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
- Some younger players like Kyle Fuller and Logan Thomas had to come in and
perform, which shows the coaching staff did an excellent job getting them
prepared. - Virginia Tech has completely sold out their allotment of ACC Championship
Game tickets. You can go through the ACC website, or Ticketmaster to get
your tickets. - A Virginia Tech-NC State game would give the stadium in Charlotte perhaps
the largest crowd in its history. - There are eight different prices for Orange Bowl tickets. In the past,
they had a single price no matter where you were sitting. - Weaver doesn’t see Virginia Tech adding Ice Hockey as a varsity sport
anytime soon. Penn State just got an $80 million gift from one donor to
start a hockey team. The sport just isn’t that popular around here. - Weaver is pretty sure that everyone who applied for ACC Championship Game
tickets early in the process will get them. If you aren’t sure, call the
ticket office to double check. - Tech-Miami games are always brutal and always physical. Saturday’s was no
different. - If the Hokies don’t win the ACC Championship, Weaver feels like they have
an excellent chance to go to the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Reps from that bowl have
been at three Tech games already, and will send another for the UVA game. - Tickets for the Orange Bowl will be awarded based on points priority in
the Hokie Club. If an upper level donor wants bad seats, there will be a
chance for lower level donors to have good seats.
Chris Riley
- Riley is the volleyball coach. They have a big match with UVA on Friday
night, and he hopes people will come out. The Hokies have a chance to go to
the NCAA Tournament. They are very much on the bubble right now. If they can
win on Friday night, it would help a lot. - This team also has a chance to beat UVA twice in the same season, which
would be quite an accomplishment.
Seth Greenberg
- The Hokies played better defensively on Sunday. Their transition defense
was better, and even though UNC Greensboro shot well, the Hokies also forced
29 turnovers. - Tech also did a very good job on the fast break. They attacked the basket,
and they shared the basketball. - Tech has to play better on-ball defense. Their ball screen defense was
good, their post defense was good, but they have to do better against guys
off the dribble. - 20 steals is great, but the Hokies need to play on principles. Sometimes
going for steals can get you in foul trouble, and it can also cause you to
overrun passing lanes, which allows easy baskets. - Cadarian Raines practiced some on Monday. He has some discomfort in his
foot. He hasn’t done anything for four months. In a perfect world, Greenberg
would like to get him 2-3 minutes per half in this week’s tournament.
However, Greenberg doesn’t know if he’s ready for that. - Malcolm Delaney’s turnovers are a concern, but they are all correctable
errors. He has never had issues in the past. He just needs to settle down
and have fun during his senior season rather than trying to be perfect for
ACC scouts. - Paul Debnam is practicing with the team, but not traveling or dressing. He
is taking care of some things he needs to take care of with the University.
If he takes care of those things, then he’ll be back. - Next year the Hokies might be playing in the Preseason NIT, which would be
very exciting. - The field in Anaheim is very good. Teams like Stanford, UNLV, Murray
State, Oklahoma State … they are all very good. The Hokies will have to
play well to win one game, let alone three games. - The Hokies will share a charter bus with Tulsa in Anaheim so both teams
can save some travel money. Hopefully they can play each other in the
finals. - Tech will practice in The Pyramid, which was Greenberg’s arena when he was
the head coach at Long Beach State. - Ben Boggs did okay on Sunday. The guy Greenberg was excited about on
Sunday was Erick Green. He made plays, he was aggressive, and he looked for
his shot. Manny Atkins gave Tech good minutes as well. - Greenberg loves coaching, and he loves to see how teams respond and react.
It has been very impressive how the football team has responded and reacted
this season.
Bryan Stinespring
- It was a very physical and very violent football game on Saturday. It was
a collision game. Not a contact game. It was vintage Virginia Tech-Miami. - Miami did pretty much what the staff expected them to. The two teams know
each other very well. They played a lot of man defense, but they also
disguised some zone as well. - Tech wanted to hit some underneath routes and crossing routes early in the
game, but they weren’t getting enough spacing. - Tech made some adjustments and started using Andre Smith in pass
protection, and those adjustments seemed to work well. - You have to run the football against Miami and get them on their heels a
little bit. If you play finesse, you play into their hands. You attack speed
by running right at it. - Virginia Tech has gotten everybody’s best shot over these last three
weeks, and they’ve won all three games. - Marcus Davis didn’t practice on Monday. He’ll be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
All of the receivers are banged up it seems. - There were a couple of screens on Saturday that could have gone for big
plays. The one early in the game that Darren Evans dropped would have been a
footrace to the end zone. - Even though Tech has clinched the ACC Coastal Division, it’s not the time
to back off the throttle. They have to keep doing things the same way. - It’s tough for Josh Oglesby right now. Stinespring feels for him. They
planned to get him involved in an option package against Miami, but when
Tyrod Taylor got banged up early in the game they decided to abandon that
package and find other ways to move the ball. - When Logan Thomas came in the game, Miami was expecting the Hokies to run
a draw play. Miami had the momentum at that point, and Stinespring just felt
like Tech needed to attack and send a message that they were down there to
win the game. Tech’s belief system is paramount to the program’s success,
and now Logan Thomas knows the staff believes in him. - After the BC game, the staff met and tried to find ways to get better in
the red zone. They felt like the team was playing tight, and they needed to
be loosened up. So the staff put in the formation with Andrew Lanier split
out wide, and Andre Smith eligible as a tackle. They also installed the
formation with Logan Thomas split out wide. - Tech thought Miami would be in man coverage on Danny Coale’s touchdown
catch. They caught the Canes in the right coverage, and Coale didn’t get
passed off as he was crossing the field. - Tyrod Taylor took a lot of punishment on Saturday, and he knew that was
going to happen. He kept coming back and played a really tough game.
Stinespring is really glad that Taylor is on this team. He should be ACC
Player of the Year.
Danny Coale
- Miami obviously wanted to make this a physical game. Coale took that hit
on the big pass from Logan Thomas, but he kept on going. He knew the Miami
player was back there somewhere, but you’ve got to keep going to the next
play. - Marcus Davis seems to be doing better. It was a scary moment when he was
lying on the field. - Austin Fuller made a tremendous catch over the middle, but it was called
back because of a penalty. He has a lot of ability. - When you start 0-2, you have to have guys on the team who will step up and
play for each other. The Hokies have had that type of team lately. - Coale was lined up in the slot on his touchdown pass. He and Boykin both
crossed in opposite directions, and it confused the Miami defense. After he
caught the ball, he just tried to make a play. He had to make sure it wasn’t
like Nebraska last year. He couldn’t get caught. - Coale’s brother played lacrosse at UVA, but he’s a Virginia Tech football
fan. He grew up in Lexington, right between UVA and Virginia Tech. He had a
good idea from an early age at how intense the rivalry is. - The team wants to give UVA their best shot. It’s the final home game of
the season. It means a lot, and the Hokies can’t wait to play.
Davon Morgan
- The team’s focus and the dedication has been the key to victory. They had
a tough start to the season, and they didn’t want to ruin the tradition of
success. - Tech has allowed just 10 points in the fourth quarter all season. When
it’s a tight game at halftime, you know you have to focus in on the last 20
minutes. For the 3:30 kickoffs, the second half of the game is played under
the lights, so it’s easy to get fired up. - Lamar Miller of Miami is very good. The Tech defense also didn’t play very
well against the run at times. However, they kept the Canes out of the end
zone for the most part. - Miami has a lot of tradition. They put a lot of big time players in the
NFL. Their new players always try to keep up that image of aggressiveness,
and as a visiting team you have to go in there and match it. - Rashad Carmichael’s ankle is doing better, so he should be ready to go on
Saturday. - This UVA game is always important. It’s a rivalry, but it’s also just the
next game. It’s about winning 10 games, and it’s about being ready for the
ACC Championship Game. - Morgan thanked all the fans and coaches for his time here at Tech. He
wants to get one more win on Senior Day. - Morgan is happy they’ve bounced back from a tough start, but he didn’t
expect anything else. It was his job, and the job of all the seniors, to
uphold the tradition. The season isn’t over either, and the Hokies want to
keep winning. Don’t worry about a letdown on Saturday.
Frank Beamer
- It was a tough game on Saturday. Miami has some great players and a really
good coaching staff. The Hokies have a lot of respect for Miami. Tech has to
play well to beat them, and they did for the most part. - Hazley felt good about his 49 yard attempt, so Beamer let him try it. He’s
a reliable guy, and he definitely had enough leg. Beamer almost went for the
first down on that play, but he trusts Hazley. - Tech’s punt team was very impressive against Miami. Guys like Alonzo
Tweedy, Chris Drager and Jeron Gouveia-Winslow were excellent, and Brian
Saunders punted very well. - Tariq Edwards played very well on special teams. When he gets in the game
on defense he does well, but he has to be consistent during practice. If he
can do that, Bud Foster will have the confidence to play him more on
defense. - Turnovers have been critical in Tech’s last two wins. If you aren’t
turning it over, and the other team is, then you are probably going to win
the game. - Virginia has been in most of their games this year. UNC and FSU got them
pretty good, but other than that they’ve been in the game. They beat Miami,
and that makes a statement. The Hokies know they will get UVA’s best shot.
They are doing a lot of good things right now. - Mono didn’t keep David Wilson out long. He was back against Miami, and
he’ll be fine for UVA. - Tech will have to be ready for trick plays in the kicking game against UVA.
They have nothing to lose in this game. - Frank Beamer almost hired Mike London as a graduate assistant a long time
ago. They have a good staff, and they are doing a good job. - Michael Vick affected a lot of football games when he was at Virginia
Tech. Tyrod Taylor is very similar in the things he allows you to do.
Playcalling gets easier with Tyrod Taylor. He always does the right thing
with the ball. He’s been a delight to coach. Beamer wants a guy who has a
lot of athletic ability who can also throw the ball very well. That’s a hard
guy to defend. - Beamer likes this game as the last game of the year. You’ve got a chance
to have a great preparation for the game because school is out [for
Thanksgiving break]. Nobody will have to miss practice to go to class. It’s
something the players always look forward to, no matter how the season has
gone. - Preparation for NC State would be different than normal, simply because
the teams have already played. Beamer doesn’t care if the Hokies play NC
State or FSU. He’s just happy they get a chance to play for the ACC
Championship. - The Tech players and coaches have done a great job of getting into the
flow of the game, making adjustments and just getting things done. Everyone
is getting better as the game goes on. - Beamer still believes that deferring is the right decision if you win the
coin toss. It gets you one more possession in the second half.
Monday was Day 2,186 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
Tech Sideline is Presented By: