Assessing Virginia Tech's New Football Coaches

This season, for the first time in two decades, Virginia Tech football was downright mediocre, so it was perfectly logical that the first coaching staff overhaul since 1992 would follow suit.

Back then, Frank Beamer was on the ropes after a 2-8-1 season and only kept his job after he let several of his assistant coaches go.

Jump to present day and there aren't many calling for Beamer's job—though there are some, which is mind-numbing.

Loyalty simply has its limits, and as Frank creeps further into his late sixties, he realizes he only has so many chances left at winning that elusive national championship.

Granted, it's been painfully obvious to most observers for about a decade that the offensive "system" in Blacksburg just wasn't cutting it, but at least change is finally afoot.

Still, change for the sake of change helps no one. So let's take a look at the three new coaches headed to the 540.

Scot Loeffler- Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach

Bryan Stinespring has finally been relieved of OC duties, being reassigned to recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach. That brings to town Scot Loeffler (LEFF-ler). 

Loeffler has an impressive track record of tutoring quarterbacks and his references are even better. He's helped send six QBs to the NFL, including Tom Brady, Brian Griese and yes even Timmy Tebow. 

He came highly recommended to Beamer by coaches like current Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and former Michigan head man Lloyd Carr. 

The only knock on Loeffler is that he has very little experience as an offensive coordinator.

He was the OC at Temple in 2011 when the Owls finished 9-4 and ranked 7th in the nation in rushing offense. Last year he went to Auburn where the offense—and everything else—struggled greatly.

The Tigers finished 115th in total offense and 112th in scoring out of 120 FBS teams.

The good news is, I think those issues are more indicative of Auburn's overall struggles under Gene Chizik. He wasn't a very good coach, he just got Cam Newton to go to Auburn under let's say, dubious circumstances, and parlayed that into a national championship.

Loeffler and the other new coaches are all young guys, (Scot is 38) yet he's amassed 15 years of coaching in the NFL and college.

Jeff Grimes- Offensive Line

Yes another coach from an unsuccessful offense, but one whose unit was a bright spot. 

Tre Mason rushed for over 1,000 yards as a sophomore in the SEC, and while the offense struggled in many facets a lot of that had to do with the quarterback play. 

The Tigers leading passer threw for 753 yards and the inconsistent play at that position led to high sacks allowed and tackles for loss numbers. 

Grimes was at Auburn since 2009 so he was there for the national championship run when the team set a myriad of school records on offense. 

He's also spent time at Colorado, Arizona State, BYU and Boise State. Grimes has helped send a number of players to the NFL and seems like he has the right mindset to restore the nastiness up front that was sorely lacking on the last few Hokie offensive lines.

Again, here's another young guy (43) who brings youth and energy to Beamer's staff. 

Aaron Moorehead- Wide Receivers

Moorehead is by far the youngest of the new coaches at just 32 years old and comes to Tech after having some success at Stanford.

Word is, he came highly recommended by former Stanford OC Pep Hamilton who interviewed for Tech's offensive coordinator slot before taking the same position with the Indianapolis Colts.

Moorehead played at Illinois before transitioning to the NFL where he earned a Super Bowl ring during his five seasons with the Colts.

Again, young, energetic and knows how to use Twitter. That sounds outrageous, but when your head coach is an old man who said a few years ago that he doesn't even know how to "log on" to the Internet, that's a big deal.

That's especially true given the new NCAA rules that will for some reason allow unlimited contact with recruits via private messages on Twitter and other social media as well as text messages.

Also, a young guy with three BCS bowl appearances and a Super Bowl ring will certainly not hurt when attempting to relate to recruits.

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On the whole, I think these are good moves. It's an upgrade on the offensive line and at coordinator, and time will tell on the young receivers coach. The Hokies managed to keep their best recruiter (Stinespring) while also getting him away from the offensive game planning.

What more could you want??

Now will the results be immediate? Probably not. I could see the o-line coming in with a different mindset and maybe some new technique, but you can't develop players there in just a few months.

The offense will likely be a work in progress. Loeffler supposedly runs a complicated system. That doesn't mean lots of plays—New York Giants running back David Wilson said this season that his playbook at Tech had more plays than his with the NYG—it means lots of adjustments within those plays.

Make the correct reads at the line, adjust your protection and routes and BOOM touchdown! (said in Madden voice).

The biggest difference will hopefully be with Logan Thomas. He needs some help to realize his potential and he understands that, which is why he returned for his senior season. If he can refine his technique and learns this new system well enough, Tech can have a nice season and the problems can start to turn around.

It won't be overnight, but we'll all sleep better knowing Frank Beamer finally made the tough decision to make sweeping changes.

Few will sleep better than Bud Foster.

No Seriously, How Will the Hokies Beat Duke?

With an overall record of 3-3, Virginia Tech is officially off to its worst start in football since 1992.

That season, the Hokies finished 2-8-1 and Frank Beamer was forced to fire the majority of his coaching staff in order to retain his job.

Tech's loss to North Carolina also harkened back to the early nineties when the Tar Heels returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

It marked the first instance of  that since 1993, the year Frank Beamer and company began their still intact (for now) run of bowl games.

The Hokies are in a tough spot and I say this with all sincerity, they will have their hands full Saturday against Duke.

The Blue Devils are 5-1 and riding high after a a 42-17 thumping of Virginia.

Redshirt sophomore Anthony Boone threw four touchdown passes in that one, and Duke's outstanding starter Sean Renfree should be back for the trip to Blacksburg. Both may play as Boone is a bit more mobile and gives Tech something extra to prepare for.

Sean Renfree is trying to lead Duke to a bowl game for the first time since 1994.

Renfree is a 6-5 redshirt senior who will most certainly get a shot in the NFL after this season. Both QBs give Duke the ability to stretch the field, which is why they have the No. 30 passing offense in the country.

To be fair Duke has played a weak schedule, but their passers are legitimate and they have the ACC's all-time leading receiver in senior Conner Vernon.

Vernon has 239 career receptions including  41 for 555 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Duke doesn't run much, but they do enough on the ground to keep defenses honest and as stated before they will run a bit more with Boone at quarterback out of the read option.

The Blue Devils aren't a strong defensive team. That pairs well with the bright spot from Tech's loss at Carolina which was a decent passing performance.

Logan Thomas threw for a career-high 354 yards and must be salivating over Duke's 76th ranked pass defense.

The big question is how does the much maligned Tech defense stop Duke's spread passing attack?

Look for a simpler scheme from Bud Foster, more base 4-3 defense and less of the nickel package. That works better in terms of personnel and should allow guys to stay in their natural positions.

The weather for the frigid 2008 game was not Sean Glennon's fault. 

It will still be a challenge, but the defense has played better at home for whatever reason and the Hokies desperately need a win if they hope to salvage what has been thus far a disappointing campaign.

Duke probably should have beaten Tech last year in Durham but the Hokies pulled out a 14-10 win.

Duke has been close to winning this game several times in recent years, including the 2008 match up in Blacksburg when the Hokies ended up winning 14-3—without a doubt the coldest game I've ever attended.

Again, Saturday will be a challenge for the Hokies. They are down in the dumps and Duke is rolling along and just a game shy of bowl eligibility.

That being said, Tech should squeak out a close one at home. I wouldn't be shocked by anything at this point but there is still a significant talent gap between these two teams and Virginia Tech is backed into a corner.

We'll see if that's enough Saturday.

Hokies Smashed by Pittsburgh, But Not "Upset"

Virginia Tech was absolutely dominated by the Pittsburgh Panthers Saturday, a team that entered the game with an 0-2 record that included a loss to Youngstown State of the FCS.

To say the No. 13 Hokies were upset would be incorrect. That implies that the result is unexpected or even unprecedented, neither of which is true.

Losing football games to "inferior" opponents has become an unnervingly consistent part of Virginia Tech football. If it isn't Pittsburgh, it's James Madison or East Carolina upending Tech in early season match ups.

True there's still the ACC title to aim for as these are almost always non-conference missteps, but after seeing the Hokies completely outclassed on both sides of the line of scrimmage against Pitt, one can't help but be pessimistic about the odds of Tech beating Florida State or Clemson.

The Hokies currently have no offensive identity whatsoever. The much ballyhooed pistol formation has been a total flop. The running game has been completely nonexistent and each game has been a blur of formations and personnel swaps.

No one has rushed for more than 54 yards in a game—Michael Holmes in the opener against Georgia Tech—and the last two games have seen the leading rusher come in the form of a wide receiver and a quarterback.

That leaves the Hokies currently ranked 96th in the nation in rushing offense. Bad news for a program known for running the football.

Pitt freshman Rushel Shell (4) gashed Tech for 157 rushing yards

This is bad, but even worse given the total regression of quarterback Logan Thomas.

Thomas has struggled this season save for his fourth quarter performance against Georgia Tech. The Pitt game however was his worst game as a starter, missing basic throws, open receivers and getting rattled in a half-empty stadium.

One has to wonder exactly what if any tinkering went on at quarterback "guru" George Whitfield's passing workouts this past spring, but Thomas is just not the same QB from last season.

His throws are consistently missing high not surprisingly his completion percentage has dropped and two of his career-high interceptions against the Panthers were not even close to receivers.

The pressure of being a pre-season Heisman candidate and having to carry the entire offense may well be a factor, but something seems a bit off in his mechanics.

So time for solutions.

Tech needs to simplify on offense. They're trying to do too many things without perfecting any. The pistol formation was supposed to signify the Hokies modernizing the offense, but the philosophy remained the same.

The Frank Beamer recipe for success is simple, control the clock by holding the ball on offense, don't make mistakes on special teams, score what you can and play suffocating defense to eek out victories.

This works well, but Tech can't control the clock. Currently, they rank 111th in time of possession and 70th in turnover margin with a mark of -.33.

The pass protection has been pretty solid so keep throwing, but the Hokies need fewer formations.

Tech almost always looks great in the two-minute offense because it limits the play-calling to the top handful of plays. Expand on that a bit and toss the rest. Just because you have a ton of plays and looks doesn't mean the defense will be confused by your "complicated" offense.

The Hokies need to start Martin Scales at tailback because he is the most decisive runner and most likely to hit the holes in Tech's zone blocking scheme.

The lack of depth on defense was exposed against Pittsburgh after injuries forced a major shuffle in the secondary.

There's not much you can do about that, but I suspect Bud Foster has more than just injuries to deal with after his defense allowed 537 yards of total offense to a Pitt squad that scored more points against the Hokies (35) than they did against Cincinnati and Youngstown State combined (27).

In one more negative sidebar, it occurred to me after Saturday's thumping at Heinz Field that Tech seems to lose an awful lot in professional stadiums.

I did some digging and sure enough, since 2000, the Hokies are just 9-15 in such games.

I don't think there's a particular trend to read into there but it is slightly worrisome for a team poised to face a game Cincinnati club at FedEx Field in two weeks, a place where Tech is 0-2.

The good news getting back to my original point is this is nothing new for the Hokies. They've lost early in the season many times, including the last FedEx game against Boise State and the ensuing disaster of James Madison.

Tech usually rallies and finishes strong, but this season may be the biggest challenge yet.

2011 Virginia Tech Football Preview

Virginia Tech football has in recent years earned the unfortunate distinction of being an excellent program that wilts under the pressure of high expectations.

Partly because of that reputation, and partly because Tech is breaking in a new quarterback, the Hokies start this season ranked 13th and largely as an afterthought in the race for the national championship.

That’s just the way Frank Beamer likes it, and as the second winningest active coach in college football (thanks coach Tressell!) begins his 25th season as the head man in Blacksburg, the sky’s the limit for his talented team.

The biggest question mark resides under center in the form of the enormous redshirt sophomore Logan Thomas. Thomas measures in at 6’6”, 254 pounds and caught a touchdown pass last season, but saw limited time at quarterback.

Thomas is a physically gifted player good enough to log time at tight end before becoming a QB, but this season will be a learning experience for him and mistakes will happen.

Inexperience is a concern, but Frank Beamer really likes Thomas.

“To me, he’s just got it,” Beamer said recently. “He’s got a lot of the same qualities Tyrod has. He’s smart, competitive, got great character, is a great leader – and he’s about 4-5 inches taller. I think he’s got some good players around him, which really helps. So I think he’s going to do very well.”

One enormous advantage Thomas has over most first year starters is a talented veteran receiving corps. Seniors Jarrett Boykin, Danny Coale, Dyrell Roberts and junior Marcus Davis all return.

Boykin needs just 149 yards this season to become Tech’s career leader in receiving yards and three catches to become the career leader in receptions.

Roberts is poised to become Tech's all-time leader in kick return yardage and Coale has a knack for making plays when the Hokies need it most.



While there are questions at quarterback one thing is certain, the nation will know the name David Wilson by the end of the season. The junior running back is one of the fastest players on the team and a legitimate threat to score every time he touches the football.

Wilson was overshadowed last season behind backfield mates Ryan Williams and Darren Evans, but this year he’s the main attraction.

He looks to add to his already legendary status in Blacksburg. Wilson is known for his ability to do consecutive backflips and for catching rabbits (no, seriously). He runs a 4.29 40-yard dash and can dunk a football over the goalpost backwards from a dead stop.

Simply put, the kid's an amazing athlete and a legitimate candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

Depth behind Wilson however is a bit of a question mark. Senior Josh Oglesby switched back to tailback from fullback and will likely get most of the reps after Wilson.

Not to be forgotten is the speedy redshirt sophomore Tony Gregory coming back from a torn ACL. Gregory averaged 4.4 yards per carry in limited action last season but has a nice upside.

As for Bud Foster’s unit, the group is very young but looks to improve on a solid effort last season.

Sophomore Kyle Fuller and junior Jayron Hosley return as the top corners. All-American Hosley is one of the top defensive backs in the nation totaling 9 interceptions last season and posing a major special teams threat as a punt returner.

One subtle change in the defensive lineup has last year’s starting free safety Eddie Whitley moving to Tech’s rover position.

Rover gives smart, instinctive players more freedom to make plays. As Foster describes it’s more of a “free hit” position.

The Hokies will start several young defensive ends. Redshirt sophomores J.R. Collins and James Gayle are projected to start backed up by redshirt sophomore Tyrell Wilson and redshirt freshmen Zack McCray and Duan Perez-Means.

No matter the personnel, there are only three certainties in life: death, taxes and the fact that Bud Foster will have a good defense.

My typical unbridled optimism regarding Hokie football is absent this fall. Perhaps I’m getting older and more cynical (yes) or maybe I’m just waiting for Tech to actually exceed my expectations for the first time this century (also yes) but this year I’m more cautious in my prognostications.

I fully expect to see the Hokies in the BCS, potentially even as the ACC’s first at-large berth.

I tend to think the Hokies will lose at some point, most likely at Georgia Tech on a Thursday night in November. A loss could also come to Florida State in the ACC Championship game, though I’m less willing to drink the FSU Kool-Aid than the fools at ESPN.

How quickly people forget that the Hokies beast the Seminoles in last season’s ACC Championship game. The road to the BCS runs through Blacksburg.

PREDICTION

I look for Tech to produce a 12-1 regular season and no worse than 11-2. Frankly, with the schedule the Hokies face, much less would be a significant disappointment even with a new, unproven quarterback.

Of course, most importantly for this blog I categorically predict Virginia Tech will once again outperform Notre Dame. It should be closer than recent seasons, but the Hokies have too much talent not to win more games than the Irish.

Virginia Tech Football: Welcome To 1998?

Six days, two Hokie losses.

If your brain can’t fully wrap itself around that, fear not, you aren’t alone.

In less than a week, the Hokies went from being a team many saw as a legitimate national championship contender to not receiving any votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll after heartbreaking 33-30 loss to Boise State last Monday, and a head-scratching upset loss at home to James Madison 21-16 Saturday.

An elaborate ploy to ruin Boise State’s strength of schedule? Perhaps.

More likely, this Hokie team is young on defense and left searching for answers.

Tech now sits at 0-2 for the first time since 1995, a season that ended in a Sugar Bowl victory over Texas.

While few saw that turnaround coming, it’s hard to find any optimism in Blacksburg these days.

The Hokies have played roughly three quarters of good offense through two games and a whole bunch of mediocre defense.

Tech fans knew this defense had to replace seven of the starters. They would be a young unit, but Bud Foster always gets the most out of his group right?

The Hokies were thin up the middle to start, with depth issues at linebacker and all along the defensive line. Add a season-ending injury to defensive tackle Kwamaine Battle and things get even thinner.

An inexperienced defense is one thing, but Tech can’t even tackle consistently right now as evidenced on a 77-yard touchdown pass Saturday.

“What adjective you want me to use? Pathetic? Unacceptable?” Foster said Monday.

To me, it’s inexcusable. And we’re going to get that correct. If not, we’re going to find guys that want to get out here and play, and play the way we’ve done it.”

Tying this back to the title, the loss to JMU marks almost certainly the worst loss in Tech history. The only comparable game was No. 10 Virginia Tech’s 1998 loss to the lowly Temple Owls 28-24 in Lane Stadium.

Up until this weekend, any mention of that game brought blank stares and pure denial about the existence of such a game.

That Tech team vaulted high in the rankings after starting 5-0 but they struggled to finish games down the stretch, losing heartbreakers to Syracuse and Virginia following the Temple debacle.
1998 was a largely forgettable season, especially in light of the following year’s run to the national championship game.

So will 2010 be like ’95 or ’98?

The ACC doesn’t appear to be particularly strong this season so a BCS bowl berth is still amazingly a possibility.

At this point however, it’s fair to say Tech could win or lose every game remaining on the schedule starting with East Carolina Saturday.

The Pirates are 2-0 under new coach Ruffin McNeill who brought Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” offense with him from Texas Tech. ECU has averaged 50 points per game in their two outings and rank 18th in the nation in total offense.

Needless to say, 2010 is going to be an interesting year.

Work Left To Do In Blacksburg

Coming into its season opener the Virginia Tech football team had many questions to answer, and after losing to East Carolina 27-22 Saturday in Charlotte, most of those questions remain unanswered.

Sean Glennon looked mediocre, completing 14 of 23 passes for 139 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. The offensive lines protection wasn't very good either, leaving big questions while others were partly answered.

Kenny Lewis Jr. led Tech's rushers with 11 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Darren Evans added 12 carries for 37 yards and another touchdown. The Hokies were still out rushed by ECU 158-104, but the two eased some minds concerned with the tailback position.

True freshman Dyrell Roberts may have had the play of the day on offense for the Hokies, hauling in an impressive 62 yard pass from Sean Glennon on which he blew by the defender and was wide open for a beautifully thrown ball by Glennon.

I would like to point out that I called the play- Eric can attest to that- right before it happened. Roberts was isolated one-on-one and the Hokies hadn't called a pass downfield yet. In fact, that play would turn out to be the only real success Tech had on longer passes all afternoon.

The defense didn't look very impressive, lots and lots of arm tackles. Kam Chancellor seemed to be off and lacked the killer instinct and ability to finish tackles as did most of the defense. They were of course without starter Macho Harris at corner. His return from an ankle injury will really help the energy level on defense and hopefully provide some leadership on a very young, but talented unit. Stephan Virgil showed he has loads of ability and will be a big player for Tech this season at the other corner spot.

By the end of the season, Bud Foster will have yet another excellent defense on his hands.

In the mean time, it's back to the drawing board for Frank Beamer and Co. and time to move on to next week's special white out game against the Furman Paladins. More to come throughout the week.