A Look Ahead: Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina

By Justin Cates

Editor's Note: J.C. Coleman will not travel with the team after tweaking his ankle against Western Carolina. 

People will think I'm nuts, but East Carolina's offense will test the Hokies more than Alabama's did.

The Crimson Tide were breaking in new starters on the offensive line and Tech largely dominated. 'Bama also runs the ball most of the time, waiting to burn you with play-action passes later on.

East Carolina passes, a lot.

Quarterback Shane Carden is off to an absolutely amazing start. In two games, the junior has completed 63-of-79 passes for 638 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions.

You read that correctly, he's completing 80 percent of his passes (technically 79.7).

They run a very high-tempo offense and throw the ball around to everyone. The Pirates will spread the defense and hope to get Tech on it's heels in the Hokies' first true road game of the season.

Shane Carden hopes to continue his hot start against the Hokies.

It's similar to what Oregon and now the Philadelphia Eagles try to do. They get one-on-one match ups in space and force the defense to make difficult open field tackles.

ECU won't run things quite as fast, but they'll push the tempo as much as they can.

"To be honest, I don't like to go down there to play them, just because it's so hot and is so high-tempo," defensive end James Gayle said this week.

The weather will be milder than normal this week, but it's clear the memories of Tech's narrow 17-10 victory on the last trip to Greenville persist.

ECU almost always gives Tech trouble and this time will be no different.

The Hokie offense has to keep getting better. Against Western Carolina, there were spurts of great execution but then the same inconsistencies would crop up.

Things are still a work in progress, but the young receivers are starting to step up, particularly in the form of Joshua Stanford.

True freshman Kalvin Cline had four catches for 46 yards against the Catamounts, but he did drop a fairly routine touchdown.

Cline is extremely raw, but he's vaulted to the top of the tight end rotation due to his pass catching ability.

Yes, Kalvin Cline knows the thing about his name.

It gives Logan Thomas another option and hopefully gives offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler the ability to use some of his tight end plays that were largely scrapped when Ryan Malleck was lost for the season. 

Tech needs to keep making progress in the passing game against the Pirates and keep running the football effectively.

Shane Beamer and Loeffler will look to begin establishing the specific roles of each running back now that the top four are likely available.

J.C. Coleman's status is still unclear after getting banged up in his first action against Western Carolina. I'll update after we see how he's listed on Thursday's injury report. 

This game will likely be very close unless the Hokie offense takes a giant leap forward. More likely, expect a positive step in the right direction with occasional moments of sloppiness.

Or, exactly what you would expect at this point with a brand new offensive system.

The defense will be challenged in the air but will look to stop the run as they've done twice this season.

Look for a fun and surprisingly interesting game NOON Saturday in Tech's first game on Fox Sports 1.

“To be honest, I don’t like going down there to play them, just because it’s hot and is so high-tempo,” - See more at: http://blogs.roanoke.com/andybittervirginiatechfootball/#sthash.6uTS1MX9.dpuf

David Wilson Named ACC Offensive, Overall Player of the Year

How is that balance possible?

Virginia Tech's David Wilson has had a remarkable season. Barring something crazy, he will likely break the school record for rushing in a season this weekend in the ACC Championship against Clemson.

He has already tied the Tech and ACC marks for 100-yard games in a season (10), he's the fifth leading rusher in the nation with 1,595 yards (ranking just above likely Heisman finalist Trent Richardson) and has been the spark plug for a much improved Hokie offense.

Wilson also served as an emotional lightning rod following Tech's 23-3 home loss to Clemson in October.

Wilson was so upset that he stormed straight into the locker room.

“The team got in there and just like a rage came over me and I was screaming at my team telling them we shouldn’t have lost that game,” the running back recalled of the Clemson aftermath. “‘They’re not better than us.’ And I told them we weren’t going to lose any more games. And I told them I mean it.”

It was a bit out of character for Wilson, but it seemed to be the right thing to say at the right time.

“It was real,” running backs coach Shane Beamer said. “It was real and it was genuine. … And he spoke for the whole team. We don’t like letting a team come in here and embarrass us in our stadium like they did. And we said that night we’d like to get another shot at them.”

Shane Beamer Joins Virginia Tech's Coaching Staff

Monumental news came out of Blacksburg this afternoon when longtime Assistant Head Coach and Running Backs Coach Billy Hite announced his elevation to an administrative position within the athletic department, leaving behind his on field duties.

Hite has been Tech's running backs coach for 33 seasons, joining the coaching staff under former head coach Bill Dooley in 1978.

The move opened a vacancy for Beamer to return to Blacksburg as the new running backs coach, a position defined by Hite for so long.

During his time in Blacksburg, Hite coached 9 of the Hokies' top 11 all-time rushers and sent 26 running backs to the NFL.

Beamer returns to Tech 11 years after earning his bachelor's degree at the university.

Beamer is another in Tech's long tradition of successful walk-ons, becoming the starting long-snapper and occasional wide receiver for three seasons.

Beamer's last game as a player was the 2000 Sugar Bowl against Florida State for the BCS Championship.

As a coach, he's spent time at Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Mississippi State and most recently South Carolina.

Beamer served in several positions, including coaching special teams and as the Gamecock's recruiting coordinator, helping bring in the #12 class in the nation two years ago and helping earn a commitment from consensus #1 recruit Jadeveon Clowney this year.

“I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to return to Virginia Tech,” the younger Beamer said. “I’ve been gone 11 years and during that time I’ve been around a number of great coaches and great programs and had the opportunity to learn a lot. Now, I look forward to returning to Blacksburg and helping Virginia Tech continue to win championships."