Me, Her, the Boy and a Dog

The column below was posted on VTHokieFans.com on April 21, 2008, following the annual spring game. It was published before Zach Luckett was suspended indefinitely and before Brandon Dillard was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Those two losses further support the redshirting of Tyrod Taylor.

Revised from April 21, 2008 Post

Following Virginia Tech’s annual Maroon vs. White spring football game on Saturday, members of the media asked head coach Frank Beamer about the option of redshirting sophomore QB Tyrod Taylor if redshirt senior Sean Glennon won the QB battler outright. Beamer’s response surprised more than a few people - he didn’t rule it out - though he did say that the competition would remain open throughout fall practice.

I have made my case for Tyrod Taylor being the starter this season, but I’m having second thoughts. Not because I do not think that he is the best quarterback for this team; but because the team, as it stands right now, might not be the best fit for his game, and redshirting him this season would give us two full seasons with him as the uncontested QB. Throw him in there this season and he could very likely be running for his life on every play, which would increase the likelihood of injury.

The offensive line, while massive, is untested and suspect. The running game is in complete disarray with our top two RBs out with injuries and the next three guys, while talented, have no meaningful game experience. In fact, Dustin Pickle, the redshirt senior, is the only one of the three that has run the ball in an actual game, though all of his game experience came in garbage time. He only got one carry in the spring game. The other two, Josh Oglesby and Darren Evans, both redshirted last year. Even when Jahre Cheeseman and Kenny Lewis come back, there is no guarantee that the offensive line will be able to open up the holes necessary to establish an effective ground game.

Then there is the receiving corps, which is completely new. Our top guy right now isn’t even on scholarship. Brandon Dillard is a redshirt junior out of Martinsville and he’s all of 5-11, 180 pounds. [Editor’s Note: Dillard was lost for the season during the summer.] He’s one of the fastest guys on the team and looked alright in the spring game, but he also lacks game experience and his lack of height will hurt him in jump ball situations. Then there are Ike Whitaker and Cory Holt [Editor’s Note: Holt will serve as the backup QB to Glennon in the ‘08 season], both converted QBs who haven’t seem much action as receivers. Certainly there is talent and potential at the receiver spot, but again, it is untested and there will be growing pains.

Glennon looked good in the spring game and tossed a pair of nice touchdown passes. He showed poise and maturity and looked every bit of the solid QB he proved he could be in the last year’s impressive 27-3 win over Georgia Tech. His issues is inconsistency and that is where I have concerns about making him the full time starter. Who would back him up if he struggles? Right now, Jeff Beyer, a 6-4, 221-pound redshirt junior is listed as the only other QB on the roster. I sincerely doubt they’d moved Ike or Cory back to QB after playing them at receiver all spring, though they could step in should the need arise, a la Nick Sorenson, but that’s a worst-case scenario.

If the Hokies are to redshirt Taylor this season - which is making more and more sense to me - they would need to ride any inconsistencies on Glennon’s part for the entire season. I would think that if Glennon - God forbid - got hurt within the first three games, you could bring Taylor out and burn the redshirt. However, if Glennon remains healthy, you keep Taylor on the bench and give the RBs, OL and WRs a year to mature and adjust to the system. That also gives Tyrod another two years with the incoming, talent-laden ‘08-‘09 recruits.

I haven’t updated in a few days, that’s because things have been completely crazy now that football season is underway. For those that don’t know, I run a Virginia Tech Hokies football fan site called VTHokieFans.com and we’ve been cranking out the blog posts in the evenings after our full-time jobs. The kickoff of the college football season is like the start of a new year, so it’s a very exciting, albeit stressful time of year.

Anyhow, I have some good news to share with you guys! I will be going to every Virginia Tech home football game (at Lane Stadium) this year. No, I didn’t get season tickets - I did even better. I’m going to be on the field - working for the athletics department as a camera operator!

So, let me get this straight … I’m going to get paid to go to the games AND they’re going to feed me? Oh, this is just like being a sports reporter again! Only I don’t have to take the tape back after the game and edit it all together. I am very thankful and appreciative for this opportunity! I’m going to try and get tickets for some of the games so Nic and his mom can come to the game so Nic can see daddy down on the field. He’ll think that is cool!

Take care everyone and Go HOKIES!

If you were expecting a clever re-write of Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 classic, sorry, but it’s been done before … Google (yes, it’s a verb) “Twas the night before kickoff” and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

This is the night before my beloved Virginia Tech Hokies open their 2008 season in Charlotte, N.C., against the media darlings, East Carolina Pirates. Yes, you heard me - media darlings. ECU is the trendy pick amongst sports writers and talking heads to beat the Hokies tomorrow. The Detroit Free Press wrote that “ECU may have more the more talented team” and predicted an ECU victory. The Washington Post’s Kevin Blackistone said that ECU would win because the Hokies were too inexperienced and had Sean Glennon as their quarterback. Ouch.

It’s hard to hear “respected” sports journalists picking against my Hokies, especially when it’s a team like ECU. No disrespect to Skip Holtz and his team, but Tech should win this game … shouldn’t they?

Hokie fans usually fall into two categories; realists (a.k.a. pecimists) and dreamers (optimists). The realists remember humiliating losses (at home no less) to Temple and Miami (of Ohio). They remember getting blown out in bowl games by the Vols and the Tarheels.

Realists know that as long as Bryan Stinespring is the offensive coordinator of the Hokies, our offense will never amount to anything special and talent will continue to be wasted a la Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, Josh Hyman and Justin Harper. All four of whom are in NFL camps, two of whom are likely to start in their rookie years. But if you look at their college numbers, they’re not that impressive. Why? Two letters; B and S.

Then there are the dreamers, or the eternal, rosey optimists. The blind faith followers whose credo is “I trust in Frank Beamer and the coaches because they know more than us.” Dreamers. They play their part. They try to bring the realists up from the depths of despair. I admire them because their sense of hope seems unbreakable.

I guess in the end, having the realists and the dreamers balances things out, which is important when you look at the big picture.

Tomorrow, the Hokies will take the field. I will be a nervous wreck, sitting at home on my couch, monitoring the Hokie chat rooms and message boards, watching the realists implode with every incomplete pass or Tech turnover; and the optimist get all flowery when Glennon completes a pass to the guys wearing the same color jersey. It’s like a dance and for the last 15 years, I’ve watched it (and participated at times) up close and personal for each and every game.

You’d think that since I’ve been down this road before, that I wouldn’t get so nervous and physically sick before kickoff, but I do. And I suppose I always will, as long as there is breath in my lungs and I’m coherent enough to remember that I am a Hokie fan, God willing.

So, I will retire for the evening and stare at the ceiling while I listen to every ESPN podcast I can download and then I’ll get up in the morning, have breakfast with my little boy and prepare for one of the most nerve-racking season-openers in recent memory. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to grab some pepto.

For those that haven’t heard, I will be working for the Virginia Tech Athletics Departments’ video production team during all Hokie home football games this season. Mostly, I will be operating one of the two endzone cameras for HokieVision (the big video screen in the north endzone). I can’t think of a better way to spend a game - getting paid (and fed) to go.

Of course, we’re expecting a lot of rainfall from Tropical Storm Hanna for this game and possibly some thunderstorms, so being in a flat, open areas with a metal box next to my head, attached to a metal tripod, on a platform is certainly cause for concern, but I will get through, just as I did back in the days when I was trotting up and down the sidelines with a similar type camera on my shoulder, sloshing through mud, rain and snow.

That being said, I am going to Dick’s Sporting Goods today to pick up some rain gear because if Hanna hits as predicted, we’re going to get completely soaked on Saturday - and when I say “we” I mean everyone who is brave enough to come out in the weather. But, if you remember Hurricane Isabelle five years ago, more than 65,000 Virginia Tech fans defied wind gusts over 50 mph and torrential downpours to see the Hokies beat Texas A&M 35-19 on national TV.

I’d like to say I would expect the same turnout for this Saturday’s game against Furman, but I’m not sure that’ll happen because, well, it’s Furman, not Texas A&M. Either way, I plan on having a great time with whomever decides to brave the weather. Look for me on one of the endzone cameras.

Keep track of Tropical Storm Hanna.

Well, after a seven-year hiatus, I will return to the college football field tomorrow … as a camera operator. Yep, that’s right! This one-time sports reporter and anchor will be back behind the camera tomorrow for the Virginia Tech vs. Furman University football game in Blacksburg.

The last weather report I saw calls for a 90 percent chance of rain tomorrow morning and early afternoon. But, I am prepared. I have my rain suit all packed and ready to break out if needed. I’ll be wearing khaki shorts and an official Virginia Tech Athletics Department polo and hat, but if it is raining, you won’t be able spot me because I’ll be wearing a khaki rain jacket and pants. Regardless, I am looking forward to it.

I think the last college football game I shot was the final UVA home game in 2001 when I was the weekend anchor for WVIR in Charlottesville. I didn’t leave WVIR until March of 2002, so my last sporting event that I videotaped was probably a college basketball game.

I hope the fans brave the rain and make it out to the game tomorrow. It’ll be interesting to see how things go now that Tyrod Taylor will be playing. If can, I’ll sneak a few pictures in during the game. Stay tuned and GO HOKIES!