Recent Comments
Just a little gossip for everyone to read. I love recruiting season and signing day and have ALOT of credible resources and I have been hearing Caleb is really starting to lean towards WVU. Take it for whats its worth. I just thought I would let you guys know whats going on. I have heard this from at least five diffrent people this week, all of them from the Richmond, D.C. area. Hopefully Lil Beamer can get in there and close this kid out. He would be agreat fit in Blackburg. Also watch out for Edmunds this kid is going to be a beast no matter what position they put him at, All-ACC in 2 years mark it on your calendar no shit. Anyone else have any juicy recruiting information or rumors? Usually where there is smoke there is fire...
Saying we want it isnt enough. I think its the where that will move us forward. The defense seems to have the most clout with star power that translates into effectiveness on the field. We haven't had much issue in obtaining or develop top talent in the secondary or LB corps. My issue is finding hog mollies in the trenches. Bama's defense was so stout because they had HUGE fellas WITH speed. One of their LB's was able to transition easily from OLB to DE in various packages without problem. No wonder their DC is the highest paid Asst Coach in CFB.
Injuries are what killed our D-line this year in losing Battle and Hopkins very early. Sure, our guys stepped up but matching a DT at 200lbs soaking wet vs a 300lb guard is an uphill battle. I love the fire guys like Maddy have in back up roles, but sending him in there out of necessity isnt fun to watch.
Out of everything though, I feel most confused by who we obtain for the offensive line. This is not a knock to our current or previous group by any means. I think they have done a great job of molding into their respective roles. Nonetheless, WHY do we make TE's become OG or T's? Taking in talent at their natural position is the way to move forward. A TE assuredly knows how to block and read defenses but how great are some of these guys at "finishing the play"? Knowing when to engage in protection versus shedding a tackle to pick another in the second level is far more impressive.
I love that our program can develop 2 and 3 * players very well. But that's only enough to win the Coastal division. If we want to compete on a national level we need to bring in more (already) talented players. We constantly boast that we can evaluate and develop the lower level HS recruits, but then what does that mean we could do with more 4 and (gasp) 5 * guys?? I'm not saying we aren't trying, i'm sure (i hope) we are. I like the guys we've snagged from south FL lately, so why not more from NC, MD, SC...? Fighting for the top VA guys and then losing them to schools from outside the region isn't going to cut it. I think Shane Beamer is a great addition and hope he can bump up our recruiting a bit. Who wouldn't want to be a Hokie?! Look how awesome we are at TKP!
We're a southern football school in a basketball conference. Once 'Cuse and Pitt enter it will be that much more evident. As Joe pointed out, thanks to Seth's help our institution actually cares about the sport and won't let it drop to the perennial bottom dweller. Hell, the guy is even trying to bring in top talent to compete with the bigger dogs out there.
Nonetheless, as a Hokie football fan it is disconcerting to watch the premier sport blow its bowl game then languish on a flip flopping basketball team you had little interest in to begin with. This year i'm trying however. If you don't already follow @hokieguru shame on you. He had a stint at Georgetown (an actual basketball school) but loves the Hokies equally. Thanks to him I actually got fired up about the team this time around.
As a fan of Virginia Tech bball (as much as one could be considered a fan when entering VT in 2004), I have thought for most of this season that this year (or, possibly, next) should be Seth's last chance. I understand everything he has done for the program, and I greatly appreciate it, but at some point a program reaches a plateau, and with everything our athletics dept has done to make his job easier (namely, the $21mil facilities), he really hasn't repaid it with quality teams.
I was there for that Duke game in '05. I saw us take down #1 UNC in '07. Our program has done so much more than I ever imagined when I got to Blacksburg in 2004 and bought student season tickets. The Cassell wasn't full for 75% of those games, and, usually, it's pretty full for all ACC bouts these days. That's a huge change in culture, and Seth is to thank for it, but this season will be one-too-many mediocre years with lots of talent, and I think he should be on a very short leash.
All that said, I really hope this team comes together. Sadly, I just don't see it happening.
Dude i was at Tech from 97 to 02 and had the same experience. I went to every home football game for 5 years plus the Nat'l Championship game, but only 2 men's B-ball games. Heck i went to more women's games! But i had to since the Corps of Cadets started going to up the attendance and such, they were pretty good then. I remember commenting that i would put money on our women's team beating the men's. BUT, i have gotten into it a bit since they started actually competing. As a Hokie i'll back any VT athletics if i can of course (Bass fishing championship!). I find myself watching the games once it's nearing the end of the season though, since everything is coming down to making the tourney or not. I NEVER watch the NBA though, so i'm ok with this since i'm into it for the Hokie factor. I really hope we can recruit and pick up the pace in the future.
"We sucked and we had sucked long enough to where the average student, myself included, wasn't interested in Hokie basketball.....Football was and is my passion. I understand that game, or at least I like to think I do. Aside from a two-game stint in a church rec league I never played organized basketball. I rarely played in pickup games or threw down on horse."
This pretty much defines me right now. Got some friends that are really into Hokie Basketball, but it just isn't my jam....
The real problem I have with the team right now, all other things aside, is not taking shots that are in the offense. If you take away most of our bad shots, we could be 2-0 in the ACC. But we still have real problems rebounding, boxing out, and turnovers. Those kind of things could doom this team.
I played basketball for a number of years, but had to stop due to concussions (why I wrote the concussion article last year) and grew up loving basketball. Even from my relatively short basketball career, I still knew what shots to take. You learn that from leadership from both the Coach (Greenberg is doing his job) and experienced players on the team. That is where I think this team has a problem. Zo needs to step up his leadership and show the freshman and sophomores what shots to take. Green needs to do that as well, as he is a junior and our starting PG. This season can still be a good one. We must play every game like it is our last from here on out. No one can be taken lightly.
Considering that 60% of the points graduated last year.
If we lose to BC though...
he is certainly wanted, but no one has ever felt he was tech's to lose. he has played it quiet and not shown his hand.
ND hasn't been recruiting him as actively as tech since his injury. ND see's him more as a backup plan...but vt has been recruiting him strong even after the injury. should be considered a tech lean as of right now.
I don't follow recruiting hardcore so I didn't know if this was a guy VT has been expected to get all along.
disappointed sure, pissed why?
without even going illegal ...
tradition, championships, player development for their top guys who are gone in 3 yrs with the top coach in the sport.
Bama pays more?
How pissed should I be?
Everything about that game screamed Virginia Tech. We were as loud as I have ever heard Lane. LT3 played a great game, David Wilson got going, and the defense made plays when we needed them. Beamerball showed up, when we stopped the fake FG and the 20 yard QB blast at the end was fantastic. Not to mention what I heard after the game, the greatest quote to come from a Miami fan ever, "It was so loud, I have never heard anything that loud in my entire life." Yeah, Virginia Tech does that to people.
the grimm reaper .. love it .. haha
Yes, after the Grimm Reaper. Here's a picture of him on Gameday: http://tinyurl.com/6od59ud
I'm really hoping he named him after Cody Grimm
By far -- the ass-whipping that we handed out to UV-GAY was the best game of the season
As of late, the staff ain't drinking much coffee.
"Now, if only they could combine their evaluation talent with some recruiting/closing talent, then VT would reach the elite level."
Amen to that -- maybe Shane can be the guy who becomes known as "The Closer"
And props to the coaching staff for their hard work but at the same time -- they're using up resources to find/evaluate all of these players when other coaches spend 60 minutes on rivals.com and find out the same thing that took VT hours of work to do. I'm sure there's a give-and-take and VT recruiters do the same thing.
It's impressive what VT does with 2 and 3 stars .. but make no mistake .. teams full of 4 and 5 star players win championships. The only position on the field that could offset shortcomings everywhere else is an exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime QB (circa 1999) .. Do we have that QB now in LT? Too early to tell.
when it comes to talent evaluation. I see he is plucking 4 and 5 stars, but let's be honest, anyone can read Rivals website and predict a 5 star will be good. It takes real talent to be able to evaluate football ability and then to develop talent. Looking at the current Florida team and the last year Meyer coached at UF. The talent level isn't as good as the talent he inherited. Although he had great recruiting success at UF, those 4 and 5 stars he recruited aren't dominating the SEC, or anybody for that matter. So, we'll see how good his OSU team is in 3 years...
VT and BSU are the best evaluators of football talent. I don't have any actual data to back this up, but I don't think any other schools get as many walk-on, 2-star, and 3-star players into the NFL. You'll also notice, often when VT gives an offer out to an unheralded player, that other schools will then offer and recruiting agencies will bump up their evaluations. Look at Augie Conte, Robert Lockhart, and TJ Millweard of this recruiting class.
Now, if only they could combine their evaluation talent with some recruiting/closing talent, then VT would reach the elite level.
I don't disagree with you on most points and will be the first to admit that VT does a lot with what they're given, but more often than not, I'd say the recruiting services are close. They are doing better in NC and have landed a few gems out of PA (KJ) and even got Evans out of Indiana. VT finding their occasional hidden gem has never been the problem. Getting the bigger names to come to Blacksburg is more the problem. Not being able to close late is more the problem. Coaching is part of the equation, being able to coach up (especially on defense is huge) ... But there's a reason that Alabama is starting to pump out NC every few years too and it's not just Saban.
How much better than 2nd do we want? We want first. From what they say now, VT wasn't even close and his relationship with WR coach and JC wasn't close to enough. Given it is Alabama, hard to compete with -- but whatever koolaid is being served up down in Tuscaloosa, all of these kids are drinking it. If we lose Kirven to Bama, it would be a huge disappointment.
Hopefully, a new emphasis on recruiting bears fruit. I think the changes made were good.
You're right though -- We'll wait to see what the last 3 do before we start bashing too much more.
Sorry for errors in last post. It's coming from my phone (swype). I was just wondering if anyone could confirm if Drew Harris has a torn ACL. I have read this on a couple of other sites. I think he will still have a productive career. I was just wondering what his chances are for playing in the fall.