Kenny Lewis Jr. might have been Virginia Tech’s starting tailback in title only (after all, Darren Evans was getting more carries and had better numbers), but Lewis’ role on Tech’s team extended beyond his performance on the field. He was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, leaders on the team—a role that is especially important this season because the Hokies are so young (six senior starters).

The postgame reaction Saturday to Lewis’ injury read like something out of an obituary.

“I’m so sick to my stomach right now,“ running backs coach Billy Hite said. “Sometimes, when you see things like this, you try to figure out why something like that would happen to a kid like that. It’s just not fair.“ 

“It’s gonna hit us hard,“ sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor said.

“For that voice not to be around as much, it’s gonna be tough,“ redshirt freshman tailback Darren Evans said.

“When we lose a brother, it hurts our hearts,“ senior cornerback Victor “Macho” Harris said.

Easy, fellas. Lewis isn’t going anywhere. Evans was correct in that Lewis won’t be around as much. But Hite wants to keep him in the fold as often as possible—in practices, meetings, etc. Hite, who is in his 31st year on Tech’s staff, has been in this racket long enough to understand the value of a player like Lewis. As a coach, Hite knows he can’t always be around his players, and that sometimes, a kid hearing a message from a fellow player resonates more than it might if he heard it from a coach.

On that note, here are some tidbits that didn’t make the story for tomorrow’s rag. Still a decently busy week here even though the Hokies are off. Had the Ike Whitaker storyline to polish off yesterday, banged out the Lewis story today and will have a midseason report card in Friday’s paper. But I will be sure to make time tomorrow night for “The Office” and Dodgers-Phillies.

OK, away we go ...

LEWIS

- On the injury—“It felt like an explosion in the back of my shoe, like on my heel. My initial thought was, ‘I knew nobody could hit me that fast. I just took my first steps out of the backfield.‘ When I went down, I knew exactly what it was.“ Lewis had heard about the feeling from wide receiver Brandon Dillard, who ruptured his Achilles in the summer. “He said it felt like somebody had hit him in the back [of the leg] with a bat or a stick. Mine felt way worse than getting hit with a little stick. I tried to plant and keep going, but I couldn’t. I just eventually went down.“

- Lewis said Hite wants him on the sideline at home games, but he’s not sure if he’ll be traveling yet.

- On his advice for his replacement, redshirt freshman Josh Oglesby: “I said, ‘Oglesby, you’re 10, 15 pounds bigger than I am. If you let yourself loose, the sky is the limit for you.‘“ Lewis is 5-9 and 199 pounds, Oglesby 5-11 and 211. “Some people just need a confidence boost to let them know they can do it, that it’s not a mistake that they’re here. As soon as we let him know and he realizes that, he has all the tools to be a great running back here. He’s bigger and stronger than any of the running backs we have here.“ Actually, Evans is 6-0 and 215, but I’m not sure whether he’s stronger than Oglesby.

- Lewis is confident that the offense won’t sputter with him on the sideline because “If I was the best running back on the team, I’d have been out there by myself every game.“

- Lewis, who healed fast after shoulder surgery in the spring, said he wants to return for spring practice. That would be a very fast recovery. His rehab is expected to take six to eight months, which, even on the early end, would have him back by mid-April, when spring ball is just about finished.

OGLESBY

- “A lot more pressure off my back now when I get in games. I feel like I get the chance to actually get the flow for the game instead of trying to pop one every play and make something big happen.“

- On Lewis’ influence—“He’s been like coach Hite to me. He’s been like a coach. He’s spent plenty of hours with me in the film room, going over my assignments, making sure I know what to do, who to pick up. He’s been a really big part of me and Darren’s success.“

- On how he expects the tailback situation to shake out—“I think Darren, he’ll be toting the load a little bit more. What I have to do is just come out and just show what I can do when I’m in the game. Probably put a little bit more confidence in coach Hite when I’m in the game. ... I expect Kenny to be in my ear all game, telling me what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong. I definitely expect him right by my side.“

HITE (this looks dense, but there are some interesting examples in here)

“Other than our meeting times, Kenny comes over and watches practice every day before we even sit down and watch it. Hopefully, if Josh’s schedule allows him to, he’ll do the same thing. He’ll get with Kenny before we even come to practices. Kenny is so good about overall scheme. Some things you can put on a board and explain to a player and they pick it up, but then there are other things that happen during that play. Everybody’s moving defensively, and that’s where Josh sometimes struggles. If the sam [strong-side] linebacker lines up here, and you’re responsible for him, then all of sudden, he’s blitzing in here, you still have the same guy. It happened to Josh in his first play the other day. The tight end was releasing, and [the strong-side linebacker] got caught on him, was riding him. And Josh took his eyes off and ran out for his route. And obviously the [strong-side linebacker] came and blitzed. Those are the little things like that. You’ve got to keep your eyes on your responsibility all the way out. Those are some things I think Kenny will help him with.“

“I think this is an opportunity for Josh to get settled in a little bit more. Maybe he’s one of those backs that it takes more time in there to get into the rhythm of a game. I know there are backs like that. With our situation, when you’re third, you didn’t have time to get into the rhythm of a game. You better make something happen once you got in there. Maybe this will give him that opportunity. Maybe it will get him settled down a little bit. Maybe he’ll start producing like he’s capable of.“

On junior Jahre Cheeseman staying at fullback—“I just think that’s the best thing for us. I think it’s the best thing for him. With Kenny coming back again next year and taking the redshirt off of Ryan Williams and having Oglesby and Evans back, I think he’s in the same situation. I think another position is the best thing for him. There’s no reason why he can’t be like a Jarrett Ferguson. Jarrett was a tailback also. And we moved him to fullback and what a heck of a career he ended up having for us. Jahre is a tough kid. He’s physical. At the same, now, maybe he can add a few wrinkles in there for us offensively with him being at fullback – getting the ball to him out in the flat, maybe hitting a quick hitter or two, or running a drop with him. Because he is good with the ball in his arm, too.“ (Ferguson played at Tech from 1998-2001 and is now an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Hokies.)

More on Oglesby—“He’s got excellent strength. He’s got outstanding speed. When we’re in our middle drills and the one-on-one pass drills, he’s very good at it. That’s what I can’t get figured out, is he doesn’t transform that over to the game when he’s playing. The other day, his footwork was a little bit messed up. He hadn’t messed up his footwork in I don’t know how long. Two times in that game, he’s getting ready to make a big play – if he does what he’s supposed to do [with footwork]. One time, he’s too wide, and the cutback lane is inside, and it takes him another step to get there, and now the hole is closed. Where if he had just used his proper footwork, he’d have been right through it. He saw it on film on film Monday morning. And he said, ‘I don’t know. I can’t tell you why.’ And that’s where I’m hoping Kenny can get with him and he can spend a little extra time with him and help him out from that standpoint.“

On his relationship with Oglesby’s dad, Ike, whom he played with at North Carolina (both arrived on campus in 1970, which must have been a tremendous time to go to college)—“We came in at the same time. And I was redshirted that first year we were eligible to play, and he played. And then from that time on, we kind of shared the spot. His dad was injured several times where I started games, and then when he was healthy, he started games. So we kind of shared the position. We’ve always stayed in touch. There’s probably 20 of us off of that football team that have really stayed in contact.“

On how his relationship with Ike helped in recruiting Josh—“I think his father had so much trust in me and he trusts my opinion and honesty. Josh wasn’t a stand-up player. He played in a three-point stance the whole time in high school. Some of those guys don’t make good tailbacks. They’ve gone from a three-point stance up to a two-point stance and they struggle with it. He came to our one-day prospect camp [the summer before his senior year], and I liked everything he did that day. A bunch of the drills that I did that day were especially for Josh and he passed. We offered Josh before he even got off the field that day. Once it was offered, they accepted. I guess it was two days later when we got the call that he was gonna be a Hokie. Carolina was still recruiting him but hadn’t officially offered him. Of course, they came back in and offered him after we had offered him. And [the Oglesbys] stuck to their word. He was coming to Virginia Tech. I know that whole family. Josh’s uncle played at North Carolina also. I know how thick the bloodlines are with that Carolina blue, and for Josh to stick with his commitment, I thought that was very special. I really did.“

Posted by Darryl Slater in • College Sports • Virginia Tech
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