Countdown to ACC Kickoff, No. 3: James Gayle
The ACC Kickoff (aka media days) is fast approaching. I’ll be using the blog to count down to what we media members consider the unofficial start of the football season. This isn’t a list of the 25 best players on Virginia Tech’s roster. It’s a list of 25 things/people that will determine whether the Hokies’ 2012 season is a success or not. That includes players and coaches from both Virginia Tech and, occasionally, a few of its opponents.
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No. 3: James Gayle, junior defensive end
There’s a pretty good football philosophy out there that outlines three keys to success: you must find a quarterback, you must protect the quarterback and you must find a way to pressure the quarterback.
Junior defensive end James Gayle could be Virginia Tech’s best bet for the last one.
The Hokies’ line is going to be strong this year. With everyone back from last year’s two-deep and even more players vying for reps beyond that, it’s as deep of a unit as the team has had in years. Defensive line coach Charley Wiles can basically rotate groups in like they’re hockey lines — four in, four out.
But depth will only take you so far. You need someone to be that elite pass rusher, able to wreak havoc in the other team’s backfield, disrupting the offense’s plans.
Gayle, a second-team All-ACC pick who led the team and was tied for sixth in the ACC with seven sacks last year, despite being limited by an ankle injury for a few games, has a good chance to make that leap.
The tools are there. He’s 6-foot-4, 267 pounds (up 17 from last year), and that extra size will no doubt come in handy when it comes to the more physical linemen he’ll face. But he’s an athlete too, turning heads at Virginia Tech’s timing day with a 39.5-inch vertical jump, a 400-pound bench press and 4.44-second time in the 40. Wiles, this offseason, said that of the Hokies’ linemen, Gayle probably scares quarterbacks the most. With measurables like that, it’s easy to see why.
That’s the kind of size and speed combination that you want out of your defensive end, and he’ll be made all the more effective by the other players on the line. He and J.R. Collins (29 QBH, 6 sacks, 9.5 TFL) give the Hokies a pair of fierce bookend pass rushers (and honestly, Collins could have just as easily have been somewhere on this countdown). The Hopkins brothers, Derrick and Antoine, plus Luther Maddy give them depth in the middle. And there are reserves behind all of them champing at the bit to get in the game.
Gayle’s health is the key. The ankle took him out of action for a few weeks last year and sapped his effectiveness. When back to full strength, however, he showed what he as capable of, particularly against Virginia, when he had five tackles, three TFLs, two sacks and three quarterback hurries working against touted right tackle Morgan Moses.
If the Hokies can get a bunch of games like that this year out of Gayle, you’re looking at a first-team All-ACC defensive end.
Coming Friday: He was once a top-five recruit in the state.
Previous entries:
- No. 25: Randall Dunn, senior tight end
- No. 24: Donaldven Manning, freshman cornerback
- No. 23: Pick a punter
- No. 22: J.C. Coleman, freshman running back
- No. 21: Georgia Tech’s option offense
- No. 20: Antoine and Derrick Hopkins, defensive tackles
- No. 19: EJ Manuel, Florida State quarterback
- No. 18: Bud Foster, defensive coordinator
- No. 17: A fourth wide receiver
- No. 16: Cody Journell, junior kicker
- No. 15: Brent Benedict and David Wang, offensive guards
- No. 14: Dyrell Roberts, senior wide receiver
- No. 13: Detrick Bonner and Kyshoen Jarrett, safeties
- No. 12: Dabo Swinney, Clemson head coach
- No. 11: Key reserves
- No. 10: Frank Beamer, head coach
- No. 9: Bruce Taylor and Tariq Edwards, inside linebackers
- No. 8: Marcus Davis, wide receiver
- No. 7: Beamerball
- No. 6: Kyle Fuller and Antone Exum, junior cornerbacks
- No. 5: Michael Holmes, redshirt freshman running back
- No. 4: Bryan Stinespring and Mike O’Cain, offensive coordinator/play-caller
July 19, 2012 - 9:40 AM
I notice that James Gayle isn’t getting anywhere near the feedback as Stiney and O’Cain.
I think thats the way it should be. Players give their best and coaches take heat.
Assistant coaches should not be the team stars. PSU, hello ?!?
Tech have fielded some excellent ends over the years. Corey More, Jason Ellis, Jason Worldis, and now Gayle. I think if gayle have a monster season, he’ll probably declare for the Draft. In some way, he reminds me a bit of Jason Paul-Pierre with his power, maturation, and tenacity.
Correction: that should have been Chris Ellis, not Jason.
Now that Syracuse and Pitt are on their way and the ACC will go to the nine-game conference schedule, how are you expecting the schedule to change? I’m thinking about Ohio State and Wisconsin, of course. Clemson already dropped Ole Miss and Oklahoma State.
I’m at a loss as to what #2 will be, but if #1 isn’t the guy wearing #3, somebody else needs to be covering Virginia Tech football!
I don’t think it will change. Virginia Tech wants to play those games and has scheduled it so those are the marquee non-conferences games in each of those years, so the Hokies won’t be the ones dropping anything.
As for OSU and Wisconsin, the Big Ten-Pac-12 scheduling agreement recently fell through. And they’ve only got eight league games as it is, so I’d imagine it’s pretty safe from that end as well. I envision both of the home-and-homes getting played.
The scheduling question is pretty easy to answer, unless the VT/Pitt rotation messes it up, as to home and away.
Tech already has Pitt at home in 2013, an opening in 2014, to pick up ACC game #9, then drops either Akron or Furman in 2015 to pick up ACC #9, drops either W. Kentucky or W. Michigan in 2016, to do the same, get ACC game #9, and after that the schedule is open enough to do whatever.
There shouldn’t be any major scheduling implications, other than how the ACC non-divisional games shake out.
Good points. I hope you are right. Thanks
I’ve heard VT will ask East Carolina to move back the start of the series in 2014 to make the nine-game ACC schedule possible.
Also, Akron is no longer on the schedule in 2015, so that’s not an issue either.
2016 only has 11 games on the schedule, so it’s open to add another league game.
Rick H., there’s not going to be an Ohio State or Wisconsin game in Lane Stadium, I’ll just predict that right now. Regardless of what it appears, that will not happen. We may go there, but they won’t come here. Dropping the little teams? HAHAHA!!! Yeah, sure. If you say so. We still have Beamer as head coach and Weaver as AD, correct?
Gayle is a beast….hope he stays healthy. Also goes to show you that you shouldn’t get too worked up over recruiting and “stars” coming out of high school. He was a sleeper under the radar but has been a stud ever since he has been on campus. Lots of similar examples and also lots of Nick Acrees. The coaches know what they are doing.