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When: Every Monday from 7:00-9:00 during football season, 7:00-8:00 during basketball season.
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TSL Welcomes Bull and Bones as Sponsor of our Tech Talk Live Notes
The
new Tech Talk Live show is broadcast from Bull & Bones Brewhaus and Grill in
the First & Main shopping center in Blacksburg, and TechSideline.com is
pleased to welcome Bull & Bones as sponsor of our Tech Talk Live Notes. Bull
& Bones Brewhaus & Grill is a brewpub with both an upscale dining room
and a separate sports bar with a casual dining area
- Call Ahead Seating: 540-953-BULL(2855)
- Hours: Sun.-Sat. 11am-2am, Sun. Brunch 11am-3pm
As a special treat for TechSideline.com readers, each
week we’re giving away one $50 gift certificate to Bull & Bones
to the reader who wins bourbonstreet’s weekly football game score prediction
contest. Just watch the TechSideline.com football board for bourbonstreet’s
weekly prediction thread, and you could have a shot at dinner on us!
Jim Weaver
- Western Michigan, who Tech was going to play next year, has been moved
back to 2016. Weaver got a call from them about 2.5 weeks ago. The Broncos
have a chance to play at Notre Dame next year, and they are the first team
in the MAC to play Notre Dame. - Virginia Tech has been asked to play the Boise State game on Labor Day
night rather than October 2. Coach Beamer was all for moving the game. Tech
will now play a short week, on Monday (Labor Day) and the following
Saturday. That Saturday game will be a home game. - Notre Dame is making a habit of buying non-BCS conference home games just
to get to nine wins, which would put them in a BCS Bowl. Weaver thinks there
will be some discussions in the not-too-distant future about Notre Dame’s
requirements to make a BCS Bowl. - The University will close at 4pm on Thursday and the parking lots will
open at 5pm. - Weaver said Virginia Tech has no need to play music during games while
opponents are huddling. There’s no need to manufacture music because Tech
fans are already so loud. - There’s too much football left to be played. There’s no need to try and
project what bowl the Hokies will be playing. - It would be really fun to play Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. It would also
be great to play Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Gary Stokan of the
Chick-fil-A Bowl will be in Blacksburg on Thursday night. - North Carolina is a very solid program right now. Tech has to bring their
A-game and play hard.
Mike Gentry
- Gentry got a good feeling about this team when he saw them work out
between the Orange Bowl and spring practice. They are a very hard working
team. - It makes it very satisfying for former Tech players to come back and work
in the strength and conditioning program. Keith Short, Jarrett Ferguson and
Carlton Weatherford work there now. There are 14 full-time strength and
conditioning coordinators across the country who have come through the Tech
program. - Jarrett Ferguson is the perfect example of what the strength and
conditioning program can do. He came in as a small walk-on and turned into a
great fullback who was drafted by the NFL. - The new basketball facility is overwhelming. The strength and conditioning
rooms are outstanding. - Tech is recruiting smaller offensive linemen now. It’s much easier to take
an athletic, smaller guy and build him up than it is to take a bigger guy
and get him into shape. - Demetrius Taylor is a great strength athlete. He’s built himself from a
linebacker into a defensive tackle. His 410-lbs push jerk is the best ever
at Virginia Tech, regardless of position. He has the position record for
bench press for defensive tackles at 475-lbs. You name it, he’s done it. - Beating Nebraska twice was great for Gentry. Tech modeled their strength
and conditioning program after Nebraska’s in the mid-90s. - Gentry mentioned these specific true freshmen as guys who are standing
out: David Wilson, David Wang, Antone Exum, James Gayle, Jayron Hosley,
Telvion Clark, Nubian Peak and Andrew Miller. - Tyrod Taylor is a great leader in the strength and conditioning program,
as is Jason Worilds. Danny Coale is one of Gentry’s favorite guys. - In the offseason, Tech players generally lift three or four times a week.
The required number is about eight hours per week. - Jake Johnson came in the door already very strong. He’s still getting
stronger and more explosive. He’s a hard worker. He benches 425-lbs, which
is a linebacker record.
Demetrius Taylor
- Five years goes by fast. It seems like he was in for freshman orientation
very recently. - At first, Taylor didn’t think he was going to play a lot Tech. He just
kept working hard. He came in as a linebacker behind Xavier Adibi and Vince
Hall. Then he moved to defensive end and that didn’t work, but he finally
found a home at defensive tackle. - Taylor was a sprinter in track in high school, and he was also a tailback.
He wasn’t as big back then, but he’s a good all-around athlete. - Coach Gentry’s strength program has been great. Taylor has gotten bigger,
but he’s still very quick. - Before high school, Taylor was a big fan of Michigan, Miami and Florida
State. They recruited him a little bit, but Taylor made the right choice in
choosing Virginia Tech. - North Carolina is a good team. The Hokies can’t overlook anyone. They have
to come out and play hard. - Nesbitt and Dwyer are really good players. Nesbitt in particular is really
explosive and strong for a quarterback. - Tech has been somewhat inconsistent this year from week to week. Taylor
feels that youth is a factor. More people on the team just have to grow up
and learn how to play at a high level. - Taylor’s best opponent was the left guard from Nebraska this year. He is
really strong and really big.
Sam Wheeler
- Wheeler played fullback, running back and linebacker in high school. His
best position was in the backfield. Tight end is something that came later. - Being injured for so long was tough, but it’s great to be back now. It’s a
great feeling to be back out there with his teammates. - Wheeler was injured against Georgia Tech in 2007. A defensive lineman was
blocked right into his knee. It was an eight month rehab program. He did an
internship in the summer of 2008 that set him back, but he’s back this year. - The mental attitude of the team is fine. This is a very positive group.
The Hokies just need to have a good game on Thursday. They are preparing
well this week. - Wheeler, who is from Blacksburg, always wanted to play football at
Virginia Tech. He’s basically living the dream right now. - UNC has one of the best defenses in the country. The Hokies have to take
their intensity to another level. - He has two plays that go down as his best moment at Tech. The first was
the long touchdown pass from Eddie Royal in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The second
was having a big game against East Carolina in the first game after April
16th. - The fans make Thursday night games special. It’s the best college
atmosphere in the country. - The best defensive player Wheeler has gone up against was Matthias
Kiwanuka of Boston College. He plays for the Giants now. - The team will be wearing orange jerseys on Thursday night against North
Carolina.
Frank Beamer
- Beamer spoke about the chop blocking incidents with Georgia Tech. Beamer
acknowledged that Paul Johnson had a great scheme for the Hokies when the
teams met earlier this month. - Beamer also said: “All he has to do is look at the video that Doug
Rhoades (the head of ACC officials) sends out, and they’re all there. I
didn’t say they were intentionally doing anything. I’m saying when you block
back towards the line of scrimmage you can’t come in there and chop. And on
the last touchdown that’s what happened. And John Graves, we talked about
him. He went out for the rest of the game. That play is on that tape too.
You stand a guy up and then another guy comes and chops him, I think it’s
dangerous. I think that’s the way they play. I’m not saying they are doing
anything intentionally illegal, I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying those
blocks in that game, I thought they were dangerous. I thought they were
dangerous for Kam Chancellor and I thought it was dangerous for John Graves.
And that’s all I’m saying.” - “I was on the rules committee for a number of years. I think we need
to get the language different, or get the language right, so we don’t have
these dangerous plays.” - Tech has had good practices this week. They have a good group of kids.
They are playing a good football team on Thursday night. UNC has a great
defense, and they’ve got some young, talented wide receivers. Tech has to
play their very best. - Butch Davis has done a great job at UNC. They have been playing some very
young players. - Mike Gentry is a valuable part of what Tech does. They get a lot of their
on-field toughness from his strength and conditioning programs. - Beamer is all for opening the season against Boise State. They will be a
very good opponent. They could go undefeated this year. It will be good to
play on a Monday night. - Beamer likes back-to-back Thursday night games because it gives the team
extra rest on the front end and the back end. - UNC’s front four is probably the best that the Hokies have played against
this year. Their linebackers are also very good. They are a tough team. Tech
has a tough game ahead of them. - Virginia Tech’s receivers are averaging 17.9 yards per catch this year.
They are making big plays down the field. Dyrell Roberts leads the country
in kickoff return average. - UNC will play their best game of the season this Thursday. They will be
fired up coming into Blacksburg. Their defense is the real deal. Their
offense has good players. They can make some plays. They have an experienced
quarterback. This is a very capable UNC team. - Tech is in pretty good shape with their injuries. Stephan Virgil is
looking good. John Graves is back practicing, and the staff feels good about
Blake DeChristopher as well. The short break came at a good time. - Beamer wants to see more consistency down the stretch. The Hokies have
beaten some good teams and they lost to two good teams. This team will
continue to improve. - 10 wins would be great, yet again. It would be six consecutive 10-win
seasons. - Demetrius Taylor is a very strong player, and he’s got exceptional
quickness. He has no trouble holding his leverage, and his quickness can
beat bigger guys. He’s a very good player and he’s really helping the team. - Summer recruiting camps are a benefit for Tech. You get to see prospects
go one-on-one with other prospects. It helps the coaches decide who they
want to offer. - There is still plenty of opportunity to do great things this year. This is
a great group of guys.
Monday was Day 1,794 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
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