With the drama of recruiting for the final members of the class of 2018 being most of the focus of the Virginia Tech football world right now, it is pretty shocking how little information has come out about winter workouts. The spring has some huge storylines.
1) Is Josh Jackson "the franchise quarterback" or is someone going to push him for the spot? Is someone trying to be vocal and lead besides Jackson in workouts. Quarterback is such an alpha dog spot that if the younger players are deferring to Jackson in these workouts, I doubt they will be taking the reigns in the spring.
2) Behind Ricky Walker, who else can be a productive defensive tackle. Cam Goode won't be on campus until the summer, and Vinny Mihota isn't going to be healthy. Jarrod Hewitt and Xavier Burke were the most trusted "up next guys" yet were not really dependable. Dee Fullwood and Jimmie Taylor are there, undersized, and haven't broken through, and we have no clue what the Hokies have in Porcher and Glaze. With nine defensive tackles on scholarship, and only one was a trusted rotational guy, roster management with defensive tackle is a position where criticism is fair. Who is going to step up, and who will move on, should be big stories.
3) I would love to know more about what role Tyrell Smith will have. He pushed Wyatt Teller for playing time last year. He was earmarked to be the starter at right tackle before an injury opened the door for Kyle Chung. Now, left guard and center are open. Does Smith (who could be competing with Aiden Brown, DeAndre Plantin, and Austin Cannon for repetitions there) work at left guard? Does he return to center, where he would be the most senior candidate? Could he stay to compete at right tackle, where Chung may return and Plantin seems like a logical new starter after being tapped to work at left tackle when Parker Osterloh wasn't the answer. I have said for years I thought Smith would be an effective offensive lineman. This is probably his last shot at making me look like I know what I am talking about.
4) Of course, this is the first time we have seen both linebacker starters being replaced in a good while. Mike will be a little thin with Ashby and Kearny getting all the work since Artis (and Dax?) are not early enrollees. Reps will be tougher to come by at backer, with Dylan Rivers and Jaylen Griffin joined by Alan Tisdale (who could also start out at whip and move inside as he grows.) This will be wide open.
To tease some future evals, I watched the full Carolina's Shrine Bowl. Here are some teasers on how their performance impacts my reviews:
1) Tisdale moves really well. They moved him all over- wide safety (kind of like a whip), a stacked safety (lined up like 2 yards behind Dax against some formations), and as a true edge LB. He got a sack, had a nice force, blocked a punt, and either blocked or influenced an extra point into a miss. He has ridiculous closing speed even though he looks like he is just jaunting around. He looks like he is moving in slow motion and then the ball carrier is on the ground. That may be why some teams didn't evaluate him as highly as VT.
2) Eli Adams was rotating in and out at both 3-4 DE and nose for SC. He showed how quick he is, he can slant outside then bend inside to be unblocked. Of course, he struggles to hold up when an OL gets square on him. Gabe Gonzalez, a Hokies target that picked a different school, had a couple of nice blocks well.
3) DJ Crossen will not be a corner. He struggled to get out of his backpedal against curl routes. Expect him to transition to safety.
4) Kind of glad things didn't work out with KJ Henry. He has a ton of quit in him. Rick Sandidge on the other hand is a monster. I would do terrible things if somehow he had ended up in Blacksburg. He is ungodly good. I really hope UNC doesn't get him.
5) NC State has one hell of a class- very impressive RB in Ricky Person and a big WR named Carter that looked the part.
6) No comment on Dax unless Dax signs.
Comments
I have noticed the VT Twitter accounts really pushing JJ's stats this year and proclaiming a great future. Looks like if they thought there was going to be a new starter they would be hyping up the qb battle instead of only JJ. That's the only meaningless clue I have seen this winter.
I think "meaningless clue" is an apt description.
They're touting JJ's stats because JJ is the only QB with stats to tout. Those numbers are just as much (edit: more) about a big-up for CJF and the program as for JJ.
I say this because if there is not a vigorous QB1 competition this spring, I'll be very
pissed offfrustratedskepticalsurprised.
I may be a little biased...but give me Cam Goode in a number 4 jersey opposite Ricky next year!!!🔥🔥🔥
In all seriousness, I think that replacing Tim is going to be the biggest challenge on the defensive side of the ball and that is going to take some combination of the guys above all making large improvements in the off-season.
Evan Watkins mentioned to Andy Bitter that Dax's highschool runs an almost identical defensive scheme to Tech. He thinks Dax, while he would get here later if he commits, could still push for early time since he would be somewhat familiar with the system already.
Based on the video I have seen, it is a very similar system. Dax always aligns to the field, just like the mike.
Kind of glad things didn't work out with KJ Henry. He has a ton of quit in him.
I remember you saying something similar (not this exactly) about another 5*DE that we missed out on a couple/few years ago... Really glad we got Trevon Hill!
If that is regards to Sweat, I think it is a bit different. I didn't think Sweat was lazy. I just didn't think that he was a dominant has he should have been against the caliber of OL he was playing, with a dominant guy in Andrew Brown inside of him, and with his skillset. He wasn't lazy. He just wasn't a guy who understood how to physically assert himself. The injury compounded that.
Henry is a much better football player than Sweat was, and isn't quite as athletic. He played a 3-4 outside linebacker to the boundary. He made a few plays based on his gifts, but if the play was going away from him, he was mailing it in. I don't like seeing that at all. Some of the other sites have suggested that he may end up as a tight end. That wouldn't shock me, although his size and skill is a perfect DE in their system. Venables just won't put up with loafers in his system. Everyone runs, even their DTs.
Gotcha... This makes perfect sense.
Thanks for the write up!
If there were ever a season to Foster go to a 3-4 this would be it. Or the 30 defense? Shortage of DTs combined with solid numbers and talent at LB even though young, leads you to wonder. Also could be a contributing factor to the "Co-defensive coordinator" title for Scott as he may have experience in the scheme. I know this would be a radical shift but I'm sure we have guys that could pick it up?
There's more to a 3-4 than "more linebackers and less linemen." We don't have anything close to the defensive line personnel required to run a 3-4.
So we have the defensive line personnel required to run a 4-3 but not a 3-4? I understand there are differences. And I understand that typically teams who run a 3-4 use a large nose tackle. But the sheer lack of game ready bodies altogether on the defensive line will probably dictate more odd fronts than ever before and only 3 defensive lineman on the field at any given time, so you can call it whatever you want to call it.
If anything a 3-4 requires more DLinemen. The Defensive Ends in a 3-4 need to be big guys who can occupy linemen that would play DT in a 4-3. Our typical 4-3 ends would be 3-4 OLB.
The bodies that are available have all been taught and drilled the skills to fit Bud's unique 40 gap defense. 3-4 requires all three down linemen to be two gap guys. We don't have three guys that fit that description. Walker would be a DE in a 3-4. He is the only guy that fits any of those spots. They don't recruit to a 3-4 at all.
What about the 4th guy on the line being a LB. Is there that much difference in size between some of our bigger backers and a DE. Can Hill shift inside? Isn't Gaines basically LB size, you'd just be adding another guy about his size as a DE?
It will not happen. Bud might use an odd front situationally, and his DEs may stand up and shift from time to time. But, outside of their dime look, this is a 40 front team and will be as long as Bud is the coach. And even when they shift to some kind of odd front, the fundamentals and keys are just like their 40 front. The DL slants to the gaps and their edge guys force and spill as called.
I'm curious about your thoughts on our DE situation. Obviously Hill is a tremendous talent, and I have been largely impressed with him, after him we have an interesting situation. Mihota is injured (and may be forced back inside?), Gaines showed promise but he still seems very slight for the position. After that we have Proctor and Garbutt, both big time recruits but with the former making a full-time transition to DE, I'm worried he may end up in no-man's land in our scheme (I hope I am very wrong). Then we have your guy DeBose, where does he factor in next year? I know a lot of these may be "too soon to call" type situations but I'd love more insight as it feels like we have a ton of talent there but it still feels like a weird mix of players.
Nicely put - articulately sums up similar thoughts that have been stirring in my head.
Belmar impressed me in the same way Gaines impressed near the end of his freshman year. I hope to see Gaines make the jump Hill made this year, and Belmar make the jump Gaines made last year.
You left off 5) What WR steps up enough Farley stays on Defense, or does he triple switch? Reading so much about the switch on here has made that a key area of interest for me.
French, no one is giving QP any love. What gives? Realizing that we would live through another first year starter's ups and downs, his upside seems so much higher than JJ. Don't want to badmouth JJ, but I'd like to see someone else.
I think QP has serious talent, but his mechanics need a lot of work. By all accounts he is a great kid and has serious upside. However, I don't expect him to be in the starting QB discussion until his redshirt sophomore year. More to come- I have already completed the review on Patterson and the receivers where I talk about this in more detail. It will get posted soon.
Remember he is relatively new to football.
You forgot the /s. Also please submit to this Bitter's mailbag.
Seriously though there's been plenty of chatter in other threads about JJ's perceived upside and how soon QP will see the field (and subsequently when Hooker will transfer). I'll issue the same cautions as in other threads- Hooker was seen as the next big thing all of one year ago and was actually rated very, very comparably to Patterson (.89 vs. 90). A lot of people thought, and still think, he has the ideal skill set to run Fuente's offense. So it's somewhat ridiculous to disregard his potential already. Additionally, it's probably worth noting that Dwayne Lawson was a rated similarly (.899) and had a ton of hype as the next great QB, yet we saw how that panned out. Before that, Andrew Ford, while not as highly rated, received a massive amount of hype as the Gatorade Player of the Year in PA and invitee to the Elite 11.
In summary, there has been a ton of discussion on Patterson and we've repeatedly done this song and dance with incoming QB recruits over the years.
I don't go to the recruit nights because I would almost have a stroke every time someone would ask how soon the incoming true freshman QB would replace the incumbent. If you don't expect it, you can't be disappointed.
1. Just watch the elite11 from this past year and you'll see why people are excited.
Patterson is on a different level than both of them. His football IQ, intangibles and arm strength may be elite but nobody is touting his accuracy and his placement.
I think it's been unrealistic to think he can come in day one but I'd be surprised if he isn't talked about as pushing for the start rs-Fr with the real chance of starting rs-So. Knowing Hooker is also a very good quarterback and the future of that position looks very positive.
As you said....he will need time.
We are in a great position with Jackson,Hooker, and Patterson. Add the kid from Kansas and I love the depth and potential
I understand the premise but honestly, as I outlined, people are always excited about the next QB. Ultimately the Elite 11 is just a QB competition. If you look through the history of the participants and where they ended up, it's true that some great QBs participated. But it's also true that about half of them don't even have an impact at the collegiate level. I'm glad QP got invited and did well but it's far from a guarantee of success.
Steve Deberg almost beat Dan Marino in a similar skills competition in the early 90s. When the pads go on, everything changes. We won't know how things should shake out until we see them at game speed.