Virginia Tech’s 2016 Spring Football roster was released late Monday morning. It does not contain updated heights and weights, but it does contain all the position changes. We saw most of them coming in advance, and in some cases we’ve been discussing them for a few months. Not so much for a few others.
Some position changes are a result of team need. Other position changes are simply about putting a player at his correct position. Still others are just about having enough depth at certain spots for spring ball. Some are a combination of those three things.
Today I’ll give all my thoughts on the announced position changes. I like most all of them, and even the few that I’m lukewarm about, I still consider the moves worth trying.
Terrell Edmunds to Free Safety
Last year at this time, the plan was for Mook Reynolds (Jr.) to move to free safety. However, for the last few months things have been trending in the direction of Terrell Edmunds (r-Jr.), and not just because Reynolds is out for the spring with an injury.
There are three prerequisites for playing free safety at Virginia Tech…
1: You’ve got to be able to tackle in space.
2: You’ve got to be able to cover slot receivers.
3: You’ve got to be smart enough and mature enough to be the quarterback of the defense.
Considering all three of those things, I think Edmunds is a great fit at free safety. He proved to be a very effective tackler last season at rover, he proved that he could run with receivers downfield as a cornerback in 2015, and he’s an experienced, mature player with a good head on his shoulders. This was the move I’ve been hoping for, and I’m confident that it will stick.
After his move to free safety, Edmunds will have played all positions in the Tech secondary, except for nickel, at some point in his career. He can tackle, he can cover, he’s smart, and he’s versatile. Combined with his good size and solid athletic ability, I think that will make him a fairly high NFL Draft pick in a couple of years.
Divine Deablo to Free Safety
Frank Beamer said in his first book Turn Up The Wick that he could always tell if a player was going to be a good defender if he showed that he could play well in space on special teams, particularly on the kickoff and punt teams. Deablo (So.) showed that he could play well in space on the kickoff team last season. He could get off blocks, and he could tackle in space.
Deablo is currently working behind Edmunds at free safety. He’s a big guy
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