Recent Comments

He will run one back in bowl game...book it

Agree...it was the first TO that ticked me off. We're playing the best QB in conference with a young depleted secondary. The situation says we take the tie and are content to go in at half BECAUSE WE GET THE BALL TO START 2nd! Miami was basically conceding us a turnover more or less!

Once we called the first TO and they had the penalties and we stopped them on 2nd down, then of course you call another one because you're committed to trying to get it back. I'd have never called the first one, and no it's not second guessing, I was screaming at the TV "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?, just take the tie and get the ball to start the 2nd. If we'd done that AND then NOT asked Motley to throw on 1st down inside the Miami 25 when we were gashing them with the run, we'd have taken the lead 17-10 or 13-10, instead we'd given up the TD AND Motley threw the pick ON FIRST DOWN in the red zone and we continued to have to play catch-up when we should've been leading.

The situational coaching and play calling vs Miami is my #1 head scratcher. Crazy thing is 4 of our 6 losses were by 7 or less yet the Miami game feels like we handed that one over on a silver platter even though it ended up being a 10 pt final (remember we'd cut it to 3 then Miami horse collars Dadi with no holding call on a what ended up being a 40 yd kick-starter of a pass play for their clinching TD).
Ugh...I'm up at 4 AM with heartburn and decided to read a bit on here..,rehashing that didn't help the heartburn!!

Even the several 20+ yarders?
Even the rugby kicks he fielded that saved us 20 yds of field position?

He tried to do too much quite often, but Idk if we blocked a gunner all year

Competition and depth. Quality depth as well, Grimes recruits have some seasoning on them, we're returning 4 starters plus Yoshua. By my math we are returning guys that have started 86 games combined.
Hokieboner...

All three of them and Jackson will already be here for spring.

Pitt, Duke, and Miami all beat us this year. Yes if we are expecting to be better we would expect to beat them, but I don't believe our schedule is soft. Pitt is definitely improving, Duke has been tough under Cutcliffe, Miami is still a challenge and will likely be more so under Richt, GT always gives us problems, so does BC. UNC, Pitt, Duke, Miami, and GT are all already really good to fairly good teams, and most will be improving along with us. I think we can win 8 or 9 games next year, but it's going to be challenging.

Hell, the answers to these questions could be several columns. Short answer: If Nigel Williams can deliver the level of play that he showed from the Georgia Tech game forward, I think the defensive tackle position is solid. He was atrocious on the short snapchat films of defensive line work in fall camp and got passed up by Sobczak at one point. He is a key piece on the interior. Baron gives them some potential depth at defensive end if Foster wants to play a big defensive tackle mix. Sobczak will factor- remember he outplayed Ricky Walker and Tim Settle in fall camp. Both Settle and Walker are expected to be significant contributors. While there may not be one Luther Maddy or Cory Marshall, they have more depth and may be better at the point of attack.

As for defensive end- with so many spread teams that get the ball out quickly, edge speed is overvalued a bit because even guys with blazing speed can't always get there when the QB is throwing as he receives the snap. As I showed in this film, I thought that Mihota showed the ability to be disruptive even without great edge speed. Both he and Ekanem made plays that didn't show up as sacks.

Based on this year, I think the top three defensive ends will be Ekanem, Mihota, and Baron. Baron's name may be a surprise, however he gives Foster a smart, reliable guy who has twitch and will stand up. Nothing I saw on film this season makes me think that Seth Dooley can be relied upon as a contributor. He has the physical attributes, but he plays slow. I don't see it getting better, although I would be thrilled if I was wrong. I think Trevon Hill, provided he is healthy, has the ability to be a starter or a top back up, and I expect Gaines to give them some reps. The rest is up to them.

One thing to look for is for Foster to be more specialized in his fronts. If he is going to use some Bear front, playing Mihota as a three technique instead of one of the smaller ends was very effective versus UVA. Even if Mihota doesn't start, I could see him being the regular three technique DE with the other DE always aligning to the field side.

Re Minor- watching him in the spring and again the VERY limited window into fall camp, he looked a little too allergic to contact to play the backer position. In base and Bear looks, the backer is expected to set the edge often, and that requires taking on blocks. I think he has the ability to be an excellent backer or a James Anderson era style whip. I hesitate to say Clarke was a "stabilizing force;" in fact, his inconsistency was a huge issue at different points in the season. He was very good as an edge blitzer, but in other facets of the backer position, he had times where he fell woefully short.

The guy to watch is Carson Lydon. Against Purdue, he looked very comfortable at mike. He killed in on special teams as he got more and more opportunity through the season. And, while everyone including I had him earmarked for the mike spot, Lydon may get an opportunity at backer if Foster feels Motuapuaka is his best at mike. Edmunds and Moss both factor there too, but none of the three play the way Clarke did.

Mihota-Williams-Walker-Ekanem
Baron-Settle-Sobczak-Hill (love his film, and I have heard nothing but accolades about how the kids attitude is going to be a boon to the DL group)

Unrelated, this seems like an excellent opportunity to say "the average rooskie doesn't take a dump without a plan."

I'd be excited. There are a lot of younger players that have seen significant playing time.

yeah but if he was NFL ready he'd be the 1st TE in a weak class. Against the field overall I still can't see him going earlier than the 4th round. The NCAA pays for career insurance that's worth more than a 4th round pick's salary...

20 year olds don't always think long term though

We haven't seen Cline do anything in 2 years, yes we all hope he comes back to form but it is far from a sure thing.