Like the coaching staff complimented itself and the players for, I did not panic after quarter 1.
It was frustrating to watch, but you just had this feeling that everything was going to correct itself. And it did. Logan found his touch. The line popped open some holes. The defense started to get good pressure. It was fun to watch.
The big concern of the night was the D-line and I thought the young guys answered the bell. Let's talk specifics:
1. Antone Exum - As I hoped, he's getting better. I like where this is heading.
2. Josh Oglesby - Not a ton of running room for him on Saturday, but he ran tough with what he had.
3. Logan Thomas - I'm trying not to get too excited here, but he's making it difficult. I think we're seeing a special talent develop. By no means do I think he's arrived. The first quarter is proof of that, both in decision making and touch. However, he settled in, made some beautiful throws and went through his read progression nicely. And with the ball in his hands, he's going to do work. I swear, if we ever get to 3rd-and-1 and do not make it because we didn't sneak, I'm going to fire a coach myself.
4. David Wilson - He's out-pacing Ryan Williams' 1,655-yard season. That stat is better than any compliment I could give for Saturday night's effort.
7. Marcus Davis - Very nice to see him catch a long touchdown. The skills are there. Question: Why does he break the huddle so early? Before you wig out and say it's a dead giveaway that we're running the ball, that's not true. I saw him break the huddle on pass plays, as well. Simple solution: Stay in the huddle until everyone breaks. Oh, and more touchdowns!
8. Dietrick Bonner - I was critical of him after the Marshall game. But he was thrown into a tough spot on Saturday night and did well. His tackling is what gets your attention. The coverage skill is there, and will only get better (right now, it just needs to be spot-on every single play). Excited about his future.
9. Cris Hill - I saw him on the field a ton, but didn't see him in on a lot of plays, which I think is a good thing. I did see him locked on his receiver when Wake tried that jet sweep pass on their opening drive. Well done.
13. Randall Dunn - I noticed Dunn more than usual, but didn't see him do anything eye-catching, which is better than him giving up a sack or something.
15. Eddie Whitley - Another nice game for Eddie. He saved a touchdown in the first half with a tough tackle. Well done.
17. Kyle Fuller - Not as active as other weeks, but that's not a knock on his outing. We know we've got a good corner in him.
18. D.J. Coles - Quiet night for Mr. Coles. That's what happens when you get a lot of hands involved in the passing game. I got nervous when he came off the field, but I'm glad he's OK. We're going to need him down the stretch.
19. Danny Coale - If Pitbull is "Mr. Worldwide" then Danny was "Mr. Bubble Screen" on Saturday night. Something tells me Danny speaks better Spanish than Pitbull, too -- and he doesn't even know he can. Just try it, DC19.
20. Jayron Hosley - You know you're a good football player when you have a 27-year-old man on edge when you come up grabbing a hamstring. Need him to heal up quick.
24. Tariq Edwards - This guy is a terror when he's attacking the line of scrimmage. Look at the third down sack on Wake's second drive. He stayed home and waited until Price floated to his left. As soon as he got to the edge of the pocket, he was like a predator drone.
28. Alonzo Tweedy - I thought he came in on the first drive and made a bad read on a long Pendergrass run (maybe 10 yds). But he played a great game. He's so freakin fast when he zeroes in on the football.
33. Chris Drager - The little out pattern that he took inside the five right before the half is what I want to see all day. Against a linebacker, that's a money play. Another nice night for 33. Want to see him rumble into the end zone next week.
38. Michael Branthover - Great night for the birthday boy. A punt inside the 5? I can get used to that. Need more sideline shots of his hair.
42. J.R. Collins - I talked about the bull rush earlier this year. And we can that said rush for the Edwards interception, which set up that third score. He and Hopkins lining up next to each other is a problem. Thankfully, not Tech's problem.
45. Joey Phillips - We ran out of the gun a fair amount, especially in the second half, so it seemed like a quieter night for Joey. I'm waiting for our coaches to dial him up in a big moment later this year in the red zone. I have a feeling he'll bite and deflate the ball as his TD celebration.
48. Justin Myer - Not his best night. Need him to get those kicks into the end zone like he has been all year.
51. Bruce Taylor - Tackle machine. It's like a slot machine that always pays out, but only in tackles.
54. Nick Becton - He's definitely streaky. I have seen spells of him playing well in pass protection. So I know he can do it, we just need him to do it every damn play.
62. Blake DeChristopher - Another good outing for our best lineman. Playing like the 4-star he was coming out of high school.
66. Tyrel Wilson - This guy is really stepping it up. He had another solid night, marked with a beautiful sack early in the second quarter, which set up the field position for our first touchdown drive. On the next drive, he tossed aside his blocker and came up with a critical stop on third and short. If he's playing this well at 220, I'd love to see him at 240. Can we build an addition to the back deck of Boudreaux's during the offseason? Small bedroom, 24-hour access to the kitchen and a lark to get him over to the weight room. In all seriousness, a solid outing for 66.
67. Michael Via - Noticed him a few times. He's a sound backup. I do think he'll be a good starter when his number is called.
68. Jaymes Brooks - For a guy I've been critical of, I thought he had a great night.
72. Andrew Lanier - Really sharp outing. He's out best option on the edge right now. Need him to rub off some good habits on Nick.
74. Andrew Miller - There's no question this was his best game of the season. Excellent job getting to the second level.
75. Greg Nosal - I saw him get beat early, but he settled down and played well, opening some big holes for 4 to skate through.
80. George George - I noticed him most on the second scoring drive of the game, when he threw some nice blocks for Wilson to get us down field.
81. Jarrett Boykin - I loved when the analyst assumed JB81 didn't know what he was doing when he extended the ball to the end zone (That should have been 6, right?). Either way, complete stud.
89. Cody Journell - As long as he's making his kicks, everyone is happy. Well done.
90. Duan Perez-Means - At this point, he should be the option behind Wilson. Zack needs to get more aggressive, so let's see what 90 can do.
92. Luther Maddy - Hat tip to our coaching staff for finding Mr. Maddy late in the recruiting process. He has outstanding power and quickness for a freshman. It looks like that ankle was in good shape on Saturday night. I like what I see.
93. Isaiah Hamlette - Didn't see a lot come his way, but I didn't see him getting pushed around out there. Would like to see 12-15 good plays out of him while the young guys learn on the fly.
95. Zack McCray - I think we need to sign up him for predator drone classes. I want him to unleash hell when he's out there and I'm not seeing it yet.
96. Corey Marshall - This is the most comfortable I've seen him look on the field. If we continue to see progression each week, he's going to be a solid option for 15-20 plays as we go forward. He's going to get eaten up at times, but his quickness is going to make him disruptive.
98. Derrick Hopkins - He deserves a game ball. What an effort.
Comments
Wake Forest Roll Call
Wow! what a delightful game and indeed a pleasure to watch. You must now realize and with out a doubt give the back ups credit for a job well done.This goes to show you that you have a team and not just 11 guys and given an opportunity to play with accumaltive amount of reps you will see progress. This takes away the theory or statment that I have been so tired of hearing the coaches say" we don't trust the back ups" or there is a drop in experience". Again, given ample playing time like anythig else brings forth results. I am starting to wonder if we are suppose to play a select few?
You mention Zack Mcray, is not getting it done at this time. You are not the only one who sees this or have even mention this. The same comments have been made with the kicker Demler and took an embarassment moment and boos from the crowd for the coaches to make a change, that should not be. Well the same should go for Z.M, if he is not getting it done after 7 games than we need to do exactly what you have mentioned and give D.P.M a shot, it is only fair. I will say this again each time D.P.M is in the game for limited snaps, he will do something good, imagine increase playing time and given a series of snaps what he will be able to accomplish. D.P.M and T.W should be the DE back ups. Please understand, I have nothing against Z.M, he just needs another year to develop. Go Hokies!!!
Yes...
I think our second teamers deserve a lot of credit. They're being thrown into the fire and are answering the bell.
As for our young guys on the d-line, I don't mind ZM in the game - he needs the reps to improve, as you mentioned. But if we have better options, we need to go with those options. That being said, it's worth throwing DPM in there and seeing what happens. If he and ZM contribute on the same level, give them the same reps. If one starts to separate himself, then the choice is there.
I wouldn't go as far as comparing this to the punting situation, only because I think both DPM and ZM need reps. But I do understand what you mean. If someone is consistently showing they can't handle the heat, get them out of the kitchen.
JB81
It's Monday, October 17th, 4:40pm, and Jarrett Boykin still doesn't know what he's doing.
Marcus Davis - At the line
I heard the reason he doesn't go to the huddle is that he played some QB in high school and gets the plays from the sidelines. Not sure if that's true, but that's what I've heard.
Detrick Bonner
While He has been backing up Fuller and Hosley, it seems as if Detrick Bonner has been partaking in the "Kyle Fuller Open Field Tackling Clinic." He was just making some tremendous plays out in the open field, but unfortunately really his only two letdowns of the games set up a touchdown, then allowed the score on the ensuing 4th down.
Quick Thoughts
Logan struggled early with short timing throws. Against a better corner the inaccurate out and curl he threw to MD7 both would have been taken back to the house. From the second quarter on he turned it up. He really, really impressed me the location of his deep balls late in the game. They were perfected placed over the defender to the receiver's shoulder.
Eliminate 90% of the plays from under center. We thrive in space.
The young defensive linemen: Wilson, Maddy and Marshall played very well for the most part. Considering their experience and size I can't ask for much more. The big runs happened when the guys inside, Hamlette included, over-pursued, didn't maintain gap control and got washed down the line.
The offensive line is really stepping it up. On the one sack they gave up LT3 held the ball for 5 seconds instead of throwing the ball away. They missed picking up a couple of run blitzes, but they're a huge improvement over last season.
Branthover. Yes.
And this... just, wow:
Maturity
Do you know has been most impressive to me about the last few weekends?
How mature the Hokies have looked in their composure.
We have a lot of youth on the field (especially on D), and the way they have kept their composure the last few games has been uber-impressive is comparable to much more mature teams. I dearly hope they keep this up through GT & UNC.
I really hoped
Drager was taking it to the house. I'm sure he saw the goal line with eyes wide open. Just one missed tackle away.