2009-2010 Tech Talk Live Notes for 12/28/09

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.

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

• Beamer is ready for a Happy New Year, so he hopes the Hokies play well.
  They have been practicing well.
• The Hokies have practiced a couple of times at the Falcons’ indoor
  facility. It’s fun for the players to see an NFL facility, and it also helps
  them because the Chick-fil-A Bowl is in a dome. On Monday, Tech went to the
  Georgia Dome, and they’ll do the same on Tuesday.
• Cris Hill or Jayron Hosley will start at field corner. Both have a lot of
  talent. They will determine who starts the game after practice on Tuesday.
  Barquell Rivers and Jaymes Brooks played well in Tech’s bowl game last year
  despite having never played before, and Hill and Hosley will have the same
  chance.
• Beamer was disappointed with the two tough losses in the middle of the
  season, but there was a lot more good than bad with this team. The players
  are made out of the right stuff. Beamer is proud of how they finished the
  season.
• Tennessee and Virginia Tech play a lot alike. They both stress toughness,
  and both teams always try to get an extra man in the box. They both have
  great running backs. They both have experienced quarterbacks. Who takes care
  of the football could end up winning the game.
• Tennessee has good personnel. Coach Fulmer left this coaching staff some
  very good players. The offensive line is tough and strong, and the running
  back is great. Eric Berry is a great player at safety.
• Beamer said John Graves is feeling good. Mike Goforth feels like everyone
  will be ready to play on Thursday night.
• No one has to convince Beamer how good the SEC is. Shane Beamer has
  coached at three different SEC schools. The last four times Tech has played
  an SEC team, they’ve lost. The Hokies definitely have something to prove,
  and they’ve got a chance to make a statement.
• Beamer has great admiration for the Tennessee program. They have great
  tradition. This is a very big ballgame for Tech.
• Tech will be wearing white jerseys with maroon pants and maroon helmets on
  Thursday.
• It’s very important to keep the coaching staff together, and it looks like
  Tech will do that again this year. The foundation of the coaching staff is
  still intact, and it gives the Hokies an opportunity to be consistent.

• The Chick-fil-A Bowl people are putting on a great show for the players
  and coaches, and it’s fun to be in this bowl.
• Foster is very appreciative of Coach Beamer, Jim Weaver and Charles Steger
  for the new deal. It’s great to keep everyone on the staff together. That
  doesn’t happen very often in modern college football.
• This Tennessee team has really improved as the season has gone on. They
  have developed and grown as a team, and they are playing their best football
  down the stretch.
• Tennessee has a physical offensive line and a great running back. Montario
  Hardesty is a big time player. It will be a great matchup and a physical
  football game.
• Jonathan Crompton got better as the season went on. The Tennessee staff
  had to figure out what he does best. He does a lot of bootlegs, because he
  throws the ball on the run as well as anyone Foster has seen in a long time.
• Tennessee’s offense all starts with the running game. The line is physical
  and they can move their feet, and Hardesty will always get positive yardage.
  He’s a great downhill runner.
• Jason Worilds has had a heck of a year. He’s drawn a lot of double teams
  and chipping. He’s made an impact. He only knows one speed. He’ll be going
  up against a r-freshman in this game.
• Cody Grimm was an outstanding football player when he first got to Tech,
  he just needed to work hard in the weight room. He’s football intelligent.
  Foster hates it that Cam Martin never got back to 100%, because he is a
  great kid and a major contributor for Tech. But Cody Grimm definitely
  benefited.
• Last season Tech changed their bowl prep up a bit. They had lost a couple
  of bowls they didn’t feel like they should have lost. Last season they took
  the team to a different hotel the night before the game, and it worked out
  well. They played more focused and sharp to get away from the distractions
  of the team hotel.
• From an offensive line standpoint and a running back standpoint, Tennessee
  is very similar to Alabama. They don’t have a Julio Jones at wide receiver,
  but they were a blocked field goal away from beating the Crimson Tide.
• Tech has to win the line of scrimmage against Tennessee. The Hokies have
  to make Tennessee be one dimensional. They have to shut down the run. The
  running game opens up the passing game for the Vols.

Monday was Day 1,857 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.