Hokie Hotline Notes for 11/18/08

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 very good on Tuesday. It was one of their best Tuesday
  practices of the year.
• The Hokies can’t control their own destiny when it comes to the ACC title,
  but they can control how they perform over the next two games. If they can
  go 8-4 with such a young group, then it will be good.
• The players have never let up. They are working hard ever single week, and
  Foster tips his hat to them.
• Foster is flattered by Clemson’s interest. He thought it was a good
  interview with Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips, who used to be a VT assistant
  coach in the 1970s. They had a lot in common.
• This was more of a feeling out interview. Foster is one of several
  candidates. He’d love the opportunity to be a head coach in the right
  situation, but at the same time he’s got a great job in Blacksburg.
• If Virginia Tech offered Bud Foster a head coach in waiting deal, it would
  be very intriguing to him. He has spent 22 years in Blacksburg, and he’s
  committed to this place.
• Foster then made an interesting comment: "It seems like they are
  going in the direction of some things in that nature. If it works out,
  great. If not, I understand it’s a business and you have to make business
  decisions that you think are right for your program."
• Foster thinks the defensive performance against Miami was really close to
  the normal expectations around here. Miami didn’t really hit any big plays,
  other than a jailbreak screen or two, and they are tough plays to defend.
• Robert Marve made some nice plays with his feet during the game. Tech did
  a good job overall stopping the run. The effort was outstanding. They
  created some turnovers, but the ball just bounced Miami’s way. It was just
  one of those nights.
• Jason
  Worilds had a heroic performance. He has a separated shoulder, and it popped
  out against Miami. They popped it back in, and he went back in the game and
  played a great game. He is developing into Tech’s next big time defensive
  end. He’s also becoming a big time leader.
• Foster has a lot of very good college football players with a lot of
  heart. Not all of his linebackers may measure up to NFL scouts, but they are
  very good college players. They have a great football IQ and they understand
  the game.
• The thing Foster is most proud of his how hard the players have worked
  each week. They have made strides each and every week.
• The defense is preparing to see Duke quarterback Thad Lewis, who is
  day-to-day with an ankle injury. He is a very good, very accurate
  quarterback. He throws to Eron Riley, a big-play wide receiver and a very
  talented player.
• Duke’s offensive philosophy is to get rid of the football quickly so
  pressure defenses like Tech’s can’t get to the quarterback. They go
  no-huddle, they look at the defense, and often they make play calls based on
  what they see after they line up at the line of scrimmage. Tech fans need to
  be savvy and understand when to be loud, and Foster is confident they will.
• Cody Grimm has really stepped up big. Foster tips his hat to Cam Martin
  also, who is playing with injuries this year. He’ll probably have to have
  surgery in the offseason.
• Dorian Porch is playing very well at rover since Davon Morgan went down.
  He’d like to have the long run at FSU back, but overall he’s playing very
  well.

• Weaver’s schedule tomorrow has been changed by the situation in Texas. The
  Longhorns named defensive coordinator Will Muschamp head
  coach in waiting. He will take over the Texas program when Mack Brown
  retires. However, Brown is only 57 and he still has eight years left on his
  contract.
• Weaver plans to contact Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds tomorrow and
  talk about the mechanics of the deal. He wants to understand the clauses
  that are in the contract, etc. There is a lot to think about and a lot to
  talk about.
• Weaver said if Virginia Tech was forced to find a replacement for Frank
  Beamer this week, they would get into an active search mode. They would
  start in Blacksburg with Bud Foster. There is no question about where the
  starting point would be, and it very well could be the ending point as well.
• After Weaver finds out the mechanics of the Texas situation, he is going
  to have some conversations with VT President Charles Steger about that
  possibility.
• Mack Brown indicated that the deal with Will Muschamp is a preemptive
  strike. They want to keep him as their defensive coordinator.
• ESPN has
  signed a deal to televise the BCS games beginning in 2011. The contract
  runs through 2014. Weaver says the majority of people have access to ESPN
  now, so it’s ok to move the BCS off the networks to cable television.
• ESPN will only have three of the four BCS National Title games. The fourth
  will be played at the Rose Bowl site. They already have a contract with ABC.
• Fox probably won’t go after regular season college football now. If they
  have nothing in the postseason, they’ll probably go in another direction.

• Beamer is high on Jarrett Boykin. He made a great catch against Miami. He
  was sick on Tuesday, but he still practiced, which shows how dedicated is.
• There are probably some stipulations in the Will Muschamp deal at Texas.
  Mack Brown is only 57, and still plans to coach for awhile.
• Beamer likes an organization where everyone knows what their
  responsibility is. He’s going to make the final decisions. That’s the way an
  organization needs to work. Some of these places are starting to get away
  from that, and loyalty is getting spread sometimes. To Beamer, it makes it a
  little bit of an awkward situation (having a head coach in waiting).
  However, that’s somebody else’s decision at Virginia Tech.
• Miami played their best football game of the season, but that wasn’t a
  surprise. They had a week off and they were very prepared.
• Offensively, Tech just didn’t consistently block people well enough. They
  were on the right people for the most part, it wasn’t generally assignment
  mistakes. Tech just lost some one-on-one battles.
• The Hokies still had a chance to win the football game, and Beamer is
  proud of the effort. It just wasn’t enough.
• On the fourth and one play, Tech’s tight end didn’t get off the line at
  the snap. He said he couldn’t hear the snap count because of the noise.
• On the fourth down on Tech’s final possession, Beamer wishes the line
  could have held their blocking just a little longer. The Hokies had a
  receiver breaking open over the middle, and Tyrod Taylor could have
  completed the pass.
• Beamer really thought Tech would play better against Miami. Sometimes it’s
  the guys on the other team, but the Hokies didn’t play well. They have to
  put it behind them, and it seems like the players have. They practiced well
  on Monday and Tuesday.
• The players have played hard, the coaches have coached hard, and sometimes
  like in the Miami game, the ball just hasn’t bounced their way. It hasn’t
  been pretty all the time, but the effort has been great.
• Regardless of what happens on Thursday night with Miami and Georgia Tech,
  if the Hokies go out and play as hard as they can for these last two games,
  they can go to a nice bowl.
• Beamer lets Billy Hite decide the tailback situation. Cheeseman has been
  practicing hard. However, Darren Evans just broke the school rushing record
  against Maryland, and you want to stay with the hot hand when that happens.
• Beamer expects Thad Lewis to play for Duke on Saturday. He’s a very good
  quarterback. They are a dangerous team. They have a lot of juniors and
  seniors on their team.
• Duke is a well-coached team. David Cutcliffe knows how to run an offense,
  and they get the ball off quickly.
• Dustin Keys only made eight field goals during his high school career, but
  he’s got a chance to break the VT single season school record. He’s been a
  very consistent player this year.
• Duke will be ready to play on Saturday. If they win their final two games,
  they will be bowl eligible.
• Tech still has a chance to win the ACC. They’ve practiced hard all year,
  and they need to play their best football game on Saturday.

Tuesday was Day 1,452 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the
Commonwealth Cup.