“The hungry and the hunted explode into rock n’ roll bands.
That face off against each other out in the street ... down in Jungleland.“
—Bruce

You are looking—LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!—at the SpringHill Suites, hard by Interstate 85 here in Charlotte.

Have a belly full of Cracker Barrel biscuits and fried cod from a quick dinner stop on the way down. Should put me sound to sleep before tomorrow’s early wake-up call for the season opener against East Carolina. Be prepared for heavy traffic, gang. That’s why I’m down here a night early.

Now, some leftovers from my story that will appear in tomorrow’s paper. It’s about the defense trying to reload again despite losing seven starters.

- Defensive coordinator Bud Foster found himself going over things a lot more slowly with his linebackers at the beginning of training camp. He made sure to spell out everything, right down to how to get lined up correctly. His position has three true freshmen (Quillie Odom, Jake Johnson and Bruce Taylor) and a redshirt freshman (Barquell Rivers) who could make an impact this season. The true-freshman trio will begin as third-stringers while playing on special teams. Rivers is a second-stringer. And remember that last season, he was on the scout team and was responsible for playing the other team’s defense in practice every week.

- “You get young guys, they’ve got to learn to play at a certain level,“ Foster said. “They come in from high school, they’re used to going at a three-quarters speed tempo, whereas we practice like we play. That’s probably the biggest adjustment for the young kids, just the sense of urgency you play [with] at this level and the speed of the game. You’ve got to get them to that level and get them there in a hurry. I think in some of those scrimmages, they find out where they are, that, ‘Oh my God, I need to crank my tail up or I’m gonna be left by here.’“

- “Where I’m really concerned about as much as anything is our defensive line, especially our tackle spot (namely, the backups, Foster said). Are they gonna be physical enough?“

- “Coach Foster reminds us all the time about the guys that came before us,“ senior defensive end Orion Martin said Tuesday. “He was talking about it yesterday, [about] the group we had last year, the veteran seniors we had. If we changed up something, they just got it just like that. It just flowed. It was like clockwork. That’s something we’ve got to get at with these young guys.“

- Junior cornerback Stephan Virgil talked about the differences between the field and boundary cornerback positions. He is playing the field side now after backing up Brandon Flowers at the boundary side. “Basically, on the field [side] you’ve got be more disciplined on your keys than the boundary, because you’ve got a big area to work with,“ Virgil said.

- By “keys” he means the way a defensive back looks at the offensive linemen blocking, to determine whether the play will be a run or pass. The boundary side of the field is the shorter side, so that corner has to be more physical, as he is often in one-on-one coverage with a receiver. Virgil explained that the reason the “field” corner has to be more disciplined is because he has more ground to cover, so if he makes a mistake, a receiver can quickly get past him.

- Do teams throw away from the more experienced corner (which would be Victor “Macho” Harris this season, though Harris might miss the opener)? “I think teams do do that because they’re trying to test the receiver there,“ Virgil said. “They think he’s the weakest guy on the team. But I’m prepared. I’ve been behind Brandon Flowers and Macho for two years. And I’ve guarded in practice Josh Morgan, Justin Harper and Hyman and Eddie Royal. So I think I’m prepared to go out there and defend those receivers. Because I don’t think I would meet another receiver like Eddie Royal or Josh Morgan out on the field.“

- Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, who played defensive back at Tech from 1992-96, talked about what he says about his playing days to his current players. If a backup player is discouraged about his chances for getting on the field, Gray tells him how you never know when you might get on the field. Gray can speak from experience. He got his first shot at playing time when starter Antonio Banks was injured. Gray recalls performing well in his first game, at Miami, which opened the door for more time. Coincidentally, Gray was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 1997 draft—two rounds before they selected Banks.

***

THREE PLAYERS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING TOMORROW ...

1. Darren Evans. He was a ridiculous high school player: 7,220 yards and 127 touchdowns during his career. He redshirted last season but has come on lately after struggling earlier this preseason. He is currently listed as Tech’s second-string tailback. This guy could be good. Really good. We could find out just how good tomorrow.

2. Purndell Sturdivant. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Mark Medina’s story on Sturdivant that ran in today’s paper. Great detail in there about Sturdivant loving cheeseburger casserole—which, as I pointed out to Sturdivant earlier this week, sounds like the most unhealthy dish ever made. What still remains to be seen is how well Sturdivant plays as Xavier Adibi’s replacement. Big shoes to fill, for sure.

3. Greg Boone. The 290-pound tight end could line up wide, in the slot or in the backfield. He is by far Tech’s most versatile offense threat—which is fitting because head coach Frank Beamer said Boone is the most versatile player he’s ever signed. He could play an important role for an offense lacking established threats at tailback and receiver.

Who are you guys looking forward to seeing? Drop me a comment or e-mail ( ) and let me know. Toss in a quick comment, if you like.

That’s all for now. About to hit the sack. Gotta be sharp tomorrow.

Later.

Posted by Darryl Slater in • College Sports • Virginia Tech
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