Year after year, Bud Foster and his staff field one of the best defenses in
college football. The scheme and structure stay the same with certain wrinkles
added each year to take advantage of certain strengths in personnel. This
season, one of those wrinkles is a new look nickel package.

The nickel has been around the game for many years and every team has some
version of it in its arsenal. It’s a personnel package that substitutes a
fifth defensive back for one of the defensive linemen or linebackers. Over the
years, we have seen it utilized by the Hokies at various times, some years more
than others. And some years not at all.

For 2009, look for the nickel package to be a big part of the defense’s
identity. Again, personnel is the major reason for that. With young linebackers
still figuring out the finer points of pass coverage and with three experienced
safeties, the nickel makes a lot of sense in obvious passing situations.

So what is the 2009 version of the Hokie nickel and how will it be used?
First, let’s review the regular defense and then we will take a look at the
personnel adjustments to convert the regular defense to the nickel defense. The
defensive line is the same for both – Jason Worilds, Cordarrow Thompson, John
Graves and Nekos Brown (from left to right).

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