I wrote the first half of my Spring update yesterday, so let's get to the second half today. I'm talking about everybody's favorite half of the Virginia Tech football team... the defense! Bud Foster has lost some key starters, but also has some fresh, young meat to plug the holes. Get your minds out of the gutter, you cretins... if we're going to talk about defense, we're definitely going to have to talk about the Hokies' ability to fill the gaps. Quit snickering.
John Graves has moved from defensive tackle to defensive end to fill in for Jason Worilds, who is out with a shoulder injury until practice resumes in the fall. Defensive Line coach Charley Wiles wants the ability to put Graves in at both defensive tackle and defensive end when the season starts because we are currently deeper at tackle than end. Graves has stepped up to the challenge so far, although at this point he's obviously a better DT. Some of the other young guys are showing that the'll be able to contribute including Antonie Hopkins, Kwamaine Battle, and Stephen Friday. Nekos Brown should give us quality starting DE, and Cordarrow Thompson and Demetrius Taylor are showing that they can be a force up the gut.
The two linebacker positions are both going to be filled by new starters, Barquell Rivers and Jake Johnson. They both have had some playing time as second stringers and they both are ready to step up to the plate when the season rolls around. I get the feeling that Rivers has another level for games compared to his efforts in practice. In his limited playing time last year, he always seemed to be in the right place. We have two excellent whips in Cody Grimm and Cam Martin. Martin is out with an injury now, but should be back for the start of fall practice. At any rate, I really want Cody Grimm to win this battle. He's a smart player who always seems to be around the football, and I never got that impression from Martin last year. I got that impression from Martin two years ago, but maybe the injuries have slowed him down.
In the secondary, Kam Chancellor could easily be an All-ACC player if not an All-American free safety. He's fast, intelligent, tough, and late in the 2008 season showed a penchant for disrupting plays. The knock on him has always been his seeming need to hit guys as hard as possible, leaving him open to abuse. I think he got his feet under him in the second half of the 2008 season though. Stephen Virgil is the heir apparent to Macho Harris at the boundary corner spot and Rashard Carmichael will be a good field corner. Dorian Porch and Davon Morgan are both adequate strong safeties. In fact, I feel like they're virtually interchangeable. They both need to show more of a desire to be a stopper on that defense though. They seem to get caught out of position more than our other defensive backs. There is also some good depth in this group with Eddie Whitley really impressing the coaches this spring.
If anyone in this game can be called "consistent", it's Bud Foster and I have no doubt that the new starters will be ready to go for the season opener. The only question is "who will make the biggest leap?" I think that player will be Barquell Rivers and I fully expect him to lead the team in tackles this season. Bold prediction from the middle linebacker spot, I know, but I think he'll show us a lot this year. I also think we REALLY need Jason Worilds to come back strong and healthy for the start of the season. That guy is our best chance at producing sacks by a longshot, although I'm really hoping our improved defensive tackles will help out in that area as well.
That's all I've got. Summer is fast-approaching and I can't wait to get out there and play some sand volleyball (I refuse to call it "beach volleyball" when there isn't a beach within miles of here). Now don't worry, I don't have any plans to go all Top Gun on you guys with no shirt, jeans, and homo-erotic action sequences, but you can guarantee that I'll be spiking just like tiny Tom Cruise and his hidden trampolines. I may even blast some Kenny Loggins for good measure. Believe that.
No comments:
Post a Comment