Hokies' Defensive Expectations for 2011

Virginia Tech’s defense during Bud Foster’s tenure has been nothing short of spectacular. The Hokies have had a top 10-ranked defense almost every year that Foster has served as the defensive coordinator, but things changed last year when the Hokie defense ranked 50th in the country.

The question that Virginia Tech’s fans want an answer to is whether or not the defense will return to its national prominence. Was last year simply a blip in the otherwise-stellar career of Bud Foster?

The reason for the falloff in defensive efficiency in the 2010 season was due to the replacement of seven starters. With a loss of that magnitude it is easy to understand how the Hokies defense could struggle. The good news for the upcoming season is that there are seven returning starters on the defensive side.

The starters that were lost could hardly be considered non-contributors. The loss of Rashad Carmichael (cornerback) and Davon Morgan (safety) will be the most difficult to replace. The good news is that their replacements have experience at the college level.

Morgan will be replaced by Antone Exum, who played as the nickelback during the 2010 season. During the year he had 45 tackles and one forced fumble. The other safety for the Hokies is returning starter Eddie Whitley. Whitley had 80 tackles, two forced fumbles and two interceptions last year. The two should create a solid safety tandem that will create havoc in the ACC.

Last season Carmichael was the boundary corner, while Jayron Hosley played the field corner position. With Carmichael’s departure, Hosley (2010 All-American) will take over the boundary corner. In 2010 Hosley had 39 tackles, nine interceptions and seven defended passes. He led the country in interceptions and there is no reason to believe that Hosely won’t be an All-American in 2011.

The linebacking corps seemed to be the weakest link in the Hokies’ defense last year but it is returning two starters from last year: Bruce Taylor and Jeron Gouveia-Winslow. During the 2010 season Taylor had 96 tackles and six sacks, and Gouveia-Winslow had 41 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. The experience from last season should greatly help these two and greatly help the defense as a whole.

The biggest loss the Hokies sustained from last year’s defensive line was Steven Friday. Despite only being a one-year starter he had 66 tackles and 8.5 sacks in 2010. Two defensive linemen will need to pick up the slack left by Friday.

They are defensive end J.R. Collins and defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins. Collins had 25 tackles and five sacks last season, while Hopkins had 44 tackles and two sacks. Hopkins is a large body that will fill up the middle and help stop the opposition’s running game. Collins will provide a good pass rush to help contain quarterbacks.

Despite Virginia Tech’s poor defense last year there is no reason to believe that it can’t return to being a top 20 defense. The Hokies may not return to the top 10 just yet but they will be a force to reckon with. The defense will need to step up early in the year to help out the offense, which replaced the starting quarterback and running backs.

If the Hokies are to repeat as ACC champions, a lot of the burden will fall on Bud Foster’s defense, but he has never given us any reason to doubt him or his squad.