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The Hokies starting tailback Kenny Lewis Jr., will miss the rest of the season after rupturing his achilles tendon in the third quarter of Virginia Tech’s 27-13 win over Western Kentucky. Though he wasn’t leading the team in rushing, he was a vocal leader on the offense and will be missed. While the leadership cannot be replaced easily, this unfortunate injury may very well open the door for r-Fr. RB Josh Oglesby to show what he can do. Earlier this season, he voiced his displeasure with the lack of playing time he was getting. He will likely get his shot in the weeks ahead.

Speaking of the Achilles tendon, earlier this summer, the Hokies lost WR Branden Dillard for the season with the same injury. At the time, strength and conditioning coach Mike Goforth said that in all his years at Tech, he’s never seen an Achilles tendon injury. Well, coach, now you’ve seen two … in the same season.

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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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Box Score | Highlights

Well, it looks like Nebraska coach Bo Pelini will have to keep those black shirts hidden for a little longer. What a great road win! The Hokies played by far their best and most complete game of the season in beating Nebraska 35-30 in Lincoln … on NATIONAL TELEVISION! Of course, the win was tempered somewhat with the news after the game that rover Davon Morgan tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. His backup, Dorian Porch played well and even recovered the fumble in the closing seconds of the game to secure the win and had the presence of mind to fall down instead of risking getting hit and fumbling the ball.

This game marked the best offensive output of the season for the Hokies with 377 total yards. However, even Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer voiced his concern after the game about the offense’s struggles in the red zone. Four times the Hokies were inside the Huskers’ 20, but only managed a field goal on those four trips. But, the important thing to remember is that the offense was moving the ball with a very balanced and effective attack, which was a major improvement over Tech’s first four games. The red zone efficiency will come, of that I’m sure.

I was very impressed with a lot of things the Hokies did against Nebraska. The first was quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s command of the offense. Not just his ability to make plays, but it was clear he was playing with a great deal of confidence that was lacking in his previous starts. Taylor was barking out orders, getting his guys in the huddle and showing some emotion – he is emerging as the leader of this offense and it was a welcome sight Saturday night. The team as a whole played with fire, determination and a newfound level of confidence. Guys were making big plays and getting after it.

Breaking Down the Offense

It took five games, a lot of public criticism of offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, and some defensive press conferences by Beamer, but the Hokies finally looked like a real Division I-A college football offense Saturday. What I find interesting is that it came against what was supposed to be the toughest defensive opponent of the season … on the road … in front of more than 85,000 people. Go figure.

Tech piled up a season-high 377 yards, more than 100 yards better than their season average of 272. More importantly, the Hokies got their passing game going and racked up a season-high 171 yards. Taylor was able to spread the ball around to five different receivers as Nebraska’s soft secondary left Hokies wide open.

Redshirt freshman Darren Evans continues to lead the Hokies running backs with 72 yards and two touchdowns against Nebraska. Evans leads all RBs with six TDs and 336 yards rushing this season. Tyrod is the team’s second leading rusher with 308 yards. Though, Tyrod average more yards per game (he didn’t play against ECU) with 77 and more yards per carry with 5.5.

The offensive line had its ups and downs against Nebraska, but for the most part, played well. They gave up a pair of sacks and the Hokies had trouble running the ball at times, but then the line would open up gaping holes and either Evans or Kenny Lewis Jr., who would run for a big gain. The big uglies are definitely playing better up front and are beginning to show signs of being able to dominate.

Lastly, NO TURNOVERS!

Breaking Down the Defense

Bud Foster’s lunch pail defense, like the UNC game, had its good plays and bad plays in this game. It effectively game up 23 points, which is a bit much for Foster’s liking, but just like the UNC game, the guys made the big plays when they had to, including Macho Harris’ interception and Stephan Virgil’s forced fumble and Dorian Porch’s recover in the final seconds to secure the win.

Kam Chancellor got burned on Nebraska’s first touchdown of the game; Harris lost his man on the Huskers’ final TD of the game; and on Nebraska’s second TD, three Tech defenders missed tackles as Roy Helu ran for a 12-yard score right up the middle. Tech lost containment on several plays, allowing Nebraska to get outside and pick up big chunks of yards. Check out Foster’s reaction to his defense losing contain at the 6:00 mark of the highlight video – he was not happy.

Look, defensively, it wasn’t pretty, but finally, the offense was able to step up and help the D out a little. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again … bend, don’t break. The defense continues to improve and make big plays – Foster’s got his guys going in the right direction.

Breaking Down the Special Teams

Talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. Beamerball got off to a great start with a blocked punt (first of the season) early in the first quarter. Stephan Virgil came through unblocked to bat the punt down and out of the endzone giving the Hokies a safety.

The Hokies also did a pretty good job of returning kicks averaging 21 per kickoff return and 23.5 per punt return. Tech’s kicking game was also solid as redshirt senior place kicker Dustin Keys was 4/4, booting FGs of 19, 38, 27 and 36 yards; he also nailed all three PATs.

Punter Brent Bowden also had a solid game, though he did shank a 21-yard punt early in the fourth quarter. Outside of that, he dropped three punts inside Nebraska’s 20 yard line and averaged about 35 yards a kick.

Of course, the glaring failure on special teams was the 88-yard punt return for a touchdown by Nebraska that cut the Hokies lead to 28-23 in the fourth quarter.

What does it all mean, Basil?

The Hokies now have a viable offense, which means that the rest of the teams on Tech’s schedule are now on notice … the Hokies appear to be back. Next up is Division I-A transitional team Western Kentucky, which lost 41-3 to Kentucky on Saturday. Well guys, I was up pretty much all night watching the game (again) and putting together highlights and reading all of the recaps from other publications, so I’m pretty beat. I’m heading to bed with thoughts of Hokie touchdowns dancing in my head. Great win, gang. We get a quick tuneup game before we go on the road against BC and FSU … those games won’t be cakewalks, trust me.

Closing Notes:

• The 85,831 fans at Memorial Stadium represented the largest crowd in stadium history.
• The Huskers lost to an ACC team for the first time in the school’s history (5-1).
• The Hokies scored nine points in the first quarter, the first game all season they’ve scored in the opening quarter.
• Tech has yet to have a running back rush for 100 yards in a game this season.
• For the third straight game, personal foul calls against Tech’s opponent have sustained 4th quarter drives for the Hokies, which helped them to burn time off the clock.
• Tyrod Taylor is now 8-0 as a starting QB for the Hokies.

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For the first time during his streak of 15 straight winning seasons and bowl appearances at Virginia Tech, coach Frank Beamer seems to be feeling some heat in regards to fan and media criticism facing his team. Beamer first went on the defensive when a caller identified as “Jason from Arlington” got through on Beamer’s weekly radio show. Jason took Beamer to task about the offensive woes; here’s how the exchange went:

Jason from Arlington: “We talk about winning 10 games a year and winning ACC championships, but I mean, who are we kidding? We’re not going to achieve our goal of winning a national championship in football with the offense we’ve seen over the past seven years. I mean, [defensive coordinator]Bud [Foster] does a great job, but he can’t give us a top-10 defense every year.

“I hope we don’t miss, haven’t missed, our window of opportunity of winning a national championship. I’m just thinking like if we don’t make a change here, like an overhaul, I’m thinking VT football has hit the ceiling. You’ve brought us to a really good place but in order to get to the next level, we’re going to have to get an offense to go with that defense or ACC champs is the best we’re going to get.”

Frank Beamer: “I think you’re all wrong. You know if you go back, and I didn’t bring my stats here with me tonight. When you say seven years, some of those teams have been some of our better-scoring football teams. And then, I look at it putting a football team together and sometimes and we haven’t always talked about inexperience for seven years. That’s not been the case. Now if you can’t look at us and tell what’s going on right now, I’m not sure you know a lot of football.

“I’m gonna say this. We’re gonna get better. When we win two ACC championships and play for a third, and understand, I’ll be the first to tell you a couple of those offensive teams weren’t as talented as we wanted. I said last week, you know the talent on our offense hasn’t been as good as the talent on our defense. We got behind in a couple of areas, and that’s just a fact. But what we did, we put together two ACC championships and played for a third one, and I think you’re kind of getting it out of whack when you start talking about it because we want to win a national championship.

“But I can assure you. We’ve got good coaches, the players are going to get better and we’re going to continue to win, and I think you’re out of whack.”

Yikes. If you heard the tone of Beamer’s voice, you could tell he was very defensive and annoyed. That was on Monday. During today’s press conference, Beamer was even more riled up and this time, he brought stats to defend his beleaguered offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring.

Beamer pointed out that four of the Hokies’ top eight scoring seasons of all time, and four of their top eight seasons for scoring touchdowns have occurred in the past five seasons. What he failed to mention was how many of those touchdowns were defensive or special teams scores. He also failed to address that his offensive has been ranked 99th and 100th in the past two seasons, and is currently ranked 100th … out of 119 teams.

Beamer also invited Stinespring’s critics to schedule appointments with him to prove that they know more about the offensive than he or coach Stinespring. In today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, he was reported as saying, “If anybody can come in there and convince me that they know more than Bryan, I’m gonna listen to them. Until then, I’m gonna listen to Bryan. We’ll set aside an hour. I’m gonna tell them in about the first 10 minutes whether they’re smarter than Bryan or not, or smarter than our offensive staff.”

I wonder how many calls he’ll get? I’m sure the fans could think of a few offensive coordinators at other schools that they’d like to schedule a meeting with Beams on their behalf. But, the fun isn’t over yet! Next up, the players talked about the pressure they’re feeling and how they’ve noticed a change in the coaches’ attitudes.

On Kyle Tucker’s blog today, he posted quotes from interviews with players and it was clear that they have noticed that the coaches are getting fed up with the lack of performance and the criticism.

Orion Martin on Beamer blowing up a little bit in practice: “I thought he seemed a little mad. Gosh. He seemed a little pissed yesterday. At the team meeting, in practice. Our practice was a little harder yesterday. He seemed demanding, like, ‘We’re not going to take this crap anymore.’ You could just tell. He just kept saying, ‘We’re going to get it right. We’re going to get it right.’ ”

Said RB Kenny Lewis, Jr., about whether the fans should lay off: “I feel like we need that. We need somebody to get up in our face and tell us it’s time. If we don’t get that, then we might just sit back on our heels and it might just pass us by. He’s told us that. Coach Stinespring, he wanted us on a different level. I haven’t seen him snap too much or get too riled up, but yesterday he was at his breaking point. He’s had enough.”

The heat is on in Blacksburg and if the Hokies can’t get things going against the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, expect the burner to get turned up another notch. The Hokies, based on their play in the first two games, have a legitimate shot at losing their next three games and starting the season 1-4, which would mark their worst start since the 1988 season, Beamer’s second season as coach, when the team started 1-4 and eventually finished 3-8.

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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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Box Score | Game Film

The good news? The Virginia Tech Hokies (1-1) won their game today against Furman University (1-1), 24-7. The bad news? They didn’t look very good doing it. More specifically, the offense didn’t look very good, even with Tyrod Taylor making his season debut. I know a win is a win, but I don’t think there are many Hokies fans feeling too good about next Saturday’s home game against Georgia Tech … not after today’s performance.

“The good thing is, we won,” said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer in his post-game press conference. “We know we’ve got to get better; there’s no question about that. I thought our football team hung in there. And they play hard. We just don’t always play as well as we need to.”

Breaking Down the Offense

First, let’s highlight the positives. Virginia Tech rushed for 261 yards, the most in a single game since the Hokies piled up 284 against Southern Mississippi on Oct. 21, 2006. Tyrod Taylor, minus his red shirt, rushed for 112 yards on 14 carries. That’s an 8 yard per carry average. Even if you take away his 50-yarder, he still averaged 4.76 yards per carry. And finally, Sean Glennon threw a touchdown pass while being flushed out of the pocket. He didn’t look too bad today, though he did throw an INT, but we’ll get to that later.

The first half was an abomination. Sean Glennon started the game, but played only four snaps before Tyrod replaced him. Glennon handed off three times, but also completed a 13-yard pass to Dyrell Roberts that gave the Hokies a first down on 3rd and 3. Taylor came in and led the Hokies down to the Furman 7 yard line, but just as they did with the ECU game, Beamer elected to go for it on 4th and 1 at the 3 yard line instead of kicking the field goal. And, just like the ECU game, Tech got stuff and actually lost two yards.

The other questionable call of the first half was on the Hokies’ final drive of the half. Tyrod started the drive at the Tech 21 yard line with 6:33 to play. Tech ran 11 plays (10 rushing, 1 passing) and were just wearing down the Paladins defense, driving down to the Furman 5 yard line. Then, facing 3rd and goal, Stinespring brings in Sean Glennon. What? You just churned out 74 yards, 63 of which came on the ground, and now they bring in Glennon and run a pass play on 3rd and goal. The pass … was incomplete and the Hokies elected to kick the field goal. Dustin Keys booted his first collegiate field goal to give Virginia Tech a 3-0 lead with :29 left in the first half. Poor play calling.

That’s two games in a row in which the Tech offense drove down inside the red zone early and came away with virtually nothing. At least this game they got 3 points, though it should have been 14-0. Outside of the aforementioned two drives, the offense looked pretty bad. In the first quarter, they had two of their three drives go three-and-out; and Glennon and Taylor both got sacked. The offensive line really struggled against the blitz packages thrown at them by Furman.

The second quarter was a little better, but not by much. Glennon threw a great pass to Ike Whitaker, who made an incredible catch along the sidelines for a 33-yard gain – but, the play was called back for an ineligible receiver downfield penalty. On the next drive, Glennon threw an interception, though it should have been caught, but instead popped up and was picked off by Furman. That one wasn’t on him, though he still got booed … repeatedly.

The second half was a little encouraging, but it took some help from the defense to give the offense some good field position. And if you were still standing in line at the concession stand in the third quarter, you missed most of the scoring.

Tech’s first possession of the second half began on their own 36. Facing a 3rd and 10, Tyrod busted loose for 50 yard gain down to the Furman 14. Tyrod was winded after the sprint that went from sideline to sideline, so he called for Glennon to replace him. Good thing we have another “starting” QB. Three plays later, 3rd and 6 at the Furman 10, Glennon got flushed out the pocket and rolled to his left before firing a sidearm pass in the endzone to Kenny Lewis, Jr. for the touchdown. The boos gave way to cheers and the Hokies led 10-0.

On Furman’s first play on the ensuing drive, Cody Grimm forced a fumble that was recovered by Kam Chancellor and the Hokies offense was back on the field. Lewis did the rest, picking up all 31 yards on the 3-play drive, including the 23-yard TD run to put the Hokies in front 17-0.

The defense gave the offense the ball back on the Paladins next drive when Stephan Virgil picked off a pass and returned it 18 yards to the Furman 9 yard line. Two plays later, Darren Evans scampered into the endzone to give the Hokies a 24-0 lead. That was it offensively.

Breaking Down the Defense

Again, let’s start with the positives. I can’t recall a single missed tackle today. Perhaps there was one or two, but compared to last week, it was negligible. The defense gave up just 34 rushing yards and forced two turnovers that led to offensive touchdowns. And, the first-team defense didn’t give up any points. The late Furman TD came against the second team.

The glaring issue facing the defense is the lack of penetration by the front four, which managed only one sack today. The Paladins sacked Tech QBs four times today. Furman’s QB was only “hurried” three times. That lack of pressure certainly has to be a concern for defensive coordinator Bud Foster.

A minor area of concern is the coverage in the secondary, which looked shaky today. The Paladins passed for 213 yards. In the third quarter, Furman QB Jordan Sorrells completed a 57 yard pass to Adam Mims down to the Hokies 4 yard line, but the play was called back for an ineligible receiver downfield.

Then, late in the third quarter, the Paladins put together a solid drive picking apart the Hokies secondary with complete passes of 22, 14 and 11 yards. The defense held Furman to a 32-yard field goal attempt that was blocked. After that, the first team defense came out.

So, while Foster is probably concerned about his D line’s lack of disruption and his secondary’s coverage; he’s going to be thrilled with Stephan Virgil, who had a key INT in the third quarter. Cody Grimm also forced a fumble that led to a Tech touchdown and DT John Graves blocked his second kick of the season. And on that note, let’s focus quickly on the special teams.

Breaking Down the Special Teams

For the second week in a row the Hokies blocked a kick and DT John Graves has both of them. The Hokies punted six times for a 43 yard per punt average, yet the Paladins only had one return for three yards. And on kickoffs, Tech held Furman to 14.7 yards per return. I didn’t see any glaring mistakes in this game, though I was surprised that the Hokies didn’t put more pressure on Furman’s punter. It seemed that for most of the the Paladins seven punts that the Hokies were more concerned with falling back and blocking for Victor Macho Harris, who had four punt returns for a total of 30 yards. Certainly not the explosive returns Tech fans were hoping for, but it’s hard to tell how much pain Macho’s foot is still giving him.

Looking Ahead to Georgia Tech

After watching the Georgia Tech vs. Boston College highlights, I’m very concerned about next Saturday’s game. Georgia Tech’s offense seems to be very dynamic and unpredictable. Even worse, they run a nice little slant over the middle with either a fullback or tight end and any Hokie fan who pays attention know that that play kills us every time. I’ll never forget what Heath Miller did to us in 2002 … 13 catches, almost all of them were over the middle. The Hokies’ defense might be able to keep the Yellow Jackets in check to a certain degree, but if the offense can’t put up more than 24 points against Furman, a I-AA school, it is definitely not looking good for next Saturday.

HokieSports.com Injury Report

Defensive end Jason Worilds suffered a left shoulder sprain early in the game and did not return. Linebacker Cam Martin suffered a left groin strain in the third quarter and did not return to the game. Both will be re-evaluated on Sunday.

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According to Branden Ore’s high school football coach, the Virginia Tech runningback will file paperwork for entry into the NFL draft – though he will not hire an agent in case he decides to return to the Hokies for the 2008 season. The deadline to withdraw his name from the draft, however, is Friday, Jan. 18, so he does not have much time to make a decision.

Ore’s time at Virginia Tech has been tumultuous to say the least. He did not see much playing time during his freshman year behind Cedric Humes and he also competed with highly touted, but injury-prone George Bell. His attitude and commitment to the team was questioned by runningbacks coach Billy Hite who told Ore to get right or don’t come back.

What followed was a well-publicized, feel-good story of Ore taking the Spring 2006 semester off and working in a 7-Eleven freezer before returning to Blacksburg with a new and improved attitude. An attitude that carried him to an All ACC first team selection in 2006 behind 1,351 total yards and 16 TDs. But, when Ore returned to the team for the 2008 season, he was out of shape and his attitude apparently regressed.

Ore had one great season in which he did everything right. But, his relapse into his selfish ways is the last thing the Virginia Tech football team needs. He was given a second chance and he did not take full advantage of it. It is time to cut our losses and move on. We have about eight solid RBs coming in next season, plus Kenny Lewis Jr., and Jahre Cheeseman, so it isn’t like we will be hurting for talent in the backfield – especially considering that Ore struggled for most of the 2007 season.

Talentwise, this reminds me of Shyrone Stith back in the late 90s. His hand was forced because of his family’s financial situation, so he left Tech after his junior season to enter the 2000 NFL draft. He was a seventh-round pick by the Jaguars and played just 15 games in his short NFL career.

Obviously Ore’s hand is being forced by much different circumstances, but I believe the outcome will likely be the same in terms of his NFL career. I’m not even sure Ore would get drafted at this point based on one good season and three good games in the 2007 season. His attitude, if anything, will scare teams away, or at least it should.

Don’t get me wrong, I hope he can turn things around, but the path he’s on is clearly the wrong one.

What do you think?

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One we get past all of the obligatory I-AA upset warnings, let’s get take a look at what we can truly expect at tomorrow’s game. With no disrespect intended toward William and Mary, and assuming this game plays out as expected (a Hokie romp), what can the Hokies do in this game to get better heading into their first ACC game the following week?

Obviously you want Tyrod Taylor in the game long enough to develop a rhythm with the offense, especially the receivers, all of whom must be salivating at the possibilities now evident with a more mobile and exciting quarterback under center. At the same time, you don’t want to keep him in too long and run the risk of him getting hurt.

I fully expect the Hokie offense to come firing on all cylinders and just pound the Tribe defense (which is pretty bad statistically) into an early submission. Tyrod will probably run wild at times, picking up 20 yard gains. I think when it’s over, T-Mobile will have more than 100 yards rushing, not to mention the big numbers he’ll put up in the passing game. If he threw for 287 against Ohio, imagine what he can do against a I-AA team that went 3-8 last year. Scary.

Don’t forget Tech’s defense, which smothered the Bobcast last weekend. They might pitch a shutout in this game. And I certainly expect they will probably put up some points off turnovers.

This game should allow the coaches to get some young players some quality playing time. And I would even argue that Frank Beamer should keep Sean Glennon on the sideline. Not as punishment, but because he is graduating in December and probably won’t be back next season, so why not let Cory Holt, who will likely be back, get some quality snaps so we have another “mobile” quarterback in case … well, I’m not even going to say it. Suffice it to say that Holt is more like Tyrod in terms of the ability to escape pressure than Glennon, who, by the way, didn’t beat Holt out by much last season. Plus, from all accounts, Holt has never put himself before the team.

It makes sense to me that if the offensive line gets comfortable with how Tyrod is playing and moving around and the o-line is adjusting to his style of play, why not go with the backup QB who has a similar style, that way the o-line doesn’t have to make as many adjustments.

We’ll probably see more of Jahre Cheeseman as the backup tailback behind Ore and Kenny Lewis, Jr. Ore, who is nursing some sore ribs, probably won’t see much time in this game. What’s the point? Give him enough carries to keep him active, but don’t risk further injury right before you enter the ACC schedule. And Lewis, Jr., has been tearing it up lately! He ran wild over Ohio and showed some explosiveness and speed that I don’t think many expected to see.

This will be a good opportunity for Tyrod to mature a little more and develop some timing with the offense, but the quality of the opponent won’t do much to prepare him for the likes of Miami, Florida State, Clemson and Boston College. Then again, T-Mobile didn’t look too flustered by the LSU defense and if he doesn’t get flustered by a defense with eight legitimate NFL draft picks, then I don’t imagine there are many teams that will intimidate him.

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