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
- To run the table in the ACC, especially with Tech’s November schedule, is
very difficult. Weaver is very proud of the players and coaches. - Tech sold their allotment to the ACC Championship Game, and then some.
Weaver heard that Florida State sold 7,000 tickets by the end of the day on
Monday, and the report is that the game is going to be a sellout and perhaps
the biggest crowd in the history of that stadium. - Weaver thinks Charlotte is the place for the ACC Championship Game, long
term. There will be a lot of fans who go just for the game because it’s
within driving distance. When it’s in Jacksonville or Tampa, it’s like an
extra bowl trip. - If Tech doesn’t beat Florida State, it’s likely they’ll be headed to the
Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. - If Tech does go to the Orange Bowl, they won’t have any input as to whom
they play. Weaver is very good friends with the director of the Orange Bowl.
They were on the staff together at UNLV. They have to make the right
business decision for them. - Before next season, there will be railings in the aisle in the upper
portion of the east stands. The field held up great this year. It looked
great for the UVA game. - The volleyball team is going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in
school history. Weaver estimates Friday night’s crowd for the UVA match at
around 3,000. He is excited for the team. - Weaver has a high regard for Randy Shannon. Shannon came up to the booth
to talk to Weaver after the Miami game. Weaver feels bad for him. (Editor’s
Note: Shannon was dismissed after Saturday’s Miami loss to South Florida.) - Miami doesn’t have to have a big recruiting budget. All they have to do is
drive around Miami and they can find players. - It’s a big week for basketball, with Purdue and UVA coming to Cassell
Coliseum. Along with the ACC Championship Game, it’s a huge week for
Virginia Tech fans.
Seth Greenberg
- The trip was good, and Greenberg thinks the team grew up a little bit. He
thought they played really hard, but not well at all times. They did defend
well for the most part, especially in the Oklahoma State game. - Greenberg is very disappointed in the consistency during the UNLV game. He
didn’t think they were consistent enough in anything to beat a team as good
as UNLV. You can’t have that many turnovers and missed free throws and
expect to win the game. - When Jeff Allen fouled out, if it had been ruled a defensive foul and
“and one” instead, that game could have been a 1-possession game
with four minutes left. It was very close, but you can’t go back and change
calls. - It was good to have Cadarian Raines and his big body against Oklahoma
State. The UNLV game was so fast, and Greenberg didn’t want to put too much
pressure on Raines when he only started practicing recently. - Erick Green is going to try to practice on Tuesday. He definitely couldn’t
play in the last two games with his pulled calf muscle. He got hurt on a
great play, where he shot into the passing lane, stole the ball and got the
layup. They could have used him against UNLV’s press. - Tech will need another ball handler against Purdue. They play very
aggressive on-ball defense. Hopefully Green can be ready. - Dorenzo Hudson is struggling and beat up a little bit right now. He might
have a broken finger, and he’ll get that x-rayed on Tuesday. He was an
All-Conference player last year. He needs to go out, play hard, and let
things happen. He has to take a deep breath and not put too much pressure on
himself. He has to play hard. You can’t play 36 minutes and only get one
rebound. He can control how hard he runs the floor, and how hard he
rebounds. He needs to do that. - The Hokies have five starters back, but players six, seven and eight have
changed, and that affects players one through five. - Five of Tech’s first seven games, and six of the first eight, will be on
national television. That probably hasn’t happened before. - Purdue is a really good team, and Matt Painter is a great guy. They have
two first round draft picks. JaJuan Johnson is 6-11, and he’s a very skilled
player. He’s explosive and quick off the ground. E’Twaun Moore is really
quick off the dribble. - Purdue didn’t play well in the loss to Richmond because of the Spiders’
matchup zone. Purdue isn’t a great shooting team unless they have room and
rhythm. They only had 14 halftime points. - It’s amazing to Greenberg how low scoring some games are at this time of
year. Cal only had five points at halftime in a game recently. - Wednesday night is Allen Bristow night, and Sunday night is Dell Curry
night. The Hokies are honoring their past greats this season. - It will be a great week of basketball. They have played five straight road
games, and now they get their first real homestand. They get Purdue, UVA and
Penn State all in Cassell Coliseum. - Greenberg wasn’t happy with the free throw shooting against UNLV. There is
no excuse for it. It could have won the game for the Hokies. - Terrell Bell had a good game against UNLV. They need him in that frame of
mind all the time. They need Jeff Allen on the court more. - There is nothing to be ashamed of so far. Tech lost to a Top 10 Kansas
State team, a UNLV team that is Top 5 in the RPI, and they beat an Oklahoma
State team that will probably be in the Top 50 by the end of the season.
(editor’s note: Tech is #50 in the RPI right now, the second highest RPI in
the ACC). - Right now, good teams are losing games because they are playing other good
games in made for television events. - After six days in California, the Hokies didn’t practice on Monday. They
did 20 minutes of film on their last game, and 20 minutes of film on Purdue.
They will get dialed in for Purdue starting on Tuesday. - The crowd for the Campbell game was unbelievable. They need the fans to
keep it up. The Purdue game is a big game.
Torrian Gray
- Beating UVA never gets old. Winning that game is very important for
Virginia Tech, and it’s another nice feather in their cap. - Before the Boise State game, Gray thought the secondary was average
because of their youth and inexperience. Sometime during the NC State game
they figured it out, and they’ve really developed since then. - Jayron Hosley is easy to coach. You have to teach everything to some guys.
Hosley has instincts and he does a lot of things naturally. Once you teach
him the technique, it’s easy from there. He has talent and instincts. - Davon Morgan has done an excellent job all year. Kyle Fuller had a very
impressive game against UVA. Morgan really helped Fuller on the boundary
side of the field, and Fuller was able to make the plays. - Davon Morgan really understands the importance of each and every game. He
knows how to prepare every week. - Rashad Carmichael will be close as to whether he can play against Florida
State. - Eddie Whitley has done a great job getting everyone lined up, and he’s a
very good player as well. - Tech has had more interceptions than any team in the country since 2000.
They have had great players, Bud Foster has a great scheme, and the staff
puts together a great gameplan each week. - Florida State stretches you vertically and horizontally with the run and
the pass. They can go with two backs or two tight ends and pound you. They
can go with four wide receivers and spread you out. They can run it out of
spread formations. They have good personnel, and they use every inch of the
field. - Tech will prepare well, and they’ll have a great plan for Florida State.
Christian Ponder is a great player. They run a great system. - Gray doesn’t think the FSU offensive has changed up with Jimbo Fisher.
They still throw it down the field and let their wide receivers make plays.
That’s not going to change. - From a personnel standpoint, the most talented offense the Hokies have
seen was probably NC State. Russell Wilson and that group of receivers
really put a lot of pressure on a defense. - Gray doesn’t think defensive coverages have changed much since the days
when he played. What’s changed is how offenses spread you out more. They
make you defend the entire field these days. - After the game on Saturday, recruiting will heat up. In fact, they are
losing a week because they are preparing for an extra game. But while other
coaches are visiting recruits, those recruits will turn on the TV on
Saturday night and see the Hokies playing for a championship. - After the game next week, Gray will recruit in Northern Virginia and the
7-5-7. After that, he’ll go down to the Atlanta area. - There are limited scholarships available this year, and that’s tough. Tech
likes the guys who have committed already.
Chris Hazley
- Hazley has made 19 straight field goals. He tries to do the same thing
each day to stay consistent. Being a good kicker is like being a good
golfer. - When you run on the field, you definitely have to focus on the wind and
where the ball is placed in regards of the hash. You have to keep your head
down, so it is a lot like golf. - Hazley looks up to David Akers of the Eagles.
- Hazley feels bad for the Boise State kicker. He never wants to be in that
same position. It has to be tough. - Hazley is excited to play in such a big game in an NFL stadium.
- The season has gone by very fast. It’s been a lot of fun.
Eddie Whitley
- Saturday was a great win. Getting the seniors a win on their way out was
very special. Whitley didn’t know anyone playing for UVA because he’s from
North Carolina, but it was big for a lot of the other guys on the team. - Tech has great players in the secondary. Jayron Hosley and Davon Morgan
have made some big time interceptions. - The team has great chemistry, especially the secondary. Everyone is
friends, and everyone communicates well. - Whitley likes playing the nickel/whip position in some of Tech’s defensive
formations. He gets to blitz out of those alignments sometimes. - When Whitley thinks about Florida State, he thinks about athletes. Ever
since Whitley was a kid, Florida State has always had a lot of fast guys.
Their receivers are big guys with great speed. - This game is going to be like any other game, but there are only two teams
in the conference playing. All eyes will be on this game, and it’s going to
be enjoyable. - When Tech got off the plane for the Miami game, Whitley said that nobody
was going to stop him from coming to Miami for a second time this season
(for free, he joked). The whole team feels that way. They have a lot riding
on this game. - The Hokies are peaking at the right time. They are scoring a lot of
points, Hazley is kicking very well, and the defense was really good against
UVA. - Whitley is the team chess master. He claims that he can win a chess match
in four moves. Greg Nosal gives him the hardest time of anyone on the team.
Jarrett Boykin tried to give him a challenge one time, but Whitley beat him
easily. Chess is like football in that you always have to be aware of what
could happen down the road. You have to see things before they happen. - Tech needs to stop the run against Florida State and force FSU to be one
dimensional. The Hokies are confident enough in their pass defense that they
want other teams to throw the ball. - Whitley is kind of glad they are playing Florida State. It’s tough to beat
a good team twice, which is what they would have had to do against NC State.
Overall though, it doesn’t matter. Tech didn’t play as well against NC State
as they were capable.
Frank Beamer
- Beamer is very proud of the players, coaches and fans. It was a nice day
in Blacksburg, and you can’t have enough of those. - Since 1970, only four teams have won 10 games in seven straight seasons.
Beamer is really proud of that. It’s very consistent. You separate yourself
from a lot of people. - It’s been a very special team so far, so it’s important that they finish
it off strong this weekend. If they can get this win on Saturday, Beamer
will be talking about this team a lot in future years. - There’s been a lot of character on this team. They get behind in games,
and nobody flinches. There will be a lot of great memories from this season,
but they need to finish it off. - Chris Hazley has had a great year. He’s very consistent. Jayron Hosley is
a real football player with great toughness. Tyrod Taylor has meant so much
to the program. All of them are very deserving of First Team All-ACC honors. - These days you don’t nominate players from your own team for All-ACC
honors. The fact that Tech has 11 guys on first or second team All-ACC says
the Hokies are well-respected. - Ryan Williams, Darren Evans and David Wilson are a talented, unselfish
trio. They have all been great this year. Each of them is very talented in
his own way. - Brian Saunders led the ACC in punting this year. He had some great punts,
especially against UVA in that wind. - Jeron Gouveia-Winslow has been outstanding as the personal protector on
the punt team, and he’s also been great in punt coverage the last two weeks. - Tyrod Taylor is a smart guy who has been in a lot of battles. He is very
competitive. He has had an outstanding season. He has worked on his
mechanics a lot. He is getting the ball out of the pocket quicker, and that
is key. He’s very accurate. - Florida State is really good. They’ve won their last three games. Two of
their losses were very close. They fumbled away a win against NC State, and
missed the game-winning field goal against UNC. They could easily be 11-1.
They are very good. They have good receivers, good backs, and a quck
offensive line. Ponder is really good. They’ve got players all over the
field. - Beamer hasn’t talked to Ricky Bustle, who was fired by Louisiana Lafayette
last week. That’s a really tough job. There is a real thin line between
winning and losing. Texas found that out this year. Ricky is a good football
coach, and he’ll hook on somewhere else. - Beamer was surprised to hear that Randy Shannon got fired. He ran a tight
ship academically, they recruited well, and there were no off the field
problems. It gets back ti wins and losses. - Bert Reed is quite a player for Florida State. Overall, they look like the
same old Florida State. They are athletic and talented. They are always a
difficult team to beat. Tech has to have a great week of practice.
Monday was Day 2,193 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
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