Hokie Hotline Notes for 10/13/08

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.

• The team took some time off last week, and they looked refreshed on
  Monday. They are excited to play BC. These last six games will be very
  tough.
• Foster has made it known to his players that Boston College has circled
  the Tech game on their calendar as the biggest game of the year, according
  to BC defensive tackle Ron Brace.
• Ultimately it’s all about the Hokies going out and playing great
  football. If they do that, things will take care of themselves.
• BC is still trying to throw the football without Matt Ryan. They threw for 400+
  yards against NC State. They are doing a little more option to keep defenses
  honest with Chris Crane at quarterback.
• The BC tailbacks aren’t as big as they normally are, but they have more
  quickness than the guys the Eagles have had in the past.
• Tech spent Monday through Wednesday concentrating on BC last week. They
  are a little more ahead than usual in their game preparation, thanks to the bye
  week.
• There are a number of young players, many of whom are redshirting, who
  have a chance to be great players. Some of those include Jake Johnson,
  Antoine Hopkins, Allen Stephens, Lorenzo Williams and Eddie Whitley.
• Defensive players are starting to understand their roles more. There are
  some guys who have been banged up who go healthier on the bye week, such as
  Demetrius Taylor.
• Jason Worilds is the guy who has really stepped up his play. It’s been
  showing over the past few weeks.
• Macho Harris is doing well right now. He tweaked his foot a bit in the
  Western Kentucky game, but he’s fine.
• Stephan Virgil might be the fastest player on the starting defense. Cris
  Hill is probably the fastest guy on the defense as a whole.
• The coaching staff went recruiting at the end of last week. Foster went to
  Northern Virginia. Some coaches were at Hargrave and Fork Union.
• Monday was a short yardage day for the Tech defense. Tomorrow will
  be a second down, play action pass day. Wednesday will be a third down
  day. On Thursday, they’ll put it all together.
• This team isn’t close to being as good as they can be. They haven’t
  put together a complete game yet. They’ll get there, if Monday was any
  indication.
• Tech has to keep Crane in the pocket and put pressure on him.

• Bud Foster is a very viable candidate for the Clemson job, in Weaver’s
  opinion. He is a top notch defensive coordinator. When an athletic director
  wants to talk to an assistant coach, he generally calls the head coach to
  get permission. So Terry Don Phillips would be calling Frank Beamer to ask
  for permission to talk to Foster.
• The BC game is going to be a very physical football game. Their defense is very
  stout. They have some really big defensive tackles that are difficult to
  move. The Hokies have to stick to their blocks this week.
• Weaver doesn’t see another Lane Stadium expansion in his tenure. The
  stadium capacity is right where it needs to be. It’s about the same as all
  the new NFL stadiums that are being built.
• Tech is planning on refurbishing the restrooms in Lane Stadium. It’s
  something that needs to be done.
• They haven’t talked about replacing the lighting in Cassell Coliseum.
  They haven’t gotten any complaints about it yet.
• There are about 2,750 student tickets for basketball. 1,500 are reserved
  for student season tickets. This year there were 5,000 applications for
  student season tickets. There were only a little more than 2,000
  applications last year.
• For those students who had season tickets in previous years, but who didn’t
  get them this year as seniors, he says that this policy was agreed on while
  meeting with Tech’s student governing body.
• The Virginia Tech administration doesn’t want students camping out for
  tickets. That’s not Weaver’s decision.
• Fans will have a chance to see the Tech basketball team in action on
  Friday night. It will start at approximately 9pm, or whenever the volleyball
  game ends. The volleyball match begins at 7pm.

• Clemson is living proof that if you don’t have a good offensive line, it
  makes it tough to move the ball, even if you have a great quarterback, great
  running backs and good receivers.
• The Hokies did some serious recruiting on Thursday and Friday. Beamer
  feels great about how it’s going right now.
• Boston College had a great win at NC State. That might get them going.
  Chris Crane had been struggling some, but he played a great game against NC
  State. The Hokies have their hands full.
• Billy Hite hasn’t decided who will return kicks yet. They need a guy
  back there who has speed, but who is also a straight ahead runner. Guys like
  Patrick Terry, Cris Hill and Ervin Garner all have a chance there.
• The bye week was good for everyone. Every game has been tough, and there
  were some banged up players.
• Tech played a bad game at BC two years ago. Things broke down on the field
  and on the sideline. You have to be together. The team can’t come apart.
• The Hokies have really had to battle BC the last few years. Even when they
  beat them in the ACC Championship Game, they had to come from behind.
• Boston College is really good inside defensively. Tech has to mix things
  up and go inside and outside. It’s going to take great execution to move
  the football.
• Ron Brace and B.J. Raji are huge defensive tackles. They can also move
  well. Marshman, Shuman and Render have to play well for the Hokies.
• BC came out firing against NC State. They also mix in some option. Chris
  Crane isn’t a speed guy, but he’s big, he knows how to run the option,
  and he always falls forward. It also slows down the pass rush from the
  defensive ends.
• At linebacker, Mark Herzlich is very good. They have speed at the
  linebacker spots, despite what some people think.
• The Hokies will play six games in 47 days. Things have to start happening
  now. They will have to execute well down the stretch.
• Things have changed in football, and the fullback doesn’t touch the ball
  as much anymore. Jahre Cheeseman has a chance to make some things happen
  from that position though. VT needs to keep bringing him along.
• Beamer agreed that the players seemed to have an extra hop in their step
  on Monday.
• Kenny Lewis and Davon Morgan, despite their injuries, are right there with
  the team. They bring a great attitude, and they are good for the team.

Monday was Day 1,416 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the
Commonwealth Cup.