Virginia Tech Football: Is 2010 A Turning Point?

Blacksburg, Virginia is buzzing.  Between all the returning offense talent and the high profile opener against Boise State, there hasn’t been this many Hokies this excited for football season in a long time.  Arguably ever.

There are homers every year who say that it will be the year Virginia Tech wins the national title but this year they have a lot more credibility.

The only thing more exciting than winning the national title would be winning it multiple times, of course.  And this year appears primed to do it.

But is the 2010 team a one-time shot at greatness or can the success be sustained in the future?

Hokie Nation is happy with being a top ten team but getting silver and bronze can only satisfy the hunger for so long.  This slideshow will look at whether or not Virginia Tech can take that next step and consistently challenge for a national title.

We’ll start with the offense.

Running Back

Virginia Tech has one of the best running back tandems in the entire country, especially given Mark Ingrams recent knee injury.  It boasts the past two ACC Rookie of the Years and the carriers of multiple Virginia Tech and ACC records.

But the future looks just as bright.  David Wilson has had arguably the best summer of any of the running backs and Tony Gregory has been improving rapidly.  Williams is a projected first round draft pick and will likely leave after this season.  Darren Evans will likely leave as well because he wants that NFL pay check to support his family.

That leaves Wilson and Gregory for 2011 and Wilson is a true student-athlete who may stick around until his senior year, which could keep him on the team until 2012 and Gregory until 2013.  Frank Beamer should have no problem developing and/or recruiting another standout running back by that time.

Offensive Line

Ask any Hokie fan and they will tell you the weak link is the offensive line, specifically in pass protection.  In 2007, with two of the best receivers to ever come to Virginia Tech, the passing game ranked 85^th in the country and were 115^th in sacks allowed.  It’s no reason dual-threat quarterbacks have been so common in Blacksburg.

But Frank Beamer and Bryan Stinespring have seen that problem and are addressing it with recruiting.  There has a distinct increase in the number of lineman recruited and the coaches are raving about many of the newcomers including Nick Becton, David Wang, Greg Nosal and Laurence Gibson.

It appears that VT does a better job of developing skill position players as opposed to linemen, generally speaking.  See Josh Morgan, Josh Hyman, Danny Coale and Jarrett Boykin for examples at WR.  With an emphasis on the line, coaches won’t have to develop the line as much because they will be ready to play, leaving the quarterback with an easier time getting the ball off.

Now for why the offense could fail.

Bryan Stinespring

There aren’t many more maligned coordinators in college football than Stinespring.  Even Purnell Sturdivant, a former Hokie, called Stinespring’s offense “predictable.”  I wrote about why Bryan could be the right coordinator in 2010 but until he shows a consistent and substantial improvement, Hokie Nation has the right to be skeptical.

The ACC as a whole is improving every year and Florida State and Miami are on the cusp of returning to greatness.  That doesn’t bode well for an offense that runs the same plays down after down.

When teams figure out his offense, they figure it out.  Take Alabama in 2009.  Tech’s success comes from time of possession but better defenses will be able to force the offense of the field much like the Tide.

Quarterback

I am personally a huge fan of Tyrod Taylor but this article delves into after his time as a Hokie.  It took a while but Logan Thomas was finally named the backup quarterback for this season.  The coaches love him and he is one of the purest athletes to come to Tech in recent memory.  But he hasn’t done enough with his arm to impress me.  Yet.

Hopefully he will mature enough as a passer with his wide receivers to not have much of a drop off in 2011 but he may be served better at a different position in the long run.  The problem is that there is currently little to no depth behind him.

VT quarterbacks have typically been highly touted coming out of high school with the exception of Bryan Randall.  But Randall’s first years as a starter were shaky and to be a program consistently in the hunt for a national title, a team needs consistent play from under center.  Like Bryan Stinespring, the Hokies need to show they can develop quarterbacks or recruit name players in order to keep up with the rest of the country.

Now for the defense.

Bud Foster

Obviously.  He has been one of the best coordinators in the nation and annually puts the Hokie defense in the top ten.  The man can coach football plain and simple.

And recruits are taking notice.  VT has never been a team to go after all name players, they pick and choose the players with solid work ethic and potential.  But some of those players are the big name players.  Now they are looking at Tech more seriously.

With the lack of coaching stability around the country, players are beginning to trend to schools with set staffs.  And VT’s NFL draft record doesn’t hurt either.

Defensive Back

Virginia Tech has made a habit of producing an NFL caliber corner or safety every year starting all the way back in 1999.  Pierson Prioleau started the trend and a DB has been drafted in the first seven rounds since.  The trend doesn’t appear to be letting up in 2010 with Rashad “Rock” Carmichael or in 2011 with Jay Hosley and/or Chris Hill.  Jacob Sykes has also made a huge turnaround.

Torrian Gray is an excellent coach and for the first time, he feels comfortable four deep at cornerback.  Eddie Whitley and Nick Dew appear to be the safeties of tomorrow.  Dew is already challenging for playing time as a true freshman.  Demetrious Nicholson is apparently high on Tech and is a “couple inches away from being a top national cornerback” according to ESPN.

Hokie backs have become notorious ball hawks and instinctive players who rarely get beat or get mixed up on coverage.  Under Bud Foster’s creative blitz’s, they get to shine even more with sack or two a game.  Whether it’s been Foster, Gray or pure talent is certainly up for debate but it has been arguably the most consistent unit for Tech.

Here is why not.

Bud Foster

The man can coach football and other teams know this.  With Beamer’s contract extension to 2016, Foster may choose not to wait around for Beamer to retire.  He has already been courted by other schools with a head coaching vacancy.  Yes, there is a large annuity waiting for him but there will be a two year gap between Foster’s contract and Beamer’s contract.

Some people have said that it will keep Bud around but an argument can be made the exact opposite way.  But he isn’t exactly a spring chicken and Beamer doesn’t seem to be slowing down too much.  Tech has been opposed to a coach-in-waiting deal and will likely keep that position in the future to the disdain of many fans.

Foster is simply too good not to be a head coach at some point and, unfortunately for Virginia Tech, that time is rapidly approaching.  If he were to leave, expect a lot of defensive players leaving with him.  As mentioned earlier, he brings a recruiting edge and that would obviously leave with him.

Bud Foster (cont.)

In some aspects, Bud Foster has become the face of Virginia Tech.  The defense has become an integral part of Beamerball and, especially last year, has taken over.  Defensive back is the strong point and while Rock Carmichael was the only player to return an interception for a touchdown, many points have been direct results of turnovers.

Foster is a blitz artist, especially his cornerback blitzes, and plays like the one Dorian Porch made against Miami, are credited to him as well.  Ball hawks like Cody Grimm learned from him and he forced three fumbles in the first four offensive plays against N.C. State.  If Foster decided to leave, plays like that may not happen as often.

Much like David Wilson, Bud Foster has more than earned his right to coach at Virginia Tech.  The question is when.  When Beamer retires, administration will obviously ask Foster to take over but he may be at another university by then.  A program built on developing players from two-star recruits to NFL draft picks can’t afford to lose their marquee coordinator.

Now for special teams.

Frank Beamer

Did you really expect anything different?  He is one of the only head coaches to coach special teams.  The common phrase for being good on special teams steams from his name, “Beamerball.”  And because of that, the best athletes want to play on the blocking units.

There is arguably no bigger momentum shift than a big special teams play, whether good or bad.  Take Alabama in 2009.  The Hokies got back in the game after Dyrell Roberts returned a kickoff 98 yards but were devastated when Davon Morgan fumbled a kickoff in the fourth quarter.  And against Miami, a blocked punt sealed the blow out of the Canes.

Because of Beamerball and special teams, there is rarely a time when the Hokies are truly out of the game.  And as long as Beamer is the head coach, which will be until 2016 barring unforeseen circumstances, the special teams will always be an integral part of Hokie football.

Next is why not.

The Rest of the Country

Other teams have picked up on Frank Beamer’s style.  Florida now leads the nation in blocked kicks and the big change of momentum plays have been coming from the defense.  The only blocked kick last season came against Miami and there were a couple games where big special teams plays could have come in really handy, notably against UNC.

In 2008, there seemed to be a block every other game and it played a huge part in getting to the Orange Bowl.  It also hurt the Hokies’ national reputation in the opener against East Carolina when a blocked punt sealed the upset.  Historically, other big games have also had blocks including the upset of then number three West Virginia and the domination of then fifteen Georgia Tech.

Even though teams still fear Virginia Tech’s special teams, it doesn’t affect the game as much as it used to.  It may be because teams have improved their blocking units as a whole or because Tech has fallen.  It’s like the preseason, the punt block unit has blocked three kicks but whose fault that is anyone’s guess.

Conclusion

I’m not naïve enough to proclaim a turnaround in the program before the 2010 season has even played.  But things seem to be trending upwards in terms of production.  Virginia Tech emerged into the national scene after beating Texas in the 1995 but has maligned by some analysts for not winning the big games.  Tech has also become notorious with losing games it shouldn’t lose and falling out of the national title picture.

Sure, the Hokies have won two back-to-back bowl games for the first time but Cincinnati and Tennessee were not entirely impressive.  What Virginia Tech needs in order to get over the hump of “dark-horse contender” is get a marquee victory followed by an undefeated season.  This is the exact opportunity 2010 presents.  There have been some close calls against top five teams but Tech hasn’t beaten one of those teams since 2003.  The next closest was West Virginia in 2004 when they were ranked sixth.

Defeating Boise State in the first college football televised in 3-D would do wonders for the program.  Then running the table against the likes of Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Miami could erase the nickname Chokies for years to come.  With a season like that and the exorbitant amount of talent that follow, Bud Foster would have a tough time leaving.  That’s the recipe for success.

But like I said, I’m not willing to make a solid prediction but the pieces all appear to be there.  Now the Hokies need to put together.