2006-07 Hokie Hotline Notes for 9/11/06

The Hokie Hotline (football and basketball season)

When: Every Monday from 7:00-9:00 during football season, 7:00-8:00 during basketball season.

Where: Click here for a list of radio stations, and to find the link for listening to the show on the Internet (look to the right on the hokiesports.com page that loads when you click the link). You can also watch the archive on hokietv.com.

• Saturday’s game was a very good experience for the young offense. They
  really had a valuable session in the film room on Monday morning.
• The offensive line was much better against UNC. They played better as a
  team. Sergio Render had a very good game, for a player who was playing in
  just his second game.
• The passing game still needs work. The receivers had opportunities to get
  open, but they didn’t. Glennon could have made a more accurate throw a
  couple of times. And a few penalties hurt.
• Stinespring said the bubble screens (quick passes to the wide receivers
  behind the line) are actually the quarterback’s decision. A running play
  is called, but if the quarterback feels that the defense has overcompensated
  towards the run, he can check into the bubble screen.
• There were a couple of plays where Glennon probably should have thrown the
  ball downfield, rather than going with the short pass.
• The offensive line did a pretty good job against the blitz. Glennon got
  sacked once, but that was Marshman just getting beat one on one.
• Kenny Lewis, Jr. has a chance to earn playing time at tailback. He is
  healthy right now, and he has been practicing very well.
• Duane Brown has really been stepping up and being the offensive leader. He
  is a leader in practice and in games, just by the way he plays the game.
  Danny McGrath has also done a really good job.
• UNC defensive linemen were yelling “hike” and “hut” at the line of
  scrimmage, trying to force the Hokies into a false start. It worked a couple
  of times. The officials eventually picked up on it and made them stop.

• The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team will play Seton Hall in Madison
  Square Garden on December 21. It will be part of a double header, with the
  other game being Duke vs. Gonzaga.
• They are still working on putting the “VTs” on the top of each tower
  on the West Side expansion.
• Weaver said he is not particularly pleased with the new college football
  rules changes. He thinks there is no point in running the clock at the
  change of possessions. (Editor’s Note: we here at TSL agree wholeheartedly.)
• The Georgia Tech game time will be announced next Monday, September 18,
  unless the networks exercise their six day rule. Weaver does not feel that
  the game will start at noon.
• The Hokie Bird in the lobby of Cassell Coliseum will stay in Cassell,
  rather than moving to Lane Stadium. It would be very tough for them to move
  it inside the West Side expansion because no entrance is big enough.

• Beamer said he was proud of the offense. They got better. There are a lot
  of young guys and there is a learning process, but they got better. The
  effort from everyone is great.
• George Bell’s knee is bothering him. He doesn’t have the continuous
  burst that he needs. He is a very hard worker and a great guy, but he just
  doesn’t have it right now. They are going to give Elan Lewis more work in
  practice.
• Kenny Lewis, Jr. has looked very good recently. He has great speed and
  decent size. He has really made some plays in practice.
• Branden Ore was great against UNC. He knew when to stop, when to go and
  when to put his shoulder down. Nobody ever really seems to get a clean hit
  on Ore.
• The situation with William Wall has been resolved. He just needed to sit
  down for awhile. He understands that what he did was wrong, and he assured
  Beamer that it isn’t going to happen again.
• Beamer said he has put his fastest guys back in the middle on the punt
  block team. It’s tough for an interior lineman to be quick enough to
  consistently block guys like Josh Morgan on twists.
• Brandon Frye looks like he will be fine to play against Duke on Saturday.
  He could have gone against UNC, but the smart thing was to hold him out.
• They weren’t trying to run up the score against UNC with the late
  touchdown pass to Greg Boone, but it is important to get Ike Whitaker some
  work.
• Beamer said punt returns will start to get better. The more punts the
  Hokies block, the better chances they will get on punt returns.
• Macho Harris and Brandon Flowers are doing very well at cornerback. Right
  now it isn’t clear when Roland Minor will be back. At one point the
  Georgia Tech game was the date, but they aren’t sure that will happen now.
• Beamer said he thinks the instant replay system was good. He still thinks
  Kam Chancellor had the interception against Northeastern, but overall things
  are going well.
• After punt blocks, the first guy to the ball is supposed to take his time
  picking the ball up. Everyone else is supposed to turn around and block. If
  Adjepong, Pickle, etc. had turned and blocked against UNC, Cody Grimm would
  have eventually picked up the ball and scored.
• Chris Ellis really toughed it out on Saturday. He hurt his shoulder on the
  first play, but played the rest of the game. He will miss practice time this
  week, but he is expected to play against Duke.
• Thaddeus Lewis has been playing well at quarterback for Duke, especially
  for a true freshman. He has not thrown an interception, and he threw for
  over 300 yards against Wake Forest.

Monday was Day 653 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.