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.
Jim Weaver
- Women’s soccer coach Kelly Cagle resigned on Monday. She is moving with
her husband and family to the southwestern part of the US. She will remain
as Tech’s head coach through the end of the fall semester. She’s taken her
team to three straight NCAA tournaments. A search for a new head coach will
begin in the next day or two. - Weaver was a happy guy on Saturday night. UNC is a good team, and they’ve
got a lot of depth and talent. The Hokies played really well and made the
plays when they needed them. - Weaver can’t tell television what time they can televise games. No
athletic director has that power. They receive the start time either 12 days
or six days in advance, just like everybody else. TV elected to use their
six day option on the UVA game, so we’ll find out about that kickoff time on
Sunday. - Weaver hasn’t heard anything about the ACC wanting to switch their Orange
Bowl bid with the Sugar Bowl. - Weaver thought the officiating was solid on Saturday, and it’s solid in
the ACC overall. The game continues to get so fast that it’s easy to make
mistakes. - ACC teams get 4,000 tickets for road games at other ACC schools, and those
schools aren’t going to give opposing fans the best seats. If you didn’t
like your seat at UNC, there is nothing Weaver can do about it. Refunds are
not going to be issued. - Bands have to stop playing when the quarterback gets set either under
center or in the shotgun. When he appears ready to call the cadence, the
bands must stop playing. - For those fans who don’t like going to Chapel Hill, the ACC isn’t going to
do a division switch. Weaver isn’t going to ask John Swofford to do so. - Tech is fortunate to have great parking close to Lane Stadium, and great
facilities inside Lane. As a result of bad parking and viewing experiences
at UNC that some Tech fans had, it makes you really appreciate Tech’s setup
even more.
Charley Wiles
- UNC is a very talented football team. They exploded on a very athletic
Florida State team the week before, and the Hokies had a few guys banged up,
such as Chris Drager. Wiles is very proud of the way the team played. - UNC hurt Tech on their check downs and short routes in 2009, so the Hokies
had to do a better job against that this season. They are also a big
playaction, double move team. That’s how they get big plays downfield. The
Hokies had to be aware of that as well. They dodged a bullet when Yates
overthrew a wide open receiver, but overall Tech was very good. - Wiles was probably thinking the same things as most Tech fans after that
first UNC drive. The Tar Heels hit the Hokies with a lot of different things
offensively, but they settled down. - James Gayle struggled early, but settled down and ended up playing well.
J.R. Collins was very good and very physical. They were both productive. - Chris Drager was moving around on Monday, though he had no contact. It
looks positive right now for playing against Miami. - The best depth overall that Wiles has ever had was in 1998 and 1999. The
Hokies could play eight or nine players in those years. - Wiles has a great meeting room this year. His players are doing everything
he has asked, and they’ve got a chance to win a championship. - Coach Beamer always stresses to his assistants that they should stay
around their players during games and not to panic if things are going
poorly. There are going to be ups and downs. The Hokies do a great job of
getting through the downs. - This football team expects to win at home and on the road. They aren’t
cocky, but it’s an earned confidence. The Hokies have a history of winning a
lot of games. The young guys have improved, and there is a lot of senior
leadership. - Playing in big games makes college football fun, and the Hokies play in a
lot of big games. - Tech is redshirting Zack McCray. He is 6-5, almost 250, and he still looks
slender. He has a lot of growth potential. Nick Acree has limited football
experience, but he’s a great looking prospect. Tyrel Wilson is on the
kickoff team and a prospect at defensive end. Derrick Hopkins played on
Saturday against UNC. He’s a good player. He’s much more mature than his age
would indicate. Dwight Tucker and Isaiah Hamlette are sophomores with
potential. - Miami is as talented as anyone in the league. They’ve got running backs
and wideouts. Their offensive line is huge and they’ll tilt the field when
they get out there. They’ve got a 6-8, 348lbs true freshman offensive
tackle. They are better this year on the offensive line than they were last
season. - Jacory Harris and true freshman Stephen Morris are both very capable.
Morris has gotten better each week. They have a ton of big play potential
with their wide receivers. Orlando Franklin is their left tackle and he’ll
be in the NFL next year. They’ll use him as a tight end on an unbalanced
line, so it’s tough to figure out who is eligible. - In terms of pure talent, Miami will be the best team Tech has faced, with
UNC right there behind them. They have a lot of ability. - If Wiles had to defend Tyrod Taylor, he would choose to cover with his
linebackers rather than blitz. Taylor can do so much damage when he’s on the
run. - Former Tech players such as Brandon Flowers and Chris Caesar recommended
Jayron Hosley to Wiles. Hosley didn’t commit early, and that bought the
Hokies time. The relationship started a little late, but his familiarity
with those former Tech players helped. He took a visit to Tech and signed.
He’s fast enough, but his speed isn’t outstanding. But he does have great
instincts. - Torrian Gray got on the headset at one point in the game and told Wiles to
tell Hosley that UNC was going to run the corner post soon. Just like that,
the Heels ran the corner post and Hosley intercepted the ball. - Tech needs to stop the run against Miami. They need to win the battle in
the trenches and limit big plays by Miami. They want to throw the football
off the playaction game. The Hokies have to be consistent. If they stop the
run consistently, Wiles thinks they will win the game.
Jayron Hosley
The
Hokies knew exactly what they were going to see from UNC, and they prepared
well for it in practice. They executed their game plan very well.- Coach Foster made some adjustments early in the game to take away a lot of
UNC’s short routes. The Heels started going deep, and that’s when the game
turned with all the interceptions. - Sometimes half the Tech defense is in man coverage, and the other half is
in zone. It depends on where the receivers line up, what kind of coverage
you want to run, and what kind of routes you think they are going to run. - On his last interception, Hosley thought about trying to take it all the
way. He decided to take a knee and let the offense finish the game out. - Eddie Whitley is a strong guy, and he just went up and took the football
away from the UNC receiver in the end zone. It was a great play to watch. - Hosley reached out to Brandon Flowers and told him that he was interested
in Tech. Flowers made contact with the coaches and let them know. When
Hosley came on his visit, he made up his mind that Blacksburg was where he
wanted to be. - Hosley wasn’t a big Miami fan growing up. He never really got into it
while living down there. He loves the fan support the Hokies get. - This is going to be a big football game against Miami. Hosley is ready to
play them. It’s going to be a battle. Miami has some great players at
quarterback and receiver. It doesn’t matter what quarterback plays, it will
come down to the Hokies making their plays. - The school record for interceptions in a season is nine, set by Ron
Davidson in the 60’s. Hosley has seven. He didn’t realize he was that close. - Tech wants to practice hard this week and finish it off with a win. They
don’t want to let the division race come down to the Virginia game.
Seth Greenberg
- The team flight had to stop and refuel in Cincinnati, but they got to
Kansas State on time. - Kansas State is very good. The Hokies really have to compete on offense.
Kansas State is very aggressive defensively. They remind Greenberg of Duke.
They like to push you back, pressure the ball and jump in passing lanes. - Tech has to rebound the basketball, because Kansas State crashes the glass
hard. - Kansas State does a good job in transition. They get the ball up the court
quickly. The Hokies have to play very well overall. - It’s going to be a great environment and it’s a great opportunity for
Tech. It’s one of the better non-conference matchups in the country this
season. - Jacob Pullen and Malcon Delaney are two of the premier guards in the
country, but it’s so much more than that. Can the Hokies defend? Can they
rebound? Pullen and Delaney will need help. - Campbell played 40 minutes of zone, and Kansas State will play 40 minutes
of man-to-man. Tech didn’t defend well against Campbell after they took a
big lead. They need Victor Davila to play well. He’s playing against a guy
that he’s played against in the past in Puerto Rico.
Dyrell Roberts
Roberts
is feeling a lot better now than he was a few days ago.- He doesn’t remember if he was hit on his kickoff return against Georgia
Tech or if he ran into a blocker, but his leg was throbbing after the play.
He kept playing the rest of the half, but when he went into the locker room
at halftime it started swelling up. He couldn’t move his leg anymore after
he came back out for the second half. - He really had no idea that the injury was that serious. He thought he
would be sore for a few days, but ready for UNC. He went home after the
game, spent time with his family, and was ready to go to bed. He dozed off,
but he woke up with his leg throbbing. It started swelling up even more and
about 4:30am he felt like it was going to explode. He got up and went to the
hospital, and found out it was compartment syndrome. (link
to compartment syndrome wiki). - Roberts had to lay around with an open wound in his leg to relieve the
pressure, but it felt better open than it did closed. He was on a lot of
medicine. - Roberts is feeling pretty good now. It’s not easy to get around the house
and around campus, but hopefully he’ll be better soon. - Watching the UNC game on television was hard. He was on his phone and
tweeting the entire game. It was actually a fun experience tweeting with
fans during a game. - Marcus Davis did a good job last week of making plays. He let the game
come to him. - Tony Gregory now has a torn ACL, so the Hokies are down to Rock Carmichael
and Jayron Hosley returning kicks. They both did a good job. - Roberts is out for the regular season, but he’s hoping that he can return
for the bowl game. He’s going to talk to the coaches to see if he can go to
the Miami game. - A Virginia Tech-Miami game always has a lot of excitement. It’s a big
game. Tech had their way with the Canes last year, and Miami says they are
going to be ready to play this year. The Hokies have to make sure they
prepare well. - Tech has to handle the things they can control. If they take care of the
little things, the big things will come.
Frank Beamer
- The team hung in there great against UNC and kept battling. They played
hard the whole game and came away with the win over a good football team. - Things didn’t look too good after that first UNC drive, but that wasn’t a
new experience for the Hokies this year. - Beamer still thinks that deferring to the second half is the right thing
to do if you win the coin toss. They just have to play better defense early
in the game. - Tech missed a lot of chances in the red zone, and that usually comes back
to bite you, but it worked out in the end. - Chris Hazley made a 52 yard field goal against UNC. Hazley told Beamer
before the game that he felt good from that distance. He’s a smart, mature
player. He’s always honest with Beamer about how far he thinks he can kick a
field goal. - Tech handled the running game well as the game went on, and they also
matched up underneath well. They got help on the corner-post route from the
backside cornerback. UNC probably didn’t expect that. Beamer doesn’t think
Yates ever saw Hosley. Hosley’s wideout went in motion, and that freed
Hosley up to go "look for work" on the other side. - Beamer told the team on Monday that he didn’t know if the sideline
violation was on himself or Bud Foster, but he joked that he’s going with
Foster. Beamer said he’s never gotten a penalty in a game before. The
official came to Beamer and asked him to get some of his players back from
the field a bit, and also told him that Beamer was too close to the field.
Something happened on the other side of the field, and Beamer, Foster and
Wiles were out on the field a little bit, and all of a sudden a flag came
down. He thought it was something on UNC, but it was a sideline violation.
It was a little bizarre. - The Tech defense made some big plays. They held UNC to a field goal from
inside the five yard line, they intercepted a pass in the end zone, and they
forced a fumble inside the five. It was a great effort. - Beamer told Hosley that from now on he needs to take a knee in the end
zone. If he does bring out the interception, he doesn’t need to take a knee
inside the 15. - Miami is a very good football team. They have a better offensive line than
they did a year ago. They are very big and strong up front, which makes
their passing game better. It takes pressure off their freshman quarterback.
They have a very good defense, and they have a great punter. - Beamer likes both Jacory Harris and Stephen Morris. Morris has improved
each game. Either way, Miami will have a good quarterback in the game. - D.J. Coles was back working on Monday, and the staff hopes he is ready for
the game on Saturday. Marcus Davis has a contusion on his hip, and he was
limping around a bit on Monday. - Hopefully David Wilson will be back against Miami. Tony Gregory knows what
he’s in for with ACL surgery. He tore the ACL in his other knee in high
school. He’ll respond well. - Marcus Davis had a very good game, and almost had a great game. He’s a
very big target, and he’s explosive. - Beamer talked to the team on Monday about what they can accomplish. They
can lock up the division by beating Miami. There hasn’t been a team to go
undefeated in the ACC in the last 10 years, and the Hokies have a chance to
do that. There are a lot of things riding on this football game. - Miami always gets your attention. They are a talented football team. That
gets the attention of the players. Tech will have to play a great game to
beat them. - Miami has huge guys on the offensive line, and they are athletic. They can
get in unbalanced formations, which makes it difficult to stop the run. They
are a very tough group. - Randy Shannon is a solid guy, and a good person. He and his entire staff
do a very good job with that team. They are well-schemed on both sides of
the ball, and they have good players. That is tough to beat.
Monday was Day 2,179 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
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