Is this the week Ronny Vandyke takes over at whip LB? (UPDATE: Beamer says he’ll be first whip on the field)
The Virginia Tech message boards have long clamored for young but talented whip linebacker Ronny Vandyke to assume a featured role on the Hokies’ defense. It’s possible this week could be the start.
Vandyke, a redshirt freshman, was elevated to first-team whip linebacker on the depth chart of Frank Beamer‘s personal website in an update Tuesday night, moving ahead of senior Jeron Gouveia-Winslow. UPDATE: Beamer said Vandyke will be the first whip on the field this week because he brings “a little more quickness to the position.”
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The change came after defensive coaches were available for interviews Monday, but defensive coordinator Bud Foster was complimentary of Vandyke’s play then while saying he wanted to see more out of Gouveia-Winslow, who hasn’t returned to his pre-foot injury form of 2011.
“We just want to develop another guy down the road, because we’re going to lose a couple guys there [next year],” said Foster, who called Vandyke an ideal fit for the position in the spring.
“So if we can play Ronny, we want to play him and kind of rotate him in there a little bit. GW, I still trust him, but he’s got to play at a high level all the time. And he did that last year before his injury, and I haven’t see him get back to that yet, to be honest with you.”
Nevertheless, Foster said at the time his order was still probably Gouveia-Winslow, then Vandyke, then Alonzo Tweedy.
Based on recent production, Vandyke would seem like the more appropriate play. According to Beamer’s website, Vandyke had 24 plays against Bowling Green, with two tackles, one assist, two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup. Gouveia-Winslow got nine plays and had one quarterback hurry.
For the season, Gouveia-Winslow has 21 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and four quarterback hurries, playing perhaps his best game to date in the opener against Georgia Tech (11 tackles) but being average at best since. Vandyke has three tackles, a tackle for a loss and two quarterback hurries.
A switch might make sense considering the opponent. Coaches have long said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Vandyke is the best athlete they have at the whip position, while acknowledging the physical limitations of Gouveia-Winslow. Cincinnati is a team full of athletes on offense, one that will challenge the Hokies on the perimeter on the ground.
“He’s a player,” Beamer said of Vandyke after the Bowling Green game. “He’s full-speed. He’s athletic. He’s tough. It means a lot to him. I think you’ll continue to see him on the field.”
Vandyke has shown flashes of what he can do in limited playing time. His most memorable play this year was a block on Kyshoen Jarrett‘s punt return for a touchdown against Pittsburgh that took out two would-be tacklers, a taste of the physicality coaches like so much.
The issue with Vandyke, however, is experience.
“The only way he’s going to get better is we’ve got to get him on the field more in game situations,” Foster said. “You can get it out here in practice, but until you get out in game situations, it’s totally different, when you’re playing and it means something. You can have do-overs in practice. You don’t get any do-overs on Saturday. That’s where he’ll need to continue to get better. But he’s going to continue to get better.”
September 26, 2012 - 9:56 AM
JGW has been the weakest link in the defense going on 3 years now. It’s a about time he was officially moved off the number 1 slot. His main problem is not being able to get off blocks at the point of attack. I’ve seen 175 pound backs and receivers push him around with ease. He did play the best game of his career against GT and I was hopeful he had turned a corner. But the games since have been average at best. He also can’t keep up in pass coverage if the receiver turns up field. And the Hokies are going to face a lot of pass happy teams in the coming weeks. I still think Tweedy got the short end of the stick after the way he played in the middle of the season last year and in the Sugar Bowl. Looking forward to seeing RVD bring some real playmaking ability to the whip position. Look for more nickel in obvious passing sitations with Bonner covering the slot and Cole in at safety. @gtbowyer
Greg, I was wondering what happened to Tweedy. It seem the coaches forgot about him, after all, he did make a crucial stop last season in the Miami game. Also, I thought that Tweedy was great in coverage as he was one of the speedy guys.
Greg, I actually wonder if we’ll play less nickle with RVD in, if he plays well, than we would with JGW. He definitely has better coverage ability. But that said, he’s young and with the opponents coming up I do expect to see a good bit of nickle.
And weakest link in our defense right now is backer, not whip. We sorely miss Tariq. Bruce needs to move back to mike immediately. Not sure why the coaches haven’t tried JGW there.
Trevor, “speedy guy” does not equal “great in coverage”. Tweedy filled in admirably last year, but he wasn’t amazing. JGW lacks his athletic ability, but makes less mental mistakes. RVD will make his mistakes, but you’re more willing to live with that when he’s an investment that will pay off for years whereas Tweedy will graduate. I don’t think the coaches are afraid to play any of the 3, but Tweedy is unfortunately just behind the other two when you put all the variables together.
Tweedy is the best open field tackler on the team. Even better than Fuller I think. Vandyke is another guy that can bring that pop that can get a defense going. This is a good decision. I think they should rotate all three of them in. They all bring something to the table. JGW has good football instincts. JGW is a good player and he should not be the scapegoat. The Pitt game is on the coaches and the team as a whole. It was not one person. It was a complete failure of the coaches and players to respect who they were playing.
They need more athletic ability and speed up front as well. I don’t think one player will make that much of a difference with him being a freshmen all.
I never understood why Foster was so crazy about JGW. He was undersized at linebacker his first two years and lacked the basic coverage skills . Maybe Beamer made the call.
I don;t care who it is so long as they tackle somebody.