Hokie Hotline Notes for 9/29/08

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.

• Nebraska was a great atmosphere, and it’s one of those victories that
  you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
• The Tech backs were running downhill. The offensive line played well. The
  Hokies made a commitment last week to go out there and hit them in the
  mouth, and that’s exactly what they did.
• The offense is starting to grow up. They’ve gotten better each week. They
  have shown a lot of character.
• Tyrod Taylor had his best game of the season against Nebraska. Many of the
  younger offensive players had good games at Nebraska, like Jarrett Boykin
  and Darren Evans.
• Hite really tried to get Josh Oglesby into the game on Saturday, but
  decided not to at the last minute. Hite still says Oglesby will get in, and
  he’s going to be a special player.
• The first thing the team did in practice on Monday was work on goal line
  plays. They are working on it constantly. They want to turn some of those
  field goals into touchdowns.
• The running backs are only as good as the offensive line. Those guys are
  starting to come together up front. Kenny Lewis graded out well and had 5
  broken tackles against Nebraska. He is a lot better since he got his
  shoulder fixed up.
• Darren Evans had 6 broken tackles against Nebraska. He broke 10 tackles
  against UNC. All of the backs are protecting the football as well.
• Jahre
  Cheeseman has moved to fullback right now. He can be another Jarrett
  Ferguson for Tech. He is a good athlete, and he’s learning the position
  well. Hite is going to try and get him in this weekend.
• Tech has gotten some calls late in the game over the past few weeks, but
  they have been the right call. Hite really respects the officials for making
  that late hit call on Saturday night, especially on the Nebraska sideline.
• Hite is Tech’s liaison to the officials. He knows all of the ACC refs, and
  some of their families. It’s been a good relationship for both sides.
• Western Kentucky is a very experienced team. Their defense is all juniors
  and seniors. They will play about three different defensive schemes. Tech’s
  protection schemes will need some tweaking this week.
• Each game gets bigger and more important as you go throughout the system.
  This week is no different.
• Greg Boone had a great game on Saturday. He made a couple of big catches,
  and came up with the ball on Nebraska’s onside kick attempt.
• Coaching a very young backfield is rejuvenating.

• Virginia Tech showed a lot of poise at Nebraska on Saturday night. That
  shows that the team was prepared well by the coaches.
• Nebraska fans have a tremendous amount of respect for their opponents. The
  Nebraska team is good, and they are going to win plenty of games this year.
  It was a great win for Tech.
• Tech has a young team, but they are growing together. This is as good a
  young group of players as Beamer has ever had. The Tech staff has done a
  great job with them.
• There is still no news to report on Tech’s 2009 opener in the Georgia
  Dome. Weaver did tell the ESPN/ABC people that if it doesn’t work with
  Alabama, two of the schools that Tech would like to play are Tennessee and
  South Carolina.
• Weaver thought Nebraska used a lot of artificial noise during the game on
  Saturday night. That shows exactly how much poise the Hokies played with.
• There will be a flyover before the Western Kentucky game of two AH-64
  Apache attack helicopters. Cliff Anders will lead the flyover. He was the
  long snapper on Tech’s 1999 team.
• Tech fans can get a sneak peek at the basketball team on October 17th at
  9pm in Cassell Coliseum.

• Beamer is very proud of how hard this team is playing. The effort was
  fantastic, by both the players and the coaches. The harder you play, the
  more breaks you tend to get.
• Tyrod Taylor was just having fun. Beamer is happy that there was only one
  false start penalty in an environment that is so loud.
• Sometimes when you are young, you don’t know that you’re supposed to be
  nervous. Tech’s young players made some critical plays.
• Tyrod Taylor is in a much better position to throw the football this year.
  He is doing a better job of knowing where to go with the football. He brings
  a lot of things to the table.
• Jason Worilds and Orion Martin are playing great at defensive end. They
  play very hard, as does the entire defense.
• The Hokies did some things very well in this game, but they also know
  there are plenty of things they need to improve on. Tech’s success will come
  down to whether or not they keep improving throughout the season. They have
  to be better in the red zone.
• Dustin Keys made some big kicks against Nebraska. He’s putting his kicks
  right down the middle, between the goal posts.
• Tech can’t get the ball into the end zone consistently on kickoffs, so
  they are just trying to get it high in the air right now. Kickoff coverage
  is something that needs to improve.
• Kam Chancellor will keep getting better throughout the season. He’ll learn
  from his mistakes. Free safety is much different than rover.
• The team will miss Davon Morgan’s play, but also his personality. He’s
  always positive and upbeat.
• Beamer thought the late hit call near the end of the game was a good call.
  It was definitely a late hit. Beamer is proud that Tech is doing so well in
  penalty yardage this year. Tech is one of the best teams in the nation in
  penalties and penalty yardage.
• The Hokies are handling themselves well on the field. They aren’t turning
  the ball over, there isn’t much showboating, and they are just handing the
  ball back to the officials.
• Things are tough for UVA right now. Beamer thinks it would be tough for
  anyone to win with the #3 quarterback. Clemson is good across the board, but
  their offensive line isn’t very good. That’s holding the team back.
• Stephan Virgil is playing very well for Tech. He works very hard and he
  loves football. He has to work hard at his academics, and he does. He and
  Macho Harris are playing great.

Monday was Day 1,402 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the
Commonwealth Cup.