Notes from scrimmage: Laner likely to start at LT, Wilson impresses again, high praise for QB Taylor
Darryl Slater
Aug 28, 2010
Virginia Tech held its third and final preseason scrimmage at Lane Stadium today. It was closed to the media and public because the Hokies ran the plays they hope to use in next Monday’s season opener against Boise State.
But there were interviews afterward with players and coaches, and here are the highlights of what was said. (An extremely abbreviated version of this will appear in tomorrow’s paper.)
** Even though sophomore left tackle Nick Becton, a new starter, returned Monday after missing two weeks because of turf toe, junior Andrew Lanier likely will start against Boise State, said line coach Curt Newsome. He and Becton will split time.
“You worry about a guy that hasn’t practiced as much as he hasn’t practiced,” said head coach Frank Beamer. “The conditioning part of it is something you miss out when you’re not practicing, too.”
Today’s scrimmage pitted the first-team offense and defense against their second-team counterparts, and Becton played the first two or three series with the second team, Newsome said.
He is still favoring his injured right foot, but “I think he’ll be ready,” Newsome said. “We want to get him all the way healthy. Just didn’t want a major setback today. That was the biggest thing. I didn’t want him to go out there and go back to square one. So we got him some reps. He wasn’t full-speed.”
Becton will benefit from the Hokies not having any “real physical” practices for the next couple days, Newsome said, adding, “He needed that break.”
Newsome feels comfortable with Lanier because of he started at right tackle last season against Duke, in place of the injured Blake DeChristopher (Clover Hill High). And because Lanier has received plenty of reps this month. When Lanier took Becton’s spot after he went down earlier this month, he said he was concerned about his weight. He entered preseason practices listed at 275 pounds – somewhat light for a tackle. Becton is 311.
“I think he’s plenty big,” said Newsome, adding that Lanier is about 280 now. “He can move his feet. I don’t think that’ll be a problem. The biggest thing I’ve seen with Andrew Lanier, he’s our most improved guy up front during this camp. I think our football team needed that. I feel very comfortable with him in there.”
When Becton returns, Lanier’s experience will allow Tech to have a rotation at tackle, as it did last season, when Lanier played that universal backup role.
Speaking of backup tackles, sophomore Michael Via, the backup center last season, played every snap today as the second-string right tackle, behind DeChristopher. It was his first game experience as a tackle. Newsome wanted to work him there because he has a tackles’ body – 6-7, 300 pounds – and because Newsome won’t rotate centers.
Via had surgery in April to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He is cleared to play against Boise State.
** Besides Becton’s injury, another big storyline this month has been sophomore tailback David Wilson, and whether or not he will redshirt.
Today, Wilson continued to do seemingly everything he could to earn playing time. He had four carries for 29 yards against the first-team defense and seven for 32 against the second team. He also had a 43-yard kickoff return. In three scrimmages, he carried 24 times for 126 yards. In a mini scrimmage that preceded the first scrimmage Aug. 14, he had 10 carries for 41 yards.
Tech’s coaches will meet Sunday to determine the 70 players who will comprise the dress roster for Boise State. It’s difficult to imagine Wilson not being on it. Offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said he doesn’t know if the coaches will make an official decision on Wilson playing during that meeting, but they likely will discuss it.
Even if Wilson doesn’t play in the opener, there’s a chance he could contribute later in the season. But Stinespring said Wilson would have to play within the first four games to make “burning” his redshirt worth it.
** Senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor was impressive down the stretch last season. In the final four games – Maryland, North Carolina State, Virginia, Tennessee – he completed 55.6 percent of his passes for 214.8 yards per game (11.9 per attempt), four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Those are darn fine numbers, considering the Hokies threw the ball just 18 times a game in those final four contests – on-par with their season average.
Today, Taylor had even better numbers, albeit against second-stringers. He was 16 of 17 for 319 yards and three touchdowns. His only incomplete pass was a ball he intentionally threw away to avoid a sack. (By the way, the only 300-yard passing game – real game – of Taylor’s career was 327 last season against Duke.)
After the scrimmage, Taylor was unaware of his stats when asked about his strong performance.
“What were the numbers?” he asked.
When told, he raised his eyebrows and said, “I’m hoping I can duplicate that in a game.”
His coaches seem to believe Taylor could be on the verge of a special season.
Beamer: “That’s the way he’s been all fall. I feel the same way with him out there as I did when Michael Vick was out there. The next play could be a big play. Any play has a chance of going a long ways. I think Tyrod gives you that same element right now.”
Stinespring: “I think he’s reached another level. Obviously Tyrod has prepared himself exceptionally well, and it’s showing. I have not seen a guy that’s gone out there all through this camp and performed at such a level that he has in quite some time.”
Taylor feels good about Tech’s offense as it prepares to face a Boise State team with a formidable offense of its own.
“If it is a shoot-out, I think that our offense is prepared to go out there and score points,” he said. “We believe we can do that.”
** Another blocked punt today, after two in last week’s scrimmage. Sophomore wide receiver Marcus Davis, who is 6-4, blocked today’s, and senior whip linebacker Zach Luckett returned it for a touchdown. Last week, junior cornerback Cris Hill (Highland Springs) had both while coming off the left edge. Davis lines up over the center.
Beamer, who supervises special teams, is pleased with his punt-block group, but wants to see better protection. And that’s the issue, he said – protection, not the amount of time the punter takes to kick the ball.
“We make it hard on our punt team, but still, it’s just a matter of fundamentals over there,” he said. “Our kicking times have been good. We’ve just got to protect better.”
** Sticking with special teams, sophomore backup whip Alonzo Tweedy (Hermitage) served as the gunner on punt coverage last year. But Beamer said he is “still having trouble” with a sore groin. “I hope we can get him well this next week,” Beamer said.
Tweedy returned to practice Monday. He had practiced for just part of one practice this month. His likely replacement at gunner would be redshirt freshman Antone Exum, the backup free safety from Deep Run. Hill also is practicing at gunner.
** Junior Jarrett Boykin had the best numbers among the receivers today: seven catches, 134 yards, one touchdown. But the Hokies know what they’re getting from Boykin, their leading receiver last season.
Taylor said the biggest surprise to him this month has been Davis, who played 101 snaps during the 2009 regular season and caught five passes for 125 yards, including a long of 80. Taylor said Davis is “just being more explosive with the ball, looking for more yardage after he catches the ball.”
** Who does defensive coordinator Bud Foster think has been his best player this month?
Bruce Taylor, he said – an encouraging sign for the Hokies. Taylor, a sophomore, will debut as a starter against Boise State at mike inside linebacker, because junior Barquell Rivers is out with a quadriceps injury.
“That’s one guy you notice just chasing the ball,” said Foster, who works with the inside linebackers. “He’s been very, very good. I’ll stick to my guns on that deal.”
Where does Taylor think he has made the biggest strides?
“I think it’s been knowing what I’m supposed to do every play, as far as fitting into specific run gaps and the [pass] coverages,” he said. “I feel like this fall I’ve done really good at reading the play and dropping into my coverage zone or fitting into my gaps for run.”
Whereas before?
“I wasn’t maybe as sharp or more as focused in my head, like being 100 percent sure that this is what I have to do on this play,” he said. “But I feel like now I know every play, where I have to fit and what I have to do.”
He entered August well aware he had a good chance of starting the opener, so he wanted to earn Foster’s trust. He has. And in turn, Taylor is becoming more comfortable around his coach.
“I feel like me and coach Foster, we have a relationship now where if I have a question, I’m not hesitant at all to go and ask him about it,” he said. “We can talk football now. He always says once you learn your position and he can trust you, he can coach you on offense now, like what they’re gonna be doing on offense.
“[As a younger player], you’re afraid to ask questions. You weren’t very loud and vocal about what you wanted to say. Which you can’t do, because the only way you know is to ask. He always says a dumb question is the question not asked. So ask questions. It’s the only way you really learn it and pick it up.”
** Foster compared Boise State’s offense to Cincinnati’s, which Tech limited to 310 yards en route to a 20-7 win in the Orange Bowl after the 2008 season.
“They’re gonna run a lot of screens and bubble [screens],” Foster said. “The quarterback [Kellen Moore] is a good player, but I bet they’re gonna throw eight to 10 to 12 screens a game. They’re gonna get the ball to their playmakers. It’s not always throwing it down the field.” (Here is some more on what a bubble screen is.)
Speaking specifically of Boise State, he said, “They run the same plays, but it’s all out of a bunch of different formations. They’re very efficient at doing that. They just make you defend the field, sideline to sideline, end zone to end zone. As a guy who does this for a living, I know how good they are.”
** Foster said he feels good about his first group and about four to five second-stringers. He said four to five others are only reliable about 60 percent of the time. “That’s not good enough,” he said. “They’re not always the most disciplined group right now. … I told our kids after practice, ‘If we’ve got to play with 11 [all starters], we’ll play with 11.’
He said field cornerback is “still a question mark for me, as far as the consistent play right there.” The new starter, sophomore Jayron Hosley, has been slowed by hamstring injuries, but is back. Hill did a nice job with him out, Foster said.
Free safety is another important spot for the Hokies, and Foster liked what he saw today from the new starter, junior Eddie Whitley – for the most part.
“I thought Eddie Whitley played very well today,” Foster said. “He had a couple pick-six opportunities that he didn’t hang on to, but I was encouraged by the way he broke on the ball. He did everything but finish it right there.”
