Recapping the Hokies’ spring: Offensive line
Honestly, I intended to fold the tight ends in with the receivers for these position-by-position recaps. But by the time I was ready to post the receiver breakdown, I saw that I had forgotten to do that. So congratulations to the tight ends: you get your own post. I’ll swing back and get them tomorrow.
Today, I’ll address a big position group, both in size and important to the team’s success: the offensive line.
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
If you missed a previous recap, here they are:
* Quarterbacks
* Running backs
* Wide receivers
PROJECTED DEPTH CHART (Left tackle)
- Nick Becton, 6-6, 328, Sr.
- Michael Via, 6-7, 283, Sr. OR
- Mark Shuman, 6-7, 322, So.
(Left guard)
- David Wang, 6-1, 286, Jr.
- Caleb Farris, 6-3, 310, So. OR
- Matt Arkema, 6-3, 285, So.
(Center)
- Andrew Miller, 6-4, 300, Jr.
- Caleb Farris, 6-3, 310, So. OR
- Michael Via, 6-7, 283, Sr.
(Right guard)
- Brent Benedict, 6-5, 311, So.
- Caleb Farris, 6-3, 310, So. OR
- Laurence Gibson, 6-6, 312, So.
(Right tackle)
- Vinston Painter, 6-6, 304, Sr.
- Michael Via, 6-7, 283, Sr. OR
- Jake Goins, 6-5, 291, rFr.
OTHERS
- Tyler Barfield, 6-1, 309, Jr.
- Darian Fisher, 6-4, 274, Jr.
- Nick Acree, 6-5, 299, So.
- Andrew Harrs, 6-4, 277, rFr.
- Marcus Mapp, 6-4, 297, rFr.
- Jack Willenbrock, 6-2, 260, Fr.
- Adam Taraschke, 6-5, 270, Fr.
- Augie Conte, 6-4, 265, Fr.
GOOD THINGS
Offensive line coach Curt Newsome liked the way Wang played as a technician. He thought Becton and Painter stepped up as leaders, along with Miller, the one full-time returning starter. And he praised Benedict as a player who can play with a lot of power, though not as well in space, which was one of the reasons he moved inside from tackle. But most important, the first-team group of Becton-Wang-Miller-Benedict-Painter got some desperately needed reps together. With the Hokies losing four fifth-year guys from last year, they were bound to lose that cohesiveness. And that’s not something that develops overnight. The strength of last year’s line was its ability to play as a unit. That process, at the very least, was begun in the spring.
BAD THINGS
The sacks. Oh, the sacks. Granted, that was early in spring drills. And many of them were given up by a second-team group that was simply overwhelmed by the first-team defense. But there were plenty of instances where the first-team line didn’t do so hot protecting the quarterback. And that has to be concern No. 1 for the Hokies heading into 2012. Without that protection, Logan Thomas can’t operate in comfort. And without that, Virginia Tech’s offense doesn’t go anywhere. The run blocking also left some to be desired during a few scrimmages (again, it’s hard to tell whether that’s poor blocking or just good defensive play by a front seven that’s going to give plenty of people trouble next season). With Via out in spring because of knee surgery, the Hokies didn’t get a true look at what their line will look like next year. He’ll be in the mix somewhere. How that affects the chemistry of the line once he returns remains to be seen.
ARRIVING SOON
It looks like a bunch of projects. Of course, that’s not unusual on the line, where adding size and strength are paramount for high school linemen making the transition to college. Contrary to what I wrote here before, Conte and Tarashcke look like they will be enrolling this summer, although I can’t imagine either will get on the field this year. Willenbrock, listed at 260 pounds, obviously has some weight gaining to do before he can factor in. It’ll be a few years before they can contribute.
POTENTIAL BREAKOUT
There are a couple of candidates. Becton has all the tools to be a very good left tackle. Now in a full-time role, he could thrive. Likewise with Painter at right tackle. It’s just a matter of putting him all together and getting out of the backup mindset (early returns this spring are positive that the light might have come on). But I’ll go with Wang at left guard. Newsome made it sound like he might have been a breakout player last year if not for the broken foot that sidelined him for the last 12 games. He knocked off the rust this spring and earned repeated praise from Newsome for being a “technician” at the position. Being technically proficient is only one part of the equation. You still have to play with power and move defenders off the line, but for someone who should be pushing 300 pounds by the time the season starts, that shouldn’t be a problem.
BATTLE TO WATCH
The most intriguing situation might not be at a specific position, but what to do with Via. He’s a senior and Newsome said he will have a role. The question is where. He can play any position on the line. Tech should be set at center with Miller. Farris, who coaches like a lot, emerged as the top backup on the interior line. That would seem to push Via outside, where Tech has two seniors at the tackle spots (Becton, Painter) and two youngsters (Shuman and Goins) as the top backups. It could be a situation where if someone doesn’t pan out, Via could step in and start. It could be a situation where Via rotates in. Newsome has said he actually prefers to rotate guys in and out – except at center – because it keeps them fresher. It will be a development to watch come August.
THEY SAID IT
“We got off to a little bit of a rough start. I hate to really judge anything until I see the tape, but our production wasn’t very good. We weren’t very productive, and we’re in the production business. It is what it is.” — Newsome, after an early scrimmage with double-digit sacks allowed
NUMBERS GAME
14 – Career starts by the projected starting five, all by Miller. Last year’s line, including Miller, had 164 career starts.
THE END OF THE DAY
No position group on the team will be under the microscope this fall than the offensive line. For some reason, even after paving the way for David Wilson to set the school rushing mark, holding the line for Thomas to pass for 3,000 yards and tying with run-first Georgia Tech for the fewest sacks allowed in the league, the offensive line got very little credit for last year’s success. (It’s the most common punching bag in the comments section on this blog, for sure.) Now that those seniors are gone, it might be hard to duplicate that success. They knew how to play together, in effect being more than the sum of their parts. This year’s group has some talent individually. I don’t think anyone would argue with that. But outside of Miller, it’s not experienced in game situations, and it has played together for all of 15 spring practices. It could take time for the line to develop into a cohesive group. For all I know, it might not happen. But it’s a cardinal rule in football: you’re only as good as your line play. It’ll be essential for this group to play well if Tech wants to achieve all of its goals in 2012.
May 4, 2012 - 10:01 AM
Andy, regarding the sacks, some of those were touch sacks which probably would not happen in a live game. However, your point still stands. They have to give Logan some time if they are to have an effective passing game. The o-line needs to clean that up. Hopefully, they will.
Good stuff, thanks.
Agreed. Some of them were even one-handed touches. No way Logan goes down with that.
But they were at least pressures. And those still affect how your offense operates.
Yeah, in terms of Logan Thomas going down, there is no guarantee that a haymaker will even bring him down, and if it does, it’ll get 15 and a first down . . . . just ask Paul Johnson and his Yeller Jackets.
The line is the key to the VT season, in my opinion. If it can run block well enough for Holmes, et al, to get some yards on the ground, and the left side can protect Logan just long enough, given that mammoth size he has, the offense is in good shape.
I kind of discounting spring, since this line, and this offense, may be playing against one of Bud Foster’s best ever.
Back in the Tyrod Taylor days (does everybody remember him?), one of the knocks, or concerns for him was his ability to see over the line. That’s one thing I wouldn’t dismiss about this bunch, that concern still has to exist a bit, even with Logan Thomas. These guys are tall.
Looks like Newsome has the bodies he wants to have an effective line. An experienced center and 3 guys who can play guard and 3 guys at tackle. Probably see more rotating of the 3 at both guard and tackle in September. This will help the players work through the heat and give Newsome a chance to see if 2 of the 3 separate themselves from the group. It also provides a little insurance in case of injury which is bound to happen at some point.
As far as the offensive line being the punching bag lately, some of that is warranted. But some of it falls on the play calling too. If you’re constantly running on early downs and in the red zone it puts a lot of pressure on the line. And at times they are just out numbered on one side of the ball and get blamed for it. It’s hard to block a defense who is playing downhill.
Another comment on line play, last year the Packers loss a couple guys to injury. Rodgers was asked how they were going to deal with the inexperience on the line. He basically said they were going to have to help them out. Roll the pocket more, use more misdirection, throw more slants and quick hitters were his suggestions. In other words, adjust the play calling to fit the talent level of the offensive line. In all my years of watching Hokies football I’ve never heard our coaches talk like that. All you hear is “the players need to execute better.” The coaches need to take more responsibility for putting the players in the best possible situation to be successful.
I like the players we have, I have little confidence in the coaching. I’m guessing by the end of the October we’ll here the announcers say, “the OL seems to be gelling…”. I realize we are dealing with a bunch of newbies with a soph. being the most experienced, but problems with the OL gelling is a constant. I’m sounding negative which is not my MO when it comes to VT but it is a reality. Again, each individual player here sounds very good and I wish them the best.
Greg, excellent post about Aaron Rogers comments, I was thinking the same thing about quick slants, screens, etc. to help them out. Would not hurt to spread them out every once in awhile.
Great posts Greg