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Virginia Tech head football coach Frank Beamer has never been known for having a pass-first offense. You wouldn’t have known that watching the Hokies methodically pick apart Duke’s secondary today, while at the same time watching their running game struggle.

Junior quarterback Tyrod Taylor set a career high for passing yards with 327. It was the first time a Tech QB had passed for more than 300 yards in a game since Sean Glennon threw for 339 in a 38-27 loss to Georgia Tech in 2006.

Taylor wasn’t the only player having a career day. Sophomore wide receiver Jarrett Boykin caught a career-high 144 yards on six catches and a touchdown. It was the first time a Tech wideout had more than 100 yards receiving in a game since Eddie Royal had 147 yards in a 33-21 win over Virginia in 2007.

Why the sudden success in the passing game? Another well-called game by offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring. The word is out about Tech redshirt freshman running back Ryan Williams – he’s the nation’s sixth leading rusher and three-time ACC Rookie of the Week. So, Duke’s game plan was clear – stuff eight and nine men in the box and force the Hokies to beat the Blue Devils through the air.

“They were loading the box, bringing their linebackers up,” said Taylor after the game. “They were rotating the safeties. Coach [Bryan Stinespring] did a good job of stretching the ball [down the field] instead of running the power. That open things up and we were able execute it. This builds confidence for our offense and for the passing game.”

The first two offensive possessions did not amount to much, just 27 yards. Tech tried to establish a running game, but Duke crowded the line of scrimmage and denied any running room for the Hokies.

On Tech’s third possession however, Stinespring decided to take to the air. Duke had just scored a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead, but on the ensuing kickoff, the ball went out of bounds giving the Hokies excellent field position at their own 40.

The first play was a 3-yard run by Taylor. Second down was a 17-yard pass to tight end Andre Smith for a first down inside Duke territory. On first down, the Hokies went back to the run for a 4-yard gain by Williams. Then, on second and 6 from the Duke 36, Taylor found Danny Coale over the middle in the endzone for the equalizer. It was Coale’s first career touchdown. He also had a career-high 94 yards on three receptions.

Taylor threw for two touchdowns against the Blue Devils; the first to Coale and the other a controversial play in the end zone involving Boykin. With Tech leading 10-7 midway through the second quarter, Taylor threw to Boykin in the right side of the end zone where Boykin and a Duke defensive back both went up for the pass. It appeared that Duke had an interception, but Boykin ripped it from his hands on the way down and the official ruled it a Virginia Tech touchdown. After a lengthy review, the play was upheld and the Hokies led 17-10.

“The play they [the coaches] called and the coverage that they [Duke] gave us, I knew it was going to be a jump ball situation,” said Boykin. “As we were coming down, we were both fighting for it, and I guess he gave up on it at the end. I was still fighting for it and I ripped it out. I couldn’t let him take it from me.”

While the Hokies struggled early on the ground, the success of the passing game eventually set up the running game. Williams finished with 83 yards and second stringer Josh Oglesby, a redshirt sophomore, had 59 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Williams picked up the majority of his yards in the fourth quarter as well.

Box Score from Virginia Tech’s 34-26 win over Duke.

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Box Score | Highlights

It was another ugly win for the Virginia Tech Hokies as they held on to beat the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 27-13, in Tech’s homecoming game. Just FYI, this is an abbreviated recap – I’ll have more after I watch the TV replay and can take a closer look at the game.

Quick Hits:

• RB Darren Evans (r-Fr.) led the Hokies in rushing with 79 yards and 2 TDs (He has eight this season)
• Tyrod Taylor (So.) continued to improve on his passing game going 10/15 for 125 yards and one TD.
• Tyrod’s TD pass was his FIRST of the season … his FIRST.
• Nine Hokies caught passes in this game.
• RB Kenny Lewis, Jr., (Jr.) left the game with an injury in the third quarter and it didn’t look good.
• RB Josh Oglesby (r-Fr.) had 7 carries for 19 yards, the most action he’s seen all season.
• The Hokies’ offensive line gave up five sacks for 18 yards.
• Four of those sacks came in the fourth quarter with Sean Glennon in the game.
• Tech’s punt return team gave up a fake punt for a TD, but were saved by a block in the back penalty. Beamer won’t be happy about that, I’m sure.
• Tech’s kickoff return team got fooled by an onside kick late in the third quarter.
• WKU committed 13 penalties for 113 yards.
• Tech kicker Justin Myer delivered a huge hit on WKU return man Andrew McCloud in the second quarter.
• Hokie FG kicker Dustin Keys was a perfect 3/3 on FG and 2/2 on PATs and has made 11 straight FGs (he has not missed since his first collegiate FG attempt against ECU).

So, what do we discern from this lackluster performance that had the fans leaving the game in the fourth quarter? Well, apparently Nebraska isn’t as good as we thought they were. How else do you explain how the Hokies managed just 293 yards against Western Kentucky, a transitional Division I-A team (meaning they were DI-AA a couple of years ago).

It was clear that the Hokies’ offense was going to struggle when their first series of the game stalled after a 1st and goal from the WKU 8 yard line and they were forced to kick a field goal. You could almost hear the collective sigh from the fans as if to say, “Here we go again.”

Okay, even though I was at the game, I always like to watch the TV broadcast before I write a comprehensive recap. That being said, I’ll wrap this up and write more later tomorrow night after I watch the Hokie Replay on Comcast SportsNet. Until then, I leave you with a few things to think about:

• This season, Tech has been in the opponent’s red zone 28 times and have only scored 13 times, for a red zone efficiency of 46%.
• Boston College, Tech’s next opponent has the No. 1 scoring defense in ACC (6 ppg) and No. 2 overall offense (29 ppg) … (As of 9/28/2008)
• VT has No. 10 total offense in ACC (292.9 ypg) and No. 10 scoring offense (26.2 ppg) … (As of 9/28/2008)

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Not that it should come as any surprise, but highly recruiting freshman running back Ryan Williams will redshirt this season, that according to Frank Beamer. Williams came to Tech partly because the coaches told him he would have the opportunity to play right away. But, with five running backs ahead of him, Williams quickly began to see the value in preserving a year of eligibility. It’s no secret that if it were purely a matter of running the ball, Williams is clearly equal to, if not better than the guys ahead of him; but running backs coach Billy Hite points to his inexperience and lack of knowledge with the Hokies passing game (please refrain from laughing or making jokes, I know it’s hard, but do try) to see more than 5 or so plays a game as opposed to 30-plus. Read what Williams had to say about redshirting.

Now, just from reading all of the reports and having seen Williams at the spring game, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the he is expected to make a serius push for the starting job next season. This is a running back coach’s dream come true. Next year, Hite will have Kenny Lewis, Jr. (Sr.), Darren Evan and Josh Oglesby (both r-So.); and Ryan Williams (r-Fr.). That’s quite a stable of talent in the backfield. Jahre Cheeseman will  be a senior next year, but he’s moving to fullback this season to replace Kenny Younger who is out with a knee injury that will required surgery.

Having said all that, Richmond Times-Dispatch sports writer Darryl Slater did an interview with Ogelsby and the resulting article ran on Monday, Sept. 15. In the article, Oglesby said, “Coach [Hite] told me he’s playing three backs. I’ve only seen two.” Oglesby said a whole lot more and if you haven’t read the whole interview, you should. Slater is apparently getting a lot of heat from Hokie fans, which is ridiculous. Oglesby was an approved interview by the athletics department and he should know the drill by now. Don’t shoot the messenger. Kyle Tucker goes into more detail at his blog.

So, while I’m sure Oglesby will kiss and make up with his coach and teammates, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see him request a transfer, especially with the depth the Hokies have at that spot now. Though, it also wouldn’t surprise me to see Evans, Oglesby and Williams take over at the top three backs next season. Kenny Lewis will be a senior next year and he’ll be pushing 25 years old going into next season. Evans and Oglesby will be pushing 20 and Williams 19. That’s a lot of youth in the backfield.

I’m not trying to start rumors, I’m just pointing out a very possible scenario. Oglesby is a talented running back and as a true competitor, I don’t see him riding the bench for two or three seasons if he feels he can start at another program. I hope he stays because I think if given the opportunity, he could really be a dangerous weapon for this team. Only time will tell.

Lastly, the Hokies prepare for perhaps their toughest game of the season thusfar. I know, we said that last week, but that was last week and UNC is this week and after what the Tar Heels did to Rutgers AT Rutgers, there isn’t a player or coach on Beamer’s team that isn’t losing sleep over this game. Read what Beamer and FS Kam Chancellor had to say about the UNC game this Saturday.

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I was wading through the gazillion blogs and articles about the Hokies today and of course, I stopped on Kyle Tucker’s blog, because, well, Kyle gets paid to know stuff that the rest of us don’t. And here’s the mini-shocker of the day … highly recruiting 4-star freshman runningback Ryan Williams will likely redshirt this season if he hasn’t seen any action by the UNC game in two weeks.

For those that don’t recall, Williams decided to come here in part because the coaches told him that he’d play as a true freshman. But, according to Hite, Williams has come around to the realization that he’s not quite ready for the college game. This is really the best thing for Williams and the program. The Hokies are just loaded in the backfield this season with redshirt junior Kenny Lewis, Jr. and redshirt freshman Darren Evans having emerged as the top two RBs, followed by Josh Oglesby, another redshirt freshman, Dustin Pickle, a fifth-year senior and Jahre Cheeseman, a redshirt junior. That’s five tailbacks and we only lose one for next season, assuming the other four return. So the backfield will still be crowded in ’09. Playing Williams this year would just be a waste of eligibility.

Here’s the quick Q&A with runningbacks coach Billy Hite regarding Williams:

ON WHAT THE CONVERSATIONS HAVE BEEN LIKE LATELY BETWEEN HIM AND FRESHMAN RYAN WILLIAMS: “He and I have had quite a few talks. And Ryan understands right now … I told him if I haven’t played him by the Carolina game, and it’s going to be his decision … right now he knows he’s not ready to play. But he’s made more and more improvement. Every pass route today, he knew exactly what he was supposed to do. The protections, he’s gotten so much better at that. But again, I told him I don’t want to waste him. I could be a selfish coach and play you and not worry about wasting you for 200 plays in a season. He understands that part of it. I told him, ‘Think about it tonight.’ He came back and talked to me the next day and said, ‘I know I’m not ready to play right now.’ What he would like to do is keep working at it and see if something doesn’t happen here in the next week. If something doesn’t happen, then I think he’s set on redshirting.”

ON WILLIAMS REALIZING IT’S HARDER TO PLAY THAN HE THOUGHT: “Yeah. And I told him, I would never want you to be in a situation where something embarrassing could happen to you as a young player. I don’t want you to lose your confidence by putting you in a situation where maybe we lose the game because of something you did wrong. He understands that, and he’s really been very good about it.”

ON THERE STILL BEING A CHANCE WILLIAMS PLAYS, THOUGH: “Still a chance. After Carolina, that’s it. I won’t go after that – unless something happened and there was an explosion in the backfield. If a grenade went off, then obviously he would have to take the shirt off.”

Read more good stuff like this over at Kyle Tucker’s blog.

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Sean Glennon (r-sr.) seemed to take the edge in the quarterback battle following Saturday’s annual Maroon vs. White spring game at Lane Stadium. Glennon led White to a 24-3 win over Tyrod Taylor’s Marron squad by completing 9 of 15 passes for 120 yards and tossing a pair of touchdown passes – one to Brandon Dillard on a triple pump fake, and the other to former QB Ike Whitaker, who laid out in the corner of the endzone to make a spectacular catch.

Sophomore Tyrod Taylor wasn’t as impressive and struggled at times to find wide open receivers down field. He completed 11 of 19 passes for just 67 yards and one interception that was returned 55-yards by Kam Chancellor. He did have a touchdown pass called back because of a holding penalty. He didn’t get much protection from his offensive line and was sacked three times, including an unblocked corner blitz by Macho Harris. Taylor showed some elusiveness, but otherwise his performance was uninspiring.

Frank Beamer said after the game that the quarterback battle would continue through the fall, but when asked about the possibility of redshirting Tyrod this season if Glennon wins the QB battle outright, Beamer did not rule it out.

The Lynchburg News & Advance quoted Beamer as saying, “We’ll evaluate it. That will continue. The good thing about us is we’ve got two really good quarterbacks.”

The backfield battle is no closer to being settled. Redshirt freshmen Darren Evans and Josh Oglesby both turned in respectable games. Evans scored the game’s first touchdown when he pounded in a 1-yard TD run to give White a 7-0 lead. Evans finished with nine carriers for 24 yards and two catches. Oglesby rushed for 40 yards on seven carriers. Dustin Pickle (r-sr.) was listed as the No. 1 RB, but only got one carry for four yards. While he didn’t get many snaps, his leadership and work ethic earned him the honor of being a co-captain for White.

Without seeing Kenny Lewis or Jahre Cheeseman in the spring game and knowing that they’ll both likely be back for the season opener, or in Lewis’ case, possibly the Furman game, it’s tough to get a sense of who will be the guy come the ECU game in Charlotte on Aug. 30. The good news is, Oglesby and Evans looked serviceable.

The special teams came up with a blocked punt by Prince Parker that was recovered by Nekos Brown; and Macho Harris returned a missed field goal for 36 yards, using a pretty spin move to gain an extra 10 yards or so. Macho clearly has emerged as the leader of the defensive unit.

The kicking game wasn’t anything to write home about, but it wasn’t horrible either. Kickers combined to make 2 of 3 field goal attempts with the lone miss coming on a 52-yard attempt in which the snap was bobbled by the holder. The result was the 36-yard return by Harris. Chris Hazley connected on a 42-yarder while Dustin Keys hit an 18-yarder.

Wrapping Up…

Macho Harris did not see any snaps on offense, which was a little disappointing. But, Dillard – a non-scholarship player – looked pretty good at receiver and certainly made his case to be among the top three receivers (and possibly earn a scholarship). Dillard caught a 25-yard TD pass and rushed for 49 yards on a reverse.

Tight end Greg Boone, who looks like an undersized offensive lineman, caught two passes for 27 yards and saw one snap as a fullback that saw him lose two yards. Boone was also named the offensive MVP for the spring practice session.

Read more recaps:

• Lynchburg News & Advance
• Roanoke Times
• Daily Press

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