So what do we do when Exum comes back? Obviously Exum starts. But based on that game Saturday, I think Kendall should see the field every chance possible. It was clear to see that Kendall was a true cornerback in HS; he wasn't just the best athlete on the field. He's a natural and his first game in a Hokies uniform showed it. He was blanketing the bama receivers, nearly had an interception, was right there to make the tackle immediately on the few completions he gave up. He played much better than anybody expected against the best team in the nation on the brightest stage as a true freshman.
I may be jumping the gun here but I really don't think I am. The kid's a beast and I think his presence makes our defense better. At least it did a few days ago. So what do we do when Exum returns? Ky to whip? Ke to whip? Let Trimble keep whip duties and restrict Kendall to nickel? Run more nickel when it makes sense to do so? We have a great problem on our hands.
By the way, seeing the Fullers on the field together and playing so fucking well together is special as a Hokies fan. I love the Ky & Ke effect! I love this defense too.
Comments
I'd say Kyle to whip or safety. He's projected to by a safety in the league. Plus he's best facing the LOS.
...other option: Kendall at Nickle and WR!!!
Based on what I saw on Saturday, Kyle's a pretty darn good BC and I say he stays there. Dude was incredible in coverage.
I.nearly jumped through the ceiling when he made that incredible deflection (first picture of this post). Holy shit he got up there.
Yeah. Sitting in my basement watching it happen, I let out an 'Ohhhh sh!t' when he deflected that pass. As Speilman pointed out, he didn't even have his left hand on the body of the receiver. One of the best defensive plays on a ball I've seen.
I know right!!!
That was the best coverage game Kyle has ever played, BY FAR. His man coverage was a major concern for me coming into this season.
What a wonderful problem to have. Exum is still weeks away from being able to compete. By then, who knows where we'll be schematically. If all said pieces are healthy, I like the idea of running Nickel more and getting playmakers on the field. Trimble and DiNardo are serviceable, but we want our best 11 on the field. Having both Fullers, Exum and Jarrett is a nasty DBlock, better than any in the country.
I've been saying for months that exum at whip would be amazing. Size, speed, football iq, and ball skills are all there.
While I agree that would be nice, you're asking this kid to change positions for a third time in four years, right before the draft this time. That's a lot to ask of someone who's already been a team player like Exum.
Either way, too many good players in our secondary is definitely one of those good problems to have, especially given the recent transfers.
Yeah this would have been great two years ago, but with just a few games left to play in his career I think Exum stays at corner
I met Kyle the day Vinnie got his TD against WVU (blocked kick fist pump) and had no idea I'd be cheering him on as I do.
Gonna be an awesome 2-3 years with Kendall. We were lucky to ha e the family.
I didn't even think of Kendall to WR, this is an interesting idea. He played some of it in high school, if I remember correctly. With the rotation of Ky, Ke, Tone, Bonner, and Jarrett in the secondary, we should always have a good starting 4 on the field. With Tone back, I could see him shifting to FS if Jarrett ever needs a spell, with Ky and Ke as the CBs.
I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Ke at WR, but as other posters suggest, maybe it would be best to give him a consistent set of responsibilities (ie playing only one position) while he is still young. We already know Tone can play safety and Ky can play whip, and with RVD out, I'd be very happy to see the grouping of Ky, Ke, Tone, and Jarrett (in particular) on the field at any time. Nice call on this question, 757, it's an interesting idea.
Kendall was an all state wr in highschool
Seem to remember Beamer promising him some work at WR when he committed.
And he's got a terrific football IQ. Bud says he only needs to be corrected once.
I don't think it's obvious that Exum starts. You don't put a guy back in the starting lineup just because he's a senior, you play the lineup that gives you the best opportunity to win. Exum will still get a lot of work in the game, but if Kendall gets better (like most of us expect) by the time Exum is back then I don't see how we could take him out of the lineup.
Exum was our best corner by the end of last year. I don't think he'd be getting in just because he's a senior - he's earned it. Provided he comes back 100%, obviously. That's the nice thing about the current situation - we can make sure he's all better, and there's no need to rush him back and risk an NFL career.
But I just don't think that the second he gets back he's going to be the same corner. That's going to take some time, and considering he's going to be coming back midway through the season I don't know that he's guaranteed a spot back. Especially not if Kendall is playing this well. But I agree, this is a great problem to have. Especially if we play a team like Clemson in the ACC title game. We'll have the corners to match-up against their receivers.
Easy: 12 defenders!
I mean, don't we already have an unfair advantage with Bud?
We don't have time to waste,bud should put the best 11 on the field period.we need to figure this out and the wide receivers and especially knowles needs to get it together before Marshall because they will be no push over having led the NCAA in passing last year.
When we play some up tempo offenses like UNC and hopefuly Clempson (in ACC title game if we make it there), we'll need all the depth we can get and that's were Ke Fuller, Exum, Riley, Ky Fuller, Bonner, Jarret will be shuffling like crazy to keep fresh. Also, I'd like Exum's big body back in time for GT, too.
So if we want the best 11 defenders on the field, we have to look where our weaknesses are. Bonner and Jarrett are fine at safety, especially after the way Kyshoen played vs Bama. WHIP is our only low point, even though I didn't notice any dropoff with Trimble and DiNardo. The last thing you want to do is move a playmaking senior to another position, so I think Kyle and Tone stay at corner. Kendall played outstanding at corner, as did Facyson, but Kendall also got a bit of work at WHIP in August. If you're going to move anybody, it's Kendall to WHIP in the nickel package, but he doesn't have the size to start there. Unfortunately I think Facyson is going to the #4 corner spot once Exum returns to full strength. He's great, but he'll be the 4th-best corner we have.
I saw Trimble get off a block and make a great play on the back (I think Yeldon) for a 3 yard loss. He looks dependable.
well Facyson will probably be the starter next year so it won't be that bad for him
Kendall will get plenty of reps, especially when VT plays the pass-heavy Marshall, ECU, UNC, Duke. He'll probably be on the field quite a bit in passing situations against the balanced offensive teams as well: Miami, Pitt, Maryland and UVA. I think, because of the ability of Trimble, you will see a lot of shifting between Whip and Nickle defenses, perhaps flawlessly.
Exum, Jarrett, Ky Fuller, and Ke Fuller all need to be on the field at once. Whether its Ky or Ke moving to Whip, or Exum goes back to a safety position and Bonner is the odd man out (nothing against Bonner). Exum has played the safety position before. Just my opinion. I will trust how ever Bud handles it for i am no expert.
Regardless with his injury it will take Exum a little bit to get back up to speed so he needs to be slowly molded back into the lineup. Would hate to see him rushed and end his career and potential nfl career
I don't think it's a guarantee Exum is back and at full strength this year.
Sometimes I wonder if it would be better if Exum took a medical RS this year and came back full strength next year. It would only improve his draft stock.
He can't because he has already redshirted
Based solely off this information, it looks like he would be able to qualify for a medical hardship wavier from the NCAA. SOURCE: http://www.athletics.vt.edu/compliance/competition/seasons.html
From what I have read the only way he can get his extra year is by receiving a medical redshirt. You can only redshirt twice if the first instance was out of your control, i.e. injury of some sort. Because the coaches redshirted exum, that was a controlled decision and thus he is not available for the medical redshirt.
Now, if this is regarding something else entirely, I suppose it's possible. But there are a lot of guys getting injured in their senior season that don't come back...chase minnefield comes to mind here.
someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought coaches intentionally do not apply for medical redshirts even if the athlete is injured in order to keep this option open later if needed. They just "redshirt" him normally by not playing him.
Lee Suggs and David Wang come to mind. I'm not sure about Suggs' freshman status, but Wang was actually injured in 2009 and got a waiver this summer for what I assume was 2011.
EDIT: read some threads below, but I swore I just read somewhere that this was still possible for a non-injury redshirt taken first.
If the injury happens before the season and they have not had a redshirt year, they are redshirted normally, but they document the injury in case they get injured again so they can then apply for a medical redshirt for the second injury.
I'm right there with you--I thought the same thing but all arrows point to he is going to have to play this year. In all honesty, if he could redshirt I think they would be doing that soon because of how good Fuller and Fayscon did. Guess we just have to see.
yea, I think it's the language "for more than one season " that is the nail in the coffin. Needs to be rewritten as >=
:)
If he took a medical redshirt he'd just be a year older before he reached the NFL. He's going after this season no matter what. Someone will draft him unless his knee is jello.
A few weeks ago I still saw him walking around with a significant limp. As someone who has previously tore their acl, you should not be limping 8-9 months post-op. At that point you should be close to 100%. I just hope we don't have unreasonable expectations once he returns.
He can't take a medical redshirt this year, because he has already taken a redshirt year, that wasn't because of injury.
It's very clear that Fuller was playing last year hurt. He was a BEAST on Saturday. Like everyone's been saying, it's a good problem to have, but it might kind of tough for Foster to make that call.
to be honest, dont forget how shaky exum was a cb to start last season. i still like him better as a safety than at corner and think he would be better suited than bonner, but i do not think he should start right away until he proves he has fully recovered and returned to form.
He was the best corner at the end of last year. And can be the best we have this yea and That's where he will play at the next level
meh idk, i remember him getting beaten a bunch last year, he just made up for it by being shutdown towards the end of the season so im still not convinced
At the beginning of the season yes he did get beat. Because he was adjusting to be a corner. But as the season wore on he got better and better. There is a reason he was all ACC. And multiple places call him one of the best corners in the country
As some have hinted at, Exum didn't just have a minor injury here. RG3 JUST got cleared and Dr. Andrews has reservations about his playing in the season opener. The catch is that RG3 didn't completely tear any of his ligaments. He received ligament damage to the ACL, LCL, MCL as I recall but none were completely torn.
Anton Exum tore all three major ligaments and had a fracture in his knee, a much more serious and painful injury. Considering the defense played as great as they did against alabama (only 7 teams gave up less yardage than VT and they were playing unranked opponents while we played #1 alabama with a highly touted WR corps, great RB and a great game-managing QB) I think a medical redshirt is a good idea for Exum. He wants to be back within the month but even that is optimistic. I would rather him fully heal and recover to more than 100% then push to hard too soon and re-injure the knee. The defense is playing more than good enough.
Only other thing I could see is if he came back, let Jarrett go to whip. He is small but will fit there OK and they won't move Kyle because they want to showcase is CB skills to the NFL. But that is a big if...
Exum is not able to get a medical redshirt (he's already redshirted and his injury would've had to happen within a season and stretching more than one year...like DJ). This is his last year of illegibility.
Having a redshirt doesn't prevent you from getting a medical redshirt a second time, the NCAA does take it into consideration. If Exum is showing any signs of difficulty getting back on the field or has a prolonged absence this season, he can petition the NCAA to receive another year of eligibility. His injury is one that really requires 12 months of recovery, i.e. he is done until January. Depending on his case, it could be irresponsible to ask him to come back just 9 months after such a serious injury.
It's not that he redshirted, it's that he didn't redshirt because of injury.
According to VT complaince office: an athlete can be granted a sixth season if he/she is unable to participate (due to injury) for more than one season of the five seasons allowed by the NCAA.
IIRC Exum has never been hurt before, and wasn't during his redshirt. If he's not healthy enough to play in 2013, that will be just one season missed out of five due to injury and he wont be eligible for a sixth year. And...no I don't think its fair.
David Wang, could probably get one (and may have already) since he redshirted original to have shoulder surety. DJ was a similar situation.
Point is, we'll see Exum on the field this year regardless.
I looked it up further, you're right. I guess the coaches will need to do some searching to say that they redshirted him for injury in his freshman year otherwise he will be playing. good call.
And this is why Bud and Torian gets paid the big bucks. Im sure he has a plan in place whether Exum comes back to playing 100% from the end of last year, comes back to 50%, or if he cant come back at all. And wow am I excited about the future DBU. Riley, Fuller, Facyson, and Frye all look like future stars.
Move the best player to the nickel package after the two best corners are fielded. There will be injuries but at least we have guys talented enough to change positions. Next year looks good..after watching the bama game we have. Team that's a year away but we should win no less then 8 games. When and if the offense comes around we can win 11or 12.
FWIW, if our defense was at full strength (stars are from rivals):
DE: James Gayle (3) / Tyrel Wilson (3)
DT: Derrick Hopkins (3) / Woody Barron (3)
DT: Luther Maddy (2) / Corey Marshall (4)
DE: JR Collins (3) / Dadi Nicolas (3)
LB: Tariq Edwards (3) / Deon Clarke (4)
LB: Jack Tyler (0) / Chase Williams (3)
LB: Ronnie VanDyke (4) / Josh Trimble (0)
DB: Antone Exum (3) / Kendall Fuller (5)
DB: Kyshoen Jarrett (4) / Desmond Frye (3)
DB: Detrick Bonner (3) / Der'Woun Greene (3)
DB: Kyle Fuller (3) / Brandon Faceyon (3)
I know some of you guys are "upset" that we don't recruit lots of 4 and 5 stars... but if you look down this roster, there are a good amount of NFL-caliber guys who are 3's and below. Something to remember when the Andrew Brown's and De'Shawn Hand's of the world turn down an opportunity to play at VT.
Just for fun, here's the offense
LT: Mark Shuman (4) / Jonathan McLaughlin (3)
LG: Caleb Farris (3) / Brent Benedict (4)
C: David Wang (3) / Matt Arkema (3)
RG: Andrew Miller (3) / Parker Osterloh (3)
RT: Laurence Gibson (4) / Augie Conte (3)
QB: Logan Thomas (4) / Mark Leal (3)
RB: Trey Edmunds (4) / JC Coleman (4) / Joel Caleb (4)
WR: DJ Coles (4) / Josh Stanford (3) / Carlis Parker (3)
WR: Demitri Knowles (3) / Charlie Meyer (0) / Willie Byrn (2)
TE: Ryan Mallek (3) / Duan Perez-Means (3) / Darius Redman (2)
FB: Sam Rogers (0)
Nice research, Stiney. Jeez it feels weird to compliment a Stiney.
Speaking of Stiney. Did anyone else shudder when they read that he would be in the booth with Loeffler?
My immediate reaction was
but then I realized with Stiny in the booth Loeffler prevented him from impacting the game at all and was like
That depth at RB doh!
One small correction, Sam Rogers is a 10*
Met Sam's sister at the game. She had a Rogers jersey on and looked just like him. I told her we're expecting big things out of him over the next four years. She seemed kind of surprised that I knew about him #tkp
She looked just like him???....oh that poor girl.
It should also be noted that Bama did not tackle Sam Rogers on his run play, he obviously tackled himself because he didn't want anyone else to get hurt.
Only Sam Rogers can tackle Sam Rogers. His college stat line: 1 rush, 1 yard, 1 tackle...and because the statisticians know what's good for them: 1 TD...all on the same play.
imagine what our defensive staff could do with bama's or lsu's roster
So glad that Ke Fuller is #11. Still have my old #11 from the Adibi days. I had to put it away last year with Roberts crappy play and am happy to be able to pull it back out of the closet.
Exum is not going to be an every down player when he returns. Players are just not the same when they have a micro fracture surgery. I would think when he comes in, he will sub in when needed.
Frankly, I don't care what happens. In Bud We Trust...
I think my username makes it obvious how I feel about Kyle and Kendall on the field together. But I was/am legitimately concerned about the head shot Kyle took early in the game. Sorry, but I'm not buying that his facemask hit his nose...you don't crawl around on the ground like you are physically unable to get up like that if you get popped in the nose. I hope they do some checking and if he had a concussion, let him sit against WCU and get healthy. As someone pointed out above, Kyle was basically playing hurt all last year and we're not going to see the best of him if he doesn't stay healthy this year.
That being said, he was a freaking BEAST Saturday night, I have started giggling multiple times just thinking about watching our D rage against everyone and Edmunds and the Tip of the Spear dominate like our offense used to back in the day for the rest of the season. I feel like this is the year we get back to defensive touchdowns for days...
I recorded the game and watched it when I got home. The commentators said we were wearing state of the art helmets with some kind of impact sensors in them that I believe will signal concussions. I agree that it looked bad but based on the helmet technology and the fact that they held him out for some time to make sure he was okay, I feel confident that it wasn't a concussion.
There was a ESPN CFB Gameday special a couple of years ago about VT's helmet technology. It registers the force of impact. Anything over a certain threshold, is an automatic removal from the game.
http://www.nj.com/collegefootball/index.ssf/2012/12/virginia_tech_using_...
Agreed
That's a concussion. Let him rest and give Kendall and Facyson the reps
At first I was worried that he had reinjured his shoulder. From the upper deck, it appeared that the way he hit him might have resulted in an impact between the players thigh/knee and Kyle's shoulder.