2006-07 Hokie Hotline Notes for 10/30/06

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.

• It took a team effort to beat Clemson, and the Hokies played well on
  offense, defense and special teams.
• The difference between being a coach and a player is that you feel like
  you have more control as a player. You can prepare the players as a coach,
  but you can’t get out and do it yourself.
• Gray decided at one point during his college career that he wanted to be a
  coach one day.
• The secondary is very coachable. Macho Harris, Brandon Flowers and D.J.
  Parker are all very hungry to succeed.
• There is a big difference between coaching pro players and college
  players. In the NFL, it’s a job. You just give your players information
  and they go out and do their job to the best of their ability. College
  players require more motivation, and sometimes some yelling.
• There are a lot of defensive players who play at Virginia Tech who are
  going to make good NFL players one day.
• The way you beat teams like Miami and Clemson is to play disciplined
  football. Everybody has to stay in their gaps and the defensive backs have
  to cover their assigned areas.
• The front four did a great job against Clemson. They got off the ball very
  fast and played in the neutral zone. There were no seams for the Clemson
  running backs.
• The Hokies played smart football against Clemson. There were no personal
  fouls. The coaches stressed to the team that they don’t have to do a lot
  of talking; they can just let their play do the talking.
• Gray said he is probably a little more demanding and a little less lax
  about the little things than his predecessor, Whammy Ward.
• Kam Chancellor will be a three year starter at Virginia Tech. He will
  start at either whip or rover next year. It’s tough to get him time right
  now because Brandon Flowers is playing so well and the games are so close.
• The boundary cornerback gets to blitz a lot in Virginia Tech’s defense.
  Brandon Flowers got a sack and forced a safety against Southern Miss, so
  that was a big game for him.
• Former Tech fullback Brian Edmonds called in to talk to Gray and told him
  he was proud of him for getting a good coaching job. Edmunds, who is living
  in Richmond, said he was working as a loan officer and is still a big Tech
  fan.

• When the visiting team has to call their first timeout before their first
  play from scrimmage, that’s when you know the crowd is doing a great job.
• The fan who hit Tommy Bowden with an airplane bottle was spotted by a
  police officer and immediately removed from the stadium. He was a Clemson
  fan who bought tickets from a Hokie fan behind the Clemson bench.
• Tommy Bowden and Clemson could pursue charges against the man, because his
  name and address are known.
• Weaver doesn’t know why the man wasn’t arrested. Normally they would
  be arrested in a situation like that, but it “could be because he was from
  out of state and a Clemson fan.” He was ejected and not let back into the
  ballgame.
• Weaver used this time to reiterate that fans shouldn’t drink too much
  alcohol before the game. “People think they have a right of passage to
  drink all day and make fools of themselves at the game. We had more people
  arrested for drunkenness and underage drinking last Thursday evening.”
• Paraphrasing the next part of Weaver’s segment, he said he got
  complaints from six or eight Clemson fans about how they were treated and
  obscenities that were thrown their way. Nine out of every 10 happened by
  people who were drunk. Most weren’t students; they were people in their
  30s or 40s.
• Weaver said they are always looking to endow more scholarships. They give
  almost the full allotment of scholarships, with the exception of men’s
  swimming and men’s track.
• In three to five years, they will probably add women’s golf because they
  already have the facilities. That will allow them to give the full
  complement of scholarships over all sports.
• The Clemson game had the highest ratings of any Thursday night game that
  has been up against a World Series game.

• Offense, defense and special teams all played very well. The Hokies had
  very few penalties during the game. Beamer is hoping to take that down to
  Miami this weekend.
• The football team is getting better. The offensive line is getting better,
  despite the loss of Shuman during the Clemson game. Brandon Gore did a solid
  job against Clemson when he came in after Shuman’s injury.
• Brandon Holland has the potential to be very good. It’s all new to him
  and he’s not quite ready, but he can be very good. Richard Graham can be
  good as well. He really cares about football and he has a great work ethic.
• Not only did Branden Ore do a great job running the ball, but he was great
  in pass protection as well. He really stepped up and helped the team.
• It helps recruiting when a player coming out of high school can see that a
  school has put a lot of players at his position in the NFL. That helps
  Virginia Tech with defensive back recruiting.
• Brandon Flowers wasn’t a super highly recruited guy, but he had some
  offers. He’ll play in the NFL. He’s smart and he knows what’s going
  on.
• Pro scouts are in Blacksburg all the time evaluating players. They do a
  great job, but they still make mistakes. It’s even tougher for college
  coaches to evaluate high school players.
• Louisville and West Virginia play this Thursday night. The winner could
  have the inside track to the National Championship Game. The last team to
  beat both of those teams is Virginia Tech.
• Beamer said he expects Louisville to stack the line of scrimmage and make
  Pat White complete some passes down the field.
• Aaron Rouse has some things on his mind. His grandfather passed away
  recently. He just needs to clear his mind and play football.
• Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall played a great game on Thursday night. You can
  turn on the video and see a lot of players playing great against Clemson.
• Anyone who knows Miami understands what kind of talent they have. The
  Hokies know they will have to play at the top of their game to knock off the
  Hurricanes.
• Bryan Stinespring was Branden Ore’s head recruiter. There was never any
  question about whether the staff wanted him at Virginia Tech. Billy Hite
  also deserves a lot of credit for developing Ore and so many other great
  Tech backs.
• Ore is a complete player who does everything it takes to win. Those are
  the guys you want to lead your team. That’s why Beamer chose Ore and
  Noland Burchette to talk to the team after the Boston College loss.
• Defending the pass is the responsibility of the entire defense. The
  secondary obviously has to play well, but the linebackers have to get in
  their zones and the defensive line needs to put pressure on the quarterback.
  Everybody is doing a good job in their assignments.
• Beamer noted that Kirk Herbstreit really likes the Virginia Tech program.
  When things don’t go right, such as what happened during the Boston
  College game, it really bothers him. He does a great job as an analyst.
• Things are getting more equal across the board in college football. Larry
  Coker has talented players, but many of them are young. He has a great
  overall record at Miami, and people from Miami should not want him gone.
• Nick Marshman could see some time spelling Brandon Gore this week. At 357
  pounds, it will be very tough for Gore to play the entire game.

Monday was Day 702 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.