2006-07 Hokie Hotline Notes for 11/20/06

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.

• The defense has played very well. They haven’t given up any big plays,
  and that’s the key. The defense has tackled very well.
• Brenden Hill is playing very well. He does things that don’t show up in
  the box score. He’s a fifth year senior, and guys with that extra year can
  take it to another level. He has physically matured and gotten a lot better.
• The coaches had a good defensive plan for Wake Forest. They limited the
  big plays that the Demon Deacons could make. The Hokies ran to the ball
  well.
• It’s great to have a highly ranked defense, but the most important
  statistic is how many wins you have. How you win doesn’t matter.
• Barry Booker is a great example of a guy who got a lot of reps in
  practice, and when he finally got a chance in the games, he delivered. He
  can get from sideline to sideline.
• Virginia Tech doesn’t recruit JUCOs unless there is a previous
  relationship with the player. There has to be some extenuating circumstances
  for the Hokies to recruit a JUCO player.
• Cavanaugh doesn’t get along very well with one of the recruiting
  services. The internet has no accountability. It’s driving parents crazy
  because of all the phone calls.
• Cav knows a lot of people from his days as a recruiter. He not only knows
  a lot of coaches, but he knows a lot of principals and administrators as
  well.
• Cav deals with recruits honestly. Even if you don’t get every kid you
  recruit, you still want them to feel like they were treated fairly.
• The UVA game will be one of those games that goes down to the wire. You
  can throw the records out the window. They have a lot of confidence in
  Jameel Sewell.
• Scott Burton, the head coach at Highland Springs, called in and gave
  Cavanaugh a lot of compliments on the way he handles recruiting.

• The Hokies sell their bowl tickets in advance. So when the bowl selection
  process comes up, Weaver can say Tech has already sold a certain number of
  tickets. That gives VT a leg up in the selection process.
• There is a good chance we won’t know what bowl Tech is going to until
  December 3, the day after the ACC Championship Game.
• There were a lot of Virginia Tech fans in Winston-Salem. It was almost
  like another home game for the Hokies.
• Virginia Tech is working hand in hand with the NCAA to gather information
  in the Jimmy Williams incident. At this point, it doesn’t look like anyone
  in the athletic department knew anything about the incident, if it even
  happened.
• Blacksburg is too far north for great Bermuda grass growth, and too far
  south for great Blue Grass growth. VT is caught in between. But the surface
  of Worsham Field is great, especially the drainage system.
• Michigan State has the same type of playing surface as Tech, for the most
  part. MSU seeded their field in the trays and let it grow from seeds. Tech
  sodded theirs on the tarmac of the Virginia Tech airport and then installed
  it. There are always 60-80 trays being grown all year long, in case there is
  damage or a disease on the actual field.
• Weaver mentioned that the Hokies were going to paint a “VT” in the
  middle of the field in Lane Stadium this week to make sure no one from
  Charlottesville tries to get revenge for the field prank in Scott Stadium
  last year. (No idea if he was kidding or not.)
• There has been no thought to further expanding Lane Stadium. Most of the
  new pro stadiums that have been built recently seat about the same as Lane
  Stadium. There are other, more important projects, such as a new field house
  and a basketball practice facility. Those two facilities will be built
  before anything else.

• Beamer is very proud of the coaches and players. That was a tough football
  team to beat, especially without Branden Ore.
• Beamer hates to see Ore get hurt. Ore has been working very hard and
  running as well as anyone they have ever had at Tech.
• Kenny Lewis did a good job in his first real playing time. George Bell
  also went in and ran the ball well. You have to feel good for a guy like
  that.
• Sean Glennon has steadily improved and has really done a good job. Mike O’Cain
  has done a great job with him. You could finally see his improvement on
  Saturday night because some other players around him stepped up.
• Sergio Render was ACC Lineman of the Week. He is going to be a really good
  player. He graded out at 90% with six knockdowns. He is really working hard.
• Saturday was Tech’s best offensive game of the year. Bryan Stinespring
  called a good game. The Hokies did some different things that got them some
  big plays. The players also played much better.
• Beamer disagreed with a couple of personal foul calls. He disagreed with
  the late hit on Rouse. The ref closest to the play didn’t throw the flag.
  The guy almost on the other side of the field threw the flag.
• The Xavier Adibi flag was worse. He got blocked into the runner by a Wake
  Forest player, and then tried to hold the guy up.
• Brandon Pace is a really good kicker. His motion is always the same, and
  he gets the same flight on the ball. He has a bright future as a kicker at
  the next level.
• Branden Ore is still listed as “doubtful”. He wants to play, and he
  will if he can. But he has to be able to make his cuts to be effective.
  Otherwise Kenny Lewis would be the better option.
• Sam Wheeler played very well. There has been a big difference in his
  performance the last few weeks. He has good hands and he’s very athletic.
  He has a really good future at Virginia Tech.
• The future of the offensive line is good. They are going to get a lot
  better over the next few years with guys like Aaron Brown and Sergio Render.
  The incoming offensive line recruiting class is also very good.
• Barry Booker has always been a nifty guy who can run. But now he’s
  strong enough to compete at the point of attack, and he’s become a very
  good player.
• Jared Develli and Jud Dunlevy are both very good on kickoffs, but they
  need to get consistent on field goal kicking. Either player could win the
  job next year, as well as several others.
• Brent Bowden should be the starting punter next year. Brian Saunders, the
  scout team quarterback, also might have a future at punter.
• Virginia is a much improved football team from what they were early in the
  season. Sewell has really given them a spark. Chris Long has a great motor
  and gives great effort. Jason Snelling gives them some tough yardage.
• Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi are playing great, and Brenden Hill has
  stepped up and is playing at a high level. UVA forces you to defend
  vertically and laterally because they have a mobile quarterback. It will be
  a challenge.
• If the Hokies can win this week and get to 10 wins, it would really be a
  great year. They are putting everything they have into this one.

• The Old Spice Classic is a loaded field. The Hokies will have their hands
  full. Practice has been good. They have had a lot of time off since their
  last game, so they are looking forward to playing.
• It will be nice to have a lot of depth when playing three games in four
  days. That could turn out to be important.

Monday was Day 723 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.