Going forward into next season

[bigesse16]

He'll be pleased with the DE, but DT is a big concern. Antoine is coming off of ACL surgery and is out the entire spring. Who knows if he'll be effective or even a contributor at this point (look at Battle the last two years). Harley is unknown at this point. The incoming freshman even more so. We have three DT with experience this spring, one who is undersized. Depth is a huge concern and as Wiles said, guys got were gassed by the end of the year. We may be fine in 2013, but right now it'll be another year of question marks at DT.

 

[HokieGhost]

He'll be pleased with the DE, but DT is a big concern. Antoine is coming off of ACL surgery and is out the entire spring. Who knows if he'll be effective or even a contributor at this point (look at Battle the last two years). Harley is unknown at this point.

I've read in more than one place that Wiles has been very pleased with Harley's redshirt year and off-season development. If he does as well as I think he will during Spring ball he should get decent playing time for 2012.

I've also heard that Antoine's ACL rehab is going very well. I don't recall hearing anything positive for either of Battle's ACL rehabs. At the very least, I expect Antoine to be in the DT 2-deep.

Maddy and Marshall were unknowns at the beginning of last year, but for true freshmen I thought they performed very well. Of the three incoming DTs, I think one of Williams or Smith will get playing time. Baron is coming off a leg injury and will definitely need a solid redshirt year.

 

[bigesse16]

My point is that right now DT is still a question mark IMO. Not having Antoine back until the fall is going to hurt his chances of being ready and a contributor. There are bodies, but they are unproven and untested right now outside of 3 guys.

 

[HokieGhost]

My point is that right now DT is still a question mark IMO. Not having Antoine back until the fall is going to hurt his chances of being ready and a contributor. There are bodies, but they are unproven and untested right now outside of 3 guys.

I understood your point...I just have a little different outlook.

As far as Antoine is concerned, I'd rather see the docs take the cautious route and make sure that knee is sound before subjecting him to a lot of contact. He'll have Fall practice to get ready to play, and for a proven veteran, that should be plenty of time.

 

[bigesse16]

I understood your point...I just have a little different outlook.

As far as Antoine is concerned, I'd rather see the docs take the cautious route and make sure that knee is sound before subjecting him to a lot of contact. He'll have Fall practice to get ready to play, and for a proven veteran, that should be plenty of time.

Conditioning will be interesting with him. There will be rust, but like you said, with a veteran, it shouldn't be a problem. His detriment will be if he can play 50 snaps a game by the time the Fall starts. I'd like to see if he is close to game-shape in by the summer.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I would bet we see JR Collins slide inside some more this season as well. He will start at DT for our opening game more than likely and makes for a nice versatile option there.

 

[VTfoozball]

I would bet we see JR Collins slide inside some more this season as well. He will start at DT for our opening game more than likely and makes for a nice versatile option there.

Only if injuries hit again. They ended that experiment last year. Neither party (coaches or Collins) wants that scenario

 

[hunzworth]

I would bet we see JR Collins slide inside some more this season as well. He will start at DT for our opening game more than likely and makes for a nice versatile option there.

Only if injuries hit again. They ended that experiment last year. Neither party (coaches or Collins) wants that scenario

I look for collins to slide in v/s GT, maybe not for any other games but that package was killer against the trip option last year.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I look for collins to slide in v/s GT, maybe not for any other games but that package was killer against the trip option last year.

He did, he excelled and he will again.....

 

[HokieGhost]

I'll be interested in seeing the new heights and weights when they come out, especially those of the linemen. We seemed to be a little light last year at a few positions.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Collins and Marshall both provide SO MUCH versatility, it is fantastic for Wiles. They are stout enough to hold up inside on occasion but quick enough to slide most of the guards and centers in the ACC so the potential to stunt with those guys is really nice.

If you add in Tweedy, Vandyke or McKinnon at Whip and Fuller and Exum or Jarrett (still not convinced here) at corner, imagine the blitz packages we are going to see. Bud will pin the ears back 2/3 of the time from all over the place.....

 

[Camfantasy]

Collins and Marshall both provide SO MUCH versatility, it is fantastic for Wiles. They are stout enough to hold up inside on occasion but quick enough to slide most of the guards and centers in the ACC so the potential to stunt with those guys is really nice.

If you add in Tweedy, Vandyke or McKinnon at Whip and Fuller and Exum or Jarrett (still not convinced here) at corner, imagine the blitz packages we are going to see. Bud will pin the ears back 2/3 of the time from all over the place.....

You can throw Nigel Williams into that same category for the future as Marshall and Collins.... looks like he's cut off the same cloth.

I'm actually starting to come around to the idea of the new secondary look...as long as Jarrett is ready of course. This could be VT's most athletic secondary that i can remember. Seems like Gray really wants Jarrett out there at safety too. He did a decent job at CB last year as a true freshman.... so you have to think Gray has a lot of confidence in him at Safety if he is still going to switch him after the Farrow transfer.

 

[HokieGhost]

I wonder what's going on with FS Theron Norman. He seemed to have a lot of potential early last year but seemed to drop off the radar after he was injured during the Appy State game.

 

[Camfantasy]

I wonder what's going on with FS Theron Norman. He seemed to have a lot of potential early last year but seemed to drop off the radar after he was injured during the Appy State game.

I always heard that he wasn't picking everything up that well from the mental side of things....but that he had started to turn it around before his injury. Idk about after though.

I had high hopes for Ronny Vandyke at FS myself..... always looked like he would make a hell of a safety with his range/size and coverage skills. I know we need to build some depth at whip for the future, but I, personally, always thought his future was going to be at FS.

 

[NickVT10]

Gray Q&A, Part II: Freshmen, backups, building DBU and wanting to coordinate | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

Good read. This is part 2. There is a link to part 1 at the beginning. Interesting tid bit here...
So you’ve got Fuller and Exum at corner, followed by Manning? Who else is there?

“We’ve actually talked about as a staff, he can’t practice in the spring whether he’s offense or defense, but maybe letting Tony Gregory learn a cornerback spot, just to have an experienced and older guy. Now he hasn’t played it, so he doesn’t have experience from that standpoint, but you’re concerned when whoever your next guy is, they’re all true freshmen. So we’re going to kind of let Tony learn the cornerback spot, have him in our meetings and go through spring that way and see if he can give us something once he’s cleared and healthy in the fall.”

 

[VT_Football_Fan]

Andy Bitter reported yesterday that Greg Nosal is dropping football.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Andy Bitter reported yesterday that Greg Nosal is dropping football.

We will always have the story of the missing finger tip.......

 

[VT_Football_Fan]

His size and style of play reminds me of Willenbrock. He will be missed on the OL next season. Not sold at all on Becton.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

His size and style of play reminds me of Willenbrock. He will be missed on the OL next season. Not sold at all on Becton.

Nor am I, both tackle spots concern me next year.

 

[HokieGhost]

Gray Q&A, Part II: Freshmen, backups, building DBU and wanting to coordinate | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

Good read. This is part 2. There is a link to part 1 at the beginning. Interesting tid bit here...
So you’ve got Fuller and Exum at corner, followed by Manning? Who else is there?

“We’ve actually talked about as a staff, he can’t practice in the spring whether he’s offense or defense, but maybe letting Tony Gregory learn a cornerback spot, just to have an experienced and older guy. Now he hasn’t played it, so he doesn’t have experience from that standpoint, but you’re concerned when whoever your next guy is, they’re all true freshmen. So we’re going to kind of let Tony learn the cornerback spot, have him in our meetings and go through spring that way and see if he can give us something once he’s cleared and healthy in the fall.”

I'm sorry, but this makes ZERO sense to me. We've got a RB with two previous ACL injuries and we want to turn him into a CB that requires him to cover receivers downfield as well as coming up to make tackles? Really??

Likewise, I don't think he's going to be able to play RB any longer. If he still has close to the same speed, why not turn him into a full-time WR?

This Spring will be big for Gregory...might require some tough decisions.