Yesterday we talked about the Virginia Tech offense, and today we’ll move to the defensive side of the ball. I want to discuss several topics, including blitzing, coverages, and how they both tie in together depending on the personnel.

Once the transfer portal stuff gets completely up and running again, we’ll have a much better idea about Virginia Tech’s personnel at each position. At that point, we’ll take some more specific looks at each spot.

The Virginia Tech Sam Linebacker Position – How Will He Be Used, and How Does That Tie Into Pass Coverage?

The Sam linebacker in Brent Pry’s scheme is similar to the Whip/Nickel in the schemes the Hokies have been running since 2004. He lines up on the wide side of the field, and if there is a slot receiver on that side, he lines up over the slot.

The big difference is that Pry’s Sam has always been a more traditional linebacker, while Tech’s Whip/Nickel has been a more traditional defensive back. Sometimes that comes in the form of a safety-type player (Chamarri Conner, Cody Grimm), and sometimes that comes in the form of a corner-type (Mook Reynolds). Only once during the Foster/Hamilton era did the Whip/Nickel take on the form of a more traditional linebacker, when James Anderson lined up there in 2004 and 2005.

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