I finally got a chance to sit down and carefully watch the Virginia Tech vs. Ohio game last night. I was on vacation at the beach on Saturday and only got to watch the game on my laptop (ESPN 360), so there were some finer details and nuances of the game that I was sure I had missed. And wouldn’t you know it, after watching the game on a bigger screen I discovered that Tyrod Taylor was even more impressive that he was on my laptop.

His stats were pretty impressive for any quarterback. But they were especially impressive for a true freshman making his first collegiate start against a bowl team picked to win its conference. Taylor completed 18 of 31 passes for 287 yards, rushed for 40 yards (not couting the 32 yards lost when he was sacked) and ran for a touchdown. Take into account the three dropped passes and he would have been 21 of 31 for about 340 yards passing. Uh … wow!

While the stats are enough to make even the most stoic and reserved Hokie fan giggle like a little girl; what was more impressive is how comfortable and veteran-like Taylor appeared. It looked like he has been the starting QB for a couple of years. He never got flustered in the pocket when the pressure was on (watch the highlights here). Countless times he just floated gracefully away from danger, buying a precious extra second or two to make a John Elway like pass with nothing more than a flick of his wrist. I don’t think he ever cocked his arm back to throw a pass - just his wrist.

Taylor reminds me of three quarterbacks all rolled into one. He was John Elway-like zip on his passes; a quick release like Dan Marino and the poise and elusivity of a Steve Young. And he’s only 18! He even looked comfortable against LSU. This kid is the real deal and it is going to be an absolute pleasure to watch him play for at least the next three years. Set your DVRs folks, because kids like Tyrod only come around so often.

Glennon Fallout
There was a was an article in the Roanoke Times today - “Beamer: Booing Glennon Not Cool” - about Frank Beamer’s disappointment with Tech fans for booing the benched Sean Glennon. I understand where Frank is coming from and assuming someone from the media asked him about what he thought on the booing, he had no choice but to say he was disappointed. What else was he going to say?

The fans weren’t booing Glennon because of his disappointing performances during the last several games; rather, they were booing because of his attitude following his benching. Glennon said in a Washington Post article,”I hope the coaches realize I need to be on the field this year. If they don’t, I think a lot of programs would be willing to take me.” That was the straw that broke the fans back and caused them to boo. Sour grapes.

The tailgatefever.com Web site came up with a great script for Glennon to read from in future interviews. You can read the entire “interview” scenario on their site, but here is a brief excerpt that will give you an idea of what Glennon should have said following his benching.

From tailgatefever.com:

Interviewer: There are rumors that you are considering transferring to a school with a crappy program so you would be the best quarterback on the team. Is this true?

Glennon: I am a member of the Va. Tech football team, and I will do whatever I can to help my team win. Do I want to be the starter? You bet. But that is Coach Beamer’s decision. I don’t like his decision, and I am going to try to win my job back by getting better, but in the meantime I am going to do everything I can to help Tyrod get ready to lead this team to victory. If that means it is my job to signal in plays then so be it. The most important thing to me is for this team to win, and I am going to do my best to make sure that happens. Hopefully, that means things will work out for me. I still have two seasons left and a lot of things can change.

Had Glennon actually said something along these lines, the fans would have embraced him and applauded him when he entered the Ohio game in the final minutes. Instead, he aired his dirty laundry to the public and came across as a sore loser in the collective mind of the Hokie nation. This is why the fans booed him; not because of poor play, but because of poor sportsmanship. According to the fans I have spoken with, they feel that Glennon put himself first before the team. Anytime a player puts himself before the team, especially the Hokies, the fans will not respond kindly. I have a feeling Beamer knows all of this, but what else was he going to say?