Tech Talk Live (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 Bull & Bones Brewhaus & Grill in Blacksburg.
TSL Welcomes Bull and Bones as Sponsor of our Tech Talk Live Notes
The
new Tech Talk Live show is broadcast from Bull & Bones Brewhaus and Grill in
the First & Main shopping center in Blacksburg, and TechSideline.com is
pleased to welcome Bull & Bones as sponsor of our Tech Talk Live Notes. Bull
& Bones Brewhaus & Grill is a brewpub with both an upscale dining room
and a separate sports bar with a casual dining area
- Call Ahead Seating: 540-953-BULL(2855)
- Hours: Sun.-Sat. 11am-2am, Sun. Brunch 11am-3pm
As a special treat for TechSideline.com readers, each
week we’re giving away one $50 gift certificate to Bull & Bones
to the reader who wins bourbonstreet’s weekly football game score prediction
contest. Just watch the TechSideline.com football board for bourbonstreet’s
weekly prediction thread, and you could have a shot at dinner on us!
Bryan Stinespring
- The players did a great job, and all the credit goes to them. They got
focused for this game and they played well. - Many players were already in the offices watching Alabama film on Sunday
morning, despite not getting back from Atlanta until 4:30am. - Ryan Williams went the wrong way on his long screen pass. The screen went to
the left, and he went right. He was still able to make the catch, reverse
field and make a big play. - Williams changes directions very quickly. That makes him stand out in the
open field. He can get to full speed quickly and he gets his shoulders north
and south. - David Wilson still wears a tie to class every day. He’s a pleasure to be
around, and obviously he’s a pleasure to have in the huddle. - Sam Wheeler played very well against Marshall. That’s one of the best games
he’s ever played. - Greg Boone practiced on Monday. The coaching staff feels like he’ll be ready
to go against Nebraska. - Ju-Ju Clayton did fine. He managed the game well. It’s good for him to get
some game action. - Marcus Davis needs to have a couple of good things happen to him on the
field to raise his confidence. He’s got a lot of talent, he just needs reps. - Darren Evans made a statement last season against Nebraska. It was a very
physical game, and he was ready for it. - Nebraska has a very good defensive line, and their linebackers are very
physical. This will be a tough game. - Tech needs to do better throwing the ball. They threw it pretty well against
Marshall, but it needs to get better. They need to do a better job of hitting
the deep ball downfield.
Jim Weaver
- Fans need to get to the stadium early if they want to see the flyovers and
Enter Sandman. Tech tries to get people in as quickly as possible, but if
everyone is trying to enter right before the game, there are going to be
jams. - The playing surface isn’t quite as good this year as it was last year. The
summer was cooler this year, so the growing season wasn’t as good for
Bermuda grass. - Tech made the decision a few years back to not sell standing room only
tickets for the corners of Lane Stadium. It congests those areas, and they
are traffic areas. 
Tech began to upgrade their schedule when they were in the Big East. They
played Clemson, Texas A&M and LSU. They were going to play NC State and
North Carolina, but ended up joining the ACC instead.- Wisconsin was going to be an opponent in 2008 and 2009, but they wanted
out of the game after they had a coaching change. Weaver was able to get
Nebraska to fill the slot. - Tech was surprised the ACC made the Miami game in late September this
year. They had been playing the Canes in October or November. - The Monday night Labor Day telecast is the best time slot of the season,
according to Weaver. He wants that spot for Virginia Tech so they can get
more national exposure. - Nebraska fans are great, and Weaver hopes Tech fans will show the same
hospitality that they were given in Lincoln last year. He hopes Tech fans
won’t boo Nebraska as they run on the field.
Brent Bowden and Cam Martin
- Bowden: He spent the offseason preparing himself mentally. It’s like
golfers and baseball players. For a punter, it’s really a mental game. - Bowden: Bowden’s older brother punted for Florida State, and Brent
basically learned from him. - Bowden: He played on the same team as Eddie Royal and Sean Glennon in high
school, but with those two on the team Bowden didn’t have to punt much. It
was Royal who encouraged the coaching staff to recruit Bowden. - Bowden: Bowden is a big guitar player. He plays a lot in his spare time.
- Martin: The knee is getting better. Some mornings it aches when he wakes
up, but it’s not too bad. - Martin: His experience makes him a good player. He watches a lot of film,
and he knows what to look for when he sees certain formations. - Martin: Nebraska is big. They are a good team. They are a lot like the
Hokies. - Martin: Cam and Orion Martin grew up as Tech fans. Tech does a great job
recruiting younger brothers because they always come to watch their older
brother play, and they are won over by the Lane Stadium crowd. - Martin: Bud Foster’s preparations make him a great coordinator. It’s
unbelievable how much he knows about the game and other team’s tendencies. - Martin: He loved the throwback white jerseys with the new helmets.
- Bowden: He thinks the throwbacks are nice as well. He liked wearing them a
lot last season. All-maroon is his favorite Tech uniform combination. - Martin: Martin likes all-white uniforms with the white cleats, but Lester
Karlin hasn’t let them wear the white cleats with the white uniforms. - Bowden: He played soccer when he was younger, so he has always known how
to kick a ball. Putting in the time is the key to being a good punter or
kicker. - Martin: His best moment at GW-Danville was when they rallied from a
two-touchdown deficit with five minutes left to beat Franklin County. - Martin: Nebraska is a storied program. The Hokies knocked them off last
year, and they are hoping to do the same this year. It’s going to be a tough
game. - Bowden: Games like this are the reason players come to Tech. They want to
play against teams like Nebraska. - Bowden: It was a lot of fun playing at Nebraska last year. Clemson has
been his favorite place to play so far. - Martin: His favorite place is at UVA. It’s fun watching the fans leave
sad. - Martin: Martin has already graduated, so he is only taking two online
classes this semester. He doesn’t have to leave the house until he goes to
practice. - Martin: His degree is in business management, but he really wants to get
into coaching at the collegiate level. He’s talked to Coach Hite about being
a grad assistant at Tech. His father and uncle were coaches. - Bowden: He graduated in Interdisciplinary Studies in the spring, and he’s
now working on a degree in Business Information Technology. He only has
classes on Tuesday and Thursday, so his other days are a breeze. - Martin: His brother Orion was at the Marshall game. He’s back home now and
trying to figure out what he wants to do next. - Bowden: His younger brother, Grant Bowden, is a freshman punter at Tech.
He’s got to calm down and put in the work, and he’s got plenty of potential.
Frank Beamer
- Tech needed a game like they got this past Saturday. It makes you excited
to see all of those freshmen making plays. - Ryan Williams has great vision and ability. He can run with power too. He
and David Wilson combined to break 21 tackles against Marshall. - Tyrod Taylor is doing fine. Tech has to continue to work on pass
protection. The more they get settled there, the more Taylor will get
settled. Beamer isn’t worried about Tyrod. The Hokies need to get better
around him, and he’ll get better as a result. - The Marshall coach told Beamer that he thought the Hokies were really
fast. - Cam Martin is toughing it out. He appreciates things more now since he has
to deal with that knee. - Greg Boone practiced full on Monday, but he’s got a little ways to go.
Hopefully he’ll have a good week and be ready for Saturday. - They won’t know Stephan Virgil’s status until later in the week.
- Rashad Carmichael was the coaches’ defensive player of the game. He had an
excellent game. He played fast and played tough. Eddie Whitley has good
football sense. He played a good game. Cris Hill had his moments as well. - Eddie Whitley is playing both corner and safety. They haven’t decided
where his long-term position is. - Lorenzo William is redshirting this year. They want to try to get him
closer to the line of scrimmage. (Editor’s note: that likely means a move
to whip linebacker in the spring) - The coaching staff is really high on Antone Exum. He’s redshirting this
year. - The Nebraska passing game is impressive. Tech did a good job of shutting
down the running game last year. You have to make them one dimensional.
Getting pressure will be key, but that is tough because Nebraska has a good
offensive line. - Alabama was a very good team. Tech is good, but they were probably a
little too young in certain spots to beat Alabama. They were definitely one
of the best teams Tech has ever played. - The Hokies like the throwback jersey, and they are in the process of
trying to make it their full-time jersey. However, they will have to work
with Nike to do that. - Ju-Ju Clayton and Logan Thomas made some good throws in the scrimmage on
Monday. They will both continue to get better. - There are no plans to add West Virginia back to the schedule. That got a
little too heated. It wasn’t the players and the coaches, it was what
happened in the stands. - Justin Myer did a great job with his kickoffs against Marshall. Tech was a
little sloppy with their coverage late in the game, however. The players
weren’t playing as hard because of the score at that point. - Tech has to tackle this week. Nebraska likes to throw it, and Tech has to
limit yards after the catch. - Nebraska is still a physical team. You have to buckle your chinstrap and
get ready to play a tough game.
Monday was Day 1,752 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
Tech Sideline is Presented By: