Meh, even while we lost Grimes, we were still in a better spot when Searels was hired than we were when Grimes was hired. Newsome pile drove our OL quality into the ground, ignited it in flames, and then pissed on the ashes. You're right that it isn't going to turn around in a year or 2, and you have to remember that we're still mostly playing OL with players we converted from other positions out of HS.
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Once they pulled him Teller looked good (at least the plays I noticed him). Very aggressive and maintained his blocks. Think this might get him the starting nod.
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Teller needs to be starting. He will make his mistake like others, but he's got a mean streak like no other. Will spark a fire with all the other oline that play with him
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I think at this point, we know what we get with Wang. He knows his assignments and can pass block, but with all the leg injuries he's sustained he's not going to drive anyone off the line and create holes or get to linebackers regularly in the running game. In many ways Teller is the opposite, where he has the physicality to be a force in the running game but doesn't have the experience to be reliable in the passing game. As Teller gains experience and hopefully starts to reach his potential, it would clearly be beneficial for him to see the field more. Of course, that's exactly the kind of decision Searels is getting paid to make, so we'll have to trust him.
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You know I always found that line of thought strange and absurd. It was in 2003, after the loss to Pitt during our farewell to the Big East season:
I remember disagreeing with my boss at the Tech Bookstore over this very arguement. I couldn't understand how he could complain about our D when our D had to play/spend a majority of the time on the field without any rest. The Offense had a lot of stalled drives and played sparingly. They put the D in such awlful situations. To this day, I can see him shaking his head and telling me that it was on the D to save our lead going into the last three minutes of play despite the D having played 70% of the game. He was a great boss and a great guy, but I never could disuade him of his views. Still puzzles me to this day.
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It is pretty disconcerting that we haven't bagged a single OL this year so far. And with only 3 of the Fab 5 actually coming in this year, this is not good. Smith may grow and improve at prep school but its not like being on the team. I really hope that the rumours about some JUCO transfers are correct or else we are going to stay in this less-than-positive situation with our run game.
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Ended up being the Fab 4 with Brady Taylor committing to OSU. It was last year and 3 are on campus while one is prepping (Tyrel Smith) and should enroll in January.
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I was those peeps over at the FBS blog, and I always said Newsome had some success at JMU prior to coming to VT, but his blocking schemes at JMU never translated to VT's scheme and he never successfully adapted. He was brought in to be a recruiter, but was never able to attract his type of player on the line. He was left on staff entirely too long, and when he finally left he hadn't just left the cupboards bare, he'd taken the damn cupboards with him.
That's not to say he's a coaching reject. He had success up to his JMU days, he's finding success in his niche now that he's moved on. But in Blacksburg he was an albatross around the program's neck.
The legacy of Newsome is that there is no more difficult unit to repair than the o line, because it's so damn hard to plug frosh and sophomores into those roles. It's one of the few dwindling positions in college football where SC is still critical, and it's the one part of the team where communication, trust and cooperation are most important. We're literally starting from scratch, and it will take another year or two at least before we produce a competent line. In the meantime, Searels, like Grimes before him, is doing everything he can to stopgap, but until he gets his guys in the system we have to temper expectations.
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In the meantime, Searels, like Grimes before him, is doing everything he can to stopgap, but until he gets his guys in the system we have to temper expectations.
agreed. this is the biggest stumbling block at the moment. pun intended. Searels seems to be doing a great job though at turning it around. He needs time and the OL needs more experience as a group and in general. Farris got absolutely man handled all game by their injured nose tackle. That dude is a beast at 350 with that speed. But I think he is much improved from last year to this year overall.
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I'm a Stacy Searels believer, and think he might be even better for this role than Grimes was. My concern is, over his career he's been a bit of a journeyman coach, and I fear him hitting the eject button early like his predecessor if a school with more gravitas comes calling. I think he's good, I think he's the right fit, and I think Whit needs to be aggressive in retaining him.
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I know what you mean. Grimes' departure left a bitter after taste for me. He said all the right things but in the end he was 1 and done as he was simply riding out a year for a better coaching position. I'm worried this could happen again with Searels but honestly, I kinda have this feeling he will stick around. Hope that's true.
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Unfortunately the same could have been said for Grimes. That being said, I got the sense Grimes liked Blacksburg and truly didn't think he would be leaving after one season. He went all in with the goatee and seemed to fit with the culture and coaches. However at the end of the day, it was too much to turn down a chance to coach an elite program and get a pay raise at LSU.
Honestly, I think we are in a nearly identical situation with Searels. He seems to like Blacksburg, fit in with the staff/culture, and can do very well here... but if a select elite program with deep pockets were to offer him (and I think there are maybe 10-15 that would fit the profile), I wouldn't feel particularly confident about retaining him.
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Not sure about what you say with Grimes. He sure looked like he made the effort to fit in but I remember French posting something about a talk he went to with Bud and Wiles (I think) and the feeling he got from how Bud answered questions regarding Grimes was that this was not the case. That in fact he didn't really fit in and perhaps had one foot out the door the whole time.
Anyone else remember that? I tried to find it in the old posts
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They kept saying Searels "is Blacksburg" and is there to stay and raise his family. How they pushed it and kept coming back to it made me think that perhaps the staff is a little hurt by Grimes departure and felt like he used VT as a stepping stone job. Again, me reading between the lines.
I'm sure they felt that way, but Grimes took a job and got closer to his family members, one of whom was diagnosed with cancer. I also don't believe he solicited the job. I can't fault a guy moving closer to be by family, especially if someone in the family was diagnosed with something like cancer.
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That doesn't translate to Grimes not ever feeling comfortable in Blacksburg at all. What the quote translates to is that after the fact of Grimes leaving, there were some bruised feelings among the staff, who is NOT used to the typical transitions among assistants. These are all guys who have spent several years (even decades) in the same spot. To them, a guy moving after only one year, even for a huge raise and the chance to be close to family with health issues, is a foreign concept. That is merely rationalization after the fact. Nothing wrong with that, but let's realize it as what it represents.
If Searels or Moorehead or Loeffler got an offer doubling their salary for some elite program or an NFL job and left, there would be similar whispers from the lifers on Frank's staff about them, too. Again, no right or wrong here, it's just different life perspectives from the different coaches. Grimes wasn't coming to Bburg in order to go elsewhere. It just worked out that way.
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I'm with you. There was nothing wrong with Grimes leaving, and he did some good in his year here. It just didn't help the rebuilding effort when he left after a year. It's a professional issue, not a personal one.
Same deal when Kevin Rogers left. No one could rationally begrudge the decision, but the hurt feelings from the coaching "family" begat the decision to value loyalty over resume and promote Stinespring to OC. I am glad history did not repeat itself and they went out and found a solid, vetted line coach that meshed well with Lefty's vision for the O.
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Against two lousy teams. Don Montgomery routinely routed non-ODAC schools. Ferrum is horrendous, and Maryville is at best an average USA South team, which is one of the weakest conferences in DIII. I checked in with the folks I know. Newsome is doing the same cheesy spread, read option, no huddle crap that everybody does, and he won't be able to recruit the speed you need to defend it. IT ISN'T EMORY & HENRY FOOTBALL.
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Concerning Coach Searels, I liked that in the second half, he publicly took the O-line to task and demonstrated some basic footwork and body positioning techniques. I found that refreshing. Football is a violent contact sport and sometimes instead of being a players best friend, you have to yell and shout to get their attention. Seems to have worked to some degree, because the line got better after the public rebuke from Coach Searels.
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I would also find it refreshing if he encouraged proper technique during the week so we don't have to witness bad technique with our hard earned cash on Saturday.
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Comments
I wish we could hit like on thread opening post LOL.
Replace Logan Thomas with Leal! Leal would have gotten that offense moving!
Remember the UCLA game!
What's that? We lost that game too, well excuse me...you must be mistaken!
LT3 is overrated he will only be a tight end in the NFL
Sarcastica?? Judging by the profile pick, I'm thinking yes.
You are correct sir...thank you for picking up the clues before threatening me with bodily harm
The backup QB is always the most popular player on the team...
You generally don't turn around a decade of OL neglect in a year or two, losing grimes set us back even more.
Meh, even while we lost Grimes, we were still in a better spot when Searels was hired than we were when Grimes was hired. Newsome pile drove our OL quality into the ground, ignited it in flames, and then pissed on the ashes. You're right that it isn't going to turn around in a year or 2, and you have to remember that we're still mostly playing OL with players we converted from other positions out of HS.
Wang looked god awful.
Once they pulled him Teller looked good (at least the plays I noticed him). Very aggressive and maintained his blocks. Think this might get him the starting nod.
Not that I don't like Wang, he's a hell of a kid, but Teller is gonna be special.
Teller needs to be starting. He will make his mistake like others, but he's got a mean streak like no other. Will spark a fire with all the other oline that play with him
I think at this point, we know what we get with Wang. He knows his assignments and can pass block, but with all the leg injuries he's sustained he's not going to drive anyone off the line and create holes or get to linebackers regularly in the running game. In many ways Teller is the opposite, where he has the physicality to be a force in the running game but doesn't have the experience to be reliable in the passing game. As Teller gains experience and hopefully starts to reach his potential, it would clearly be beneficial for him to see the field more. Of course, that's exactly the kind of decision Searels is getting paid to make, so we'll have to trust him.
I swear I just had his same conversation with my wife. /s
...sorry, I thought we could all use a Wang joke.
So what do we do? We haven't signed one single Oline prospect. I mean not even a warm body! How are we gonna catchup by signing day? Juco transfers?
I don't know that there's anything we can do, this is a decade of neglect sown and now were reaping it.
Everyone can Keep complaining about the defense not shutting every opponent out, I suppose.
You know I always found that line of thought strange and absurd. It was in 2003, after the loss to Pitt during our farewell to the Big East season:
I remember disagreeing with my boss at the Tech Bookstore over this very arguement. I couldn't understand how he could complain about our D when our D had to play/spend a majority of the time on the field without any rest. The Offense had a lot of stalled drives and played sparingly. They put the D in such awlful situations. To this day, I can see him shaking his head and telling me that it was on the D to save our lead going into the last three minutes of play despite the D having played 70% of the game. He was a great boss and a great guy, but I never could disuade him of his views. Still puzzles me to this day.
THIS /\
It is pretty disconcerting that we haven't bagged a single OL this year so far. And with only 3 of the Fab 5 actually coming in this year, this is not good. Smith may grow and improve at prep school but its not like being on the team. I really hope that the rumours about some JUCO transfers are correct or else we are going to stay in this less-than-positive situation with our run game.
Whatever happened to the "Fab Five" recruits we got a year or two ago? Or am I dreaming that?
Ended up being the Fab 4 with Brady Taylor committing to OSU. It was last year and 3 are on campus while one is prepping (Tyrel Smith) and should enroll in January.
one committed to OSU, one is prepping, other 3 are true freshman
Side note, Newsome is 2-0 this year with Emory & Henry.
No one ever accused curt Newsome of not being able to successfully coach at non-D1 levels of college football.
Uh what about the peeps over at that FBS blog??
I was those peeps over at the FBS blog, and I always said Newsome had some success at JMU prior to coming to VT, but his blocking schemes at JMU never translated to VT's scheme and he never successfully adapted. He was brought in to be a recruiter, but was never able to attract his type of player on the line. He was left on staff entirely too long, and when he finally left he hadn't just left the cupboards bare, he'd taken the damn cupboards with him.
That's not to say he's a coaching reject. He had success up to his JMU days, he's finding success in his niche now that he's moved on. But in Blacksburg he was an albatross around the program's neck.
The legacy of Newsome is that there is no more difficult unit to repair than the o line, because it's so damn hard to plug frosh and sophomores into those roles. It's one of the few dwindling positions in college football where SC is still critical, and it's the one part of the team where communication, trust and cooperation are most important. We're literally starting from scratch, and it will take another year or two at least before we produce a competent line. In the meantime, Searels, like Grimes before him, is doing everything he can to stopgap, but until he gets his guys in the system we have to temper expectations.
agreed. this is the biggest stumbling block at the moment. pun intended. Searels seems to be doing a great job though at turning it around. He needs time and the OL needs more experience as a group and in general. Farris got absolutely man handled all game by their injured nose tackle. That dude is a beast at 350 with that speed. But I think he is much improved from last year to this year overall.
I'm a Stacy Searels believer, and think he might be even better for this role than Grimes was. My concern is, over his career he's been a bit of a journeyman coach, and I fear him hitting the eject button early like his predecessor if a school with more gravitas comes calling. I think he's good, I think he's the right fit, and I think Whit needs to be aggressive in retaining him.
I know what you mean. Grimes' departure left a bitter after taste for me. He said all the right things but in the end he was 1 and done as he was simply riding out a year for a better coaching position. I'm worried this could happen again with Searels but honestly, I kinda have this feeling he will stick around. Hope that's true.
Searels seems to have settled into being a member of the Blacksburg community with his wife and kids. I hope he stays around.
Unfortunately the same could have been said for Grimes. That being said, I got the sense Grimes liked Blacksburg and truly didn't think he would be leaving after one season. He went all in with the goatee and seemed to fit with the culture and coaches. However at the end of the day, it was too much to turn down a chance to coach an elite program and get a pay raise at LSU.
Honestly, I think we are in a nearly identical situation with Searels. He seems to like Blacksburg, fit in with the staff/culture, and can do very well here... but if a select elite program with deep pockets were to offer him (and I think there are maybe 10-15 that would fit the profile), I wouldn't feel particularly confident about retaining him.
Searels is a much better fit with the players and staff than Grimes. His personality is a much better fit and that will help us keep him.
Not sure about what you say with Grimes. He sure looked like he made the effort to fit in but I remember French posting something about a talk he went to with Bud and Wiles (I think) and the feeling he got from how Bud answered questions regarding Grimes was that this was not the case. That in fact he didn't really fit in and perhaps had one foot out the door the whole time.
Anyone else remember that? I tried to find it in the old posts
This would be the thread: http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2014/may/5/nova-hokie-club-bud-foster-...
...and this would be the comment:
I'm sure they felt that way, but Grimes took a job and got closer to his family members, one of whom was diagnosed with cancer. I also don't believe he solicited the job. I can't fault a guy moving closer to be by family, especially if someone in the family was diagnosed with something like cancer.
that's the one. thanks vtfly.
That doesn't translate to Grimes not ever feeling comfortable in Blacksburg at all. What the quote translates to is that after the fact of Grimes leaving, there were some bruised feelings among the staff, who is NOT used to the typical transitions among assistants. These are all guys who have spent several years (even decades) in the same spot. To them, a guy moving after only one year, even for a huge raise and the chance to be close to family with health issues, is a foreign concept. That is merely rationalization after the fact. Nothing wrong with that, but let's realize it as what it represents.
If Searels or Moorehead or Loeffler got an offer doubling their salary for some elite program or an NFL job and left, there would be similar whispers from the lifers on Frank's staff about them, too. Again, no right or wrong here, it's just different life perspectives from the different coaches. Grimes wasn't coming to Bburg in order to go elsewhere. It just worked out that way.
I'm with you. There was nothing wrong with Grimes leaving, and he did some good in his year here. It just didn't help the rebuilding effort when he left after a year. It's a professional issue, not a personal one.
Same deal when Kevin Rogers left. No one could rationally begrudge the decision, but the hurt feelings from the coaching "family" begat the decision to value loyalty over resume and promote Stinespring to OC. I am glad history did not repeat itself and they went out and found a solid, vetted line coach that meshed well with Lefty's vision for the O.
Yep, and Grimes also didn't bring any of his commits with him to LSU. No hard feelings from me.
Against two lousy teams. Don Montgomery routinely routed non-ODAC schools. Ferrum is horrendous, and Maryville is at best an average USA South team, which is one of the weakest conferences in DIII. I checked in with the folks I know. Newsome is doing the same cheesy spread, read option, no huddle crap that everybody does, and he won't be able to recruit the speed you need to defend it. IT ISN'T EMORY & HENRY FOOTBALL.
I gave you a leg because I know how hard it must be for you to see Newsome coaching E&H, much less type out a comment about it.
The OL was terrible (especially in the 1st half). They looked like a bunch of teddy bears.
Concerning Coach Searels, I liked that in the second half, he publicly took the O-line to task and demonstrated some basic footwork and body positioning techniques. I found that refreshing. Football is a violent contact sport and sometimes instead of being a players best friend, you have to yell and shout to get their attention. Seems to have worked to some degree, because the line got better after the public rebuke from Coach Searels.
I would also find it refreshing if he encouraged proper technique during the week so we don't have to witness bad technique with our hard earned cash on Saturday.