Virginia Tech Football: 5 Ways the Hokies Must Improve in 2015
The Virginia Tech Hokies sit at 2-3 on the season after last week's embarrassing home loss to Pittsburgh. It wasn't as if losing to the Panthers was bad—the Hokies have lost to Pitt in six of their past seven meetings. It was the matter in which Tech lost.
Tech finished with just 100 yards of total offense, including nine rushing yards, and the quarterback was sacked seven times.
Onto the next one.
Virginia Tech still has seven games left in the 2015 season and the Coastal Division crown is anyone's for the taking. Last year's champ, Georgia Tech, is already 0-2 in conference play this season.
If the Hokies want and expect to turn their season around, some good things need to happen. Here are five ways Tech must improve during the remainder of this season to get back on track.
Better Offensive Line Play
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Through the first month of the season, the play of Virginia Tech's offensive line was a positive development. The Hokies were opening up holes for their running backs and the quarterbacks had more time to throw.
That all changed in last week's demoralizing loss. When you allow seven sacks and pave the way for just nine yards rushing, there's a major problem.
Right tackle Wade Hansen was disgusted with his unit's play, per Norm Wood of the Daily Press.
"Seven sacks and nine rush yards," Hansen said. “It gets me kind of sick to my stomach, to be honest. That’s unacceptable as an offensive line unit. It doesn’t matter which quarterback is back there. They can not get hit as many times as they did last Saturday.”
He's right. And his play was a big reason for all of those hits. But, when your unit is that bad, it's hard to single out one person. The tackles played poorly and the interior line wasn't much better.
The first month showed this unit has the ability to function at a reasonably good level. They'll need to get back to that level or begin making personnel changes to the group, such as true freshman Yosuah Nijman becoming the full-time left tackle.
Get More from the Quarterback Position
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When Michael Brewer went down in the season opener against Ohio State, Virginia Tech players, coaches and fans were all disgusted. The Hokies were in the game, moving the ball, and it all went out the window when Brewer went to the ground with a broken collarbone.
Good news, Tech fans: Brewer is listed as probable for Tech's Friday night game against N.C. State, per Andy Bitter of the Roanoke Times.
While Brewer's possible return is good news for Virginia Tech, let's remember he is coming back quickly from a major injury and it could take a week—or two—before he gets back to playing like he was against the Buckeyes.
Brenden Motley did a good job of filling in for Brewer. He was 2-2 as a starter and played well until the loss to Pittsburgh. In the previous three weeks, Motley made several plays with his feet and was not afraid to go downfield with the football.
After taking so many hits last week, he looked skittish and indecisive.
Tech coaches knew Motley was limited before he took over at quarterback. He did improve leaps and bounds from where he was last season, but if this team is going to succeed in 2015, Brewer needs to be under center.
Pressure on Opposing Quarterbacks
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Defensive ends Dadi Nicolas and Ken Ekanem terrorized opposing quarterbacks in 2014 to the tune of 18.5 sacks and 33 tackles for loss. So far this season, the pair have combined for zero sacks and just 1.5 tackles for loss.
Both players have played hard and are close, but that isn't good enough. The Hokies need more from their highly touted defensive line, especially their best pass-rushers.
If the front four could get to the quarterback more frequently, it would help the young and inexperienced secondary. Remember, the secondary is starting a pair of true freshmen in rover Adonis Alexander and nickelback Mook Reynolds.
Defensive coordinator Bud Foster loves to blitz. If he can't get more pressure from his defensive line, he will need to blitz more frequently. That would expose the secondary and leave the Hokies vulnerable to the big plays that've haunted them in recent years.
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Stick with a Running Back
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Coming into the season, senior J.C. Coleman was the starter at running back. Coleman finished 2014 strong, running for almost 500 yards in Tech's final four games. This fall, Coleman is fourth on the team in rushing with 120 yards and is averaging a paltry 3.2 yards per carry.
Redshirt freshman Travon McMillian is the team's leading rusher with 223 yards and he's averaging seven yards per rush.
Junior Trey Edmunds, another former starter, has had some moments, too. While averaging over four yards per rush, he has only 36 attempts on the season.
Going with the hot hand is not a bad decision, but it's tough to determine who the hot hand is when you're rotating three and four backs constantly. No back can get into a rhythm.
The coaching staff needs to pick a starter and stick with them. Use one for third-down situations and another for goal-line carries if you want each player involved.
But, the Hokies need to pick one guy and stick with him. That is the best hope for this team's rushing attack.
Better Offensive Play-Calling
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It seems like a theme in Blacksburg: When the offense is struggling, blame the play-caller.
In this instance, the play-caller—offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler—deserves some of the blame. Loeffler had an excellent game plan against Ohio State in the season opener. Unfortunately, Brewer's injury derailed much of Loeffler's plan.
However, against Pittsburgh, Loeffler's unit looked unprepared and the play-calling was ridiculously predictable. On a number of occasions, the Hokies were lined up in the same formation and ran the jet sweep. With no success. Instead of Loeffler perhaps using more motion, he stayed in the same formation and kept running it.
That's a big reason Tech struggled on offense. Loeffler didn't do enough to make his quarterback comfortable. Sure, he knows Motley's limitations more than anyone, but why not spread Pitt's defense out and the quarterback to make some high-percentage throws?
That strategy alone would have opened up more rushing lanes.
The Hokies must hope Loeffler brings his Ohio State game plan with him for the remainder of the season. It's not the coordinator's fault when the offensive line can't sustain blocks, but it is his job to work around those limitations.
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