Take two? Virginia Tech hopes strong defensive finish leads to bigger, better things in 2013
Hokies cornerback Antone Exum wasn’t alone this preseason in thinking this year’s defense had the potential to be one of the best Bud Foster has ever coached, a thought that seems laughable in hindsight considering Virginia Tech’s depth concerns and offseason position changes.
After a season of growing pains, the junior chose his words more carefully last week, but he still didn’t hide his enthusiasm about Virginia Tech’s defense in 2013.
“I’m excited. We voice it all the time. We should be pretty good,” Exum said. “We don’t want to jump to conclusions or anything too early, because we thought that was where it was going this year. But next year, we definitely have the pieces to be a dominating defense.”
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Virginia Tech’s high defensive potential was a hot story in the preseason — including from this publication — although it ignored several red flags that would pop up in the first few months. The position switches the Hokies made in the secondary, a lack of depth on the back end and an injury to Tariq Edwards that ate at linebacker depth and forced Bruce Taylor to play out of position all effected Tech out of the gate.
Those issues combined with uncharacteristic missed tackles and lost leverage led to the Hokies allowing 495 yards or more in losses to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and North Carolina.
“Obviously, you hate to have growing pains, but we did [have them], especially on the perimeter,” Foster said. “And that was the discouraging part of the season, because I thought we could have stepped in. You always kind of feel like you can plug people in and you can be able to keep going, but obviously that doesn’t work the way you want it to.”
“We didn’t expect that at all,” Exum said. “But you can’t do anything about it once it’s done and we just tried to learn from each game.”
Virginia Tech did. Over the final six games, it allowed 299.2 yards per game, which would have ranked ninth nationally if stretched across an entire season. The Hokies got more sacks and forced more turnovers as players settled into new roles.
“And we didn’t give up as many big plays down the stretch,” Foster said. “And the big plays were kind of our nemesis, and some of that with some technique, obviously from a coverage standpoint. But you go back early on, especially in some early games, just some lost leverages, which are base fundamentals, we improved on. And I think that’s where we improved down the stretch. And proud of the kids from that standpoint.”
Here’s a look at the Hokies’ first four games against major conference teams (Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, North Carolina) versus their last six (Duke, Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, Virginia):
- First four: 438.3 ypg, 15 touchdowns allowed, 5 sacks, 5 turnovers forced, 31.8 ppg
- Last six: 299.3 ypg, 14 touchdowns allowed, 24 sacks, 10 turnovers forced, 25.5 ppg
A strong showing in the Russell Athletic Bowl against a Rutgers offense that’s far from explosive could send the Hokies into the offseason on a high note.
If defensive end James Gayle and Exum return for their senior years, Tech would have nine returning starters in 2013. Of those departing, only Taylor was entrenched as a starter all year, and he figures to be replaced by Edwards, a starter from 2011 who missed almost all of this season with a knee/shin injury.
The other seniors, defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins and whip linebackers Jeron Gouveia-Winslow and Alonzo Tweedy, were solid contributors but hardly irreplaceable. Derrick Hopkins and Luther Maddy started most of the year at tackle, while redshirt freshman Ronny Vandyke has long been proclaimed the future at the whip.
In the secondary, Foster thinks the moves Tech made last offseason — Exum to corner and Detrick Bonner and Kyshoen Jarrett to safety — will pay off more next year, now that the group has had time to adjust to their new roles. Another signing class will bolster the depleted reserves on the back end. It includes five-star cornerback Kendall Fuller, who could play in the same defensive backfield of his brother, Kyle Fuller.
It gives the Hokies plenty of hope heading into 2013, although Exum knows that talk is cheap.
“This year proved that just because that’s what it looked like on paper, that’s not how it’s going to have to go,” Exum said. “You’re going to have to go out there and prove that you’re worth that and prove that you’re that play-maker that’s on paper.”
December 20, 2012 - 11:18 AM
Potentially, the talents are there to make some serious noise about recapturing the top 10 defenses. The question, of course, will they all come together? Winter workouts and spring practices will help. Getting Edwards back would be a major boost.
My chief concern at this point are the class of 2013. Will the coaching staff redshirts the majority of them or let them get as much reps as possible to get them “game ready?”
Rutgers presents an interesting test for the defense in the bowl game. Bud Foster told me himself that Rutgers play a very physical football. Will the front seven be able to hold up if the offense continues to flounder? The secondary are going to have their hands full with tall receivers on Rutgers’ squad.
Tech’s offense gives no confidence that they can tear apart Rutgers’ defense. Tech, for some reasons, makes bad defense look like Alabama.
I think Rutgers are going to win this bowl game, giving Tech a 0-3 record against the big least this year.
I hope everything they do leads to bigger and better things in 2013.
For the past few years Tech has had problems containing the outside stuff. Players just not staying home or unable to fight off the blockers has been a problem for a while. Basic stuff, just no execution. Exum and Gayle had better stay another year, they’re just not ready for the big stage.
So now onto the article about how the offense improved as the season went along right? Anybody that reads this blog and defends the offensive coaches want to explain why there won’t be an article about offensive improvement?
Bud’s defense evolved quite a bit during the season, as he finally got it dialed in at the end.
Not defensive related, but just recently heard a rumor about Stinespring possibly replacing Jim Cavanaugh as Recruiting Coordinator. Cavanaugh would ‘retire’, making way for Stinespring’s ego to be salved, while opening up room for a new OC.
On a related note – Steve Addazio hired Ryan Day as Offensive Coordinator at Boston College. It had been assumed that Addazio would hire Kevin Rogers as OC. Problem with that is Rogers left BC last year mid-season for ‘personal reasons’. My thought was that he recognized the pit that is BC athletics, and got out as soon as possible.
Bottom line, Kevin Rogers, a former VT asst & someone with whom Frank Beamer is comfortable, is not rumored for any coaching jobs at this point.
Gee Jerry, do you think the reason that article won’t be written is because the offense didn’t improve. Great insight. My only defense of the offensive coaches was to say that they still know more about football than the contributors on this blog. I agree that it is time for a change. Hard for me to say that I agree with CR, but I think Kevin Rogers would be a good fit.
I don’t recall any VT fan ever saying they could do a better job than the current coaches but I think we do know when something is wrong. Stats prove there is something wrong if nothing else
I hope whoever replaces whomever gets us back to where we were outstanding…making talented athletes into good college players. Some of our finest teams were made up of kids who had more heart than talent, worked their butts off and bought into Gentry’s program. Kids who weren’t going pro but gave VT all they had, regardless. Those programs were successful not just because of cupcake schedules or a good defense, but because of their heart and soul. As for Kevin Rogers, is there not someone out there who can come in and be like Bud? Not a quick fix, one year wonder, almost a vagabond of college football, but a solid offensive mind looking for a real home, one that VT can surely provide.
Perch, there are scores of qualified assistant coaches available that could come in and display the passion, intensity, and innovation that would label them an offensive version of Bud. The problem is that Frank Beamer is not going to even interview someone like that, much less hire them.
You’ve got to remember Frank Beamer’s 30+ years of precedence. He likes a certain style of offensive philosophy. That automatically narrows the pool of potentials by about 75%. Then you’ve got to remember that Frank Beamer will not go outside of his bubble of trust. That narrows the remaining pool by another huge percentage. The end result is a very limited pool of potential candidates.
That’s just the way it is, so you’ve got to remember that when names are tossed around. Most of them are just fantasy, with no connection to reality. Some hold a small thread of possibility, but would never come to fruition. There’s just not that many possibilities. One thing you can be certain of – Frank already knows what he’s going to do, and all concerned parties are in on the arrangement. When it’s made public is up to Beamer, though I expect the announcement to be made between Jan 4th-15th.
You’re not reading enough Jerry. Haven’t you seen people blogging that Stinespring and O’Cain are morons and have no clue what they are doing? I’ve complained privately about the offense as well. I’m just honest enough with myself to say the coaches know a lot more about football than I or anyone else on this blog. If the 66,000 sitting in Lane on any given Saturday applied for the OC job, I doubt any would get an interview.
You’re confused 540. The standard is the other 119 or so offensive staffs in FBS not the fans themselves
And the results speak for themselves…defense holding up their end 95% of the time and in down years showing improvement as the year goes along
I have been a critic of Stinespring for many years. But I’ve never called him a moron and never will. I have heard him present twice and was impressed by his passion for the game and the team. He’s well spoken and comes across as a nice guy, both qualities that no doubt have contributed to his success as a recruiter. But VT’s dismal performance on an almost annual basis since Stinespring became OC is proof enough to me that he is just not DI OC material. He is being paid about $350,000 a year and with compensation like that he should put out a better product than he has. Of course we’re no better than he at his job (though I don’t doubt that out of those 66k fans some could be). But the fans are smart enough to see he is clearly not getting the job done. That being said, Beamer has shown his adaptability over the years and I predict changes will come after the bowl. I’ve always said Stiney would make a very good Dir. of Recruiting…
I’ve said on here before and I will stand by the fact that Stinespring coaches the type of offense Coach Beamer wants. Beamer is the boss. All the offensive coaches meet during the week and decide which plays will be called during certain situations. Stinespring does not sit up in the press box grasping at straws. He simply goes by the game plan the coaches agreed on.
I will be the first to admit the offense has not been as successful as it needs to be but to put all the blame on Stinespring is simply not fair. It starts on the offensive line, we simply have not had the manpower there we need to be successful. And Logan Thomas was not as sharp this year. Maybe it was confidence, maybe it was because VT graduated many seniors last year. But certainly we cant blame Stinespring for Logans play.
I too believe there will be changes to the staff. Beamer will be forced to do that by administration, not by choice. If left alone Beamer and current staff could right the ship but..too many critics and too much complaining. People,fans get spoiled by success and demand excellence at all times.
Beamer has been great and no matter what people think right now, we will never be better without him. Remember George Welsh? UVa fans got frustrated with him too. Wouldn’t they love to have him back?