Around the ACC: October 26, 2009 October 26, 2009 The Atlantic Division finally showed some signs of life this past week, picking up two big wins against the Coastal. Thanks to one of the upsets, Georgia Tech is now in complete control of the Coastal Division. The Hokies will have to hope for a Yellow Jacket loss if they want to play in the ACC Championship Game. more
Tech Becomes Warren Central OL's First Offer October 26, 2009 Warren Central (Indianapolis, IN) junior offensive tackle Kiaro Holts was one of the more impressive prospects at Virginia Tech's July 11th camp. His performance in Blacksburg paid dividends last Thursday, when the 6-5, 280-pound prospect received an official scholarship offer from Frank Beamer and company. more
Robinson Notes: Laiti Shines Against Westfield October 23, 2009 Robinson (Fairfax, VA) linebacker Brian Laiti turned in a monster 2008 season, racking up 147 tackles including five sacks as a junior. The 6-3 1/2, 205-pound prospect continues to impress and, according to Rams head coach Mark Bendorf, may have turned in his finest performance on the high school level in a 21-20 loss to Westfield on Monday. more
2009 Midseason Review: The Defense October 23, 2009 Bud Foster's defense isn't as highly ranked this year as it generally is. There are reasons for that, and some of it isn't in Virginia Tech's control. The Hokies have been facing much better offensive competition this year than usual. However, there are still some issues with the Tech defense that Coach Foster knows need to be addressed. more
Big-Time Junior LB Continues Success October 22, 2009 Hermitage (Richmond, VA) star Curtis Grant caught the attention of head football coach Patrick Kane as just an eighth grader.
"I saw him playing basketball. He was so much more physically mature than the other guys out there," said the Panthers varsity head coach.
Grant, now a 6-3, 220-pound junior linebacker/tight end, burst onto the varsity football scene late in 2007 and has since developed into one of the most highly recruited players in the state of Virginia’s 2011 class. more
2009 Midseason Review: The Offense October 22, 2009 With seven games in the books and a bye week coming up, this seems like a good week for a midseason review for the offense and the defense. We'll start with the offense, which has been inconsistent, though overall they are much improved from a year ago. The improvement has come at almost every position on the field, and the Hokies are a much more difficult team to defend this year. more
Georgia Tech Game Analysis: Jackets Stay Just out of Hokies' Reach October 21, 2009 This analysis is going to be a little different. Normally, I try to review the offense and defense evenly and mix in a break down of the big plays. I will touch on what was a disappointing first half performance by the VT offense, as well as cover a few of the big plays, but a large portion of this article will focus on Georgia Tech's option offense, how Bud Foster planned to defend it and the sequence of punch/counter punch adjustments that were set in motion in the second half of the game. more
Leal, Atlantic Rebound from Tough Loss October 21, 2009 Senior quarterback Mark Leal and his Atlantic (Delray Beach, FL) teammates were highly confident heading into a match-up against Dwyer High School several weeks ago, only to come away on the losing end of a 47-7 decision. Atlantic has rebounded with two consecutive wins, beginning with a thrilling 47-36 victory over Park Vista on October 9th. more
ACC Tiebreakers: Hokies Need Some Help October 21, 2009 Virginia Tech doesn't look as comfortable in the ACC standings as they did a week ago. They no longer control their own destiny, and they need some help to make the ACC Championship Game. It's simple: The Hokies need Georgia Tech to lose. To anybody. more
Monday Thoughts: Georgia Tech October 20, 2009 In the late hours of Saturday night, I watched the debate on the message boards center around my most despised topic: where to place the blame for the loss. Because it's always got to be someone's fault, right? Finding and identifying the scapegoat for a loss is a critical point in moving on for fans. If you insist on pointing the finger somewhere, to me, there is no one place to point it. This was a team loss. more
2011 Profile: Lake Braddock's Michael Nebrich October 20, 2009 Lake Braddock (Burke, VA) head coach Jim Poythress, whose team is 5-2 so far in 2009, boasts one major college recruit in his senior class in offensive lineman Khamrone Kolb. Kolb, who committed to Penn State on Sunday, may not be the only major college prospect on the roster, however, as Coach Poythress is also high on the talents of junior quarterback Michael Nebrich. more
Chase Williams on Track to Enroll Early October 19, 2009 Loudoun County (Leesburg, VA) linebacker/tight end Chase Williams, one of most highly regarded seniors in the state of Virginia, has helped his team to a 5-1 record so far this season. The 6-3, 240-pound Virginia Tech recruit looks to keep the momentum going tonight versus Dominion. more
Around the ACC: October 19, 2009 October 19, 2009 With Virginia Tech's defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech on Saturday night, there remains just one team in the ACC with no conference losses: Virginia. They sit atop the Coastal Division standings, while Boston College pounded NC State to reassert themselves in the Atlantic Division. Clemson knocked off Wake Forest, and it appears the Eagles and Tigers could battle it out for the Atlantic crown. more
Hokies Fall in Atlanta, Again October 18, 2009 Virginia Tech's defense played great in the first half on Saturday night, but not so great in the second half. The offense struggled early, but turned it on late. Overall, it wasn't enough to overcome a fired up Georgia Tech team, who knocked off the Hokies 28-23. It was Virginia Tech's second loss in Atlanta this season. VT dropped to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC with the loss. GT is now 6-1 overall, and 4-1 in the ACC. more
2011 Class: Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA) October 16, 2009 Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA) head coach Mickey Thompson has yet to send film of his top junior prospects to college coaches, but that is not a reflection on the talent level he feels he has in the class. To the contrary, Coach Thompson believes he potentially could have five college talents coming out of the 2011 class and is in the beginning stages of making up film for those players. more
Keys to the Game and Matchups to Watch: Georgia Tech October 16, 2009 The Hokies return to Atlanta on Saturday for a big divisional game with the erratic Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. At times the Rambling Wreck has looked terrific this season, and at other times Georgia Tech has looked awful. Why have the Yellow Jackets been so inconsistent? Which GT will Virginia Tech likely see this weekend? These are but a few of the questions going into this key game. more
FUMA Notes: Acree Recovering Well October 16, 2009 Despite suffering a season ending knee injury before the start of the regular season, 6-6, 310-pound Nick Acree decided to stay at Fork Union Military Academy to focus on his academics. Fork Union prep coach Micky Sullivan provided the latest on the massive senior, who committed to Tech in June of 2008. more
The Hokies, the ACC and the Heisman October 15, 2009 This Saturday's Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech game is the biggest remaining game in ACC play this season. The Hokies, Yellow Jackets and Miami are considered the biggest threats to win the Coastal Division. They'll all have played each other after this weekend's game, and hopefully we'll have a better idea about how the Coastal will shake out. more
Standout Recruit Enjoys Productive Season October 15, 2009 Bishop Kearney (Rochester, N.Y.) tight end/defensive end Jerome Lewis has turned in an excellent senior season. He racked up 19 tackles including four sacks in last week’s loss to Aquinas. Though the 6-4, 232-pound Lewis was held without a catch last week (for the first time since 2007), he has totaled 16 receptions for 380 yards and four scores in the four other games he has played this season. Kearney is now 5-1 on the year, still with hopes of a state championship. more
Football Game Preview: #4 Virginia Tech at #19 Georgia Tech October 14, 2009 Presented by Kent Square Condominiums: This Saturday's Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech game is huge for the Coastal Division and the ACC. If the Hokies win, they'll have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets and 'Canes. If the Hokies lose, they risk not winning the Coastal this year, as both Georgia Tech and Miami have relatively easy schedules to close the season. This will be the biggest conference game the rest of the season, and an ESPN2 audience will be tuning in at 6pm. more
Young Gets Advice from Taylor October 14, 2009 H.D. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) senior quarterback Ricardo Young figures to be learning from Tyrod Taylor this time next season, but he was able to spend some time with the Hokies standout signal caller while making an official visit to Tech last weekend. more
BC Game Analysis: Near-Perfect Hokies Shred Eagles October 13, 2009 This game was over by the end of the first quarter. It became an embarrassment by the end of the first half. Tech was hitting on all cylinders while Boston College was just trying to hit something ... anything. Frank Spaziani has been doing this coaching thing for a long time, but his team found itself standing flat-footed in front of a runaway Hokie train that played a first half of near-perfect football. The offense was explosive. The defense was suffocating. Visions of Syracuse in 1999 danced through the Lane Stadium crowd. When it was over, the Hokies had buried BC 48-14. And by the time the sun went down, the focus had already turned towards Georgia Tech. more
Star Junior DL Impressed with Tech October 13, 2009 Dinwiddie (VA) star defensive lineman Corey Marshall enjoyed his time in Blacksburg last Saturday, taking in Virginia Tech’s win over Boston College. The 6-1, 255-pound prospect, one of the top juniors in the Commonwealth, left feeling more comfortable with the program he grew up rooting for. more
Monday Thoughts: Boston College October 12, 2009 At the risk of channeling Buddha Rick "Doc" Walker: This is what you want. You want your team peaking, hitting on all cylinders as they reach the halfway point of the season. The Hokies throttled Boston College Saturday in all phases of the game, and it's just in time, as Tech heads to Atlanta this weekend for their latest Most Important Game of the Season. more
Around the ACC: October 12, 2009 October 12, 2009 With another week of ACC football in the books, there are just two teams without a conference loss: Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Hoos are having a good October, as usual, and the Hokies had a dominating performance over a team that is still in the hunt in the Atlantic Division. The ACC has three ranked teams, and they all reside in the Coastal Division. Two of them, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, will play each other this weekend. more
The Atlantic Division finally showed some signs of life this past week, picking up two big wins against the Coastal. Thanks to one of the upsets, Georgia Tech is now in complete control of the Coastal Division. The Hokies will have to hope for a Yellow Jacket loss if they want to play in the ACC Championship Game.
Warren Central (Indianapolis, IN) junior offensive tackle Kiaro Holts was one of the more impressive prospects at Virginia Tech's July 11th camp. His performance in Blacksburg paid dividends last Thursday, when the 6-5, 280-pound prospect received an official scholarship offer from Frank Beamer and company.
Bud Foster's defense isn't as highly ranked this year as it generally is. There are reasons for that, and some of it isn't in Virginia Tech's control. The Hokies have been facing much better offensive competition this year than usual. However, there are still some issues with the Tech defense that Coach Foster knows need to be addressed.
With seven games in the books and a bye week coming up, this seems like a good week for a midseason review for the offense and the defense. We'll start with the offense, which has been inconsistent, though overall they are much improved from a year ago. The improvement has come at almost every position on the field, and the Hokies are a much more difficult team to defend this year.
This analysis is going to be a little different. Normally, I try to review the offense and defense evenly and mix in a break down of the big plays. I will touch on what was a disappointing first half performance by the VT offense, as well as cover a few of the big plays, but a large portion of this article will focus on Georgia Tech's option offense, how Bud Foster planned to defend it and the sequence of punch/counter punch adjustments that were set in motion in the second half of the game.
Senior quarterback Mark Leal and his Atlantic (Delray Beach, FL) teammates were highly confident heading into a match-up against Dwyer High School several weeks ago, only to come away on the losing end of a 47-7 decision. Atlantic has rebounded with two consecutive wins, beginning with a thrilling 47-36 victory over Park Vista on October 9th.
In the late hours of Saturday night, I watched the debate on the message boards center around my most despised topic: where to place the blame for the loss. Because it's always got to be someone's fault, right? Finding and identifying the scapegoat for a loss is a critical point in moving on for fans. If you insist on pointing the finger somewhere, to me, there is no one place to point it. This was a team loss.
Loudoun County (Leesburg, VA) linebacker/tight end Chase Williams, one of most highly regarded seniors in the state of Virginia, has helped his team to a 5-1 record so far this season. The 6-3, 240-pound Virginia Tech recruit looks to keep the momentum going tonight versus Dominion.
Virginia Tech's defense played great in the first half on Saturday night, but not so great in the second half. The offense struggled early, but turned it on late. Overall, it wasn't enough to overcome a fired up Georgia Tech team, who knocked off the Hokies 28-23. It was Virginia Tech's second loss in Atlanta this season. VT dropped to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC with the loss. GT is now 6-1 overall, and 4-1 in the ACC.
The Hokies return to Atlanta on Saturday for a big divisional game with the erratic Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. At times the Rambling Wreck has looked terrific this season, and at other times Georgia Tech has looked awful. Why have the Yellow Jackets been so inconsistent? Which GT will Virginia Tech likely see this weekend? These are but a few of the questions going into this key game.
Despite suffering a season ending knee injury before the start of the regular season, 6-6, 310-pound Nick Acree decided to stay at Fork Union Military Academy to focus on his academics. Fork Union prep coach Micky Sullivan provided the latest on the massive senior, who committed to Tech in June of 2008.
This Saturday's Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech game is the biggest remaining game in ACC play this season. The Hokies, Yellow Jackets and Miami are considered the biggest threats to win the Coastal Division. They'll all have played each other after this weekend's game, and hopefully we'll have a better idea about how the Coastal will shake out.
H.D. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) senior quarterback Ricardo Young figures to be learning from Tyrod Taylor this time next season, but he was able to spend some time with the Hokies standout signal caller while making an official visit to Tech last weekend.
Dinwiddie (VA) star defensive lineman Corey Marshall enjoyed his time in Blacksburg last Saturday, taking in Virginia Tech’s win over Boston College. The 6-1, 255-pound prospect, one of the top juniors in the Commonwealth, left feeling more comfortable with the program he grew up rooting for.
