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It has been well-documented that the Virginia Tech football team enters
spring practice with a number of inexperienced players on the offensive side of
the ball. Graduation and injuries have left the Hokies extremely short-handed
this spring, and Bryan Stinespring and the rest of the offensive coaches have
their work cut out for them. So exactly how inexperienced are the Hokies? Let’s examine each position,
starting with the biggest question mark on offense…the quarterbacks. Sean
Glennon and Cory Holt have seen mop-up duty in parts of the last two seasons
(Glennon in 2004 and Holt in 2005). They will enter their r-sophomore seasons a
combined 12-of-23 for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Those stats have come against the Western Michigans and Ohios of the college
football world. Neither quarterback has taken a meaningful snap in a meaningful
game. The last time the Hokies faced a situation like this was the 2001 season.
Michel Vick left for the NFL following the 2000 season, and Dave Meyer expended
his eligibility. Third-string quarterback Grant Noel and true freshman Bryan
Randall were Tech’s top quarterbacks that year. The Hokies are also in a tough spot at running back. Of all of Tech’s
tailbacks that are participating in spring practice, only one has carried the
football in a college game. That is George Bell, who had 42 carries for 192
yards and two touchdowns. Including carries from wide receivers on end arounds,
the Hokies return just 11.5% of last season’s rushing yardage this spring, and
most of Bell’s 192 yards were in garbage time. If Branden Ore was participating in spring practice, those numbers would
improve. The rising r-sophomore ran for 647 yards and six touchdowns last
season. With his numbers included, the Hokies would return 29.43% of their
rushing yards. With
Ore included, those numbers are similar to what the Hokies had returning for the
2004 season. Tech lost Kevin Jones to the NFL and Marcus Vick to suspension, so
they lost a number of rushing yards in the offseason. 34.77% of Tech’s rushing
yards returned for the 2004 season, but when you consider that Cedric Humes
began the season with a broken leg and Mike Imoh was suspended for the first
three games, things were actually much worse. Tech was forced to move Justin
Hamilton back to tailback from wide receiver. This spring the Hokies are moving
Macho Harris from the defensive backfield. The Hokies are much stronger at the wide receiver position. Tech returns
their top five wideouts from 2005. The five returnees accounted for 66.9% of
Tech’s receptions last season. They also accounted for 77.3% of the receiving
yards and 61.1% of the receiving touchdowns. Wide receiver should be Virginia
Tech’s strongest offensive position in 2006. Most of the losses from the receiving statistics come from the departure of
Jeff King. King caught 26 passes for 292 yards and six touchdowns last season.
Behind King, there is not much returning at tight end. John Kinzer has two years
of experience at fullback and tight end, but he is sidelined this spring – and
perhaps for the remainder of his career – with a neck problem. It is unknown
as to whether he will return this fall. If he does not return, Tech will have
four freshmen at tight end. Right now three r-freshmen, Sam Wheeler, Ed Wang and
Richard Graham are manning the position. True freshman Andre Smith will arrive
in August. At fullback, the Hokies return their top two players, Jesse Allen and Carlton
Weatherford, but between the two of them, they only played 179 snaps in the
regular season, about one fourth of the Hokies' offensive plays. With the lack
of experience at tight end, the Hokies may go with a one-tight-end formation
more often and get more snaps for the fullbacks. Along the offensive line, the Hokies will be very inexperienced at well. Tech
knows who the starting tackles will be, but the situation is bit more unclear at
guard. Tech’s offensive line is almost as inexperienced as the running backs and
quarterbacks. Duane Brown is the most experienced player, despite the fact that
he has been an offensive lineman for just one season. Danny McGrath started some
games last season, so he is a veteran. Those two guys are the most experienced
linemen on the team. Of Tech’s other returning linemen, Brandon Frye has one career start, but
the rest of his career he has been on the bench. Nick Marshman has seen playing
time late in blowouts, as has Ryan Shuman. Tech’s other five linemen in the two-deep have no experience at all. Sergio
Render (Fr.), Aaron Brown (Fr.), Eric Davis (r-Fr.), Robert Norris (r-Fr.) and
Matt Welsh (r-So.) have never played a single down of college football. So as you can see, the offense the Hokies will trot out onto the field this
spring will be their most inexperienced in quite some time. To further
complicate matters, Tech will also have three new offensive coaches, and Bryan
Stinespring will now be coaching the tight ends. VT will have a new offensive
line coach (Curt Newsome), a new quarterbacks coach (Mike O’Cain) and a new
wide receivers coach (Kevin Sherman). Only running backs coach Billy Hite will
be coaching the same position that he coached last season. If you’re expecting this group to be consistent this season, then you are
probably in for a disappointment. There will be a lot of new faces on offense,
and that generally means fewer yards and points. But on the bright side, it will
make spring practice more interesting. Frank Beamer has already announced that
the quarterbacks will be going live in scrimmages, meaning defenders can tackle
them. In the past, quarterbacks have worn a yellow jersey and were not allowed
to be tackled. This, as well as other factors, should help make this spring
practice one of the more interesting in recent memory. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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