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Bryan Stinespring
Stinespring
has been pleased with the preseason so far, especially with the offensive
line. Coach Newsome has done a marvelous job getting this group prepared.- This offensive line is healthy and they’ve been together since the spring.
They are working really well together and they’ve got a good unity going. - Tyrod Taylor has had a great preseason camp. He was 8-of-11 in the last
scrimmage, and he had a couple of incompletions that could have been caught. - The difference between this offensive line and past groups is the
cohesiveness and unity. This line is established. The starters have been
established since spring, and they’ve worked together and pushed each other. - The loss of Darren Evans will have an impact. He’s a very talented runner.
He’s an All-ACC tailback. Evans runs the ball with an attitude, and he runs
with eagerness. He’s a lineman’s best friend because he gets in there and
grinds along with them. - Tech will have Ryan Williams, Josh Oglesby and David Wilson on the
practice field on Tuesday. Everyone is getting healthy, and it’s time for
them to get going. - David Wilson needs reps right now. He’s a true freshman who hasn’t gotten
much work because of his shoulder injury. - Stinespring doesn’t know who would start at tailback if Tech played
Alabama tomorrow. He will leave that up to running backs coach Billy Hite. - Tech has another scrimmage on Wednesday, and they’ll have a better idea of
where they are at the tailback position. - Tech hasn’t run as much option recently as they have in the past.
Sometimes that’s been because of player personnel. To be good at the option,
you have to practice it a lot, and that would take away from prep time for
other parts of the offense. - Tech started talking about their preliminary travel team to Atlanta this
past Sunday. The scrimmage on Wednesday will help finalize the travel team. - At times, Xavier Boyce has really stepped up this preseason. He needs to
be a little more consistent, especially down the stretch of the preseason.
He played very fast in the last scrimmage. - Marcus Davis is improving as well, and D.J. Coles has been impressive at
times. Coles is still feeling his way through things a bit too much. From a
physical standpoint, he’s a tremendous talent. - Greg Boone does a great job in the Wild Turkey offense. He likes to be
back in his old quarterback routine. Boone wants to throw more out of the
set, and Tech needs to increase what they do with the Wild Turkey. However,
they can’t let it get to the point where it requires constant reps, because
that takes away from other things you should be practicing. - Tech is better served by distributing the ball to more than one player and
more than one unit. The receivers, tight ends, and running backs must all
play a role. Tyrod Taylor is doing a good job of taking what the defense
gives him, and that will make everyone better. - People like to talk about tight ends in the passing game, but they are
extremely important to Tech’s running game. Greg Boone gets used in pass
protection quite a bit, and sometimes he gets matched up against a defensive
end. If Boone can handle a defensive end, that allows the Hokies to double
team some interior linemen. - Terrance Cody is a man. He’s hard to move. You aren’t going to have
success blocking him one-on-one. He occupies blockers and frees up
linebackers. You have to constantly change up the blocking scheme and how
you are going to attack. Not just against Cody, but the entire defensive
line in general. - Florida was able to score on Alabama because they hit big plays. They
weren’t that successful in the first half, but they hit a couple in the
second half that made the difference in that game. - Logan Thomas is a very talented player. The Tech staff intends to keep him
at quarterback. They think he has a tremendous future at that position. He’s
got a cannon for an arm. He’s a very tall guy who can see the whole field.
He has tremendous poise, and his upside is endless. To get him to be the
quarterback they think he can be, the staff can’t just move him around to
different positions. He needs to concentrate full-time on the quarterback
position. - Thomas and Ju-Ju Clayton will continue splitting the #2 quarterback reps
as they close in on Wednesday’s scrimmage.
Jim Weaver
- Tech has a new men’s soccer coach. Jim Weaver felt assistant Mike
Brizendine was the best fit as new head coach. He has contributed greatly to
Tech’s recruiting efforts. - Tech’s new basketball practice facility looks great. The new football
locker room will also be completed by this time next year. - Syracuse wanted out of their two-game contract with Virginia Tech. The
Orange want to make their program strong in the Northeast, and playing Tech
wasn’t in their best interest at this time. Weaver wouldn’t release them
until he found a replacement for the home game, which turned out to be
Arkansas State. - Tech first heard from the Redskins about a game in FedEx Field last fall.
They wanted the Hokies in the game against a quality national opponent. It
turned out to be Boise State, and that game will occur in October 2010. - It was tough to find Tech a quality opponent at such a late date. Almost
every other team had a full schedule. The Hokies wouldn’t have been able to
do the FedEx game if Syracuse didn’t want out of their contract. - Tech would like to play in Washington, DC every 3-5 years. There are a lot
of Tech alums in that area. Weaver has had discussions with some of the
“great traditional teams in the country” about playing the Hokies
in DC. - Weaver is still working to get a series with Penn State. The first time
both schools have room on their schedule is 2018 and 2019. - The Hokies will bus to Maryland this year, rather than flying. That will
save $80,000. - The ACC has added the Sun Bowl against a Pac 10 team for the 2010 season.
It’s a great bowl venue against a quality opponent. - The Gator Bowl is no longer affiliated with the Big East. That will be an
ACC vs. Big Ten game. - The ACC had 10 bowl eligible teams last year, which was the most from any
conference since the beginning of the bowl system.
Kam Chancellor and Greg Boone
Chancellor:
The preseason is going well. There were a lot of records set in the weight
room. There’s a lot of competition going on in practice and everyone is
getting better. Tech will be a very good team and they’ll win a lot of games
as long as they keep their chemistry strong. The chemistry was really good
last year, especially around the bowl game, and they are picking up where
they left off this year.- Boone: Bryan Stinespring approached Boone about moving to tight end after
he red shirted as a quarterback. Boone was open to the move, and he’s had a
very good career. The offensive line is much improved this year. They’ve got
a lot of chemistry. Tyrod Taylor has progressed a lot. He’s not in a
quarterback battle, so that’s allowed him to focus on the little things. - Boone: Bill Roth asked Boone who he would not like to be hit by when going
over the middle. Boone answered: “Myself.” - Chancellor: It hurts to hit Boone when he’s coming full speed, but he can
do it. You’ve got to come at him correctly. - Chancellor: Boone and Chancellor were shown a lot of respect by other ACC
players at the ACC media function over the summer, because they were
conference champions. A lot of players told him he was really big for a free
safety. - Boone: It was a great experience to meet all the other players. They got
to compare schools and talk about how each team practiced, prepared for
games, etc. - Boone: Hopefully we see the Wild Turkey a lot this year. It’s a good
experience to hear 60,000 people screaming your name. Boone admitted he
wants to throw the ball more, especially the deep ball. 
Boone:
Stinespring did a great job recruiting Boone. Every time they talked on the
phone, Stinespring would ask him who was #1. Boone would generally say Tech,
but he once named another school. That got Stinespring mad and he started
recruiting even harder.- Chancellor: Working at a barber shop since he was nine years old helped
him mature early. - Chancellor: Chancellor only played one full season of football in high
school, so that’s probably why he wasn’t recruited heavily. He was hurt as a
sophomore and junior and only played in five games each year. - Chancellor: It’s different now when he goes back to Norfolk. Everyone
recognizes him and wants to talk. It’s definitely something new. - Boone: Coach Richard Morgan did a lot for Greg Boone at Oscar Smith High
School. The team got better, which means more college recruiters started to
come in. - Boone: Despite his size, Boone can do back flips. He’s been able to do
them since he was a kid. It’s just something that comes natural. David
Wilson is probably the best back flipper on the team. - Chancellor: Chancellor can do back flips also. He started in the fourth
grade and landed on his head a few times, but he eventually got it down.
Jarrett Boykin might be able to give David Wilson a run for his money. - Chancellor: The majority of the wide receivers stayed in Blacksburg for
both summer sessions. They got a lot of work in with Mike Gentry. Danny
Coale looks like he got a lot quicker. There is some major competition at
that position. - Chancellor: Tyrod Taylor is taking control. He even called team meetings
over the summer. That’s something he wouldn’t do in the past because he’s so
quiet. He’s more focused now. - Boone: He can see Taylor taking ownership. With Sean Glennon as a senior
last year, Taylor didn’t want to step on any toes.
Bruce Smith
- Smith went over his Hall of Fame induction speech meticulously. He wanted
to make sure he named everyone who made an impact on his life. Smith thanked
Coach Beamer for attending. - Smith had the former lead singer of The Temptations to play at the
post-induction party. A lot of people showed up for that show. - Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is the ultimate experience. It’s the
single most important honor that can be bestowed upon an individual athlete.
Everyone is in it for the team, but when you are recognized as one of the
greats, it’s special. There are only 216 players who have been inducted into
the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It means a lot. - Smith will be back at Tech on September 17 for the grand opening of
Smith’s Landing. - Smith is extremely proud to see the transformation that’s taken place at
Tech since he left. The leadership and commitment to excellence is
unparalleled. He can hold his head high when he talks about Tech to other
NFL players, especially former UVA players. - Michael Vick has done his time, and it’s time to move forward. He talked
to Vick and told him push Donovan McNabb. That will make everybody better.
Frank Beamer
The
players had Monday off because classes started. Practice has been going
well. (Note: Alabama also took Monday off because of class.)- The team has practiced hard, and practices have been very competitive. The
team chemistry has been great. There are no fights in practice. Everybody is
trying to get better. - Wednesday’s scrimmage will be played just like a game. The team will play
two quarters and coaches will be in the press box. - Alabama has already had their final scrimmage.
- Matt Waldron is the starting placekicker. He went on scholarship on
Monday. He’s been very consistent this August. He’s getting the ball up
quicker. - The Hokies have three non-conference games against quality competition
before they play their first conference game. That should get them ready for
ACC play. - Beamer likes to open against a team like Alabama. The players understand
that they must be well prepared to beat Alabama. It will help Tech become a
better team, no matter what happens. - There’s a lot of talent on this team. They are good. There are days when
you say that the wide receivers need to be more consistent. Even though a
few of them have some experience, the whole group is still freshmen and
sophomores. - When Darren Evans went down, it created a question mark. There are
talented guys behind him, but some of them are banged up, and they are
inexperienced. - Chris Drager is a good football player wherever they put him. He was tied
for #1 at tight end, but he made the move for the good of the team. He is
the one guy on the team who is smart enough, tough enough and has the
physical abilities to make the move. - Tech is a lot closer to having an offense that is capable of running and
throwing. Tyrod Taylor has been at Tech for awhile, and he’s making good
decisions. He’s throwing the ball well. There is plenty of talent at wide
receiver, though they need to be more consistent. There are good tight ends
on the team, and there is plenty of talent in the offensive backfield. - The offensive line is better. The starters are better, and there are two
or three guys on the second group that are capable of playing. They can keep
players fresh this year. - Tech’s new linebackers have done well in the preseason. They are playing
well in camp. Football is very important to Barquell Rivers and Jake
Johnson. They are physical players. - Ryan Williams, and possibly Jayron Hosley and David Wilson will return
punts. There is a lot of height and athleticism on the punt block team. Wide
receivers, if they’ve got toughness, make good special teams players. Kam
Chancellor and Davon Morgan are also on that team. - Tech likes to roll their coverages toward the field corner to get him more
help. The boundary corner is more of a man-to-man guy. - Beamer is intrigued by Jayron Hosley at cornerback. He’s from the same
high school as Brandon Flowers, and he can do some of the same things that
Flowers could do.
And as we promised … Monday was Day 1,731 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
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