Torrian Gray 2 wks ago: "Antone is our starting field CB ... Kendall will be our nickel guy. And you just got to find a role [for Facyson]."— Hokies Journal (@HokiesJournal) October 1, 2013
I am not sure how you take a kid who leads the country in interceptions (not to mention the fumble recoveries, forced fumbles, and almost interceptions he has been involved with) and take him off the field. Facyson isn't as good a fit at the nickel as Kendall, but Exum better play a very high level of football to justify this move.
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Though he added that Exum must be game ready no way he can play 30+ snaps right now.
My prediction would be Exum starts, but Facyson will play majority of snaps until Exum gets back into it.
Exactly how I feel. You have to be excited though. It's not like Exum is pressured to step in, we've already established a great Pass Defense, and that position is not lacking depth. I hope he can get it together at his own pace and see this defense do even bigger things.
But when, when does this go into effect? Just because he's cleared to play, is he ready to play and against an up tempo team with big recievers that can run nontheless?
I don't know what the timeline is for Exum to begin playing in games again, but I personally can't wrap my mind around taking Facyson out of the picture with what he is bringing to our defense right now. Although I will state that having this many excellent DBs is a fantastic problem to have.
I realize that Gray made these comments a couple of weeks ago. If Exum is at the level he was for the Rutgers game last season, he is still only the third best Hokie corner from a pure coverage standpoint. Of course, Kyle Fuller is the fourth best coverage guy, but he brings so many other strengths to the table. And, moving or Fuller to free safety messes up the communication and chemistry that has been so outstanding on the field side between Bonner, Kendall, and Facyson.
This is a really tough choice to make by the coaching staff. Nobody should lose a job regarding an injury, but you have to get your best guys on the field. Facyson and Kendall may be freshmen, but they are as good a coverage tandem as you can find in the ACC right now.
Yeah I think this comment was made before Brandon established himself as one of the top two playmakers in the secondary along with Kyle. It's hard to justify limiting his snaps at this point.
I never cared for the whole, "You don't lose your job because of injury" bit. Most of the time someone "loses their job because of injury" it's actually that they've lost their job to someone better, and the injury merely exposed that fact and gave that other guy the opportunity.
Certainly the case here. I don't believe Exum should lose his starting job because he got hurt; I think he should lose it because Facyson is better. (And that's tough...Exum might be one of the 10 or 15 best CB's in college football, but three of his teammates are above him on that list).
IMO, we should think of Exum and Facyson as co-#1s. Exum is our experienced and proven (pre-injury) senior, but there's no way you keep Facyson off the field for long.
I can see us rotating CBs like we do our D-linemen and not missing a beat at all.
Agreed. Especially in a game where our offense starts going 3 and out (it's bound to happen) it'll be good to be able to just rotate in a new set of corners and not miss a beat.
I am struggling to contain my disappointment that Facyson is being replaced with Exum because A) Facyson is my favorite and got serious mancrush on him, and B) as been said a million of times, Facyson is playing beyond his years in an oustanding tandem with Kendall Fuller, and C) Exum may have rust that needs to be knocked off before he returns to the level he played in the bowl game.
Gray has already proven times and times again that he knows what he is doing, and this is the one time I cannot doubt him.
I'm right there with you for A. All started last spring with his first pass break up.
Mine got started because when I learned he wanted to be a heart surgeon. Ambitious young man, how can someone not love a player like that?
That statement was from two weeks ago, and is completely irrelevant now.
I disagree. Gray has been with the program a long time, and the culture of the football program has been to give older players the starting nod over less experienced but more talented guys provided that those older players can functionally execute the game plan, especially if said player loses their job because of injury. At one point, Brandon Flowers, James Anderson, Cody Grimm, and Xavier Adibi were all backing up less talented older players when they were clearly better options, but they were young guys and the staff played the older guys. Exum is an excellent football player, but even at his very best (the UVA and Rutgers games), I would be hard pressed to find a football mind that would suggest that Exum's play in that stretch was better than Facyson has been so far. And Exum was EXCELLENT.
I have no doubt that if Exum isn't starting on Saturday, it is because his knee didn't respond well to first team work. But, if for whatever reason he struggles, that decision will be second guessed to death.
What you originally posted was without any context, "Exum will replace Facyson at Field Corner per Coach Gray". Not providing the clause that the statement was made over two weeks ago is extremely misleading and it's basically writing a narrative that doesn't exist.
Here is the rest of the story that every beat writer was tweeting out. Emphasis is my own.
Battle of the TKP heavyweights!
Holy crap, that is a long gif
French, how much playing time do you think Exum will get against UNC, if any?
If his knee looks good this week, I am sure he will start. I am not sure if I would do that, but Gray's statement aligns with the normal Beamer protocol of playing older guys and not having guys lose starting spots as result of injuries.
I was as harsh a critic of Exum as anyone at this point last season, but he improved vastly throughout the year and he was outstanding down the stretch. If he is 100 percent, I would even suggest that he is a better COVER guy than Kyle Fuller. He certainly has better recovery time if beaten on a double move. Now, you can't take Kyle off the field because he brings so much to the table besides coverage, and he is still a very good cover guy. You can't take Kendall off the field because you need the smaller quicker guy in man coverage on slot receivers. You can't take the safeties off the field because they are the communication hub and safety net for the team, and Exum has not dealt with their vocabulary for almost 2 years.
Having four elite corners is a great problem to have, but Facyson has been so good... ugh, it is agonizing just to think about.
Nah, that is a big "if". IMO we won't see much of Exum for several weeks except in a very limited role...too much ground to be made up in recovery, both knee and conditioning.
I suspect you are correct, conditioning is going to play a big role. Exum may start, but he will need rest and come out for various plays or series. Or he may need a couple of week to be able to play at full speed. I agree with French that Beamer is very loyal to his established starters, but Exum is coming back from a HUGE injury and may need more time.
I'm a Bonner fan, but at the end of the day, he's the least productive of the 6 players who play 5 spots. (7 players if you consider Trimble/Dinardo).
By the end of the year, that's the combo that will be on the field in the most important plays.
Can't upvote yet so I'll just reply to say, yep. I like Bonner but he's the sixth man in the back five (and a real asset in that role).
I would still like to see exum at FS... He was a good safety and this makes the most sense given the incumbent personnel. I see exum more as a safety in the league with his size and strengths.
The main NFL draft site that I look at agrees with you:
Exum ranked as the #1 safety
They have him ranked as the #11 player.
But they also have Jeremiah Attaochu listed as a Virginia Tech player. I guess that's because he helped us so much 2 years ago?
And Gayle at 28 and Fuller at 39.
His size looks more like a safety for the NFL, but I think it also depends on the team and fit. I think he could be good enough to be at either position.
Also, while it looks good that he is up at #1 right now, its only seniors and I'm sure they are a number of underclassmen that will declare and go ahead of him especially coming off an knee injury like the one he had.
Not that I wish anything negative for our team or individual players but I would like to be a fly on all of your walls the first time AE1 gets beat in coverage and hear those conversations with your kids, dogs, drinks etc if not actually at the game!
So I don't know if Tone is a captain, but even if he is I would love it if he was the one with the USA flag that leads the team onto the field this Saturday.
I may be ignorant in this statement, but am I the only one who thinks Facyson should get playing time ahead of Kendall? I know Kendall is generally a better cover guy and Facyson gets all the flashy stats, but I just feel like the nation's INT leader should get more opportunities to make those types of plays. If Antone should start, I would want Facyson as the nickel and Kendall as the fourth corner. But I could be off.
I know little about football. But maybe they're throwing at him because Kendall is stuck to his guy like glue?
It is more a match up issue. The Hokies boundary corner, field corner, and nickel all have very different responsibilities and each isn't just interchangeable with "the best guy." Kendall is a guy who can press, turn, and run, and Foster uses press coverage much more often from the slot than the field corner spot. Facyson is more comfortable sitting back in a zone and reading the QB, and field corner gives him more time and space to jump routes.
If you asked me who has performed better, it would be Facyson, but if he was playing on the slot, I don't think he would be as effective as Kendall.
We COULD move Facyson to Offense. Then he could put his "O" Facyson...
Had to be done...
LMAO ...
Oh jeez. But, yay.
cue office space gif in 3...2...1...
+1 for your screenname and your signature.
I'm glad you like them
As others have already said, this is a great, albeit agonizing problem to have. I don't want to see Facyson taken off the field, nor do I want to see either Fuller displaced, but someone will have to move to get our favorite Day Care provider back into action. A few other thoughts:
1) This might free up another CB to take kick/punt returns, if they're not already. Jarrett hasn't had a great year back there, but from past conversations it sounds like Kendall would be good there.
2) The issue of an older player taking over for a younger player is one I've seen a bunch up here at PSU. Paterno never let a younger, more talented player take the reigns from a more experienced player who had spent more time earning their job. A lot of people criticized him for it, but there are good arguments to be made for both sides. If Exum is really truly back to 100%, then you'd figure he'd be a better bet than SOMEONE but I couldn't really say who that would be. If only we weren't so thin at CB last year, Exum may have never moved from safety and the decision would be easy.
All in all, I think I'll probably be watching with a critical eye when Exum takes the field again. He's one of my favorite Hokies of all time because of his talent, playful brashness, and generosity, so I obviously won't have any problem whatsoever cheering him on. But I've seen how we're playing now, and if there is a dip in production because seniority ruled, I'm sure I'll grumble at least a little.
When horses grumble, what does it sound like? Just asking...
Bring out the Dime package with 6 DBs...
problem solved
Except Tariq and Jack Tyler have also played extremely well so far this year... So which of those two do you bring out?
I guarantee if Foster uses the dime, a defensive tackle will come out. He wants both linebackers because that gives him more flexibility blitzing.
However, he won't use the dime unless they are in true prevent mode.
Which in that case would likely be Skip to come out, as it would be an obvious passing situation. But at the same time, why in the hell would you take out a Dlinemen if we can get pressure with four on just about any team in the nation. Seems like a rushed throw would be more valuable than trying to rely on perfect prevent coverage.
The coaches know what they're doing. Exum has shown he can be a real hard-hitting tackler too.
I think everyone is getting too worked up over this....
Realistically, Exum will probably not play too much this year. I would guess that he starts off spelling Facyson ~25% of the time. Why?
1. Facyson has been outstanding. There is no reason to sit him on the bench, wasting a year of his ballhawking elgibility.
2. This is a contract year for Exum. There is no reason for him to aggrevate his knee. Let him slowly get snaps and build confidence, strength, and speed in his leg. Let him get his physicallity back. Give scouts just enough of a look at him to ensure his technique is sound, because we all know they will salivate over his physicality and he will impress at the combine. Yes, he may "start", but I don't see him playing 60 minutes.
Facyson is too much of a talent to be placed on the bench. The way he broke on that ball in the Georgia Tech game was nothing short of super hero-like.
If he was a junior I'd advocate that he move to Whip.
I do like the prospect of someone else taking over punt returns.
We all know Exum will have some rust to shed, but I'm certain he'll be put into a position to succeed.
I personally think Exum deserves to play, he has put in the time and has proven himself. My one concern is the chemistry occurring among the current starters. When everything is working right changing a small component can throw the timing of everything off. Exum may be as good as, or better, than the current players but their ability to work together and trust each other is important. We saw it with Logan and the receivers and in my mind it is just as important on the defensive side of the ball. Having said all that I trust Foster and Beamer to make the correct decisions that will not adversely impact the team.
Yes, Facyson has been impressive and will make plays wherever he lines up. But, I still fully expect Exum will be warping from sideline-to-sideline with his new bionic enhancements. Mike London will shart himself.
We'll see. I don't think Exum is going to be the same player he was at the end of last year. As I've stated before on this site, RGIII was expected to come back and do the same great things he had done before his injury, but no matter how healthy he may be right now, he's still afraid to take off and run the same way he used to. When he does run, he nearly always looks to get to the sideline as soon as possible.
I think Exum will be slowly re-introduced to the game and Facyson will still get the majority of reps... I hope that they don't force Facyson out. Playing him at WR is not an acceptable substitute to him locking down the corner spot.
Exum will probably be 100% healthy, but it will take time for him to trust his knee again. I think it'll be all mental for him, but I'd think it will take more than a few games for him to be back to his old self again. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised.
That's where I was going with the RGIII comparison. He doesn't really look to break big runs anymore but aims for the sideline. It's a mental thing, worried about that knee. We see it with Coles worried about catching balls over the middle. I feel like Exum is not going to be effective in his first few games back. I hope he eventually is this season for the sake of his future, but I think everyone will have a bitter taste in their mouth if Facyson doesn't get meaningful time at corner and Exum falters.
Really hope it all works out, but I'd rather have Facyson on the field as it stands right now. Until proven otherwise, he is better than the Exum returning to the field this Saturday.
Upvote for the mental image of Mike London guessing wrong.
Exum needs to do the following:
1) Stop
2) Drop
3) Shut them down.
4) Open up shop.
DMX...a true literary genius
Am I the only one that views this as a net positive?
Is Brandon Facysun playing brilliantly right now? Absolutely. But it's not like he's twice the player that Exum was before he got hurt.
Assuming that Exum comes back 100% and is at least as good as he was last year, then this will only help the team IMO. Exum brings a physical presence to the corner spot that Brandon doesn't. Brandon has been all over the field in the secondary, but how many times has he made a great play by coming up and securing the edge of the defense? How many times has he embarrassed a WR trying to block him? He may not have had many opportunities yet... but maybe he has. Maybe he's left some plays on the field that Exum would have made. It's impossible to say.
Competition is ALWAYS good for non-QB spots. This is only going to make Facysun a better player down the road. Facysun is going to push Exum to play out of his mind. At the end of the day, Foster will do what's right for the program.
They better rotate them or I will be incensed. That's right, incensed.
i don't see why this is such a big deal. It will only be a big deal if exum is playing poorly and facyson isn't getting any time. The coaches will get them both on the field. They are two of the most talented young men on our team. Don't fret so much everyone.