Tech Talk Live Notes for October 26, 2015

Pat Mason

This Thursday Tech will have their annual Halloween game where all the players dress up as their favorite super hero, or whatever. Afterwards they will do their annual “Shave for the Brave” for cancer. The game starts at 5pm.

Fall baseball went well. They have a lot of new players in the program, including some guys who missed last year with injury. Mason was pleased with the progress. It seems like they have a tight team.

Alumni weekend was great. They had a BBQ and a tailgate, and they saw some familiar faces.

Bryan Stinespring

It’s been awhile since Tech played such a long football game. The 2002 Syracuse game went three overtimes. The possessions end very quickly, and you have to make adjustments very quickly in overtime.

Tech checked a couple of plays at the line of scrimmage to take advantage of the way Duke was playing Bucky Hodges, and Michael Brewer was able to get him the ball. He could have had an even bigger game, but he played well.

Michael Brewer was able to maintain his sharpness for the most part. He’s a mentally strong guy, and a mentally tough guy. He was always working hard, even if he wasn’t getting all the practice reps.

Stinespring is blessed to have such a capable group of tight ends. Ryan Malleck does a lot of really good things. He also does a lot of behind the scene works. Sometimes they even use him in protection against defensive ends, and he does a great job. That allows them to double team other defensive linemen.

All you can do after a tough loss is go back to work. Stiney was able to spend a couple of hours with his family last night, but he spent much of the night in the Merryman Center getting work done. The players are back working hard, too.

Boston College is very big inside. They are strong and hard to move around. They free up their linebackers to make plays. They are also very experienced on that side of the ball.

Kalvin Cline

Saturday night was awesome, except for the losss. The fanbase was awesome, and they really helped the team. It was unfortunate that Tech took the loss, because they felt like they prepared well.

It’s been a process to get back healthy. Cline had two surgeries, but the knee is feeling great now. He’s finding his role now. It was good going back to south Florida to see his family for the Miami game. His little brother is 6-3, 250, and only 14. Cline is hoping he ends up at Virginia Tech.

It’s not easy to balance football and the Corps of Cadets, especially when he was injured. The football staff has been great throughout the whole process.

Cline misses playing basketball. He only played one year of high school football. It’s all about football now, though.

Bryan Stinespring does a great job with the tight ends. Ryan Malleck is a great leader, and he’s an all-around tight end. Bucky Hodges is a great mismatch. The success of the position group reflects their coaching.

Michael Brewer always stayed in the film room. His greatest asset is his ability to break down defenses. Brewer did a great job breaking down the Duke defense.

Tech has to use their speed to defeat BC’s size and strength. They have to win the one-on-one battles. They are looking forward to getting back on the practice field.

It’s difficult to lose when you put so much preparation into each game. If they keep working hard, the wins will start coming.

Frank Beamer

Tech played a good team on Saturday night. Duke is very well coached. Tech played hard and played well, but they needed another play somewhere in the ball game. It was a tough game to lose.

The challenge now is to go on the road and play a great defense. The Hokies will have to play well to win at BC. Beamer likes his players and their character, and they need to have a great week of practice. How they respond to adversity to will determine how successful they are.

Beamer thought Cam Phillips was out of bounds and the clock would stop. He went back and looked at it, and he thought it was “mind boggling a little bit.” They didn’t get as many plays run as they needed because of that play.

You usually wait until the fourth quarter to go for two-point conversions, but it was very late in the third, and Beamer thought it was the right thing to do.

Joey Slye made some clutch field goals during the Duke game. He’s a really good kicker who welcomes big moments. He is a very confident player right now.

AJ Hughes is a very good punter, though Beamer would like him to be a little more consistent.

Tech needs to tackle better. Beamer feels like the defense should have had more people stopped this year. They have to get their head across the ball carrier and wrap up. They are going to continue to work on that in practice.

Tech’s young defensive backs have played about as well as they could play, but that’s a bad position to have so much youth on the field. You have to be able to get lined up, fill the right responsibility, etc. Desmond Frye gave them some more experience in the second half against Duke. He was in the right spot.

Thomas Sirk was used well by the Duke coaching staff. He’s a big guy to bring down. Duke had a good gameplan. The Hokies didn’t do a good job of containing him, and that opened up other areas.

BC has a really good football team, but they’ve had injuries at quarterback. They are very stout defensively. They take care of the ball on offense. It’s going to be a battle. It’s always a battle at Boston College. They always have big, strong guys, but now they are faster than they used to be.

The ACC creates the conference schedule. Tech doesn’t have any control over whether or not they play teams who are coming off a bye week.

Tech needs to play with emotion against BC, and they need to execute. You have to be excited about playing if you’re going to play well. He expects the team to play that way on Saturday.

Tech’s fans deserve better than what they’re getting right now. Beamer feels bad about where they are record wise, but he doesn’t feel bad about the players or their effort level.

Virginia Tech has held the Commonwealth Cup for 3985 days. #Hokies

— Commonwealth Cup (@CommonwlthCup) October 26, 2015