Recent Comments

I noted this in another thread earlier in the week, but I really like Ford's film. As Joe said up above, great accuracy on his throws, especially on those seam routes. Great snap to his throw, good balance in the pocket, active feet. I would like to see him rotate the hips and shoulders a bit more on his throws; he sort of recoils, or tightens up when he releases, which can potentially cause arm trouble down the line. It puts a lot of strain on the shoulder. Plus, he might be able to get some extra zip on the ball if he improves the mechanics a little, because that recoil is likely a product of him "aiming" the ball as opposed to "throwing" the ball. The good thing is despite the recoil, he still shows great arm strength.

I'm really excited to get him into camp and see what he can do. With him, Bucky and potentially McMillian, there should be some good competition in the coming years.

The only lengthy film I have seen on Ford is on his Hudl page: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/594850/highlights/32897392

My first thought on Andrew Ford is that he has The best live arm of any quarterback that the Hokies have recruited this cycle with the exception of David Cromwell. He has real snap to throws and looks very accurate on 10-20 yard throws. He apprara to be extremely accurate, especially on the move, and he makes throws in a manner where he trusts his receivers and hits them in rhythm.

He moves fairly well, but seems to take his eyes off downfield for a brief moment when pressured then he resets himself. He doesnt appear to be supremely athletic, but he makes some plays with his feet.

That left handed release can be a blessind a curse. It requires an adjustment in your blocking scheme as right tackles become your blindside protection. Your receivers have to adjust to a different rotation on throws, and it changes your play-action and bootleg game. But man, the more I watch, the more I see that sharp wrist snap and that line drive accuracy, it reminds me so much of a Michael Vick throw.

Now, there are some challenges. EVERY SNAP on his film is from the shotgun, so it will require a redshirt year to teach how to play under center.

Second, he is 6’3… 6’3… 6’3. It is tough on a QB that throws the ball with low trajectory from a ¾ delivery when the linemen are taller, and Grimes will be recruiting guys 6’4-6’8 feet tall. He must adjust or use his movement to create throwing lanes.

This definitely takes the sting out of a rough recruiting week, especially if he is still growing. It will take him some time to get accustomed to being back under center, but you can tell he is a quarterback and not just an athlete with a good arm. He has command of his system and lots of confidence. You would be surprised how rare that is in a high schooler film.

I'm just glad he didn't call us Virginia Tech University

Great point. With Twitter and YouTube videos, there are no more "hidde gems" that do not get the exposure and hence are more likely to remain in state.

What are the current NCAA rules? only one post season in conference game? ACC could also bring in more cash this way. That's 8 additional games.

Pixelated UConn is the result of my fantastic photoshop skills haha

Would The Key Play be giving us a detailed film breakdown on Ford? (Please) :-)

And were on the board for a qb in the class of 2014 now no fret hokies, see we got one. welcome to hokienation Andrew!

5 MINS HOKIE NATION

So I just found out that my new neighbors are Bama fans. Maybe I should just plant my entire yard in these things. Until I can get them planted, other Hokie decor will have to suffice. Things may get dirty on 8-31...

I for one appreciate you sharing what you heard. If the name I heard is true, we'll all be happy.

haha --> Actually, there are a lot of SEC people here (For some reason) ---> I saw some LSU fans watching the bowl game against Clemson on their laptops in Starbucks. The expressions on their faces were classic.

hmm... this could be interesting. Switch a couple teams around at the start to set it up so that each team plays their primary rival as a permanent crossover, and then every year have one team switch divisions with its crossover opponent, or possibly 2.

This could be a really good solution to 16-team conferences: split the teams into 4-team "pods" based on rivalries, put 2 teams from each pod in each division, and have one pod switch divisions every year. Play 9 games: each of the 3 teams in your pod, and the half of each of the other pods that are in your division for that year. Swap 2 pods each year, in such a pattern that over any 4-year period, you play each team in your pod 4 times, and EVERY other team in the conference twice, one home and one away.

Sorry for the walltext, but here is an example I thought up below:

A1: Duke
A2: UNC
A3: NC State
A4: Wake Forest

B1: FSU
B2: Miami
B3: Clemson
B4: GT

C1: VT
C2: UVA
C3: Louisville
C4: [WVU, ND, some other addition]

D1: BC
D2: Syracuse
D3: Pitt
D4: [UConn, Cincy, some other addition]

The main downside I see from this is confusion from the divisions changing annually. I know while pretty much all of us know who is in the Atlantic or the Coastal, there's a lot of fans out there who really don't know yet, and pretty much everyone outside of the ACC probably doesn't care (can you name who's in the Leaders division? Didn't think so.)

Thoughts?

EDIT: revised table for readability

EDIT2: Table looks different in Preview than in thread, there's actually space between the columns in preview. Another edit to try to make it better in the thread.