Ranking the ACC: No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers

Here is the link to my first article in this 12-part series

Enjoy

Ranking the ACC: No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers - VTF

Ranking The ACC: Football Edition

Over the next 11 weeks I'm going to be writing a series of article, detailing some of the major storylines for the other 11 teams in the ACC.  I'm going to reveal it by my projected rankings of how each team in the ACC will fare this year.  Starting with the last place team and working my way through the first.

Tomorrow my article on the 12th ranked UVA Cavaliers will debut on VTF (www.virginiatechfan.com).  Obviously, some are going to take a shot at me for making VT's main rival the last place team in the ACC but logically it fits.  UVA could have a good year this year but they have a talent deficiency and are honestly the 2nd least talented team in the conference behind Maryland. 

I'll provide a like to the article over here when it's posted but since you guys stay true to this blog, I thought I would give you guys my projected ACC rankings.

12. UVA
11. Maryland
10. Wake Forest
9. Duke
8. NC State
7. Clemson
6. UNC
5. Miami
4. Boston College
3. Florida State
2. Georgia Tech
1. Virginia Tech

Few Pre-Spring Game Notes

I've done a lot of writing today but I'm still in the mood to jot some notes down since the Hokies are closing in on their last spring scrimmage of the year.  The Spring Game is a big event for the fans but for the players, it just gives the stars as well as the backups one last chance to shine before the long four month offseason begins. 


Here are a few things I've kept track of throughout the spring practice sessions.

* The Hokies entered the spring with a question mark as to who would be Tyrod's backup this season.  Not only is this quarterback battle important to this season but it will lay the foundation to who his successor will be next year when Tyrod departs to the NFL.  After Wednesday's scrimmage, it appears that Logan has flown by JuJu Clayton and should enter the fall as the number two QB.  Now before I get ahead of myself, if Logan doesn't play well in the spring game and JuJu throws a couple TD passes then this thing could once again return to something that resembles the 2000 Presidential election.

* The word out of Blacksburg this spring is that the coaches are going to leave it up to David Wilson on whether or not he wants to redshirt this fall.  This means that David Wilson is going to be on the field in some aspect.  Perhaps you can use him as a slot receiver but at this point, I'm not going to jump to conclusions since Stinespring is still our offensive coordinator.  But it appears with Evans still being a little tentative on his knee, the Hokies feel that they should get Wilson ready just encase he is needed this fall.

* The one player that has surprised me this spring is left tackle Nick Becton.  The left tackle is a tough position to play whether your in high school, college, or in the NFL.  However, Becton has really succeeded at the position and there shouldn't be much of a falloff from losing Wang at the end of last season. Our starting five on the offensive line is an impressive looking group and could be one of the best units in the ACC.

* Speaking of the Offensive line, I'm starting to get a little concerned about depth.  Michael Via will miss at least four months due to minor ACL surgery and Painter is out for about the next month with a minor knee injury.  Although both should be back for the season, missing reps during spring practice can hurt the chemistry along the line a bit.  If the starters can stay relatively healthy this year, this won't be a glaring problem but the Hokies line is only about 10 deep at the max.  Losing one or two could be troublesome especially since the Hokies toughest stretch of games is in the month of November.

* Eddie Whitley has become my new favorite player on this team.  The Hokies have been lacking that true vocal leader that the defense rallies around since Vince Hall graduated but I have a feeling Whitley is going to become the heart and soul of this defense over the next two seasons.  Also, I have a good feeling about Whitley actually being a better free safety than Chancellor last season.  Kam was playing out of position, which hurt us a bit but that doesn't diminish the talent he has.  Just wish he could have stayed at Rover where he would have been an absolute beast.

* The Backup defensive line concerns me a bit since a good portion of that line consists of underclassmen.  Jake Johnson and James Gayle have played well at defensive end but neither one is at the point where they can be trusted during a game situation.  Jake needs to bulk up a bit more (if that's even humanly possible) and Gayle just needs some more reps.  The defensive tackles are ok with Hopkins and Tucker but Tucker has been largely inconsistent.  Same with Joe Jones who has been battling Tucker for the 4th defensive tackle spot.

* The kicking game has been suspect but I expect senior Chris Hazley to win the job.  He appears to be the most consistent at this point and Beamer likes going with seniors.  I still believe that Justin Meyer will handle kickoffs. 

* If Wilson doesn't redshirt, having Roberts and Wilson returning kicks with Hosely returning punts could be a deadly combo.  I think David was just too young last year and struggled because of it but it appears he has found his comfort zone on kick-off returns and could take one or two back this season. 

Other than the backup quarterback job I don't think the Spring game is going to answer any questions.  I think summer preparation will show who really wants to win these starting spots or 2-deep spots that are up for grabs.  However, the spring game will be the last chance for us Hokie fans to see the team we love until September 5th. 

Go Hokies!!

Complete Overview of Spring Practice

I did the impossible and wrote my final two spring preview articles for VTF today, one of which has been posted and the other will be posted tomorrow. 
Whether you've been following along or not, you can find the links to all the articles below.

Thanks for reading

Justin

QB Preview: Here
RB Preview:Here
WR Preview: Here
OL Preview: Here
TE Preview: Here
DL Preview: Here
LB Preview: Here
DB Preview:

Saturday Scrimmage Thoughts

If it wasn't for the 35 mph gusts of wind, it would have been a beautiful day in Blacksburg. 

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the scrimmage but the team is definitely coming together and our first string units are full of talent.  Depth is a little shaky at this point but thats expected with so few seniors and so many Jr's and So's.

Quarterbacks:

Tyrod was his usual impressive self.  His highlight reel play of the day came on a bad snap when he bolted to his right, grabbed the football, reversed field behind a few coaches and players and darted a strike to (I believe) Jarrett Boykin for a 15-20 yard gain.  It was a thing of beauty. 

JuJu Clayton struggled today and I honestly believe the wind was a big cause for that.  A lot of his balls seemed to float a bit and its clear that he just doesn't have the arm strength that Logan and Tyrod have.  He threw 3 interceptions and two of them we're just bad throws. 

Logan Thomas didn't fare much better but the Brookville product showed off his wheels some, breaking off a few 10+ yard runs on the day.  At this point, Thomas is our backup QB.

Running Backs:

No Williams or Wilson today.  Darren Evans looked ok and he's definitely back to his usual self.  The offensive line just didn't open a lot of holes for him today.

Tony Gregory looked good but the running game as a whole really struggled in this scrimmage.

Wide Receivers:

Danny Coale is our best pure wideout.  He didn't drop one single pass today in warm-ups or in the scrimmage.  He had two big catches in the scrimmage and led the way with I believe 81 yards today.

Boykin and Roberts are solid... nothing new here.

Marcus Davis still plays like he's afraid of contact.  Dropped a couple easy catches and at this point I don't know what you want to do with him.  He has all the talent in the world but plays like he's scarred to get hit.

Didn't notice anybody else but Patrick Terry got an earful from Coach Sherman at one point in today's practice.

TE's/Offensive Line

Eric Martin is going to be a dependable TE for us down the road.  Doubt he can contribute much this season but he definitely has that "Jeff King" look to him. 

Andre Smith will be an excellent TE this year if he catches the ball.  That's my only concern with him right now.

Didn't notice Dunn or any of the others any. 

The 1st string OL is solid from left to right.  Nosal struggled but he had his shoulder examined by Mike Goforth during the scrimmage.  Hopefully he is ok.

Our backups struggled but then again most of our 2nd string OL is missing due to injury.

Defensive line

1st string DL played well but Friday has yet to really turn it on from the rush end position.  Losing Jason Worilds hurt and that could be the one piece that keeps us out of an MNC or a BCS bowl this year.  Hopkins and Battle are going to be an excellent this fall.  They both were very disruptive today.

Joe Jones impressed me a lot.  He's skinny but he's quick and was in the backfield on a few different occasions.

Linebackers

Bruce Taylor has won the starting job at MIKE LB as long as Rivers remains sidelined with his injury.  Even then I'm not sure Rivers will have enough time to get back to 100% before the beginning of the season.  Taylor is showing why he was such a coveted prospect back in 2008.

Did pay attention to any of the WHIPs or Backers.

DBs

Eddie Whitley is going to have a BIG year this year.  He's not the fastest, nor the biggest, but he may be the toughest.  His diving interception today would have made Sportscenter's top 10 if this was a game. 

Hosely had a great scrimmage and is going to be a rich, rich man one day.  That is all. 

Carmichael and Morgan conclude what is going to be the best defensive backfield in the ACC this fall. 

Exum still has a ways to go mentally but physically he's ready to contribute. 

Special Teams

Sucked.  Ok that's a little unfair because the conditions we're terrible for kickers but each kicker missed a field goal, most of them wound up short. 

Brian Saunders boomed about a 50+ yard punt at one point but Hosely caught it inside the five and if the whistle didn't blow, he would have taken it back for a touchdown. 

Overall I liked what I saw.  First string is solid and will just need some fine tuning in the fall camp period before the Boise game. 

Virginia Tech Spring Preview: A Look At The Offense

I'll provide a quick link over to all of my VTF spring football articles below but I wanted to jot a few things down about our offense and you can find that below.  .

I wasn't able to attend last Saturday's scrimmage but I am going to try and attend the scrimmage this Saturday.  The one review that I heard is that our offense was actually able to move the ball for the first time in a few years.  Although we are going to be a little weaker than normal on defense this spring, I still believe that our offense is going to be a dynamic factor this fall. 

I know Bryan Stinespring is not a well liked guy in Blacksburg but his limitations as a coordinator have come due to a lack of talented personnel.  Last year, the Hokies had their type of quarterback, their type of running back, and a budding group of receivers for the first time since 2005.  Tech managed to take a huge step forward by finishing in the top 50 in total offense for the first time since 2005.

This season I would expect that ranking to increase, maybe not by much but enough to alleviate some of the pressure off Stiney's back.  This offense is probably the most complete package the Hokies have had since their National Title year in 1999.  The Hokies offensive line is back to its late 90's caliber and the Hokies return starters at every other position on the field.  They return their most electrifying player in Ryan Williams, they get a stronger and faster Darren Evans back from injury. 

Although you won't see it much this spring, the Hokies should have a very formidable and potent offense this fall. 

QB Preview: Here
RB Preview: Here
WR Preview: Here
OL Preview: TBA
TE Preview: TBA

Kris Harley Commits to Virginia Tech

I just posted an article on VTF going into further detail (you can read this article Here)

The Hokies landed Warren Central's Kris Harley yesterday.  Harley is a potential 4 star defensive tackle that had offers from USC, Nebraska, Michigan, Oklahoma, and a lot more.

In the past, the Virginia Tech coaches have struggled to find highly touted defensive tackles and if you take the last two classes, the Hokies have landed Nick Acree and now Kris Harley.  Combine that with Derrick Hopkins and the Hokies will have some serious depth at defensive tackle in the future.

The best part of this commitment is the fact that we're keeping the pipeline to Warren Central open and that will pay dividends in the future.  Too bad we couldn't do the same thing at Butler high school in North Carolina.  That school has potentially three top 250 kids this year, including the best quarterback in the nation.

Harley will add immediate depth to the position but I would expect him to come in and redshirt then battle for a spot depending on the amount of attrition.

One of Harley's coaches goes on to discuss why he committed to Virginia Tech. 

"He feels at home there," Warren Central assistant coach Greg Brookey said. "He's visited there three times and really likes his position coach (Charley Wiles). I think he was ready for the recruiting process to be over and knew where he wanted to go."

The Warren Central star led his teams defense to a class 5A Championship last fall, beating Carmel High 42-36 in double overtime.

"He's the most explosive defensive player I've ever coached," Hart said of Harley, who had 91 tackles as a junior, 19 for loss, and five sacks.

Although Kris has another 15 months before he enrolls at Virginia Tech, I'm excited about this commitment just because it shows how much the Hokies have evolved in recruiting over the past five seasons.  5 years ago we would have not been able to land this kid for a few different reasons but thanks to some consecutive 10 wins seasons and some national hype, we were able to land Harley.

What A 96 Seed Tournament Means to Virginia Tech

I wanted to continue on with by spring preview series tonight but thanks to the Final Four blasting on just about every TV in the house, I feel inclined to write another Virginia Tech basketball piece.  On Thursday, the NCAA vice president Greg Shaheen broke down the potential expansion options for the NCAA tournament.  He showed a 68-team model, an 80-team model, and then the 96-team model.  Needless to say, the majority of the press conference was spent on the 96-team model and why it would be good for College Basketball.

You can read the rest of the article Here

Need Boise State vs Virginia Tech Tickets?

If you need Boise State tickets for the September 5th made for TV game in Washington D.C. please check out our ticket page on www.virginiatechfan.com.

The link below is a direct link to the VT vs Boise State ticket page.

Thanks guys!

Quarterbacks and Running Backs Previews Are Posted on VTF

These articles take a little bit to write so hopefully I can finish them by the Spring game, although the last one or two may be a photo finish.  Either way, read them and feel free to leave me a comment on the VTF site.  Thanks!

Quarterbacks Preview: http://www.virginiatechfan.com/2010/03/virginia-tech-spring-football-preview-quarterbacks/

Running Backs Preview: http://www.virginiatechfan.com/2010/04/spring-football-preview-running-backs/