Attrition is a real real problem, when you look back at it:

[hunzworth]

@ VTfoozball:

What do you like about Virginia Tech?

Please respond with what you like or what connection you have with VT, not with more reasons you are upset with the football players, recruits, coaches, etc.

thanks.

 

[VTfoozball]

@ VTfoozball:

What do you like about Virginia Tech?

Please respond with what you like or what connection you have with VT, not with more reasons you are upset with the football players, recruits, coaches, etc.

thanks.

Uhhh is there a whole lot to like right now? I saw a season like this coming. Most of you must have your head in the sand. When VT was winning 10 games the ugly way and getting mud stomped in big games, I saw the problems

 

[VTfoozball]

Hey defend the current coaches all you want though if you like what you see. There are 3 bad hires on the offensive side - Newsome, O'Cain and Stinespring as OC. I've disliked them almost from the beginning but you are probably one of those fans that backs every Beamer move

 

[VTfoozball]

Beamer knows defense and I think he knew special teams at one time. He does not know offense

 

[Sleepy T]

Noone is backing all of the current coaches. If you have read the posts here you should know that most (albeit not really expecting it) of us would like to see some change. We would love to have a team full of Us Army/UA All-Americans..but this team never has, and probably never will. Outside of a year here and a year there, this team will not contend for the MNC. Don't you realize that there have only been a handful of teams since the BCS got started that has played in multiple MNC games. Eight to be exact.

BCS National Championship Game - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This program is not..and will never be on the same level year in and year out as Alabama, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio St., etc. The best we typically can hope for is to go 10-2, 11-1, maybe undefeated once every 5-10 years, get into the playoff and then all bets are off..we have a chance. The sooner you temper your expectations and thinking that a wholesale change of the coaching situation and number of 5-star recruits will put us in the same category of these teams ^^^ in the next 20 years..the better you will sleep at night.

 

[amszete]

I love ya Sparks - you are one of the more senior people here so no disrespect to you sir. But...

maybe it's me - but I DO see us having the potential to be an elite team year in and year out. I think living in one of the most amazing recruiting beds can help serve this purpose. Not long ago on 247 Sports, VA (Hampton area was really called out) was recognized as being in the Top 5 recruiting areas in the country. There is no reason we can't capitalize on that. We just a detail oriented staff of coordinators that can ensure we obtain the Top 10 recruiting classes in the country (trending this way) as well as develop players on both sides of the call to maximize their full potential as 4 stars on the field.

Every storied football program such as Alabama or Texas has started from somewhere. I don't see why we can't continue build on our own legacy and become an elite power over time. It's the whole idea of the unknown and what CAN happen makes Hokie football exciting. Tempering expectations makes me feel like I should go drink a Zima with a Hoo because we have nothing forward to look into and maybe another sport may provide a warm fuzzy.

 

[sparko]

I agree to an extent but it takes decades to become that kind of power. We have stiffer competition on this end of the country for these great recruits. Fortunately for the likes of Oregon and USC, they're the only great thing going on the west coast. I do agree with the right combination of adapting and coaching, that our recruiting/performance would get better and in turn, make us a very strong program in the long run. Do I think any of this will happen with Beamer at the helm?? Doubt it because I don't think that he'll make the necessary changes. And I'm fine with that. He's earned the right to go out on his own terms and I don't think he's going to string it out, when that time comes (like Bowden did).

First things first: get someone in the box with a good offensive mind and let him handle the offense. Stiney isn't that guy ... never has been. He's managed to chalk up some decent offensive seasons, but only when everything panned out and his playmakers (all of them) showed up. Most seasons our offense is in the bottom half of FBS and we still win the ACC (what does that say??). If they want to keep him as a position coach or recruiter until Beamer goes, fine ... but there are too many hungry, young, talented guys out there that would show him up as an OC

 

[Sleepy T]

Every storied football program such as Alabama or Texas has started from somewhere. I don't see why we can't continue build on our own legacy and become an elite power over time. It's the whole idea of the unknown and what CAN happen makes Hokie football exciting. Tempering expectations makes me feel like I should go drink a Zima with a Hoo because we have nothing forward to look into and maybe another sport may provide a warm fuzzy.

All great points Amszete, no offense at all taken. Maybe I came off a little bit grumpy and foozish on that one, but as much as I want this program to take a giant step forward and go from being a Top 25 program to a Top 7-10 program (consistently), I am not sure we are all that close. Could this program be that??? Sure.. Absolutely..and I would love nothing more. But some major changes would have to be made and we would have to start reeling in the talent year in and out to a Top 10 recruiting class kind of clip. To get to that level, we will have to do that beyond the Beamer retirement (whenever that will be). To do that nearly all of the top tier talent in VA must stay at home and go to VT. I understand we probably can't get every one (and VT has gotten their fair share, and that is great)..but we need to get more.

Guys like EJ Manuel, Percy Harvin, Chris Long, Jerod Mayo, Vic Hall, Justin Hunter, Bobby Massie, Morgan Moses, Quinton Spain, (I could go on) are all game changers. Nicholson, Grant, Hughes, Turner (all from 2011 class) probably will be pro prospects. Couple these guys with the ones we have already had on roster the last 5 years, and we could go from being a top 15 team to being a top 5 team. Coaching is very important in college football, but not as much as the talent of the players. The teams that are in the Top 5 EVERY year...have both great coaches and players. VT although very good in both areas..are not superior in either. Hence the Top 10-25 program stature..and hey, I am good with that. As you pointed out...we could have been pulling for UVA the last ten years.

Just my take.

 

[hokiegrad]

recruiting has picked up the last couple years. But those guys need to get some experience, and we've got to see whether we can sustain that momentum. And even in these last couple good recruiting years we haven't pulled in top end OL recruits. Not that I would expect us to. We'll have to replace Newsome with someone that has better credibility before that will happen. And even then, VT's geography is not such that I would expect us to pull in a lot of great OLmen until/unless we can establish a much better reputation in that area. This isn't Boston, for instance, where big uglies grow on trees. So there's a road ahead before we are in the top 5-10 on a consistent basis. But we can overachieve. VT has done a lot of that over the years.

 

[Sleepy T]

recruiting has picked up the last couple years. But those guys need to get some experience, and we've got to see whether we can sustain that momentum. And even in these last couple good recruiting years we haven't pulled in top end OL recruits. Not that I would expect us to. We'll have to replace Newsome with someone that has better credibility before that will happen. And even then, VT's geography is not such that I would expect us to pull in a lot of great OLmen until/unless we can establish a much better reputation in that area. This isn't Boston, for instance, where big uglies grow on trees. So there's a road ahead before we are in the top 5-10 on a consistent basis. But we can overachieve. VT has done a lot of that over the years.

Yes, Very much so^^^. VT needs to continue to build depth and get great recruiting class after great recruiting class. Great programs have great individual players...deep. Players that are interchangeable and guys who will have equal amounts of playing time. I think that would halt some of the attrition. Teams should be deep enough to where they have upperclassmen starters and young guys gaining experience and "waiting in the wings" for their golden opportunity. I know you have to put the best players on the field, but there should be enough depth to where it is a pecking order and most underclassmen don't play alot until they are at least sophomores with a couple years in the system (unless they are really special). The teams that go by this philosophy reload every year.

 

[ckhokie]

I agree to an extent but it takes decades to become that kind of power. We have stiffer competition on this end of the country for these great recruits. Fortunately for the likes of Oregon and USC, they're the only great thing going on the west coast. I do agree with the right combination of adapting and coaching, that our recruiting/performance would get better and in turn, make us a very strong program in the long run. Do I think any of this will happen with Beamer at the helm?? Doubt it because I don't think that he'll make the necessary changes. And I'm fine with that. He's earned the right to go out on his own terms and I don't think he's going to string it out, when that time comes (like Bowden did).

First things first: get someone in the box with a good offensive mind and let him handle the offense. Stiney isn't that guy ... never has been. He's managed to chalk up some decent offensive seasons, but only when everything panned out and his playmakers (all of them) showed up. Most seasons our offense is in the bottom half of FBS and we still win the ACC (what does that say??). If they want to keep him as a position coach or recruiter until Beamer goes, fine ... but there are too many hungry, young, talented guys out there that would show him up as an OC

First off, I agree with most of your post, but I think that (bolded) is a fairly big misconception among Hokie fans. The fact that we can have an offense rated in the 80s when we have 4 (maybe even 5) NFL caliber WRs, and an NFL caliber RB is totally inexcusable. Also, I don't put much stock into Steinspring being such a 'great recruiter.' Certainly he has landed a couple guys, but with the talent in VA and the fact that it has been the only real program in the state for the last 8+ years, any blind squirrel should find a nut. Steinspring looks fine as a recruiter because many of our other guys are/were just that bad. Bringing in any new/young/bigtime OC will help recruiting more so than leaving BS on the staff. VT would be perfectly fine without him.

And Newsome can just go to hell.

 

[VTfoozball]

"And Newsome can just go to hell"

That made me laugh. The most important move after the season is to get him completely off the staff. No shuffling around to make him the center coach (lmao) or advisory position for him. As far I can tell he has no value whatsoever. A poor O-line has made Stinespring's job harder so he might not be as horrible as he looks. Still he's not fit to OC a team like VT

 

[sparko]

that's what i was saying ck .. that we have GREAT nfl talent at our QB/RB/WR positions but we're still THAT bad on offense .. says a lot about our offensive coaches and our overall offensive philosophy ... that it sucks in general. We have NFL caliber players in those positions and a (generally) VERY good, if not great defense. That's why we win the ACC (not to mention the ineptness of the rest of the conference). The reason our offense kicked ass last season?? Look at who we had. A 6'6" truck of a QB who eventually exceeded ALL expectations, an NFL RB, two NFL-caliber WRs, and a pretty good oline that we're really missing right now. Sherman does fine with WRs who want to make an effort (Dyrell just seems done with it and Davis will be a wash in the league if he ever even gets a shot). Stiney was a decent oline coach (but you make a valid point about his recruiting -- but I just don't see him getting cut loose).

Newsome on the other hand. What can I say?? He coaches the guards and centers ... I think he'll be gone after this season -- just a feeling.

 

[hokiegrad]

Newsome on the other hand. What can I say?? He coaches the guards and centers ... I think he'll be gone after this season -- just a feeling.

I think so too. And I really, really hope we're right. The more attention I pay to our interior OL, the more I want Newsome gone.

 

[amszete]

Also it is VERY unfortunate that Acree hasn't blossomed to be that OL / DL person we needed who was hungry and could bring the pain. I had high hopes for him and his size and physical stature is just sick......sick.

 

[hokiegrad]

Also it is VERY unfortunate that Acree hasn't blossomed to be that OL / DL person we needed who was hungry and could bring the pain. I had high hopes for him and his size and physical stature is just sick......sick.

hard to get on the field when you suffer a preseason ACL injury. I'm hoping he can come back from that and supply depth/competition at OT next year. I think I heard things were starting to click for him last spring.