We’re all curious about what will change when Justin Hamilton has the reins of Virginia Tech’s defense. If I had to put money on something, I’d say “nothing will change that’d be noticeable to anyone watching.” It’s his first year as DC, and there’s also Bud Foster still being in the picture.

That said, Hamilton spent a good chunk of his career working in schemes outside of the Hokie 4-2. Hamilton played in a variation of one of the best 3-4 schemes (the Belichick/Saban 3-4) when he was in Cleveland, and he coached linebackers in a 3-4 at VMI. So, if I had to pick a place to start, I’d probably look for concepts from those defenses to appear. I’m not saying any of this will happen, it’s just that if something does change, these are some areas that strike me as being potential influences.

I’ve got no clue about other influences* or what he’s picked up in his two years employed at Tech. I’m sort of like the drunk guy looking for his house keys at the lamppost; he might not find the keys, but the lamppost is the only place he could possibly find them.

The Front

One thing we might see change is how the Hokies attack pullers by using the defensive ends (or whoever the end-man on the LOS is) to attack deeper into the backfield in order to turn runs upfield into the arms of linebackers. I learned it as playing “contain,” but “forcing” and “boxing” are also names for this technique. I’ll call it “boxing” since contain and force are used in other contexts. The boxing defender has to keep his outside shoulder free and he can’t let the runner get past him. Here’s a video of defenders drilling box technique:

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