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Dammit, who's cutting onions in here?
So, a couple of quick thoughts based on comments and discussions
1) Conte was moved back to right tackle. The Hokies are unique in that they usually line up their best pass rusher (stud end) over the right tackle rather than on the blind side. Conte gave up at least two of the sacks to Gayle, not McLaughlin (although McLaughlin may have struggled in other matchups, we will see soon enough.) As a hole, it isn't suprising that the offensive line struggled. Guys are playing in new positions, with new players next to them. Communication will be a challenge, especially with pass protections. At the same time, all comments indicate that the compete level for the OL was vastly improved. Mental mistakes happen, but it is the plays where it doesn't appear that the violator had the right compete level that really seemed to have set Grimes off. Along that front, reports are that Wang got hurt and Arkema struggled. Who took advantage? Well, my eyes on the ground tell me that Adam Taraschke got a ton of work with the starters at both guard positions. Could he be the suprise of the group?
2) One of the most impressive films for the 2012 recruting class was the highlight reel for Woody Baron. Baron greyshirted after a high school career where he was incredibly productive. I have heard that he isn't athletic enough to play end in college, but at 260 pounds, perhaps too light for tackle. Well, I saw ole number 60 out there with the number 2's next to Kris Harley. Has he moved ahead of Nigel Williams to be the fourth DT in the rotation? Keep an eye on that battle.
3) Fullback really seems to be a flux position. I have seen the Hite kid get a bunch of snaps with the ones, but there have been numbers there that I can't even find on the roster getting snaps with the number 1's. It will be very interesting to see who wins that job, as the inside zone with a fullback lead seems to be a bread and butter play for this staff.
4) It will be awhile before he is a contributer, but I am glad I don't have to tackle Dakota Jackson. That kid is a LOAD at tight end. Every time I see a highlight of him getting hit, I hear loud noises and see DB's bounce off of him.
5) I am looking forward to seeing Brandon Faycson in person. I plan on devoting a significant amount of my spring game analysis on the young defensive backs, and it sounds like he is the guy stepping up.
6) All the highlights from prior scrimmages have two things in common: 1) Josh Stanford gets targeted much more than the other receivers *see the Corey Fuller effect and 2) Trey Edmunds demonstrates speed, sharp cuts, and a knack for taking a two yard run and turning it into a 4-6 yard run. He finishes runs. I really like JC Coleman, but Edmunds is that classic workhorse style back that Loeffler grew up with as a young coach at Michigan and featured at Rutgers and Auburn.
This is the blog post that let me know that Andy was worth following.
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/which-players-came-outside-virginia-tech...
Since he is relatively new to the program, it makes for some interesting writing since he isn't looking through the rose colored glasses that many of us wear.
make sure to follow him on twitter. always good hokie stuff
I don't remember him even being targeted. I didn't do a good enough job of watching to tell if he wasn't getting separation or if he was just the 3rd option. I do remember one play with the #2 offense where we ran a bootleg with Leal. Caleb had a post 1 on 1 with Riley (I believe it was Riley) starting on the left side. He didn't give it his full effort unfortunately.
It's great to see you here Andy! Thanks for joining in and sharing your work. You've become the go-to writer for VT info for most of us here, and I'm sure that the TKP community is excited to have you as a member.
Saw a few pictures on hokiesports.com, and it looked like there were about as many fans there this evening as LOLUVA had at their spring game. Anyone who was there have an estimate as to numbers?
Anybody know how Caleb looked?
I didn't expect to see you on here Andy! Thanks for sharing your stuff!
Thanks for the great work Andy!
For example, watch this series vs Cincinnati. This was a very, very rare instance in which Holmes actually had decent blocking. (The drive starts at 18:40, tried to embed it at that time but couldn't get it to work)
-He opens up with a nice outside run, doing a good job of reading the TE's block and bouncing it outside rather then cutting it in.
-The next run is the best one, off some counter action. He hits the right hole, then makes the MLB miss one-on-one, then sets up his blockers very nicely to get some extra yardage.
-Next run is a zone run to the left, he again finds the right hole, puts his foot in the ground and cuts it up. A lack of second-level blocking limits the run to a six yard gain.
-Next run he follows his FB into the hole. The Oline can't seal the nose tackle, and he comes all the way across and gets on Holmes's legs. Holmes's power allows him to take the hit and keep going without his balance for an extra 3 yards. JC Coleman doesn't get that yardage, and instead of 3rd-1, it's probably 3rd-3.
-His next run is for the TD. This is a good one which I think really showcases his value inbetween the tackles. He gets good blocking, but being in the Endzone there aren't the numbers to block everybody. Holmes is going to have to make a play... Which he does. A safety meets Holmes in the hole, and Holmes punishes him. Look at the way the Safety drops to the ground, getting the worse of the exchange. Holmes deals the pain, keeps enough balance to spin, and then lunges backward across the Endzone. JC Coleman doesn't make that run for a TD.
Edmunds may be able to put a drive together like this. Not sure, haven't seen enough of him. But I know Holmes can, and I know that he'll only get better the more carries he gets. Holmes will contribute if he gets good blocking.
love this on so many levels. keep up the awesome job and thanks for sharing!
Thanks Andy! We've all been fans of your work since you joined the beat and we're glad you're here.
Agreed. From the tweeting of just about everything football related to the chats and now this. Coverage is excellent. Thanks Andy!
I agree. Andy, thanks for all your hard work and great information. Welcome to TKP!
I Concur
Ever since Andy joined the Virginia Tech beat, he has gone above and beyond to enage the Hokie fanbase and his readership with the best information about the football team. I am thrilled that Andy has offered to post some of his material here. They are must reads for any Hokie fan who wants to be in touch with the workings of the football program.
If Edmunds doesn't get the starting job for some reason, I expect Holmes to have the majority of the carries next season.
The only reason JC had a higher Yards Per Carry then Holmes last year was because of the Duke game, a game in which JC had 11 more carries then Holmes. Duke was also the worst YPC defense Tech faced all year, so the stats were skewed in JC's favor. If you take just two of Coleman's longest runs of the year away (both against awful Duke) then they have the same YPC. Plus, JC had the advantage of being used more in the only running plays that worked last season, the outside runs.
Holmes has the best vision on the team, he is the second strongest of the RB's behind Edmunds, Holmes doesn't have great speed but he has enough speed to be a top ACC quarterback. He'll contribute if he gets the shot behind a good OL. Last year, he had zero shot. The scheme he was used in (combined with the awful blocking) and his nagging injuries doomed him.
Watch some of the "All snaps of the game" film that billdozer has posted. Whenever he has a hole to run through, he takes care of business.
Okay, I'm going to post several thoughts.
I was at the spring scrimmage from start to finish.
*Edmunds is making the case he is the starter. J.C. got the majority of reps as the presume starters, but it was Edmunds making the big runs.
*Michael Holmes has not been impressive, frustrating me, and he only made one monster run. However, on the next snap, he reverted to east-to-west running which went for a loss. He does not have the explosion to outrun tacklers. I think Shane needs to bury him deep on the depth chart.
*I was very, very impressed with Roddy, the 3rd string quarterback, and if he can add some muscles to his frame, work on his mechanics, I think he could be a quarterback down the road.
*James Gayle is nasty. I mean, as nasty as Judge Dredd meeting The Terminator.
*The secondary are going to go through some growing pains. Logan Thomas got one of them to bite on a pump fake, leaving Stanford wide open for a monstrous gain, and later, Thomas connected with Knowles on a deep ball.
*Logan Thomas had some trouble with deep passes today for two reasons: 1) the receivers were often well-covered, and 2) the receivers had trouble hanging onto his ball.
*Loved seeing Moorehead emphasizing to the receivers they needed to plant their feet before catching the football.
*At one point, Grimes got so P/O at the offensive line for two straight tackle for loss, he poked one of the OL in the chest. He is as intense as advertised. Even Ryan Pugh got animated.
*Scot Loeffler used a lot, I mean a lot, of unbalanced line looks from the I-formation, Ace, and shotgun.
*On the very first snap, they lined up in an empty set out of shotgun before Logan Thomas made a change and they went into an I-form with a flexed H-back, I think.
I think there was two plays where they actually lined up in a full-house formation that actually made gains.
I strongly encourage the TKPers to make it to Saturday's scrimmage.
Lets make Lane Stadium so full that UVa oozes with jealousy.
Serious question: what gives anyone any faith in Michael Holmes? His high school film is bleh, he doesn't do anything exceptionally well, and he was pretty average last year. The only thing I can really think of is James Gayle hyping him up that one time and people getting excited about that. Not trying to rag on the guy, but I would be pretty surprised if he ended up with more carries than JC or Edmunds.
I heard that Frank said Tyler missed the scrimmage bc he had class
Hopkins looked good on defense. Had quite a few TFLs/little/no gains. Edmunds was definitely the back of the afternoon. Coles was consistent and looked good. JCC didn't contribute much running, but looked good on passing routes. Holmes looked a lot improved. Gregory wasn't dressed out. McCray is still out with concussion symptoms. Malleck caught a couple passes, nothing too big. Stanford seemed to be the target of the afternoon. He was getting open, but didn't catch a few he should have. The offense overall struggled. Logan threw a few picks, one to Fuller and another on the 2 (can't remember who picked that one). The QB's still aren't getting much time in the pocket, which led to some of Logan's errant throws. Gayle drew some boos after shoving Leal to the ground after a pass attempt. The D looked good though, a lot of pressure up front, which is expected. Overall, a good first open scrimmage. A lot of hustle on both sides of the ball, which has been stressed in practice.
I don't care who does it but I want to see one running back contending for ACC POTY.
To be very blunt:
Scot Loeffler is very loud.
James Gayle is a monster.
Trey Edmunds can ball.
we gettin big time tkp'ers!