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In terms of getting on the field (not starting over Ford, Phillips, and Hodges), it depends on how much Fuente is planning on rotating. I think Deablo could have an immediate impact on the screen game, so, while he is much bigger than what we traditionally think of as a slot receiver, his quickness and power gives them YAC on those quick screens. Fuente LOVES the WR screen game that functions similarly to a running play (goals is to get 4-6 and set up a positive down and distance.) Kumah is a little more polished as a route runner and can also help inside if called upon. I am still reviewing Denmark and Patterson.
Do you say "Vah - Tech"?
If the answer is "no", then welcome aboard. Gunner is all yours.
we still have the same glaring criticism we have had for 15 years about how Foster's defense prepares kids for the NFL
A huge issue that tends to get downplayed when brought up on any VT site.
Iowa State offered a kid with NO OTHER P5 offers to get his brother. Iowa State did that because they have been horrible in football for some time. They can just bring that kid in to sit on the sidelines to get his star brother.
Not saying nobody from this class will get playing time, and some may even get extensive playing time. But none of the freshman are going to start at either one of the two "starting" positions for wide receiver.
Iowa State could sell Bailey playing with his brother though, we couldn't because we didn't offer his brother.
Iowa State has a brand new staff as well, and we could not close against a team selling the same message in potential.
We did not have room to offer a quid pro quo scholarship. The kid wanted to play with his brother. There's not much we can do about that.
This is a real thing. I know twins, as well as people who lost their twin very early in life, and there's a connection there that never goes away.
No clue. If someone isn't sending a letter to VT today, I likely haven't spent time following him. I know next to nothing about O'Donnell except that he isn't coming to Blacksburg.
The loss in 2015 hurt but this one was really painful because where 2015 was lost because of lack of depth and talent. 2016 however was lost due to failure to execute fundamental basketball.
1) Failure to make shots at the rim. We missed 4 layups or dunks in the first half and 8 more of the same in the second half. 24 points left hanging at the end of the night.
2) Failure to manage the clock: On at least five of the second half missed attempts above, they came with over 20 seconds left on the shot clock. That doesn't include Allen's late three attempt with 27 seconds remaining on the shot clock that came immediately after an inbounds pass. He was frustrated the official didn't call a foul at the line and seemed to take the mindset of "I will show you official" and clunked it. That's almost a minute and a half. How important was that when we were up seven with two minutes to go.
3) Failure to remove opponents in foul trouble - Tech allowed their top scorer to stay in the game after getting his fourth foul with 5.31 to go in the game and yet we never managed to get him fouled out. He scored 7 of their last 22 points plus a rebound. Their second leading scorer managed to add a bucket and a rebound before he fouled out early in overtime. That's nine of their last 22 points from players with four fouls.
4) Piss Poor Stat Line of the Night: Jalen Hudson, (0-7 from the floor) 0 - 4 from behind the line. 2 points and 3 personal fouls in 18 minutes of play.
5) Running away from taking the shot in OT/3 Pointer as part of the game plan. On one of our OT attempts, the ball handler at the top of the key was stuck while at least four Hokies ran away. No one wanted to take the shot with about 50 seconds left in overtime. The one that infuriates me the most is Justin Bibbs because he is the only player on this roster that is consistent enough from outside. He also needs to be able to create his own shot consistently. There were too many times last night that Syracuse sagged off him when he had the ball at the top of the key at about 25 feet and not once did he step in and drain a shot. I am not saying he needs to consistently shoot from 25 feet or more, although if he wants to make the NBA, it would greatly benefit him to start to get to that range, but he has to be able to keep defenses honest. It seems he is only comfortable taking the catch and shoot type shot right now.
In terms of taking threes, we went 5-11 in the first half but only 2-10 in the second half from behind the arc. A big part of that was who was taking those shots in the second half and 0-3 in the extra time. In the first half, we were extremely patient and worked the ball around until they got an open look. The second half saw us rushing shots way to often, and not particularly from ideal locations on the floor in terms of angle of the shot to the rim.
You're only trolling if you don't have any leverage. The use of the word "trolling" makes no sense to me here.
And, brothers gotta stick together. We're cool.
I'm pretty sure that there's plenty of room for a third wideout in most of Fuente's scheme, without considering the TE's/H-backs.
I think he is a corner. However, if Wells doesn't sign, Fuente likely wants to find a waterbug slot guy. If not, perhaps Deablo gets a look there.
The best hire of the year, in terms of what I expected the school to hire.
Can I be the gunner on your zombie apocalypse tank?
This. I'm not one of the crazies calling for Fuente's job after two months. But recruiting will not be this staff's strong suit. Fuente is known as a great evaluator and developer of talent, and we are going to have to rely on his ability to build a team from the ground up into a winner with that formula.
We flat out missed head to head with a lot of recruits that we had a chance to flip. Iowa State has a brand new staff as well, and we could not close against a team selling the same message in potential. There's no way to spin that. The JUCO guys were huge, but Fuente had previous connections with them for a while now, and he won't be able to rely on JUCO guys at VT as much as he did at Memphis. Fuente and his new staff may become great recruiters over time, but they have a ways to go, and he will have to do what he does best to build a winning team and sell it.
My biggest concern is that we may have taken on the offensive equivalent Foster's defensive staff: great talent evaluation and development for a system that works, but an inability to recruit and close on elite talent. You're flat out going to have to recruit with the big boys in this day and age of college football if you want to be elite. Time will tell if we can get there. We need to win this year, badly.
It is. I wish Beckett's tackling and ranger were merged with Carter's frame.
Keep in mind- I anticipate some changing roles for the linebackers (including the whip.) The fundamentals will be the same, but, their alignments may change as Bud continues to modify his Bear philosophy. When folks talk about Shegog "moving to backer," I think it means we will see him aligned inside in the Bear, much like Jarrett did, while the backer stays on the field and moves to the field-edge/boundary edge. While Shegog will be inside, he won't be asked to fit. He will be playing a free hitter role, which is also ideally suited for Beckett.
I feel the same way about recruiting. I do, however, expect good things this year given our current squad. If we don't improve to at least 7-5 in the regular season with at least one win over a Top 25-ish team, I'll be disappointed. There's really no reason that we shouldn't be able to pull out that many wins with Ford and our stable of running backs.
I think what French keeps alluding to, and I agree, is that we have some guys on roster that are already developing very well. D'Andre Plantin has been getting great reviews. I guess it depends on what you mean by contribute, but Nijman and Plantin could very well be our starting tackles in 2 years. If Jackson pushes, that would mean he has developed very fast. I think it may take a little longer, but I'll defer to French
They probably pronounce that last tweet, "Vah-Tech".
Assholes. Nobody gets a ride on my M1 tank during the zombie apocalypse when I pass through Chapel Hill. NOBODY!
3 tech in the bear, 3 tech in 40. I like Hewitt allot as long as he gets off the ball and can get extension on D1 blockers. Different body type, but he has a Derrick Hopkins kind of feel for me. Also he reminds me a bit of Jamie Harless (the best D3 DT I ever saw) in terms of how he sheds blocks and finds the football. For those of you who know me personally, that is a high compliment.
Literally nobody because that would mean they beat out either Ford or Phillips for their starting spot.
I was more stating that Fuente uses his receivers a lot, thus not just ford and Phillips are going to get playing time. We will def go three wide at times and I'm wondering if any of these guys can come in and make an immediate impact. Plus cam was less than stellar this year, so if one of these guys can push him for playing time, that wouldn't be a bad thing