
it cost us Saturday night.
I am not one who usually will point out typo's, but this one has some egregious implications!
I am also thinking that it may have been a good thing that the 'ol glove-on-a-stick hurt a little bit. Make the guys used to bracing and squeezing that pigskin at contact.
Bud seems to been as perturbed by the single play breakdowns as the rest of us based on his more in-depth than usual breakdown of several scoring plays. You can tell it's been eating him up. I was also a little glad to see Bud speak a little more directly about players transferring because of PT, but do you think the coaches recruiting pitch might have something to do with the player's expectation or is it just the mental transition for the players going from BMOC at high school to grunt at the college level?
At least we are first in something, sigh...
Remind me, besides Moss, what other LB attrition have we had?
Carson Lydon
carson lydon comes to mind.VTGM beat me to it
Also lost Young to season ending injury.
To add on to the above, Holland Fisher also comes to mind. He was practicing at WHIP, but with Bud mentioning Shegog could slide to Backer, this definitely hurt depth.
Yeah it did. If only we had Trey Edmunds...
Btw, for those interested he's doing pretty well so far this year at UMd- 14 rushes for 126yds and 1 TD (avg of 9.0ypc). He also recovered a blocked a FG for a TD. Not bad for limited carries (blowout and being a co-starter)
I still think Marshawn is going to be a nice addition to the offense this season and give us a trusty power back that can still break loose a little. Trey def wouldn't get the touches at VT that he will for the Terps so good move for his final year
Ryan - I really enjoy your write up with the coaches. Your style reminds me of how Kyle Tucker would report on interviews. Kyle was one of the greats and is now working for the AJC covering SEC football. Well done!
Is it too late to ask Shane Beamer if he has a patent on the glove-on-a-stick? Might need to bring that puppy back to the burg.
That answers the question about Trevon Hill and the QB read. Sorry Tremaine!
haha. So he does need to play much more disciplined! At least the explosiveness seems to be back for him. This is his first real PT in over 2 years, so hopefully he gets there soon.
Vice on the penalties "I ran him for one of them." Bet it was the screen.
Hokies on campus this week:
but hopefully not this:
I'll rest easier knowing that the water boy is now part of the training regime
