The whole unofficial depth chart. #Hokies pic.twitter.com/JIuNQuBwLI— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) August 26, 2019
h/t to my guy caleb
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The whole unofficial depth chart. #Hokies pic.twitter.com/JIuNQuBwLI— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) August 26, 2019
h/t to my guy caleb
Comments
No Hoffman. Boo NCAA!
We got a depth chart fam! This week is only getting better despite Monday.
Kinda surprised Farley is in above Webb but maybe hes made a big jump in camp this year.
I'm not -- if anything i'd expect webb to be opposite farley instead of behind him, but definitely not ahead of him. dude's coming off two achilles tears
edit: stray apostrophe
Webb may work his way back into the starting lineup later this season, but the coaching / training staff are easing him back into full workload. He's getting lighter workload in practice compared to the other DB's and hasn't played a live snap in 2 years.
Farley is the clear #1 CB right now, it's Waller and Quillen that are more likely to get pushed by Webb getting back to full speed and shaking off the rust.
Interesting about the right side of the line. Lot's of buzz of a Dzansi RG, Tenuta RT combo.
choo choo here comes the chamarri conner hype train
First thing I definitely noticed. Have heard he will be getting plenty of PT, but still assumed Ladler would be the "starter"
French had a great take on it in his defensive preview. I'll almost bet that Ladler is subbed in on sure passing downs.
Bet you he isn't - he can cover. They desperately want an every down player at whip - helps with issues from last year.
Surprises:
Chamarri over Ladler at Whip
Webb not starting yet
James Mitchell "co-starter" FWIW
No clear RB starter
Kaleb Smith might get some snaps at WR
Im surprised Webb is on here at all, I had heard he wouldn't get much time in September, trying to ramp him up for second half of the season.
They love Kaleb Smith. Just got a scholarship
None of those are surprises except Simmons traveling over Pinckney. Conner has been the guy since the beginning of the spring. Webb is being easier back with his Achilles issue. Mitchell is going to play out wide while Keene will be the Hback. And, they love Smith and featured him prominently at the 2017 spring game.
Plus, this is a depth chart which would allow them to redshirt a bunch of very talented young WRs.
For what it is worth, I will believe TJ Jackson starts at guard when I see it.
sorry French I'm wrong
Believe!
8 true freshmen on 2 deep.
incl three DTs. Really hope they can contribute in an area of clear and obvious need. Even if each of them is getting 10-15 snaps a game, that will really help with keeping Hewitt, Crawford, and Porch fresh
Honestly, I'm expecting to see the staff evaluate them over the first few games and pick at least one to redshirt for the season, to separate them a bit down the line. You don't want to end up with a 2-deep full of seniors in a few years.
If we can get a QB that really rises to the top next year, our 2020 offense could be near the level of 2016. That's the feeling you get when you're only starting 2 seniors.
No Hoffman - Not a surprise. He is currently denied pending a favorable appeal.
Ladler got jumped by Conner. French nailed that prediction from a mile away.
Artis looks to be pushing Rivers for playing time.
Wheatly got buried at RB in depth.
Interested to see how Kaleb Smith steps up if Tre takes plays off.
Assuming Hunter has developed, last year's redshirt may be a blessing in disguise. He can back up a phenomenal player and has two hopefully productive years ahead of him.
Yea the logjam at RB is going to burst soon. Wheatley to Morgan State with his dad maybe?
I almost forgot about Wheatley. I was excited to see what he could do this year. It probably doesn't help that we have 47 RBs on the roster.
Still listed as a returner.
I was thinking that his biggest contribution would probably be in the return game. Also goes to show that they rate King pretty good if he's basically third in the pecking order.
Artis is better than Rivers at mike. Artis is a really good linebacker that has the bad luck of being behind the most secure starter on the team. His time will come. I just wish they could redshirt him to get a gap. But, I don't know what the special teams needs may be.
Kaleb Smith can ball.
Wheatley is too one dimensional. People got excited about his big jet sweep runs, but he wasn't making guys miss or running them over. Those were all really well blocked plays. To be a good RB, you have to get 4 when the hole says you should only get 1. I don't think Wheatley can give you that.
Is this possibly the biggest O-line we have ever had? Smallest is Hoyt at 305 lbs. And we supposedly value mobility. Gotta like that size/speed combo.
This was my first impression. I can't recall a Hokie team that averaged 300 across the line because we've always had the undersized 280lb center and the 290+\-5lb tackles. This whole squad averages 324!
BEEFY!
Doug Nester, 2nd string? Was that expected?
No and it may not play out like that I'd Dsanzi to RG so Tenuta plays comes to fruition.
I didn't think he would be as polished as Hudson, but I have heard rave reviews. Hopefully Harris, Nester, and Hudson get showcased on the right side week 2.
I'm surprised that Kaleb Smith is ahead of some of the highly touted freshman. Also surprised that L. Smith and TJ Jackson are the starting guards. 2 true freshman backing up Hewitt..Oui... Gonna be an interesting year.
Seems as if Kaleb Smith has earned his spot, and a few of those freshmen have only one fall camp under their belt. With new redshirt rules they'll get some burn, but i wouldn't be surprised to see a fair few of them wind up redshirting. That's the nice thing about having a deep position group
One the most telling things for me is that we only have two senior starters, Willis and Floyd.
It truly is Fuente's preferred archetypes at this point.
huh
360lbs of #BEEF at RG let's go!
On that depth chart, not counting specialists, I counted, Fr - 16, So - 15, Jr - 19, Sr - 4
My first thought..."Wow, I really wish Bud had at least 2 seasons left!" We should see big improvement this year compared to last, but he could really coach them into a talented and experienced unit with two more seasons. Instead, I worry that all the young talent will be wasted during a transition to a new DC and many of them will enter the portal to avoid the transition. And the timing just stinks given how good our Offense could be both this season and next with solid QB play.
Roster is clearly Fuente's now. These are his guys, let's see what he can do with them.
Our Oline is beefy. Our Dline is.....not.
This is going to be an interesting year.
Who tf is Kaleb Smith? Kid must have been a beast in camp to A) Work his way into a scholarship and B) Usurp a position on the 2 deep from a bunch of high touted young guys. Just quickly doing some research, comes from an athletic family- both of his parents were scholarship athletes at URichmond.
Congrats to Kaleb and the Smith family, must be the result of a lot of hard work!
Since this is a road game, I'm also guessing Smith plays on all of the special teams, which probably influences his place on the Depth Chart compared to the freshman, who may not be traveling until later in the year.
He was team mates with a 4 star guy that we wanted I forget his name.
Was it Brandon Smith? The DE/LB from Louisa County?
he was a preferred walk-on who was announced on signing day with the 2018 class (and because VT football tweeted his signing, it caused some initial confusion about whether he was on scholarship or PWO). I've heard some good things about him but was still a bit surprised he was on the 2-deep. Frankly though, I was more surprised to see Simmons though as I hadn't heard him mentioned really.
Dylan rivers spot either has me super excited about the other guys or concerned about him.
But this does not answer our biggest question. Who gets jersey #1?
My guess is Bud Foster convinced the NCAA he has one more year of eligibility left. Even showed them the lunchbox he takes to school everyday for the last 30 years to prove it. He will probably be a late addition to the Defensive line-up at nose tackle.
Answered on VT social media: Reggie Floyd
Wow at the DE depth on the "right side".
DE size and depth is terrifying
I mean seriously. I have hope for the future in the secondary and think our linebackers can be quite good. But the DE spot is a disaster. Can we move Barno or Rivers there? What about someone from the O-line room? I already think we suck at DE but if we lose 1-2 guys to injury there, we're beyond screwed
Jaylen Griffen didn't appear in French's breakdown, but here's a quote from Wiles:
"It's been a good move for Jaylen Griffin. We've made a living doing that – guys that are maybe a step slow and get them closer to the line of scrimmage. Jaylen's a great kid [and] got a football IQ. Things have come to him. He's strong – he's been able to eat. It was all he could do to stay under 250., and now he's 260 pounds and he's a 400-plus bencher [bench press]. He's strong, and he's getting better all the time. I'm excited about him."
Maybe a glimmer of hope...
Edit: props to hokiesports.com. Under the bio for any player they link the pressers and content where players are specifically mentioned. Subtle, but high quality detailed work.
The more and more I think about this after looking at the depth chart, the more I get concerned BC is just going to pound it down our throats all day long. I mean we lost Walker, so what's really going to prevent a repeat of Pitt, GT or BC from last year?
Last year ND exposed quite a few things in our D's ability to stop the run. Other teams followed that blue print and with how young we were, it was almost impossible to make in-game adjustments. Bud said all of that has gotten way better. He said that back in the Spring and reiterated it recently. Our gap fits will be better, our ability to make adjustments will be better, and our tackling should be better overall also. Last year, experience was the issue, this year it will primarily be depth at certain spots that is the primary issue and inexperience a secondary issue. Execution should be much better this year. There will still be lapses, but we won't get blown off the ball and be out of position on every play in the 2nd half of games.
Thanks for the insight. I really hope you are right. With A.J. Dillon fresh and ready for week 1, I'm going to get my number one worry about this team answered right away. We contain him and hey maybe 9-10 wins is possible. If we get gashed, 7-5 here we come
I worry about Dillon as well. The best way to mitigate the damage he can do, though, is to score early and score often. Our offense HAS to be able to score quickly and frequently in this game. It's the offense we've been waiting for and Fuente has had some time to get most of the right pieces in place. RB is a question mark at the moment but we have an embarrassment of riches at the WR positions. If Willis shows some improvement I think this offense could have potential to do serious damage to some teams. I think if we score on our first two offensive possessions, and at least three of our first five, as well as manage to limit BC to one or two scores in the first half Dillon's role will diminish with time.
If this game becomes a punt-fest, however, I'm not sure we'll keep it competitive much longer than three quarters. And we can't afford to trade blows either, IMO. We need to score first and hopefully we score twice before they do. At that point, I'm okay with going blow for blow with them. I just want to have that cushion first.
I agree, but at the same time projecting the season based on the result of the first game is not easy. Last year we beat FSU, and everyone was on cloud nine and feeling really good about our defense. Little did anyone know that "Lethal Simplicity" was lethally ineffective. Our D performed well below what anyone would have projected after the FSU game. In 2010, by the end of the season our D have improved greatly over the first half of the season. So whether we win or lose that first game, regardless of the D's performance, the overall identity of the D can change drastically by mid to late season. The test of AJ Dillon should serve as some sort of a barometer, but improtant to remember that it is just one game.
Until we read the review from French.
Last year's tackling woes made me wonder if we recruited a bunch of carny folk.
Fitting gaps properly and tackling. 2 things we didn't do last year. That won't be enough to shut them down with our talent, but it should he enough to not let them set records against us again
Walker obviously wasn't a difference maker when it came to stopping the run. (no knock on him - no player by themselves can stop the run). Our whole defense struggled to execute against power blocking run games that stacked the point of attack with extra blockers. Our linemen and linebackers routinely failed to squeeze the lanes, runners were spilled and DB's played the force and vice versa. Not to mention missing tackles due to poor technique and bad angles (resulting from late reactions, bad reads etc)
the key is that our defense is returning 9-10 players who should all have improved their understanding of the defense, their ability to execute the defense, and their physical strength and tackling techniques.
Belmar, Garbutt, Hewitt, Ashby, Hollified, Dealbo, Floyd, Farley, Quillen, Ladler
Totally agree. This is all about assignment football - mental ability to know what to do due to experience and practice combined with the physical training to do it.
We need to play with heart up front, but overall I am optimistic and see similarities to other defenses (ex. 2004 defense) for a rebound if our new leadership shows up.
This is the first year under Fuente that I haven't been surprised by any of the starters on the depth chart. Every position is exactly how I thought it would be as far as starters go, even whip. The backups didn't really surprise me either. I figured at one point or another Kaleb Smith would break into the two deep given how much praise the staff has given him. Webb not starting didn't surprise me either considering he's coming off two torn Achilles. I guess the one thing that did kind of surprise me was that Rivers is now being listed as a mike and not a backer. I figured he'd be second string at best, though.
I like the lack of surprises. It seems every season we've had some surprise on the depth chart, whether it was Wyatt Teller not starting, Devon Hunter not starting, etc. I think this means Fuente finally got what he expected out of his players this offseason. The players who were expected to take on first string roles did that, and there were no surprises behind them. Hopefully this bodes well for our season.
Last year, the depth charts they released were rarely ever accurate. I wouldn't be getting to worked up about this one.
I'm sorry, after seeing this title I can't get Big Head Todd & the Monsters out of my head.
i always think that when Andy goes on the Twitter Beat we get a Bitter Tweet
My condolences
I know, right?