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 and Frank Beamer bookended Monday night’s show, as usual. In
between, Torrian Gray talked about his secondary, while Logan Thomas and Alonzo
Tweedy discussed the big roles they played in the win over Miami.
Jim Weaver
Miami is a very solid team and they know how to compete. They played for all
60 minutes, but the Hokies had the right play in the last minute of the game.
Tech hasn’t had many shootouts in the past, and Weaver isn’t sure how many he
can take.
TV decides what time the Hokies will play, and what station it will be on.
After Wake beat FSU and Tech beat Miami, the TV people probably wish they had
exercised their six-day option on the VT-Wake game. Unfortunately the game will
only be on ESPN3, which is internet only.
Weaver wasn’t aware that BC blocked UConn coming to the ACC. He thinks the
ACC ended up with the two schools that most of the athletic directors wanted.
Weaver thinks the ACC eventually would have gone after Pitt over UConn anyway.
He also doesn’t believe that ESPN was driving the expansion.
The indoor practice facility is the first building Jim Weaver got permission
to build at Virginia Tech. They are only now getting around to building it,
because they felt like other things were more important.
Compliance officers generally report to the Athletic Directors, and to
faculty-athletic reps. Weaver doesn’t think they should have to report to the
NCAA. If a person isn’t interested in being honest, then lots of bad things are
going to happen.
With the ticket scanners, Tech can tell what time people enter the stadium.
The gates were cleared by kickoff for the Miami game.
Virginia Tech allots 14,000 student tickets for home games, and that is the
sixth highest number in the country.
Torrian Gray
From a coaching staff perspective, it’s hard to win every Saturday. They
understand that. A win like Saturday is a big boost for the team, and they still
have a chance to go to Charlotte. It was a joyous locker room afterwards.
Gray never thought Tech could give up that many yards and points and still
win the game. If you give up 35 points, you don’t think you’re going to win, but
the offense came out and did a great job.
Miami was able to run the ball in the second half. They only had 51 rushing
yards in the first half. They got it going in the second half.
Gray thought the deep ball down the sideline to Allen Hurns should not have
been overturned. There didn’t appear to be enough evidence to overturn it. (Editor’s
Note: no
kidding.)
Tech was prepared for the play that resulted in the long touchdown to Travis
Benjamin. Eddie Whitley had a great break, but he was a little indecisive.
You’ve either got to play the ball or the man, and he was a little bit in
between and Miami got a long touchdown.
Kyle Fuller is having an all-conference type year. He is very physical in the
run game. He’s done a great job with his blitzes in the nickel package. He’s
done a great job with his coverage. Fuller is having a big season.
From Gray’s seat, Jayron Hosley is having a great year. It’s not all about
interceptions. He doesn’t have the type of numbers, but he is affecting each
game. Teams don’t like throwing to his side of the field. He’s coming up and
tackling well also.
The best Miami receiver that Torrian Gray had to cover was Yatil Green.
The Miami fake field goal was defended well. It was an option play. Gouevia-Winslow
had the holder, and Kyle Fuller took the pitch man. It was a great heads up play
by those guys.
Eddie Whitley is having a good year. He does so much for the defense from a
communications standpoint.
What Kyle Fuller is doing is tremendous. He has to remember his reads and
keys for two positions: cornerback and nickelback. He’s a cerebral guy.
Gray is happy that Kyshoen Jarrett and Adjeboye Aromire haven’t played much
defensively. If they did, that would mean the defense backfield was suffering a
lot of injuries. They are getting good experience on special teams, and they are
going to be good players.
Wake Forest scored 35 points against a fast Florida State defense last week.
Tanner Price is playing well, and Chris Givens is a very good receiver.
Jayron Hosley is likely headed to the NFL after this season. He has NFL
aspirations, and hopefully he’ll be able to have the opportunity to go pro if
that’s what he wants.
Gray likes the talent of his future starters, like Jarrett and Aromire. He
also likes the upside of r-freshman cornerback Detrick Bonner.
Gray feels like the Miami win can be a real springboard for the team. They
came back from a tough loss and beat Miami in dramatic fashion. Hopefully it
gives them some momentum.
Whenever you beat Miami, it’s a good day. They have fast, talented players.
You are going to feel good about it whenever you beat them.
Alonzo Tweedy
Saturday was a great experience. Playing against Miami, it was a big team, so
he was kind of nervous. Once he got to hit somebody, he felt good. He knew he
had to step up with Gouveia-Winslow got hurt. (Editor’s Note: Gouveia-Winslow
is out for the year.)
The coaching staff tells the players each week that they are all one play
away from seeing major playing time. Tweedy’s time came against Miami. The last
time he played that much in a game was in high school.
Wake Forest is a good team. They beat Florida State. Tweedy wants to have a
good week of practice so he’s ready to play on Saturday.
Hermitage High School sends a lot of players to Virginia Tech, so it hasn’t
been a huge transition to Blacksburg.
Whenever Tweedy sees the football, he attacks. It’s all about speed, and he
tries to use his speed to his advantage.
You have your own job to do on the field. You have to make sure your own job
is done before you can pursue.
Cornell Brown is a great coach. He makes sure all the whips are prepared each
week. He makes sure they all know the material for each game.
It was very loud on the field on Saturday. Sometimes Tweedy couldn’t hear
Antone Exum make his defensive calls, so he had to turn around and look for him.
When Enter Sandman played before the last play, it was incredible.
Logan Thomas
The end of that game was a great feeling. Thomas really wasn’t able to put it
into words, but it was an awesome experience that he’ll never forget for the
rest of his life.
Thomas really never had an idea that he was going to have a huge game. It was
a typical game, from the time he woke up through pre-game. The only thing
different about it was that he didn’t have any jitters. He wasn’t nervous at
all.
Danny Coale made a great catch on the first play, and Jarrett Boykin made a
big play on third down. From that point, things really got in a rhythm.
Thomas didn’t feel any different than he normally does. The receivers did a
great job getting open and he put the ball where it needed to be, but he didn’t
feel any different.
Tech rolled the pocket a few more times against Miami. It gives the defense a
different look and forces them to react. The Hokies hit a few big plays with
Thomas rolling out on Saturday.
Before the last drive, Tyrod Taylor told Thomas that his legacy was about to
begin.
On the first play of the last drive, Tech rolled the pocket and Thomas got
the ball to Danny Coale. He called a hot play on the next play, and got it to
Marcus Davis near the sideline. Later on he hit Wilson on the sideline and he
got out of bounds. Thomas said that Mike O’Cain did a great job with his
playcalling and putting the offense in a good position.
Before the last play of the winning drive, Thomas had the team at the line
and he had called his own play, which was the same play he completed to Marcus
Davis earlier in the drive. Thomas is glad a timeout was called, because looking
back he’s not sure that play would have worked on that part of the field.
Everybody in the huddle was just focused on getting a yard on that last play
to keep the drive alive. Thomas went back and looked at the film on Monday, and
the line did a great job blocking on that play. Jaymes Brooks took two people
out to open the hole wide open. That was one of the biggest holes Thomas has
seen in his life.
The play that won the game for the Hokies is called 46 Rabbit Quarterback.
The fake to David Wilson held the linebackers.
His shoulder feels fine now. He’s played through it the last two weeks and
hasn’t had a problem.
Thomas checked off four or five times at the line of scrimmage against Miami.
Against Marshall he checked off 12 times, and that’s a lot compared to what they
normally do.
Thomas was raised to stay calm. His parents and grandparents really raised
him right, and they check up on him all the time to make sure he’s doing the
right things.
Thomas probably has more confidence after the Miami game. It was a confidence
boost. That being said, he never lost confidence in himself.
Tech didn’t play that badly on offense against Clemson. They did a lot of
things to hurt themselves. They moved the ball, but had too many turnovers and
penalties.
Thomas and Tyrod Taylor still keep in contact. Taylor has been through it
all, and Thomas can always look to him for advice on how to handle things.
On the fumble against Miami, the Miami player didn’t have his hands under
Logan’s facemask trying to gouge his eyes. Instead, he had them around his
throat trying to choke him a little bit. That stuff goes on “more than
y’all need to know.” It’s everybody, not just Miami.
Miami ran a lot more two high safety looks against Tech, more than they ran
on film. Tech was expecting more one high safety. The Hokies adjusted and did
well against it.
The offensive line did a great job against Miami. They are some of his best
friends, and he probably owes them a dinner sometime this year.
Thomas is starting to understand the Tech offense more and more. He’s also
starting to understand what defenses are trying to do to him.
When Thomas is on the headset with O’Cain, O’Cain talks about what the
defense is doing, and about each passing play of the previous drive.
Wake Forest is a good team, but Tech can maintain their momentum offensively.
Wake is athletic, and they give you a bunch of different looks defensively.
Frank Beamer
Beamer told the players on Monday that they probably played in the most
exciting football game ever played in Lane Stadium. It was as loud as Beamer has
ever heard Lane Stadium. He appreciates the fans for their great efforts.
Wake Forest is quite a team. Jim Grobe is a great coach, and he’s done a
great job with that program.
Beamer tried to stay calm during the game. It’s important in this business to
not get too high, and not get too low. If Tech had lost the game, it would have
hurt a lot.
The offense executed about as well as you can. They played with great effort.
The winning touchdown was perfectly blocked. The defense was playing hard, but
they weren’t playing particularly well. They know what they need to do better.
People respect the Miami program because they always have great players.
Miami brings out the best in Tech because of the respect they demand.
Miami is really good up front on the offensive line, and they have really
good running backs. Tech probably should have gotten Antone Exum more involved
in the running game. Losing some key defenders early in the game hurt the Tech
defense as well. Tyrel Wilson was really sick, but he hung in there and played
with great effort.
The #1 rule on defense is to keep things in front of you, and the Hokies were
able to get behind the Canes several times. That probably helped to soften up
the defense.
The last play of the game wasn’t really a read option. It was Logan’s play
the whole way, and it was a fake handoff to David Wilson.
Tech always does a good job of analyzing what went wrong after a tough loss.
They don’t hang their players out to dry, as long as they are playing hard,
which is always the case. Beamer always tries to stay positive. You’ve got to
have the right kind of players as well. Character counts.
Jacory Harris was jawing with J.R. Collins on the unsportsmanlike conduct
penalty, and it was a terrible mistake by Collins to react. He knows that.
Beamer didn’t make the decision to put Michael Branthover in the game until
the day of the game. He wanted to see how he punted during warm-ups. Branthover
has the strongest leg and the quickest release time, so he’s the right guy right
now. He’ll be the guy against Wake Forest on Saturday night.
Courtney Prince got work at defensive tackle last week. He wants to help the
team. He played really hard against Miami.
Jim Grobe should win the ACC Coach of the Year award. It’s no fluke they beat
Florida State. Tanner Price is doing a good job at quarterback. They’ve got a
big offensive line. They are playing really hard defensively. It’s going to take
a great game from Virginia Tech to win the football game.
Josh Harris of Wake Forest is a great back. He’s just like the two backs the
Hokies faced against Miami. He’s got speed, and he’s got power.
Logan Thomas continues to get better every week. His timing and accuracy have
improved. Little things really count, such as carrying out proper playaction
fakes, and fake handoffs to David Wilson.
Eric Martin has been out at tight end, so the Hokies really need Chris Drager
at that position. He can’t play defensive end right now, because Tech isn’t deep
at tight end.
The ACC really had to expand. You want to keep the product strong. Adding
Pitt and Syracuse was the right thing to do.
Defensively, the Hokies have to contain Josh Harris. They gave up too many
long plays to him last season. Offensively, Tech has to take another step
forward and be consistent. They have to mix things up and keep people off
balance.
Monday was Day 2,508 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
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