I like every other Hokie football fan have admired the determination and hard work Exum has showed to try and get his knee back to 100%. He is a beast and I am rooting
for him. That being said, where will he play when he is finally allowed on the field? We know he isn't going to take Kyle's spot so do you start him over a kid like Facyson who has 3 int's so far and is possibly our best corner at the moment in a secondary who ranks near the top in the nation? Or does he start over Kendall who has been nothing short of spectacular. To be honest, I wish Exum was versatile enough, and maybe he is, to start at safety in Bonner's place. Not that Bonner has played poorly so far but he still tackles like my sister would..if I had a sister. Maybe Bud will switch up formations to try and get them all in the game at the same time but someone with more football smarts would have to tell me which formation that would be.
Where Will Exum Play?
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He also might start on Special Teams, just to get his speed back. I trust the coaches to know how to get him back on the field, the only question is when? Given the nature of his knee injury, caution is key.
When was Exum going to try to make a return? Was it for next week or the week after? I remember seeing a date somewhere but I can't remember now.
I really hope the coaches can find a place for him without changing much. I am really pleased with Facyson and the Fullers. And agreed, they need to play it safe for a while but hopefully they get him up to speed soon. Not just for the team, but for the NFL draft.
I think GT week was the goal, but can't (read: won't put forth the effort to) find the reference
GT is his goal, also don't care about reference. Regardless, that would be a good goal since you typically want a more athletic defense out vs. GT. So hopefully we can get him out there.
GT for Exum would be a double edged sword. I love the amount of experience we have on defense vs. PJ's offense (KYFuller, Edwards, Jack, Collins, Skip, Maddy, Bonner, Gayle, Jarrett...those are guys who have faced and beat this offense 2 and 3 and 4 times).....so it would be great to have Exum out there on the edge taking the pitch man......
...but ...cut blocks....on Exums knee. That would be a tough first game.
Didn't Exum start off as a safety? Why couldn't he take Bonner's spot?
You're right, I forgot he started out at safety. Hmmm interesting...
Kyle could be (no, tweedy, its) whip. Exum to Bonner's spot. KeFull and Facyson to CBs. #allthedefensivebacks
Kyle did play nickel/whip a ton his first year and was extremely good. His tackling ability combined with his speed makes it a perfect fit. However, against power running teams he is too small to hold up consistently, so that can't be a permanent solution. It is, after all, essentially a linebacker spot.
But then that takes away draft stock from Kyle for the CB position. Our whip spot is more like a 3-4 linebacker in the NFL.
Or a sam LB in the 4-3 a la James Anderson.
Or safety like Cody Grimm.
Not sure Kyle is big enough to be a safety.
Sorry, I wasn't specific. I meant that our whip position can also translate to safety along with a 4-3 Sam LB and just meant to give an example. It really depends on the guy playing whip.
Ah, my fault. Didn't connect the right dots.
At this point, I hope the coaches can figure out what to do for the guy to help him for the draft. Honestly, Facyson and Fuller are playing great ball. It's a great problem to have, I suppose, but I root for a guy like Exum. It's a tough question, because can you just take out a guy playing extremely well to see what the guy coming off a serious knee injury can do? Especially when it's more likely than not that your team is going I be in some games where the margin of victory is razor thin with an offense that is not going to scare any ACC foe
Don't fix what aint broken.
As stated above i would like to see Exum either rotated/massaged slowly back in or take over Bonners spot.
IMO Exum will contribute big time when we play UNC/Miami and need to play the nickle.
I'd feel better, having one more veteran for the GT game. However, I'm not so sure he'll be cleared.
I believe if Exum is 100% he will be put in wherever he wants and is best utilized, whoever that may displace. He was/is supposed to be our best defensive player and was predicted to be All-ACC as well as do decent in the draft. If he is on par or ahead of the young guys he gets the PT
can he play WR?
No kidding. Or whoever he replaces as a starter in the secondary could give it a shot!!
That reminds me...I remember hearing ideas floating about Kendall's ability to play both sides...heck, move him over to offense and let exum take over. But, this week the WR's looked alright.
Bonner's not going anywhere. Exum will go nowhere but back at corner. As stated in another thread, it will look much better to recruits if we put Exum in the best possible position to get drafted, which he can be.
Also, as good as Kendall and Facyson are, they have many more years available, and Exum does not. At worst, he will be the nickel back. There just won't be enough time left in the season or his career (same thing) to have anybody switch and adapt to a new position, regardless if they've played there before or not.
Your are correct sir. The only place Exum should want to play is CB, where he would likely play at the next level. And it is too late to learn a new position.
Here's my question though. How does that make us look to future recruits? We push talented young guys off the field because of seniority? Sounds like a Newsome move. Do recruits see that as loyalty to a guy that's earned it, or detrimental because (as young players) they can easily get bumped?
I don't know what the answer is here. We have great talent on the field now, but Exum is an outstanding football player, and one of my personal favorites to have ever worn Maroon & Orange. We're better when he's playing well. But I have been incredibly impressed with Kendall and Facyson thus far. Moreover, what is VT's motivation with respect to Exum? Do we put him on the field as an NFL audition, or is the coaching staff's greater obligation to field the best team they can in order to win? Maybe Exum is the kind of guy that solves both problems simultaneously, but right now I'd say Foster and Gray have a tough decision, especially if Exum is not 100% when he comes back (even if cleared to play).
I'd be curious to see what others think on these matters.
You aren't pushing the younger guys off because of seniority. You are doing it because Exum is most likely our best best secondary player, who has proved that he is a great player and looks to be an All-ACC player. Although the freshmen are playing extremely well, Exum could come in and do THAT much better because he has proved that he can. It's a simple point of putting your best players in the game to get the job done.
"Exum could come in and do THAT much better because he has proved that he can"
This is key--he has proved that he can. That doesn't matter at this point coming off an injury. If he supplants Kendall or Fascyon, it had better be because he is darn well ready to play. If he can't prove he is better after his injury then he shouldn't play...In fact, he should take his time to make sure he is completely ready and do a lot of workouts for NFL scouts--they know who he is and would rather have a healthy (and good) Exum than a banged up one who wanted to show something in his senior year before he was ready. I'm all about him coming back, but he has to show he is ready. (Case and point: RG3, looks extremely rusty and is clearly improving, but man it's hard to watch).
If Exum supplants one of the young guys, I wouldn't see it as pushing talented young guys off the field because of seniority. If they're pushed off, it will be because, as good as the young guys are, Exum is an NFL-caliber player and we're better with him on the field (assuming he's back to his end-of-last-season form). Honestly, I'm not too worried about it. The coaches will make the right call.
You're telling recruits that the best players on the team play. Period. If they don't like it, they can go to a different program.
Exum has just as much a history of huge plays as the two freshmen, combined. He's coming off a 2nd-team All-ACC season at CB after a Honorable Mention All-ACC season at safety (2011). If he's healthy it's no question he starts. The big questions will be whether he is 100% in any game this season.
If Exum is on the field, it will be because he gives us a better chance to win than the freshmen do. And I think he does just that.
This is a good problem to have
I don't care where we put him. You put a centaur on the field, your defense is much improved.
I could see them all on the field (the Fullers, Facyson, healthy-Exum) on the field in a nickel package with (likely) Jarrett and Bonner being pulled. Whatever the case, these fast-hitting, HUNH offenses won't be able to gas our secondary. We're just too deep ... and our front seven is just too bad-ass.
I think that you're telling future recruits that, if Tone is healthy, you're giving him reps at his position because it's his "money" season. Kendall and Brandon will understand that .. respect that .. and would hope to get the same benefit if they were in the same position because he's earned it.
Personally, I wish the guy would consider redshirting. The longer those injuries heal, the better the long-term outlook in my opinion.
He cannot redshirt. This is his last year.
I think he was trying to say to take a medical redshirt this year and play for his sixth year next season.
Which he also cannot do, because his original redshirt year was not a result of injury.
I think the game plan for the opponent will determine where Exum will play when he comes back (he played some nickel I believe as a true freshman) but eventually making his way back to corner. The guy is coming back from injury so I don't know if corner will be his best spot immediately. I'm hoping he sees the field as corner for GT though, but we'll see.
To be completely honest I'm not sure he's a sure fire NFL talent just yet with Exum. I know he's gotten better towards the end of last year and he's a fan favorite for our team. I really love this kid's determination and will to get back on the field and I think he'll be eased in.
I want to see if his technique has improved. He has trouble with what Kyle has trouble with in playing man, which to me is turning back to locate the football. He's playing the wideout's eyes and hands and that's fine, but there's times where he's over-aggresive in coverage which can lead to pass interference calls and his hips were a little tight last year as well being that it was only his first time playing the corner's spot and his tackling should be a little better for someone's at that size. I'd like to think he'd be a 3rd to 4th round draft pick if not go undrafted in next year's draft.
Please don't take this as me being a negative Hokie or someone that think he's a bad player, that's not what I'm saying so before I see a replied comment just try to read in between the lines of what I'm trying to say. I'm trying to be reasonable, but I've studied film on him for awhile and I payed attention to a lot of Db's and there technique, I completely understand what he means to our program and this team. I also, saw that one of the commentors said that Exum was his best player of all-time. That's clearly his opinion and I don't discredit his opinion mines was Macho Harris, but Facyson and Fuller are coming along that they might change that. I would definitely like to see what he can do to enhance our defense even more.
Macho? Really?
D. Hall
B. Flowers
T. Gray
J. Hosely
I mean Macho was fun to watch but best CB all time? Nope.
I think he means favorite player of all time.
You forgot another name:
F. Beamer
I mean, his number 25 is retired after all...
His Jersey is. Players can still wear the number though. It's like Michael Vick.
Macho was my favorite player of all time. He was similar to those of your list, although he might have didn't put up stats like some of those guys, but he was legit in his own right. I think he was just as good those guys in your list, but I didn't think he got a good break. Flowers wasn't similar to Macho they both were great at run support and I didn't get to watch Torian play and Hosley wasn't so good at run support he was a pure cover guy which isn't bad, but D. Hall had a higher ceiling then all of them coming out of Tech he had the speed coverage combo, but he was known for gambling on a lot of stuff, or basically high-risk high reward. But overall I'm a fan of them all.
Macho's strength was making big plays when the ball was up for grabs, but he regularly got burned or gave up easy completions that some of our other all-time greats did not.
Flowers, Ike Charleton, Hall, Hosely, Gray, Jimmy Williams, and Eric Green are all guys I'd rate above Harris as best college CB at VT in the last 20 years.
This is a freindly debate, but I agree to certain extinct I think Hosley got a lot of productivity out of his 9 ints in one season, but he was horrible at run support. He had in my opinion hands just as good as Macho if not better. I agree, Macho did give up some easy completions but so did Hosley. They both relied on a lot of short area quickness to jump routes that would bait the opposing QB to pass to pick them off. But Hosley gave a ton of big plays when he was here which was more frustrating like the Wake Forest game. He said it was his hammy, but it happened consistently against bigger aggressive wideouts he seemed to struggle with more, because of his size.
As for Flowers I can't say he was so spectacular I mean just about every DB is going to give up some plays they won't keep many DB's from catching some passes. In my opinion Flowers was great when he played with Macho, but they were both even in my opinion. The only thing that seperates them is speed. Flowers ran a 4.55 electronically and a hand-timed 4.54, while Macho was a 4.68 electronically, while running a hand-timed 4.46 although I will rather hold to the electronic time than the hand-timed. They both had great football quickness on the field.
And I was pretty young so I didn't get to see Gray playing much or charleton as much. I could go off of there highlights, but that wouldn't benefit how good they really were when they played. But overall DBU this is a good debate we've had so many DB's that have come through this program that we can actually develop lists.
Jimmy Williams may have been the best college CB we've ever had.
EDIT: NFL production, maturity, etc are not considered in this statement.
That's definitely a good argument HOAT, He was what got this whole DBU thing going to a certain extent. I could be wrong, but Facyson has the size as Jimmy did I don't think he has the speed, but Jimmy was also very good in run support as well. He started out as a safety, but not bad. Does anyone know where he's at now these days?
I don't know where he is nowadays. If I remember correctly, he ballooned up almost immediately after entering the league and then hit the pipe for a while, had substance abuse related suspension(s) and never quite made it (failed) as a pro.
I don't think this decision should have anything to do with recruiting. That's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. If Exum starts over one of the young corners, Virginia Tech doesn't give playing time to young stars who have earned it. If he doesn't play significant snaps, Hokies don't put players in the NFL or respect their seniors that have built the program. It can be spun both ways, and shouldn't be a consideration.
Bud should put him in the best position to help the team win games. Winning games and Exum's health are the priorities.
Considering Exum's size, speed, tackling, and playmaking ability, I wouldn't be surprised to see him at Whip situationally.
You beat me to it, Joe. That was exactly what I was thinking and surprised that it hadn't been suggested yet. You put one of your most athletic players (assuming he is healthy) at a position that is admittedly lacking elite athleticism at the moment. Trimble and DiNardo are placeholders; capable but nothing exceptional (and this is not in regards to their effort, simply their athleticism). Exum showed early in his career - especially during his redshirt year - that he is a HUGE hitter and has a nose for the ball. Assuming he is healthy, he is a powerful guy that could really help us in both Base and quasi-Dime packages at a position of weakness. This keeps the youngin's confident and in the rotation, while enabling X to work his way back into form.
i suggested this a while back on a thread and someone made the good point that in doing it, we'd be asking exum to change positions for the third time since being a hokie. Knowing what kind of guy he is, I dont see him having a problem with it.
From a physical and mental standpoint, I think it would be amazing and would allow us to get our best athletes in the best position to make plays and dominate.
Agreed, and additionally, prospective NFL draft status shouldn't figure into the equation, either. As a coach, you do what is best for the team and the health of the player. You can't control the future of these guys, beyond putting them in a position to succeed and excel at their position. You can't even assure them of that success or excellence, only that you can put them in position to achieve it. Excellence is the determination of the athlete.
Kyle Fuller is a safety in the NFL. Slide him over to FS and replace Bonner. Start Kendall and Facyson at the CB positions, and drop Exum in as the nickle / whip, which he played before, and have him cover slot guys and tight ends. That is a nasty, nasty secondary.
That puts our best 5 DBs on the field, creates some more versatility in the whip position, and preserves Kyle and Antones draft-ability.
Respectfully disagree.
1) Kyle is a corner in the NFL. He's never played any other true position (you could say whip, but he won't be a LB ever in the NFL) and he's played corner at an amazing level the past 3 years. He's not even big enough to be a hard-hitting safety.
2) Why does everyone want to move Bonner? Is he playing terribly this year and no one is talking about it? No, he's playing even better than last year. Bonner is not moving OR getting demoted.
I don't want Bonner moved. But of all the guys in the secondary, he'd by my first choice to sit if there was an Exum-related question.