Hokie Hotline Notes for 9/15/08

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 see the show in person at Awful Arthur’s in Blacksburg.

• Practice was good on Monday. The team practiced well.
• When you start worrying about things in the newspapers, then you’ve gone
  from us to me. When you do that, all your focus and attention aren’t on the
  matters at hand. You can’t get distracted.
• Stinespring thought the offense did fine against Georgia Tech. He thought
  they had a chance to do more on some deep passes, but they didn’t get the
  pass off.
• The effort was great. They were physical up front at the point of attack.
  They controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part, and took care of
  the football. They had no turnovers and just one penalty (a false start).
  Stinespring said the penalty was his responsibility.
• They are running the ball better. The average per carry is up from last
  season (from 3.3 ypc to 4.4 ypc). That’s what the offense has to do this
  year.
• They also need to get better at throwing the football. They’ve had some
  opportunities, but they didn’t take advantage of them.
• Tech has had to establish a direction on offense, and playing Tyrod Taylor
  at quarterback is the way to go. It’s easier to go with one quarterback, and
  he’s just the best fit.
• Tyrod Taylor has very quick feet and a clock in his head. He is getting
  his feet set very quickly. While he’s already set up to throw, the receivers
  are still getting into their routes. Sometimes that makes him take off more
  quickly. But when you get into those moments, you have to let players play.
• On the touchdown before halftime, the play call was a pass. However, the
  blocking scheme is designed to create a hole for the quarterback if he
  chooses to pull it down, which is what Taylor did. He did the same thing on
  the same play against FSU last year.
• The
  light has really gone on for Darren Evans. He reminds Stinespring of Ken
  Oxendine. He broke 10 tackles against Georgia Tech.
• Stinespring said the offense needs to take more shots downfield. They need
  to do something to loosen up the defenses a bit.
• The staff is very high on Josh Oglesby. They just have to get him into a
  game. He hasn’t had much of a chance when he’s been in there. There are just
  so many good backs right now.
• Mike O’Cain was in the booth with Stinespring on Saturday, rather than
  Kevin Sherman. They wanted to get Sherman on the sideline to coach up the
  young receivers. Plus, O’Cain thought he might be able to see some things
  that would help Tyrod Taylor. It also helps the 2-minute offense.
• The receivers didn’t make many mistakes on Saturday. It helped having
  Sherman down on the sideline with them.
• Dustin Pickle does everything well. He’s very good at protecting. He has
  good hands and he gets positive yards. He really is a great fit in the
  2-minute offense.
• Taylor was better at carrying out his play fakes on Saturday, but that’s
  something they are still trying to emphasize with him.
• UNC is very athletic. They are also fairly experienced. They have depth on
  the defensive line. The linebackers are really good with a lot of range.
  They have quick recovery speed. They have created a lot of turnovers so far.

• Weaver spoke regarding the Gus Gilchrist situation. Gilchrist is now at
  South Florida, where
  his personal trainer was just given a job. The hiring of his personal
  trainer is
  not illegal, though Weaver doesn’t like it. When Gilchrist originally
  committed to Virginia Tech, he and his family were not involved with the
  personal trainer.
• This Saturday’s game at UNC is huge. Butch Davis did a great job at Miami,
  and he’s recruiting very well at UNC as well.
• Nebraska will be a terrific opponent for Tech. Their former coach, Tom
  Osbourne, is now the athletic director.
• The band isn’t going to Nebraska, but they will go to Chapel Hill.
• The game in Atlanta next year will not be part of the season ticket
  package. Nothing has been finalized as of yet. As far as Weaver knows,
  ESPN/ABC is still working with Alabama.

• The team had a very good practice on Monday. Beamer is proud of the team
  for how hard they played on Saturday. They made progress on offense, defense
  and special teams. That was a really good team win.
• Josh Nesbitt of Georgia Tech is a very good player. He just has a knack
  about where to go in the open field. He is going to help Georgia Tech win a
  lot of games.
• Dyrell Roberts has good speed and good hands, and he’ll get even better.
  Danny Coale is playing well. Jarrett Boykin has started to come on as well.
  They will try to work Macho Harris in more as well.
• Right now Tyrod Taylor is the quarterback. Everybody really wanted to get
  back to one quarterback. That’s the way to go. Sean Glennon might be a
  better fit down the road, when the receivers are better.
• The offense did what they needed to do on Saturday. They protected the
  football and scored enough points to win the game. They will continue to get
  better as the season goes along.
• John Graves is the first player under Beamer to block a kick three games
  in a row. It says quite a lot about his effort.
• Dustin Pickle is a great story. He’s full speed with everything he does.
  He’s a great player and a great person.
• The ACC had a good weekend with UNC and Maryland winning. The players and
  coaches are quality in the ACC. Things will turn back around in the right
  direction.
• UNC is a very good team. They are the best team on the Hokies’ schedule,
  thus far. Brandon Tate is a fantastic all-around player. Hakeem Nicks is an
  excellent receiver as well, and Brooks Foster complements them well.
• T.J. Yates is playing well at quarterback. UNC returns all their offensive
  players from last year except their center.
• Defensively, they are very athletic. They were young last year, but this
  year they are good. The Hokies will have to play their best.
• Tech is better this week than last week. They have a direction now, and
  they need to keep moving in that direction. The effort is outstanding right
  now.
• Blake DeChristopher was cleared on Monday. Ryan Williams will red shirt.
  Ryan and the coaches feel that is best for him right now. Cam Martin will be
  back full-tilt this week.

Monday was Day 1,388 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the
Commonwealth Cup.