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1) Historically, have we had better success bringing in smaller DTs and bulking them up, or larger DTs and trimming them down? What does an ideal DT look like in our system? - vt2wake
Chris Coleman: Most definitely the former. Let’s look at the size of some of our best defensive tackles when they were recruited by the Hokies…
2002 Jonathan Lewis: 6-2, 290
2003 Carlton Powell: 6-4, 285
2003 Barry Boooker: 6-5, 270
2006 John Graves: 6-3, 249
2008 Antoine Hopkins: 6-2, 280
2010 Derrick Hopkins: 6-0, 275
2011 Luther Maddy: 6-2, 275
2011 Corey Marshall: 6-2, 252
2012 Woody Baron: 6-2, 258
2012 Nigel Williams: 6-3, 270
2014 Ricky Walker: 6-2, 270
2015 Tim Settle: 6-2, ~350
Tim Settle stands out as the exception in the list. I know people want Tech to get bigger at defensive tackle, but would you guys want to go back and unrecruit Woody Baron, Ricky Walker, Corey Marshall, Derrick Hopkins and Carlton Powell? No chance. Derrick Hopkins was recruited in the same class as the behemoth that was Nick Acree. One of them turned out to be a good player, and the other had a future in strength and conditioning, not on the field.
I’d love for every defensive tackle that Tech signs to be above 300 pounds and to be perfect fits for the Virginia Tech scheme. But big guys who can move their feet really well are few and far between. If the Hokies start recruiting bigger defensive tackles just for the sake of it, they would eventually have to change their defensive scheme a bit simply because their tackles wouldn’t be quick enough anymore. Bud Foster and Charley Wiles wouldn’t be comfortable with that. They’ve coached the same defense and the same techniques their entire career.
Outside of the athletic freak that is Tim Settle, I think an example of the ideal defensive tackle in Virginia Tech’s system is their current bell cow, Ricky Walker. He’s 6-2, 300, and his athleticism and “twitch” are exactly what Foster and Wiles are looking for. Walker was listed at 6-2, 270 as a recruit, and he’s now a fifth-year senior.
As far as recruits go, I’m a huge fan of current commit Mario Kendricks. He measured at 6-1, 283 the last time he was at Tech. That’s a great size for a rising senior in high school. I don’t see any way that he doesn’t play in 2019 as a true freshman. I could even see him becoming a four-year starter. He’s a great out-of-state find by the Tech staff.
2) The coaches poll came out recently and they have Tech ranked 17th. Do you agree with where Tech is ranked, and if not, why do you think they were ranked there? – DoYouLiftHokies
CC: I don’t know if it’s right or not, because I haven’t studied the other teams. Based on what I believe I know about the Hokies, I think the ranking is too high. The Hokies’ defense was gutted with graduation, early entries to the NFL, and other attrition. The offense should be better, but will it be improved enough to cover for a defense that isn’t expected to be as good?
Don’t get me wrong. I suspect Tech’s defense will be pretty good when compared to the national average. But it would be unfair to expect them to be as good as they were last season. So the big question is whether the Virginia Tech offense rises as much as the defense falls. The Hokies finished last season No. 25 in the Coaches Poll. Purely based on personnel at Virginia Tech, I can’t justify an 8-spot jump from last season, but again, I haven’t studied the teams around them.
I will say that I would not rank the Hokies ahead of Florida State (No. 19 in the Coaches Poll, two spots behind Tech). I know the Seminoles only went 7-6 last year, but they still have plenty of talent, and I suspect they’ll be more of a “team” this year under Willie Taggart than they were last season under Jimbo Fisher.
I believe the Hokies are ranked where they are because other coaches respect the job that Justin Fuente has done. Every summer Athlon runs an article that publishes comments from anonymous ACC coaches about all ACC programs. Here’s what one coach said about Justin Fuente and the 2017 Hokies…
"Maybe it’s just me, but I think Justin Fuente did the best coaching job in our league last year. They won nine games without a consistent run game. And his teams are all about dictating tempo with that run game. They want to impose their will on you. If you’re averaging less than four yards a carry [VT averaged 3.86 ypc], there’s no way you should be winning nine games."
I think there is a lot of respect in the coaching industry for Justin Fuente’s abilities, and that’s a big reason the coaches voted the Hokies 17th. However, not every coach pays close attention and does his due diligence when voting in those polls. Some guys could easily have simply said “Fuente is in his third year there, that means they should be pretty good, and their starting QB is coming back,” and given the Hokies a high ranking without doing very much research.
Fuente’s Memphis team took off during his third year there, with a redshirt-sophomore quarterback. It wouldn’t be too surprising for Tech to finish around No. 17 in the country. There are a lot of different directions this season could go.
3) Given the analysis shows our lack of big plays last year seemed to be one of the things holding our offense back, where do you see the most likely place to change that? Better RB production? Deeper receiving corp? More experienced QB? Better OL (pass/run blocking)? – HokieDevil
CC: I’m sure you can place at least a little bit of blame with each of those units, though I believe the offensive line was the least culpable. I always go back to that perfectly blocked play early in the Miami game. It was Travon McMillian vs. the Miami safety in the open field, one-on-one. It was going to be a 10 yard gain or a touchdown…and it was a 10-yard gain. David Wilson and Ryan Williams would have made that guy look stupid on the way to the end zone. That wasn’t the offensive line’s fault. They did all they could do.
I think the other units share equal blame. The lack of broken tackles by the running backs has been covered a lot, so there’s no need to go down that road again. The lack of big plays in the passing game come from a combination of things.
1: Josh Jackson just flat out missed some throws. See the would-be TD against Oklahoma State as an example.
2: Tech’s receivers didn’t exactly break many tackles or come down with many 50-50 balls. There was no Isaiah Ford in that group. Cam Phillips is a different type of player, and he wasn’t 100% almost all season.
3: Lack of timing, which is perfectly understandable considering the youth of Jackson and most of the receivers. A perfectly timed passing play can result in a big gain without requiring the wideout to break a tackle. For example, this Jackson-to-Savoy touchdown at Boston College last season (it's the first play in the video)…
Some of those issues will improve with the gain in experience. We’ll have to wait and see how much.
4) In the presser yesterday Bud Foster mentioned that Dax Hollifield could play both mike and backer. He also said the differences were subtle, but the position was very different. Can you explain these differences and how the current roster supports both positions? – Mel Beach Hokie
CC: I’ll copy and paste what Raleigh Hokie wrote about the mike and backer positions way back in his series from 2007. First, the mike spot…
"The 'Mike' is an inside linebacker in Tech’s system. This is a key run support position and it requires a strong, physical player that can operate well between the tackles. The Mike also has key pass coverage responsibilities, especially in 2-deep zones where the Mike has to take a deep drop. I’ll talk specifically about pass coverages in Part 3 of the series.
In Bud Foster’s scheme, the Mike is a 'field' side (wide side) position player and will normally align in an area between the ball and the Stud (wide side) end depending on the offensive formation. Against most formations, the Mike will align much like a traditional middle linebacker in other systems. He will play the majority of the time in the tackle box."