Caught up with Virginia Tech redshirt freshman running back Ryan Williams after Tuesday’s practice ...

- “I’m starting to feel real comfortable within the offense,” he said. “I know a lot. I don’t know everything. As much of what we’ve put in right now, the only thing that I need improvement on is knowing the names of blitzes of defenses. I know what they are and who to pick up. I just don’t know the names of them. I’d say I probably know about 95 percent of the offense and what I need to do.” 

- By this he means the names Tech has for opponents’ blitzes. Running backs coach Billy Hite uses these terms when he and his tailbacks are reviewing film after games. When a blitz comes up on the screen, Hite asks his players to identify it by the name Tech uses.

- Here are some things Williams had to say about Logan Thomas ...

* “How long have we been here? Two weeks? And he knows a lot. He’s picking up very quickly a lot of our audible calls. He has a heck of an arm.”

* “I didn’t really think he’s as fast as he is. He’s not blazing fast but he’s fast enough to get out of the pocket and get some yardage with his feet. He’s impressive.”

* On Thomas’ strong arm: “I’m used to catching balls like that because I had a quarterback in high school who threw the ball hard all the time. It doesn’t really faze me. A lot of guys who aren’t used to it, I see them coming back [to the huddle] like, ‘Man, he’s throwing the ball too hard.’ It could be a 10-yarder and he’s throwing it like 100 miles an hour.”

As Virginia Tech tries to replace injured running back Darren Evans, Williams is getting more carries in practice now that Josh Oglesby and David Wilson are hurt.