https://x.com/AndyBitterVT/status/1826341977367208006
Also, David Cunningham reporting that the Chaplin-Ghannam-B. Moore-K. Moore-Clements line combo continues to get the number one group work on OL.
https://x.com/therealdcunna/status/1826333157899338077
Note- Thomas Williams is working in the second defensive back group at corner. Note, in our TKPC film review of the secondary, I noted that Williams looked the most polished of the prospective second group of corners.
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Comments
This seemed inevitable given two key and significant advantages for Schlee:
1. He is far more experienced (5th year player who has thrown 350 college passes).
2. He is a more like-for-like replacement in size and play style to Drones.
Perhaps the same could be true one day for Pop Watson and Davi Belfort.
I like that one of the young OL emerged into the starting group. That suggests superior talent from a young player on the OL which is what we need. Outside of him it's a veteran group, so that should hopefully help with chemistry.
Backup QB is a huge concern, so if Schlee is servicable, that is huge.
Schlee had a 2109 yard 13/5 TD/INT, with 492 more yards and 4 TD's on the ground, season as Kent State's starter. Played a little for UCLA last year as well.
That is the definition of serviceable and should be a solid backup situation. VT has not had a ton of seasons where I had much confidence in the backup QB.
He was 14-21 for 174 yds and 1 TD/1 Int against Georgia,
11 of 19 for 131 yds and 0/0 against Oklahoma
and 24 of 37 for 398 yds, 1 TD/0 Int with 16 rushes for 77yds and 1 TD against Ohio (won 10 games) that year...
AND,
Had 3 punts for 122 yds that season to boot.
This is quintessential MAC
FTFY
ummmm....have you heard of Mark Leal....
I see you and raise you
WHAMMY!
Good ol' Holt
Leal would've brought the natty home. /s
Schlee is pretty much a dream scenario for backup QB as far as talent, experience, scheme fit, and production. Reports from camp are that he has huge arm talent, really stood out from early on in camp. He's a 6th year player who has had a productive career at Kent State, and as mentioned above can pretty much plug and play for Kyron Drones in the scheme if called upon. I feel way way optimistic about the backup QB spot now. We are very fortunate to have him IMO - he could have gone somewhere and started this year easily.
Yeah everyone is so hype for the season but I've been thinking we're a blown out knee on Kyron away from disaster. This makes me feel a lot better about the qb situation.
Add to this list - pop had some nagging injuries and missed out on snaps in fall camp
Pry was very clear that they're 'not disappointed with Pop at all"
Will be a pleasant surprise if Pop starts games here. I saw him early and he was tiny.
Pop could be the rare backup gets his degree and be happy guy without playing. If he is, great for him. Still no doubt that he works with the team.
In the unlimited portal era, If he doesn't play this year, someone will give him a shot. Could be g5 etc. I bet he transfers in that scenario.
Yea, I agree here. There are very few short stature QBs that impact the game like a Flutie. Even 6'0" QBs are relatively rare, with MV7, R. Wilson, and Manziel being examples of outplaying their height. Pop and Davi are both listed at 5'11", so they have their work cut out for them to be a starter at the P4 level. And that's not to say that Pop or Davi can't be major impact QBs at VT, but statistically it's unlikely.
If Drones is not going into the NFL draft, we'll see if Bowen and Pry can recruit him to stay at VT for one more season. Otherwise, I think Bowen will want to look to the portal to get a QB with size to compete with QBs on the roster.
Wild to me that you didn't include Tyrod
He's 6'1, my cutoff was 6'0" and below. We're counting inches here, lol. But yea, he's another that relies on lateral movement for throwing windows. Having a height of 6'2" seems to be good enough though? idk.
I do wonder if there is a general threshold that NFL scouts and collegiate coaches utilize to evaluate QBs. It seems that a lot of blue bloods were in on Davi early but backed off when his height did not get over some threshold.
In case you haven't noticed, the NFL is terrible at scouting QBs. It's actually hard to be as bad at something as they are scouting QBs. The hit rate in early rounds outside of generational guys like Manning/Luck is awful. Putrid. You will see this come to light very soon too when Anthony Richardson and Justin Fields are in the UFL.
It's super hard to win without a solid-at-worst QB in the NFL, so it's like the one position teams almost exclusively draft based on need, which leads to a lot of reaches just to make sure you got a QB.
Not only that, they are tough to get in free agency, you might get a veteran with 1-2 years left, but that's rare. And they cost so much you want to get one on a rookie contract before you pay bank.
This staff has a good history with small QBs, especially McSorely.
I think Pop will be play next year if he is patient. I don't think any of the incoming freshmen or Belfort have more upside than him. This year he is dinged up, and Schlee basically has been used the same way the Hokies used Drones, so he is a fine stopgap.
If he moves on, well, that is why you keep more QBs on the roster, unlike the days of Logan Thomas, Mark Leal, and then pray for rain.
Is there anyone on the staff that was on the offensive side at Penn State??
Tyler Bowen
Penn State (2018–2019)
Tight ends coach & offensive recruiting coordinator
Penn State (2019)
Interim offensive coordinator
Penn State (2020)
Co-offensive coordinator, offensive recruiting coordinator & tight ends coach
Bowen's tenure and QB experience summarized:
Bowen was a grad assistant at PSU in 2014, when Christian Hackenberg (Drue's brother) was QB. Hackenberg is 6'4".
Bowen was TE coach in 2018. McSorley was QB from 2015-2018. McSorley is 6'0". Ricky Rahne was OC and QB coach for McSorley's last year in 2018. Before Rahne, it was Moorhead.
Bowen was interim OC in 2019 for the bowl game when Rahne left. He wa co-coordinator in 2020. Sean Clifford was QB from 2019-2022. Clifford is 6'2".
Least we forgets... he is from an offensive fam' tree; and was an All-region Qb1...
...@Lex'.
HTH's
b.street
6th* year player.
Rare
I am so excited for this season. It has been too long.
Let's Go
HOKIES!!
Disappointed that Meadows wasn't able to beat out Clements
Seems like now it's
1st: Chaplin - Ghannam - B. Moore - K. Moore - Clements
2nd: Garrett - Meadows - Williams - Schick - Cunningham
Really interested in how Givens, Hammer and the new guys Aiden Lynch and Tommy Ricard look. Have they beaten out the walk ons yet, could they challenge anyone in the 2nd group as the season goes along? Givens and Hammer are huge and got spring work plus S&C for multiple years. Lynch and Ricard just got here, but they were very highly touted, especially Lynch. Will be interesting to see if any of these 4 can enter the mix this season or next spring
I heard Givens put on some weight. Does anyone know where he's at now? Last year he looked undersized for the position. Well for his future position.
TSL podcast said 320ish i believe
Clock is ticking on this young man moving from myth/legend to a real player. Hope it clicks for him soon at VT.
I don't think you ever see Givens get real PT.
It's still a project to decide who the starting 5 will be Crook said today. They know what schick can do and want to see what Ghannam can do with the lion's share of the reps. Also give them a chance to get B. Moore more reps at center
Upside-wise, Ghannam is miles ahead of Schick. With that lineup, I worry about Kaden's footwork at guard just as much as I did when he was at center, but he doesn't swing and miss as much as Schick did.
I'm sure Caleb Nitta is Center #3 behind the Moore brothers but it's kind of cool seeing a walk-on majoring in engineering making a little noise. He has added 30 pounds as well.
Gilliam as the 4th DT is interesting. This means he's over Pene, Madison, Perry, Gerard Johnson and Findlayter (the last two have only had half a year of practice)
Surprised to see Gilliam in the top four, which also worries me. I thought Perry would be the guy, but that also meant the defense would be overrelying on undersized DTs.
Pene looked good when he played DE on passing downs against UVA. Given how inconsistent CJ McCray has been against the run, I wouldn't mind seeing Pene get some work there against run heavy teams. I have no idea if the staff is considering that option though. At DT? Not a fan of his full body of work.
I have heard nothing about Madison and very little about Perry (loved Perry's HS film.) But, with all those bodies on scholarship, they should shirt Law and Johnson.
I'm not sure he's as bad as you think. Certainly looks the part and was highly rated. Some of his issues I thought were more technique. If he fixes those, certainly easy to see how he plays at DT over some of the Fuente left overs and a "tweener" and new transfer like Perry
Based on everything I've heard in aggregate, I have a hard time believing Gilliam ends up playing more than Perry this year. I have much more faith in Perry's upside, so I can see a scenario where that might be the rotation now, but as the season progresses we see it shift.
Maybe Perry is the 5th guy, just because Gilliam is a bigger game ready guy, and they rotate him in to get reps too. I think the more DTs they can rely on in a game the better to keep those legs fresh and disruptive
Wonder if Gabe Williams is going to factor in at Star at all. He's had a full spring and fall camp to get into the mix but I guess is still behind Keli, who they moved over to get the best guys on the field. Gotta think they wouldn't have moved him if Williams was close to being ready
Williams needs a year in the weight room
Be patient with Gabe. He has a major health scare at the end of his final high school season, and long lanky kids like him take a bit of time to develop. He moved around like a baby giraffe during the spring game. Having Jenkins, Lawson, and Spencer all as options gives the Hokies time to be patient with him.
So no Pop "pop pass" opportunities any time soon.
Give me pop all day. Big play potential.
Kinda surprising, but Schlee does have some good experience so I guess it isn't that surprising. Hopefully Pop doesn't go in the portal since Schlee is in his last year. Sounds drastic I know, but nowadays nothing surprises me lol