Tech Talk Live Notes for September 28, 2015

Torrian Gray

There are very few players as good as Kendall Fuller, so it’s difficult to go with a different lineup on the fly. It started well, but it didn’t end so well.

Tech has to get some inexperienced guys some practice time this week. Mook Reynolds and Terrell Edmunds have to get ready. Reynolds and Greg Stroman are the nickel guys, but Donovan Riley and Edmunds need to get ready at the boundary.

Edmunds has a tremendous upside. He’s tall, he’s long and he’s fast. He’s just inexperienced. You have to go through some growing pains.

It’s been great to have Brandon Facyson back. He’s continuing to get his groove back. He’s close to 100%, but he’s not quite back to the level he was playing at as a freshman.

Adonis Alexander is having a positive impact. He still has a lot of growth ahead of him. When he’s at the point of attack he’s doing some great things.

James Summers is a big, strong athlete. They thought ECU might play him. They had a gameplan to stop him, and they adjusted after a series or so. It’s all about fitting your gaps and making tackles. Tech just didn’t execute well enough.

Gray has never seen a team change quarterbacks after scoring two straight touchdowns.

Chuck Clark didn’t have his best game against ECU, but he’s been great overall this year. He’s been a good leader on and off the field. He’s a very versatile player.

Tech will probably be without Kendall Fuller again against Pitt. They have to get the right guys in the right position in practice this week, and go from there.

Chuck Clark

It was tough playing without Kendall Fuller, but it’s up to everybody else to step up. In the end they didn’t get it done. Kendall tried to stay involved in the game on the sideline by telling his teammates what he was seeing with ECU’s splits and alignments.

Clark played safety in high school, so free safety is a natural fit for him. He enjoys roaming the field.

It’s good having Brandon Facyson back. He’s a veteran and the team is better with him than without him.

Adonis Alexander is a really good player. Clark has been trying his best to help him along.

It was frustrating to not get ECU off the field on third and long, especially after Tech took a 14-0 lead. You have to be able to respond to adversity, and Tech didn’t.

Clark played for Joe Jones at Kings Fork High School. Jones was a very good tight end at Tech. Jones was a role model for Clark when he played for him. He’s a great guy, and he works hard to get his players recruited by colleges.

Pitt is going to come in and try to run the ball. They are going to play a physical game. The Hokies have to be ready to stop the run.

Clark is ready to get back to Lane Stadium. He thinks you’ll see a spark from the team. Tech still has a chance to play for an ACC Championship.

Clark doesn’t mind noon games. They don’t bother him. Some other guys on the team don’t like them very much.

Frank Beamer

All losses sting, but you’ve got to give East Carolina credit. They’ve done a nice job down there. They have a good program and they’ve done a good job recruiting. Tech didn’t play well enough, and they have to play better. But East Carolina had a good atmosphere and they did a good job.

A lot of times around here, when the Hokies get up 14-0, the game is practically over. But East Carolina did a good job. Part of it was Tech, and a lot of it was ECU. The Hokies have to focus on being a better football team.

With regard to the exhibition game comments, Frank Beamer was trying to be positive in front of his team. He wanted to point out that the ACC Championship is still winnable because they haven’t played a conference game yet.

The Hokies are still working to find themselves. Losing Kendall Fuller doesn’t help. Brandon Facyson isn’t back to his old self yet. Tech has good players though, and they want to be better.

Getting Andrew Motuapuaka back would be big for the defense. Sean Huelskamp will have to sit out for the first half of the Pitt game. Beamer hopes to see Motuapuaka have a good, healthy week of practice.

Tech missed a bunch of tackles. They have to run through guys and wrap them up. They also have to be more consistent with their passing game, and the running game needs to get better.

Tech also has to stop giving up big plays. If you make the team snap the ball a lot and drive the length of the field, the percentages favor the defense. There were also entirely too many penalties again. The Hokies just have to be more disciplined.

Tech isn’t practicing in the rain these days because of the indoor practice facility, but they didn’t practice in the rain before, either. They always went to Rector Field House whenever possible. They do practice with a wet ball. Beamer would rather have a good, sharp practice than a sharp, sloppy one. Unless it’s just pouring, wet weather isn’t a huge issue. Nike makes a good ball these days.

Stacy Searels is still trying to get his back better. Hopefully he can get back in there this week. Making it back to practice right now is even more important than being at the game. Bryan Stinespring took over the offensive line during the ECU game and did fine, and Greg Nosal helped as well.

Pitt’s quarterback is very accurate. Tyler Boyd is an excellent receiver. Their offensive line is good and tough. It’s a typical Pitt football team. Pennsylvania puts out a lot of excellent recruits, and they are all tough.

Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips are playing too many plays. The Hokies need to keep using all their tight ends, and they also need to involve their running backs. They have to try and bring along the other receivers. Demitri Knowles needs to “get a little more toughness in him” but he can certainly run.

AJ Hughes is doing a great job with his kicking. Beamer is working with him to be more accurate with his placement.

Frank Beamer will coach against Pat Narduzzi this weekend. He coached against his father at Youngstown State, back when Beamer was at Murray State. This will be a big game on Saturday. Every game is important. This one is both critical and important.

19 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. To paraphrase Frank Beamer
    “That a good football team we played-Give them credit”
    (Usually it is just a not-so-good football team that played to a higher level while we played down to their normal level)
    “We’ve got to focus on being a better football team”
    “We’ve got to cut down on penalties”
    “Too many missed tackles-We’ve got to tackle better”
    “We’ve got to stop giving up the big play”
    “We have to be more disciplined”
    Yada-Yada-Yada

    Been hearing/reading these comments on a regular basis for years and VT Football is still a .500 program, right now, today in fact.
    Actually, Frank saying these comments over and over and expecting things to change is insanity, because they don’t seem to get resolved. The program is tanking for another 4th straight year. Hope Frank will see the writing on the wall and retire after the season before he damages his legacy too severely. VT FB needs new coaching blood to revitalize the program, like the rest of the Athletic Department is doing under Whit.

  2. So … all we have to do is run the ball better, pass the ball better, find more depth at wide receiver, tackle better, get the right guys in the right positions on defense, and be more sharp mentally (reduce penalties). Is that all?

  3. They adjusted to Summers playing style after a series or so?? Wow I must have been watching a different game. All I saw was him shredding our D like every other mobile qb has from teams we should beat. I recall Marshalls Cato almost single handedly beating us a couple seasons ago.

  4. Can the indoor practice facility be converted into something else? The
    Minnesota Vikings were great when they played outside. Hokies in the rain…..not very good.

  5. “Tech has to get some inexperienced guys some practice time this week.” We the h… are they doing during practice, serving water? We have become pampered pups.

  6. Is it just me? I thought I saw the ECU starting QB shaking his arm or hand as if he injured it or jammed it on a tackler. Did anybody else see that? Then why would it surprise TG that ECU went to Summers?

  7. Beamer doesn’t understand modern football if he thinks the game is over at 14-0. Scoring is prolific these days, offenses are too good and sophisticated!

    1. Agreed. Beamer is yearning for the days of yesteryear when teams played two tight ends and pounded it out 3-4 yards at a time. In those days, two touchdowns was a big lead. Not anymore. I wonder if he even watches football on TV. Makes one wonder how much he holds our offense back.

      1. Except we don’t do that either. We run these idiotic sweeps which don’t work against fast defenses.

        1. I think they were running those in part to wear down the D as we were unable to wear my hem out by pounding up the middle. Just a hunch

Comments are closed.