Recent Comments
We have to replace 70% of our offensive production.
We had offensive production? <----sarcasm.
Very true. The parity in the ACC Coastal is impressive, and the chaos this year was really fun to watch unfold. I guess it really comes down to a few factors this year:
1. Can we maintain the same record or better?
2. Can Duke repeat their success? You'd better believe we will not take them lightly.
3. Is GT in turmoil?
4. Is Da U ever going to come back?
1998 was the last time I was so concerned about a VT season.
I anticipate the QB situation will be a full on dumpster fire next year. Leal will start and fail and then the debate will rage. I have said it before, but we haven't had this much QB uncertainty since the Grant Noel year, and really, there wasn't uncertainty there, just a lack of talent and options. And as bad as Noel was, he completed 57% of his passes for 1826 yards, 16 TD's and 11 interceptions. I'd take that in a heartbeat from Leal.
The RB situation isn't much better. Our best RB won't be ready until August, and how many times have we seen August returns become October returns recently? I've been a big fan of JCC, but I've officially lost faith there. He can play a role, but we need to figure it out. We may need to pump the brakes a bit on Williams, he could be more Humes than Evans. I don't expect Shai to play next year. Reid could be the wildcard. But, overall, its tough to say with confidence that the RB position will be dramatically improved.
Same for WR's, we have three guys who are solid yet unspectacular. If we can get Harrison and pair with Phillips, our WR's could be dramatically improved. But we could also lose Harrison and have a key injury or two and be in big trouble.
OL should be better, but we will likely be doing some shuffling. TE's look better (Cline+Malleck+Bucky could be a great trio).
On defense, I've got serious concerns about DE. Now we're hearing that Marshall still has some uncertainty. Dadi has never played every play. Ekanem is untested. Alford, Roth and Dooley are all total unknowns. Mihota is hurt. Hopefully we can add Bronson to the mix. But that's a potentially huge dropoff from 2013. At DT, Maddy + Williams + Baron backup up by Walker and Nnadi feels great. But, honestly, Nnadi is a big part of that confidence.
LB also has a ton of uncertainty. The Vandyke boys have been injured quite frequently in their careers, I believe both had shoulder problems in HS. Shoulder problems in LB's isn't good. I think Chase Williams will be solid, but Clarke has issues that need to be resolved. I'd like to see Fisher on campus so we can know he could be the Whip (or Rover) of the future. But the word "clearinghouse" is always a warning sign.
Love the DB's. And the punter.
Big concerns with kicker and returners. We have to get better at returns, this year was an unmitigated disaster.
So, yeah, 7-5 and 4-4 is about right. We could lose the bowl streak next year.
Tech usually does better under Beamer when they are expected to struggle. I think 2014 could be one of those years. I'm not expecting it, but I wouldn't count it out as a possibility.
I don't see ECU winning in Blacksburg honestly. I think @Duke could be a loss however.
Auburn had outdated FSU codes that were still being used.
Immediate thought when I read this: "It's an older code, but it checks out."
Exactly - the problem isn't on Auburn for noticing and taking advantage of the organization's lack of encryption - it's on FSU for failing to protect their playcalls. Now if a school is doing something like sneaking in and stealing notes or something, then it's a different story - but this is totally different. Auburn had outdated FSU codes that were still being used.
Fair point, maybe I just consider it cheating because of how my brother reacted to me watching his screen whenever we played 007 Goldeneye on our N64. The information was there, why wouldn't I look? Apparently I was cheating.
I'm willing to bet the vast majority of recruits' families would smack em upside the head Mama Fuller style if they passed up a free college education to go to some minor league football institution in the hopes of having a chance to play in the NFL for 6 years. Then what? As it is, college football provides exactly that, plus an option after retirement/if football doesn't work out.
*EDIT* realized I didn't really answer the question, and I'm not sure how to. I don't play a varsity sport, and I still go to school, so yes?
As an Auburn fan, I have little doubt that Malzhan and Co. would take advantage of this. Part of the game IMO.
The interesting part is that it took Jimbo Fisher almost a half of football to figure it out and his solution was to have someone stand in front of the signaler with a towel to cover him up so Craig couldn't see the play being called. I though this was standard operation procedure for most teams, and was shocked when I saw that Jimbo wasn't doing it for almost a half of football. It's akin to the pitcher covering his mouth when talking to the catcher in baseball IMO.
It's not cheating or sketchy, it's being smart. If you have an assitant watching the other teams signals and they notice that when a picture of Bob Barker comes a receiver always runs a certain route you use that to your advantage. If that's cheating then so is adjusting because they line up in a certain formation. That's why teams change most of their signals week to week.
Yes, had FSU lost I'm sure he would have had a problem with that and some choice words for the ex-FSU QB coach as well. All about perspective.
2014 is practice for 2015/2016 back to back Championship runs.
"I didn't have a problem with that"
translation: "We won mofo's, so nothing matters"
Googling "Virginia Tech practice facility"...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/virginia-tech-gets-approva...
Gabbard's "optimistic" projection is that site work will begin in early 2014 and the indoor football facility will be completed in time for the 2015 football season.
As Franklin's contract is private it's very hard to find details but from what I read on Vandy message boards and comments about Franklin's extension is that the buyout was 20 million in 1rst year of extension and then would go down year by year after that.
Since the extension was in Dec 2012 the first year has come and passed, so now it would seem the most Penn St would pay for the buyout is 11 million. If #sources are true of course.
I guess we will have to play the games to see.
Depending on which Coastal teams we lose to, 8-4 can get you into the ACCCG. 6-2 gets you there, and 5-3 might too.
It's too soon to say for sure.
Positives:
- Our O-Line is improving
- Our receivers have improved dramatically
- We have the best recruiting class we've had in sometime
- We have a weak schedule (minus OSU)
Unknowns:
- Who's our QB? Will he be any good?
- Can we find a workhorse back? Or even a 1000 yard rusher (Just think, this used to be a given each year...)
- Can we replace our Jack, Kyle, James and Derrick?
My all too early prediction: Losses @OSU, ECU, @UNC, ACCCG, maybe bowl game.
I agree with him, if we get above 0.500 next year it will be a success. There will be a new QB and with LT3 gone, I think it will show how much he mattered to the team. Sure we have some good recruits coming in but it's their first season in CFB. Not only that, but we wont have a championship caliber defense to ask to bail us out almost every game.
Then again, Leal could surprise us or Durkin and Ford could too if they start. Add in the running game getting going after a few games it could be better than I think. There's just much less margin for error next year and offensive blunders are going to felt a lot more.
I think that's a fair assessment. Obviously I hope that we have a much better season than that but I'm not counting on it. We have some holes to fill on Defense, particularly at LB. I'm not really concerned about Defense, as Bud has been around a long time and always seems to reload. Offense is the big Question Mark. We have to replace 70% of our offensive production. I think many of us are pleased with the direction the Offense is headed and we're optimistic about the future but it's going to take a lot of time to get there. When Willie Byrn says we're really going to feel the effects of losing LT that doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence in Leal. I don't know if we can expect much from any of the QB's we'll have. I'm hopeful that Ford and/or Durkin will develop into terrific QBs but they're going to be true freshmen next year...what can we really expect from them? Our running game needs to be fixed in a hurry to take some of that pressure off..but I just don't know if that will happen. If we couldn't get it rolling at all this season what's to say things will magically change next season?
I think it will take at least another full year for Loeffler and co. to get this offense running smoothly...the previous regime really left an ugly mess to be cleaned up and it's not going to happen over night. I'm going to support this team no matter what...through thick and thin...and I'm really hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I just don't think we can count on a 10 win season this year...but don't let that discourage you from rooting for the good guys every Saturday.
Go Hokies!!
Word is he'd be eligible to enroll this summer and the door is open if he gets his stuff in order. Not saying he'll be a Hokie for sure, but it's definitely still an option.
Additionally, I'm just trying to say that the possibility of Harris enrolling isn't just coming from some bum on the street. I'd say the guys at 247 are fairly credible. Trying to sell subscriptions, yes, but they seem to be right more often than they're wrong.
Happily, yes. Unhappily, the staff of our biggest competitors for Nnadi's services, FSU, remains intact. Alas.
I guess that depends on the perspective, though. We may still be offering a scholarship, but how likely is he to enter into the program behind 7 (is that right?) scholarship RBs? He was our stud recruit a year ago, but now the program has sort of moved on.
I would agree with this totally, but our schedule is what encourages me. Considering what other Coastal teams are losing and who we play in 2014, 8 wins is once again very feasible. Of course, I thought that in 2013 when I thought Miami, GT, and UNC would be the teams we would lose to, but oh well.
The schedule sets up for 8 wins heading into bowl season.