Against Pitt, David Wang slid over to center and replaced Caleb Farris to make room on the line for Teller at left guard. That move seems to be permanent, for the time being.
Coach Stacy Searels announces that Wyatt Teller will start at LG and David Wang will move over and start at C vs Miami Thursday night.— VT Football (@VT_Football) October 19, 2014
Searels went with Teller/Wang at LG/C in 2nd half at Pitt. Said VT was more productive. Teller had 42 snaps, most pins & knockdowns. #Hokies— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) October 19, 2014
Somewhere in the Outer Banks, French is dancing. Going back to when Teller was a defensive end recruit destined to sign with Virginia, French's been banging the drum that he had the body type and quick feet to be an NFL lineman. Unfortunately, Teller earning a starting job comes at the expense of senior Caleb Farris who has gutted it out for Tech over his career and this season.
#Hokies RB Marshawn Williams (sprained right ankle), a Phoebus High grad, practiced today and said he felt great. Plans to play Thursday.— Norm Wood (@normwood) October 19, 2014
Juice is optimistic he'll play against Miami. I'm not holding my breath until I see him in maroon and orange (hopefully #ALLMAROONEVERYTHING) Thursday night, but the news that he practiced today is encouraging.
Comments
Can't wait to see Marshawn break the Canes.
If #ALLMAROONEVERYTHING happens Thursday, no doubt in my mind we win. Otherwise, its a toss up
Good to hear on both fronts. I would still like Gibson and McLaughlin to return to the positions they played last year.
Sooo Jerome Wright is still with the team?
Anyone heard anything about Chase Williams, who left the Pitt game with an injury? Haven't found anything on Hokiesports or Roanoke.com.
This one's bittersweet. On the one hand, it's awesome that Motuapuaka is getting some meaningful snaps and some good preparation for being the full-time starter at Mike next year. Kid's got great athleticism and a ton of potential. On the other, you really feel for a guy who stuck it out, waited his turn and prepared himself well to take over his senior year and for the most part has played very well. Hope Chase can get back out there soon and finish off his career the right way.
Yeah, Williams really showed up this year.
I for one am not all that excited to see AM on the field. Despite whiffing on a few tackles, CW has generally been clutch for our defense this season.
Chase has been a monster. I find this worrisome.
Damnit, I'm getting even more nervous for the game just thinking about it.
I agree. I think Motuapuakapikeepouka will be good for us next year, but Williams played well this year and when he went out against Pitt, our run defense had a hard time. And yes it is great for next year to be able to give yet another freshman meaningful playing time, but we are only halfway done this year. Miami, BC, Duke and even LOLUVA are still on our schedule and not gimmes (WF should be, but that game hasn't been played either). If we lose another, the Coastal Title will be pretty hard to reach. If we lose 4 of the last 5 games, our season is over in November. I don't want to start preparing for next year yet because it would be devastating for VT to not reach a bowl game this year. With all our injuries and young guys playing this year, we need to worry about a strong finish.
I'm not remotely excited that AM is getting on the field because of an injury to Williams. That said, he's a young player with a ton of potential, and although he had a couple breakdowns in the Pitt game, he's definitely shown a heck of a lot of ability and athleticism at the Mike spot. The more reps he gets, the better he's gonna be, and the sooner he gets those reps at game speed, the better.
I know he said Maddy was in blue today, but does that increase his chances to play on Thursday?
Apparently Facyson was in a regular jersey as well. I'd really like to see us redshirt both of those guys, but Facyson might have NFL aspirations and is planning on leaving after only 3 or 4 years anyways. With Maddy, I think the best thing for him and the team is for him to take a medical hardship and play next year at 100%.
Per AB, Torrian clarified and said it was an equipment mixup. They're still seeking a medical redshirt.
Excellent. Glad to hear that. I know he has med school aspirations, but you never know if he wants to take a quick detour through the NFL.
Fascyon wants to be a doctor and apparently his grades are coming along that path to getting admitted to med school.
Getting into med school requires a hell of a lot more than good grades.
Yes, as I am well aware. My wife is Dr. Egbert but, without grades, it's not going to happen.
As well, getting the grades while starring in a role in D1 football would help.
Agreed. Im in med school now and the admissions committee (for my school) will flat out tell you that a unique person will get in over someone boring with better grades.
Being a starter at a D-1 school, all while getting good scores/grades, will look great to any board. Ill put in a good word for the guy if he wants
I don't know if I'd be sticking around if I was in Maddys position either though. I know he hasn't out up the numbers everyone expected, but I'd still see him getting picked up in the first 3/4 rounds.
I will be absolutely giddy if #ALLMAROONEVERYTHING happens against Miami.
Marshawn might be willing to hit the field again, but I would caution against expecting him to be full speed. Per Andy Bitter's article, he still has swelling in his ankle. This might be a case similar to that of Shai - oops, EDIT - Marshawn earlier in the summer, when he thought he was ready from his hernia surgery far sooner than he actually was. You can't blame the guys for being eager to play, but thankfully the doctors/trainers/etc. have ultimate say.
I know we absolutely need some kind of quality RB right now, and the guys we have right now are not close to be there. Still, I'd much rather miss Marshawn this game than have him gimpy for the next month because he came back ten days too early. I wouldn't be surprised to see his playing time limited if he plays Thursday.
Agreed, but no more JC carries por favor! He is a hard worker and gives everything to this team but he is just not used properly by Loeffer and it rarely works out well for us when he is running the ball in a game...
Marshawn had the hernia surgery, not Shai. There was that whole confusion over how much time he would miss, as he kept saying he was fine.
My error on the hernia, but indeed, Marshawn thought he was ready long before the medical people did, which was my point. He thinks he's ready now, but still has swelling in his ankle, so I'd trust the docs more than his eagerness.
Indeed. That's been my concern, as well. What his brain tells him and what his ankle tells him might be different. Let's hope the staff keeps his enthusiasm in check and does what is best for him.
One caveat in our favor is that Miami of the past few years has been so undisciplined at times that we could very likely catch them and be able to run even with only JC & Caleb. It's a coin flip with them. We know we need Marshawn the whole season, so I'd bet my money on our team's emotion & Miami's inconsistency more than what MW could offer us on a still tender ankle. We'll know in 3 days!
Yes, sir! Miami's inconsistency is one of the only constants in the ACC.
Well that, and Miami not being back.
And that UVA still sucks
You forgot Rogers.
I know with the depleted line we need him in a lead fullback kind of war but, he ground out a couple good ones last week with sheer force of gritting his teeth and thigh muscles..
No, I didn't forget him, he's for situational use. Like Coleman should be when we have healthy RBs.
"Somewhere in the Outer Banks French is dancing" Understatement of the year? Teller has to be French's favorite Big Ugly in years!
Admittedly, it's pretty much a 2-horse race between Teller and DeChristopher (and DeC was at the wrong position for that matter - guard playing tackle).
didn't Whit say something to the effect of the Miami game being an #allmarooneverything game or to watch for our uniforms for that game? I'm pretty sure he said something earlier in the season to that effect.
I got excited too, when I saw the exchange he had on Twitter:
http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2014/july/9/whit-hints-allmarooneveryt...
Maybe he was only hinting at the fact that it is going to be Maroon Effect, but I think there may have been some other statements made in passing to suggest we could indeed see our favorite unis.
He said there was a good chance of an all maroon game, but didn't say when. Then he mentioned the Maroon Effect against Miami, so that we could speculate. I would speculate that it will be all maroon. Whit is a good marketer.
When's the last time we even had AME? 09 Miami?
IMHO, I thought the Hokie Stone, Maroon, Maroon at Georgia Tech last year was one of the best. Looked especially sharp, more so under the lights.
Yeah, I thought it looked good as well.
Offensive line shuffling in late October is not a good sign. I'm a bit befuddled at the point the coaches made about seeing improvement in the 2nd half run game with the Teller/Wang combo. I never saw any run game on Thursday.. Must be my non-football vision kicking in. Of course, I'm not complaining... no change could possibly make the running game any worse, I'm just wringing my hands here.
I don't think they were trying to say the run game improved because we didn't even try to run but the push of the front 4 was much better. Who knows, hopefully we will see this Thursday
The RB's had 7 carries for 32 yards in the second half (including a couple in clear running situations) before we had to more or less abandon the run because we were down two scores... That is, unless you count the reverse pass with Sam Rogers as a carry.
The O-line was definitely firing off the ball better in the run game in the second half.
They ran the ball reasonably well on the opening drive of the 2nd half (which probably helped Hodges get open and gave Brewer time for the long one) until Loeffler got cute and called that wildcat formation on 2 and goal from the 5.
as soon as they lined up I shook my head and said '3rd down.'
Interesting. I said "field goal"...
Sooner or later, Bucky's gonna line up there, we're all gonna shake our heads, the opposing DC is gonna start drooling, and then Bucky's gonna go right ahead and toss a TD pass.
Sooner, please?
THIS!! I know CFB was sorry to lose Grimes, and I'm sure it was hard to replace him, but I have no confidence in Coach Searles. I keep reading about how long it takes to rebuild an O-line that was neglected for several years, and I'm trying to see it that way, I really am. But seven games into the season he doesn't know who his best 5 are, and doesn't know who should play which position? What was he doing all spring and summer?
Whoa there buddy. I think it's just taken Wyatt some time to prove he can be an every down guy (to whoever's making the decisions, I know French has been banging the drum)... and that Farris is worth taking off the field. We also have no idea what minor injuries are holding guys back. I'd be very surprised if Farris got less than 30% of snaps, unless he's hurt. Just can't see him falling off the depth chart entirely. But sometimes changes have to happen in the middle if the season, even on the o-line
not to mention that pretty much none of us here (except the members of the press, when they get the opportunities) actually get to witness the practices. sometimes you just got to trust in the coaches.
Well, if their level of injury didn't change each game and certain guys didn't progress or regress each game, it's be easy.
Can't really blame Searels for what is going on with the OL right now. Ask LSU, Georgia, or Texas fans if Searels is a good OL coach and I can guarantee you the majority of them will give a resounding yes.
If your gonna blame anyone, blame Coach Grimes - he left after 1 year...1 year. The changing of OL philosophy by each OL coach every year over a 3 year period means they have had to tweak their technique several times over that period..
I liked Coach Grimes too, but he left, Searels came and seems happy to be here. Let's see how he does recruiting his guys for next year and see what materializes before we start this type of talk. Patience Grasshopper...
Got a few things here.
1) Guess what? When we said it'd take a while to rebuild the O-line, we didn't mean 6 games. More like 2 or 3 years.
2) The closer you are to the football, the longer it takes to see the field, that's the general rule. Considering Teller's been an offensive lineman for a little more than a calendar year (and last year was spent on the scout team) means that we'd all be crazy to expect him to just jump in and supplant a couple seniors who have actually been practicing the playbook for a couple years. Teller needed the spring and summer to learn the position and his responsibilities. That doesn't happen overnight.
3) At least Searels was able to recognize that Teller is now ready to start and was willing to take out a redshirt senior guy to get him in the lineup. When you're a first-year coach, it's gonna take a while to see what everyone has and it's gonna take a while for different guys to pick up on what their coach wants to see.
In summary: a grand total of zero things about this situation should be concerning. Carry on.
I wasn't trying to blame anyone for anything. I was just pointing out that the tweaking of the offensive line at this point is probably indicative of late nights in Merryman.
FWIW, I like the setup for Thursday Night. Do or die conference game in Lane Stadium. Coach Bud does well as a cornered wounded badger. If the offense can get anything going, this should be a win.
I think Marshawn needs to wear his helmet on the sidelines and during interviews so that people start to question if he is human or Predator.
Motuapuaka had flashes of Macho Harris (mostly it was the hair) but that made me feel good about him subbing for Chase Williams. He seemed to come in on fire, and maybe a bit too aggressively, but I see some potential with him on the field.
Strangely, anticipating us playing Pitt, I had some trepidation but not so with Miami. I think we'll have some breakout performances for this game.
We're certainly more than over due for some breakout performances.
All I can say is thank God Wyatt Teller is finally starting on the line. Dude is gonna be something special
Here's to hoping your prediction comes true and that he is the catalyst that lifts the level of play among his fellow linemen, this year and in those coming.
I concur......Marshawn following Sam....following Wyatt... into a hole could be dangerous for whoever is in the way!
Shouldn't Wang be the first the enter the hole?
If Wang's gonna enter the hole, you'd better Teller first.
(Too bad we don't have someone named "Asker," otherwise this pun would be perfect)
Perfect time to bring back this gem:
Anyone remember who made this?
Not to toot my own horn, but I made that before last season.
http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/42590#comment-42590
I knew it was someone on here. I couldn't find the original, but I had it saved on my phone. Upleg this man!
Good and good