Recent Comments

Everything from that game. 2 returns, plus Macho decapitated Jacoby Ford on a bubble screen. Flowers had a sick hit in that game as well

looks cool. i think icy-orange and clear crimson look a little more hokie though. i'm really tempted to buy these

I'm with you French, I think he can start at either guard spot. Watching those two spring scrimmages obviously doesn't mean that much...but neither Wang nor Benedict set the world on fire.

hear hear

And maybe some day, he will become a Million Dollar Man of his own

but you all make a compelling argument, and having another talent like Adibi would/will be fantastic.

This reminds me of when Cornell Brown announced his decision with the words, "I will be going to the University of Virginia...Tech." Just delightful.

Via can play every position with the exception of left tackle. In my mind, he's the "sixth starter", meaning he'll play a lot of snaps on a predetermined rotational basis. I think he'll play where we're the weakest, so here's how I feel about the line, beginning with the most confident on down.

1. Andrew Miller -- Has a season starting under his belt.

2. Becton -- Played half the season last year, been on the field the last two years, doesn't have turf toe, looks lean and apparently has gotten nasty.

via TSL

Painter had a better way of describing Becton’s on field transformation: "He started playing like somebody's stealing his car."

via Mark G

3. Wang -- The Coaches have done nothing but rave about him, and he's got the bloodline. However, he hasn't had the opportunity to prove himself against great–elite competition on the field.

4. Painter -- He has the most upside. The coaches said the light went on during spring, but like Wang he hasn't done it on the field. If it did click for him, he has the potential to be an early draft pick.

5. Benedict -- A mean old dawg, see what I did there? The coaches knows his weakness, he can't block in space, so they conceded to move him inside to guard. He struggled a bit with pass protection in the spring, but he's in a new system, so I hope it's the learning curve.

If the starting five are solid, perhaps Via gets every 1/3 series from at right tackle and right guard. If Benedict struggles, it's still possible Via beats him out for the starting job, same goes for Painter at tackle. That's not a good scenario, because if Benedict and Painter aren't on the field at right guard and tackle, respectively, they're on the pine. They don't have the versatility Via has which is why he's so valuable. In order to be successful against the elite competition (think FSU with a defensive line as deep as our's) we need quality depth that doesn't just play because of injuries. Caleb Farris having a breakout camp and earning playing time at guard would go a long way to solve that problem too.

Last 5 star DB we had was Macho, and I remember how excited I was. I am about 5 times more excited about Fuller. His film is excellent and I think Torrian Gray will have him ready to play right away.

This may be a little bit off subject but what adjustments did Stanford make during halftime of the OB that basically allowed them to shred our Defense? We were stopping them pretty good in the 1st half. Also why wasn't Foster able to adjust?

NICE!

I agree that a coach and playcaller's responsibility is to put the players in the best position to succeed on every play. They have a feel for the game to call the right defense at the right time. BUT, they don't stray from that basic formula. Bud Foster has countless blitz designs, but the basic goals and fundamentals are the same on each one. He has run the same two core defensive coverage schemes (robber and 4-4G) since 1993. It works.

Teams that have long term success are sound fundamentally and have 100% buy-in to the system to go with great athletes. Alabama, Stanford, Oregon, USC... those schools don't trick anybody. Hell, Oregon's offense TELLS you what running play they are running based on their formation, but they execute so well that it is almost impossible to stop.

The counters and wrinkles are used only to supplement your fundamental core system. If you become dependant on them for success, you lose identity. It is a huge problem (as we discussed all last season) with the Hokie offense.

I may be the minority in this opinion, but I am convinced that power formations like the I formation stopped being run by college teams NOT because they stopped working when executed, but because the kids (who had grown up playing Madden 2000 where they ran around the end and threw post corners all day) didn't buy in to the concept that 3 yards and a cloud of dust would work. The sharpness was lost, defense started dominating, and then HIGH SCHOOL COACHES started incorporating the spread. High school coaches initiated the change and college coaches followed suit because they were getting players whose skill set fit that system. A great example is Chad Morris, who was coaching high school football in 2003.

Nevertheless, we see old school systems that work. Georgia Tech runs the option effectively. Clemson, Auburn, and Ohio State are now running the single wing, which hasn't been used in college football since the early 50's. Stanford lines up and runs Pro I and 3 tight ends like a boss. If you get buy in, you have excellent fundamentals, and you have great athletes, and you will win.