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Injuries Creating Future Depth for Tech Defense by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com, TSLMail #513, December 2, 2011 The postseason All-ACC teams were announced on Monday. It was quite different from the preseason list that came out in late July. Many players whom the media expected to have big seasons didn't turn in the performances that were projected. On the offensive side of the ball, only two players who were first team on the preseason list made first team on the postseason list.
Conner Vernon and Dwight Jones both had very good seasons, but true freshman Sammy Watkins exploded on the scene and Wake's Chris Givens came out of nowhere to put up huge numbers. There were several deserving receivers in the ACC, but it's hard to argue with the postseason selection of Watkins and Givens. In the backfield, E.J. Manuel, Montel Harris and Andre Ellington were the preseason picks. None of those guys made it. In fact, Harris and Manuel didn't even managed to make second team All-ACC. Instead, it was Tajh Boyd, ACC Player of the Year David Wilson, and UNC r-freshman tailback Giovani Bernard. With Watkins and Bernard, there were two freshmen on the preseason first team All-ACC offense. On the defensive side of the ball four players who were on the list in the preseason were also included on the postseason list.
Luke Kuechly, the league's defensive player of the year, was also an easy pick. Miami linebacker Sean Spence and UVA cornerback Chase Minnifield were also on the list at the beginning and the end of the season. In the secondary, VT cornerback Jayron Hosley didn't come close to matching his 2010 numbers, when he led the nation with nine interceptions. Miami safety Ray-Ray Armstrong was on the preseason team, but if you watched him play any this season, he was often seen trying to catch up with wide receivers after they burned him deep. Exhibit A. There were also players who had very good seasons who were not included on the first team, second team, or the honorable mention list. From the Virginia Tech perspective, Danny Coale, Jarrett Boykin and Derrick Hopkins all should have gained some sort of recognition, but they didn't. Fans of other teams also have their owns lists of their own players who they believe should have been included. DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING AT CAMPUSEMPORIUM.COM!
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It
has been a long time coming, but in its seventh iteration, the ACC
Championship Game finally has the best matchup in the best city.
It's Virginia Tech vs. Clemson in Charlotte, and the atmosphere
Saturday night should rival any SEC Championship Game or Big 12
Championship Game for sheer electricity. I used to think bowl games
were life or death affairs, but the ACC Championship Game has
supplanted any bowl the Hokies could go to in terms of importance,
outside of the BCS Championship Game.
Wednesday
night's loss to Minnesota was disappointing. The Hokies had a great
chance to steal a road win against a one-loss team, but they
faltered in the final minute. Nevertheless, seven games into the
season there are plenty of positives, as well as some negatives.
Erick Green looks like one of the best players in the league, and
the freshman class is very impressive. On the other hand, Tech needs
to get a lot better in several areas before they can think about
where they stack up in terms of the postseason.
Hampton
High School (VA) is certainly known for producing quality football
players, and a good many have gone on to play on the college level.
Crabbers junior Deon Newsome is well aware of the tradition.
His father, Myron, played for Virginia Tech, and cousin Marques
Hagans was a standout at the University of Virginia. Two more
cousins, Tyrel Wilson and David Watford, currently play for Tech and
UVa, respectively. Newsome, a defensive back/wide receiver recruit,
will be able to choose between the Hokies and the Hoos, if of course
he decides to attend college in the Commonwealth.
Virginia
Tech had a great gameplan for Saturday's game, and it all came
together. Today, Raleigh Hokie talks about the plan and why it
worked.
Despite
the best efforts of Erick Green, Virginia Tech fell to Minnesota
58-55 on the road on Wednesday night. The Hokies dropped to 5-2 with
the loss, while the Golden Gophers improved to 7-1.
On
this week's edition of the Sean Bielawski Show, TSL's Chris Coleman
talks about the big win at UVA, the rematch with Clemson, and Hokie
hoops.
Virginia
Tech running back David Wilson has been named the ACC Offensive
Player of the Year and Overall Player of the Year for the 2011
season. Wilson, who is fifth nationally in yards per game, was named
on 18 of 45 ballots cast by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media
Association (ACSMA). Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas was fifth with
three votes. Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly was second with
nine votes, and he won the conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Jim
Weaver led off Tech Talk Live on Monday night, while Bryan
Stinespring discussed UVA and the upcoming game with Clemson. Eddie
Whitley and Danny Coale talked the opportunity to play Clemson
again, while Frank Beamer closed the show as usual.
The
days leading up to this latest edition of the Commonwealth Cup
rivalry game had a very different feel from recent years. From the
time Virginia beat FSU the previous week, this game took on a new
urgency for both sides. This had the feel of a watershed game in the
rivalry, with Virginia anxious to test their surging team against
the standard bearer of the ACC, and many wondering if the Cavaliers
were ready to close the gap. Some time around 6:30 PM Saturday, the
Hokies were taking a knee deep in Virginia territory to put the
finishing touches on a 38-0 blowout, and the answer was crystal
clear: not this game, not this season, and maybe not for a while.
Three
Virginia Tech players were honored by the ACC for their impressive
play against UVA on Saturday. One was given an even more prestigious
award for his play all year. The ACC also announced the 2011
All-Conference team, and several Hokies headlined the list.