2008.12.21
Tech's Orion Martin takes day off to get married
Senior defensive end Orion Martin had a solid excuse for missing the Hokies' bowl practice Saturday.
Martin had much more important business on his itinerary: He was getting married in his hometown of Martinsville.
Martin, 23, exchanged vows with his fiance, Jennifer Edwards, whom he met in church in Martinsville about eight months ago. Martin proposed to Edwards during a family dinner at the "Red Lobster" in Christiansburg following the Hokies' 20-17 victory over Georgia Tech on Sept. 13.
Martin's younger brother, Cam, a starting junior outside linebacker for Tech, also was excused from the workout to be in the wedding.
"I felt like we had probably ought to do that," Tech coach Frank Beamer chuckled during the Hokies' Saturday Orange Bowl Media gathering in Blacksburg.
"We actually changed practice times [Friday]. We were going to practice at 9 in the morning and we changed it to 4:45, and when we did that [Orion] said he didn’t know if he could make it for the rehearsal dinner Friday night or not ... so I said, 'you’re just going to choose between practice and the rehearsal?
"Nah, we let him out. He took little brother with him. Then Cody Grimm said he had been invited to the wedding, and felt like he ought to be excused so. But we didn’t excuse Cody. Orion will be back to practice [Sunday] and wish him the best."
-- RANDY KING
So now Stiney doesn't even have the situational awareness to know if his players are going to class and how they are doing academically. What type of relationship does he have with Marshman to know whether how he is doing in his classes? It seems like Stiney is a bottom 10% performer in his profession as OC and it seems like he is a bottom 10% performer in mentoring these kids to become better human beings.
Also Cheeseman is leaving VT. There goes another VT offense upperclassman. Stiney sure knows how to keep his players motivated and out of trouble -- (just like Ike Whitaker, Luckett, MV2, Brandon Ore). Remember part of the reason we have so many Freshman/Sophomore playing at the offensive skill positions is because they get kicked off the team for discipline/motivation problems thanks to Stiney's inability to mentor his players like Foster does.
Fire Stinespring! No CRONYISM at VT! Get rid of the bottom 10% performer (3 years in a row)
Comment by hokie nation — December 22, 2008 @ 9:37 am
Coach Foster finally breaks his silence on offensive woes in our last 2 VT bowl games. Excerpt below:
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But in a rare break from the win-as-a-team, lose-as-a-team mantra, defensive coordinator Bud Foster wants you to know his bunch was not part of the problem preparing for last season’s Orange Bowl against Kansas.
“We felt the last two years we’ve given the bowls away,” Foster said Saturday, referring to the Kansas loss and Chick-fil-A Bowl meltdown against Georgia in 2006. “I thought last year, and I told Coach Beamer this, we had our best bowl practices in all the time that I’ve been here as a defense.
“And I thought we played that way. They [Kansas] got a touchdown on a defensive score and they got a 2-yard drive. That was 14 of their 24 points, and that was against a team averaging 50 points going into the game.”
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Full article at:
http://weblogs.dailypress.com/sports/teelblog/2008/12/foster_defends_his_d.html
Comment by hokie nation — December 22, 2008 @ 9:43 am
Here's an example below of leadership!
Foster following that loss to BC in 2006. That was the game where Hall and Rouse got into it on the sideline of a Thursday nite game. On the plane ride home, there was too much talking and laughing for Foster's liking after such an embarrassing loss. He stood up and said that Virginia Tech isn't going to play like that and if ANY player didn't like it he could transfer tomorrow, put your papers on my desk and I'll sign it. The Hokies need Foster to be the head coach now. Beamer plans to stay another 8, 10, 12 years. That's the reason Weaver gave for not giving Foster the HCIW deal. The presence of Stiney is going to end of killing us in the recruitment of quarterbacks, real soon. No Newsome, no Boyd, and it looks like we'll miss out on the top VA 2010 recruit as well. All because Stiney's rep is at the bottom of barrel. Beamer needs to go play golf at Ballyhack with his millionaire friends and let Foster take over the program.
Comment by hokie nation — December 22, 2008 @ 10:12 am
<<>>
He was right to speak out. He should have done it two years ago. BUT more true is that Beamer should be saying/doing something. He has a duty of honor to speak up for the Defense. A problem is never fixed when its existence is denied. Much to his shame he has too often put the blame on the players and not on the coaches, to wit: Herr OC .
Ditto on the OC not knowing how his players are doing in class. He must work cheap, I know of no other reason to keep him.
Comment by Edgar — December 22, 2008 @ 11:13 am
Hey Hokie Nation,
Fellow hokie here. I would love to speak with your boss(es)... And if you have been around for as long as you say you have... Then you remember when we didn't have Beamer. How did that go again? Plus not too much of a loss with cheeseman. He was a glorified practice dummy. I really can't remember him doing anything in the field. they even put him in at fullback because he couldn't get past two freshmen rb's on the depth chart. not that much of a loss imho.
And it's like Beamer said... "if you know the answers, then come on down to my office for an interview" maybe he can hire you as the OC. You know how to recruit don't you?
Comment by Lunchpailmentality — December 22, 2008 @ 11:27 am
Virginia Tech just won back-to-back ACC football championships. Are the people demanding on here that Beamer resign Virginia Tech graduates? If so, tell me your first name, school you graduated from, and year of graduation. Haha. I don't think there are any.
Comment by Nelson — December 22, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
So a young man from your program gets married and all you do is gripe about your OC? Stay classy Blacksburg.
Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Martin and ...
Go HOOS!
Comment by Scott M — December 22, 2008 @ 5:26 pm
All schools have problems of one kind or another. It does look like that this thing with Marshman should have been watched closer. The bottom line is that Nick Marshman should have taken care of the situation himself, in the end he is responsible for his own actions and behavior.
Comment by Frank — December 22, 2008 @ 11:00 pm
Am I reading the same article as everybody else. The article I read was about a kid getting married, not Tech's offensive problems. The two players missing practice aren't even on offense.
Comment by sitruc — December 23, 2008 @ 12:29 am
You are right Frank. Nick Marshman is a fine young man. It's a real shame he won't get to play in his last game and he has let down his teammates. He's 23 years old and all responsibility is his.
Comment by Justafan — December 23, 2008 @ 9:14 am
There once was a giant among men, who's love of a sport had no end, He tried and he tried, but he could not survive, the resentment of a professor so thin.
Comment by Golfman2 — December 23, 2008 @ 10:20 am
I am a 2004 graduate of VT and I think it's time for a change. We had 13(?) players go to the NFL last season and we didn't get a National Champioship???? Something's wrong...
Comment by Meghan — December 23, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
Bud Foster is right as all Hokies who keep up with Virginia Tech know. We should have won the last two bowl games. We had a big lead against Georgia and lost, we blew it. Kansas was just another team, if that. We had defeated 6 or 7 teams during the season that were better than Kansas. That loss was embarrassing and an insult to Tech and the conference. We should have won that game easily. We need to win the bowl game next week for ourselves and the conference. GO HOKIES!!!
Comment by Frank — December 23, 2008 @ 8:40 pm