1) Do we have too many defenders playing on the defensive line?  Is it really effective to play J.R. Collins inside?  Is Tyrel Wilson getting too many reps and thus not holding up?

Chris Coleman: Interesting questions.  I’ll start with the last question and work my way up.  I’m not exactly sure how many reps Tyrel Wilson is getting.  HokieSports.com stopped doing their postgame notes, which included number of plays for each player, player grades and stats, etc.  But obviously he has been on the field a lot.

I view Wilson as a matchup player.  He moves well laterally, and I think he’s a good matchup against a Georgia Tech, or a Cincinnati.  I don’t think he’s a good matchup for a team like UNC, which has a big, physical offensive line.  Miami is another opponent coming up that is big and strong up front, and Wilson likely won’t match up very well in that game either.  I wouldn’t play him as much against teams like that.

It was interesting to play J.R. Collins at defensive tackle against UNC.  With Collins on the inside, and Wilson and Dadi Nicolas on the outside, that makes Virginia Tech’s defensive line a lot smaller.  Quicker, but smaller.  That works against offensive lines that aren’t that quick.  But UNC’s offensive line is big and quick, so in my opinion, that was a terrible matchup for the Hokies.

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