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!
Jim Weaver
- Weaver thanked all the Tech fans who went to the UVA game on Saturday.
There were lots of Hokies there, and he really appreciates everyone who made
the trip. - Tech took UVA’s best shot. They have some good players, but the Hokies got
their opportunities in the second half and they took advantage. - Tech isn’t going to know what bowl they are going to until next weekend.
The Hokies have not been released by the BCS committee. - There’s a slight possibility that Tech will get to a BCS Bowl. They are
also under very strong consideration for the Chick-fil-A Bowl and the Gator
Bowl. - The Fiesta Bowl could politically pick Tech over Boise State. With TCU
already in the BCS, there is no pressure to take non-BCS conference teams.
Weaver has been doing phone work this week, as well as last week. - Weaver isn’t sure the Chick-fil-A Bowl would pass on the Hokies if they
are available. They have no issue with Tech playing in Atlanta for a third
time this year. They are very pleased that two of the four largest crowds in
Georgia Dome history have involved Virginia Tech. - Frank Beamer, Jim Weaver and Charles Steger do not believe that a head
coach in waiting idea is the best way to go forward, simply because of the
jumbled mess that is going on at Florida State right now, as well as at
Maryland. - East Carolina won their division in Conference USA. They haven’t lost
since the Hokies beat them. They are a very good team.
Bryan Stinespring
- The coaching staff told the players to prepare for a four-quarter game
against UVA. That turned out to be true, as the game was not won until the
fourth quarter. - Stinespring felt that Tech needed to make a statement early and attack
downfield. They felt that UVA would bring up a safety in the box, and that’s
what happened. - The wide receivers are making plays on the ball this year. That’s a step
ahead of last year. There is competition at wide receiver now, and guys are
stepping up. - Tyrod Taylor is playing with a lot of confidence. He is letting the game
come to him. He is in complete control on the field. - Ryan Williams is a special player who is having a special season. He’s
also very humble about everything that happens to him. He’s such a tough
runner, particularly inside the 10 yard line. - Stinespring doesn’t think the offense reached its potential this year.
However, he does think they got a lot closer to it by the end of the season.
They are much better now than they were at the beginning of the season. - Tech used two tailbacks on the field at the same time a lot against UVA,
and they had a lot of success with it. - David Wilson has come a long way. He showed speed and power during his
carries against Virginia. - Winning isn’t something to take for granted. It is a difficult task when
you step on that football field. Wins are hard to come by. 17 straight bowl
games is pretty significant. - Stinespring is about to go recruiting. He is going to start in the Roanoke
area, go to Rocky Mount and then make his way to Chatham. From there, he’ll
head to Lynchburg. - Tech is almost done with recruiting. They have just a couple of guys left
on the board. - Danny Coale and Ryan Williams had terrific games on Saturday. They are
major contributors to the offense. - Stinespring sat down with the offense and told them that even though they
weren’t playing for the ACC Championship this year, they are still
champions. They reflect the definition of the word day in and day out.
Seth Greenberg
- Greenberg took his team to see “The Blindside” on Monday night
in Iowa. - If the Hokies can beat Iowa (editor’s note: tonight at 9:30 on ESPN2),
they will have won three of four games away from Cassell Coliseum. That’s
not a bad mark. - Iowa is a tough environment and a tough atmosphere. The Hawkeyes are
struggling a bit scoring the ball right now, but they have very good young
players. The Hokies will be representing the ACC in this game. - As the month progresses, teams will progress. Players will start to better
understand their roles. - The ACC has won the ACC-Big Ten Challenge all 10 years. They are shooting
for 11 straight this year. - Malcolm Delaney is scoring the ball and he’s making other players better.
The Hokies have to get more players contributing on the offensive end. They
need more contributions from more people. - Cadarian Raines practiced on Monday and had no ill effects. It’s possible
Tech could have him for a little bit against Iowa. He’s missed the whole
preseason though, and it’s important to not have unrealistic expectations of
him. - Iowa will get after you offensively. They are going to make Tech defend
for most of the shot clock.
Danny Coale
- The UVA win was a fun win, and a great way to end the season.
- Tech wanted to go right at them. They wanted to go downtown a few times
early, and they did. - Coale heard a lot about UVA’s cornerbacks all week long, and it sort of
pushed some of his buttons. - The Hokies were dialed in for this game. They always look forward to this
challenge, and each team was focused. Tech got UVA’s best shot, and they
beat them. - Coale’s brother played lacrosse at UVA, but he likes to show off the
orange and maroon. He’s proud of the school he goes to. Any chance to
represent that in a rivalry game is something special. - Tech practices the scramble drill, and that came in handy for his big
sideline catch in the third quarter. When Taylor scrambles, you just try to
flash to the open spot. That was one of the fastest throws Coale has ever
seen Taylor make. It was right on the money. - Confidence is a big thing for Taylor. He has more confidence in himself,
and in the offense as a whole. The receivers want Taylor to be more
confident in them each and every game. - The Hokies had two tough losses, and they needed something to bounce back
with. The ECU game was what they needed, and they’ve been good since then. - With Ryan Williams, what you see is what you get. He’s a great player and
a great person. He had a lot of weight on his shoulders this year, and he
lifted it off pretty easily. - It’s exam time, which is always a little scary. Coale is in Finance right
now, and it’s going well.
Ryan
Williams
- Williams didn’t expect to have such a big year. He was expecting to share
the load with another back, or even two other backs. He just got hot as the
season went on and got the bulk of the load. - Williams isn’t a mean guy, but he’s an aggressive runner. He really
doesn’t know what he does when he runs the ball. It’s all instincts. - Darren Evans is Ryan’s big brother. He’s always been there for Williams.
He always gives him lots of good insight, particularly when Williams was
redshirting last year. Evans is a close friend. - Williams and Evans are at the top of the all-time ACC freshman rushing
list. It feels good to share that honor with someone he is close with. - Ryan Williams wears #34 because Walter Payton is his favorite football
player of all time. Emmitt Smith used to be Williams’ top guy, but someone
showed him film of Walter Payton and he’s always modeled his game after
Payton since then. - His humbleness comes from his sophomore season in high school. He had a
great freshman season, but he tore his meniscus in track and missed six
games the following year. He realized it could all be taken away from you
quickly. - Coach Loren Johnson, a former starting cornerback for the Hokies, was
Williams’ high school coach. Johnson is Williams’ best friend. He’s a mentor
and someone Williams looks up to. He is a big part of who Williams is today.
Johnson has always been there for him. - It was hard to earn Billy Hite’s trust. It was tough to figure out the
blocking schemes. That was toughest part of his freshman season. Hite kept
pushing him, and he finally got it down, and the rest is history. - Hite is very blunt. He tells you how it is and he doesn’t sugar coat
anything. Hite never second guesses the way a player runs. He will coach up
the blocking, but he doesn’t coach players when the ball is in their hands. - Ryan Williams is only Ryan Williams on the football field. He is just
regular Ryan off the field. He doesn’t get caught up in things. He takes it
game by game. - Williams is looking forward to Darren Evans’ return almost as much as
Evans is. Williams knows what football means to Evans. When Williams found
out that Evans tore his ACL, he was sick to his stomach. It was one of the
worst feelings he’s had. He tells Evans all the time how excited he is to
get him back next season.
Frank Beamer
- Danny Coale and Ryan Williams are great players and great kids.
- UVA played really tough and really hard. Beamer gives the Tech coaches and
players credit for the way they handled things and adjusted to things in the
second half. - Bobby Bowden has been in coaching a long time. He’s obviously got a lot of
great memories. Beamer wishes him well. (Bowden is expected to announce his
retirement on Tuesday.) - Ryan Williams and Cody Grimm would be great candidates for ACC Offensive
and Defensive Player of the Year. You’ve got to put Tyrod Taylor in there as
well. He’s done great for the Hokies. He’s one of the outstanding
quarterbacks in the league. - The fumble that Kam Chancellor recovered was a huge play in that football
game. - The Virginia Tech defense has not allowed any points in the second half of
the last four football games. The Maryland defense scored on the Tech
offense, but Bud Foster’s unit hasn’t given up any second half points.
Foster and his defensive coaches are very good, and the players are
experienced. - Zach Luckett will have to have knee surgery. They are going to have to
wait to operate, because they have to strengthen the knee a bit. Beamer is
very proud of Luckett for coming back and having a good season and doing
things right. - You never know when another school might try to come in and hire a Tech
assistant coach. Beamer hopes they can keep everyone together and keep on
moving forward. - Beamer’s biggest memory of the season is Danny Coale going down the
sideline against Nebraska. That was huge. - Cody Grimm is a great player, and he truly has fun on the field. He loves
football. He’s had a tremendous senior year. - Brent Bowden has had a great year. The pro scouts should take a look at
him. He gets the ball away quickly, and he gets a lot of height on his
kicks. Matt Waldron has had a great year as well and been very consistent. - Grant Bowden will have a chance to be Tech’s punter next year. He is
Brent’s brother. There will be a big compeitition at placekicker as well. - It’s tough to play your rival the week before the ACC Championship Game.
It doesn’t surprise Beamer that Georgia Tech and Clemson lost this weekend. - Tech will do some lifting this week, and the team will get together for
some pass skeleton drills. They will have a short, quick team practice on
Saturday. They have to keep their timing down and try to win the bowl game.
If they can win that game, they can get to 10 wins and finish ranked in the
Top 10. - Beamer is very proud of how the team has come back at the end of the
season. They hung in there and finished strong, and now Beamer wants to
finish the season on a good note.
Monday was Day 1,829 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
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