Former Virginia Tech running backs coach Billy Hite used to say that he expected all of Virginia Tech’s running backs to be able to do the same thing.  More times than not, that turned out to be the case. 

In 1996, guys like Ken Oxendine and Marcus Parker were so physically similar that nothing had to be changed to suit individual skillsets.  It was the same way for Shyrone Stith and Andre Kendrick in 1999, for Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones and so on.

However, that statement rankled parts of the fan base in the odd year where the Hokies didn’t have two similar backs, yet Tech continued to try and use all of their backs in the same manner.  For example, early in his career, it was difficult for David Wilson to do the same thing that guys like Ryan Williams and Darren Evans did, and the staff didn’t find a way to get him in space very much when he was a true freshman in 2009.  He had 59 carries that year, and played in all 13 games, but he didn’t catch a single pass.

When pressed, I’d prefer to recruit to a template at running back, similar to the one the new Virginia Tech defensive staff currently employs for various positions. If you recruit the same type of running back year after year, everybody knows what they have to do and there won’t be much tweaking that has to be done to the offense.  On the other hand, I value a coaching staff’s ability to tailor the offense bases on the strengths and weaknesses of the personnel.

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