Injury Update

Guard Davis Wang was wearing a green jersey in today’s practice, meaning that he is not participating in contact drills. Wang is dealing with an ankle sprain he suffered in Monday’s scrimmage. Runningback Tony Gregory is taking it easy and not participating in spring practices at the moment after sustaining bruised ribs from an earlier practice. 

Other players limited in today’s practice were tight end Zack McCray(concussion)  and defensive end Tyrel Wilson (foot). Each player was in the blue jersey.

Notes & Audio

Defensive line coach Charlie Wiles was concerned about the depth at defensive line, mainly at defensive tackle, heading into the spring. Three weeks into the spring, his attitude has not changed.

“We just don’t have the depth,” Wiles said. “We’ve got some bodies but if we’re playing tomorrow we’d have to make a move or get an end in there.

“We’ve got two that can play right now at a championship level and we’ve got to get to five.”

Wiles also said that Kris Harley has all but been demoted from the second-string defensive tackle spots in favor of Woody Barron and Nigel Williams.

As for Dadi Nicolas, Wiles said that he will be getting action opposite of James Gayle on the first string defensive line. Wiles also said that J.R. Collins, who struggled to see consistent action after starting 14 games in 2010, has turned a corner in terms of his discipline off the field and it is showing on the field.

Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes is also not necessarily happy with the progression of his line, especially when it comes to toughness and their performance Monday. But he is far from panicking and is keeping competition open probably through August. Grimes is also experimenting with players at different places on the line, including Andrew Miller who is seeing time at guard this spring. In addition, Jonathan McLaughlin is seeing time with the first team offense now and Grimes said he is very impressed with the freshman and how he “doesn’t flinch” when put on the first team.

For full audio from Wiles and Grimes, in addition to an update on the wide receivers from Aaron Moorehead, why redshirt freshman Deon Clarke was called “Chubby Backer” last year, and why hockey was never a part of Canadian Joshua Stanford’s athletic career, copy and paste this link: https://soundcloud.com/wuvt_football/sets/spring-practice-04-10

Injury Update

There are no new injury updates from last week, so it’s on to other matters.

Notes & Audio

The coaching staff’s focus on toughness continued this week as expected with the recent addition of offensive coaches Scot Loeffler, Aaron Moorehead and Jeff Grimes. Everywhere you turn on the Virginia Tech offense, toughness and mental fortitude is being preached and its importance is being stressed.

“It’s always been part of the program here and the more you emphasize it, the more you get what you want, and I think the kids want to be that way too,” said head coach Frank Beamer.

As he said last week, Beamer reiterated “coaching who you are” and likes what he’s seen from new offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler. The head coach noted Loeffler’s addition of excitement and emotion that he’s brought to practice, which in turn has fostered a faster pace that’s more upbeat.

The relationship between Loeffler and senior quarterback Logan Thomas has also been in many conversations. Beamer went on to say the two’s relationship has been good as anticipated and is one that carries mutual respect. Respect and understanding are essential this offseason if Loeffler and Thomas hope to experience significant success this fall.

No one is forgetting about improvement though, with much of it needed in many spots on this Virginia Tech squad. Coach Loeffler has already noticed Thomas stepping into and owning his role as a leader on this team. As one of the veterans of this football team, Thomas must perform like one and Loeffler’s prepared to have him playing as both a leader and a veteran starting this spring.

“The plan is to try to get him as sound in technique as we possibly can, get him to know the offense inside and out and to get him in the best shape of his life so when he walks in this fall, he’ll be a leader.”

Loeffler’s expectations for Thomas are high, as are those with the fans and media. Many expect the Hokie defense to be better than last year and absent of the slow start Hokie fans witnessed in the first half of the season.

Fortunately for defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, he has more bodies to throw at the defense this coming season especially in the secondary. But on the other hand, starting cornerback and returning All-ACC Second Team member Antone Exum is injured for the offseason with a torn ACL. No time to mourn over Exum though.

“Hopefully we’ll get Antone back in time for the first game, but right now you got to develop the guys that are there,” Gray expressed.

Donovan Riley, Donaldven Manning, Brandon Facyson and Davion Tookes are among those guys. Gray said he’s liked what he’s seen from Riley and is excited about his potential but needs Facyson and Tookes to step up as well and take advantage of their reps. Gray also offered that with the year of experience Riley and Manning enjoy, they need to be ready for plenty more snaps and he expects them to be better physically and mentally when called on this season.

For full audio from Wednesday’s media session, visit: https://soundcloud.com/wuvt_football/sets/spring-practice-04-03

Injury Update

As expected, wide receiver DJ Coles did not participate much, if at all, in today’s practice in addition to center Andrew Miller, who is recovering from ankle surgery. Coles, who is coming off of knee surgery, was also battling an illness according to head coach Frank Beamer. Both players will be limited the entire spring and it’s likely that their first practice reps in full gear will come during August.

Meanwhile, according to runningbacks coach Shane Beamer, numerous members of the Hokies squad are probably suffering from sore stomachs and burning esophagi due to vomiting on the practice field. With that image in mind, it is a good segway into our first note of the night.

Notes and Audio

It was expressed in many different ways, but Frank Beamer was not kidding when he told reporters in Monday’s teleconference that practices would be tough. The new coaches made their presence known on the practice field to both the players and the returning members of the staff.

“[The staff] met up this morning and talked about it, but I think you coach who you are, but whatever it is you’re that way everyday. ” Frank Beamer said. “That’s who they are and I’m pleased with the way it went.”

“Jeff [Grimes], Scot [Loeffler] and Aaron [Moorehead] don’t sugarcoat things, they’ll tell you what they’re feeling, players coaches both,” Shane Beamer said. “And that’s good, we need that on offense. I’ve really been impressed with their knowledge, mentality, demeanor, everything. It’s been great so far.

“I’ve talked to some buddies of mine that worked with [Scot and Jeff] at Auburn and they told me that they’re like Jekyll and Hyde on and off the field. The Scot you’ve seen at the press conference is not the guy I’ve seen in meetings or 6:00 a.m. workouts. He’s not a maniac losing his mind, he’s very under control. But he brings an intensity and a sense of urgency to everything. At practice tonight there certainly were some tight rear ends amongst the players and the coaches a little too because he’ll let you know how he feels. And that’s good, we need that.”

Through it all, the head coach is pleased with how today went, so much so that he called it ideal.

“We need 14 more just like it,” Beamer said. “Great effort, great enthusiasm, it had a sense of urgency. Sometimes on the first day, particularly when you are calling things differently and you’ve got some new stuff, everybody’s going everywhere and you can’t figure it out. But I thought it was good from an operation standpoint and being efficient.”

As far as the runningbacks and wide receivers, two positions on offense that are looking to establish a pecking order over the next few months, both Shane Beamer and Moorehead expressed that there is a complete open competition at those positions. Beamer said that he regrets how he handled the runningback rotation last season and is really looking to find set roles for his backfield heading into 2013. As for Moorehead, he is still feeling out the group he has and admitted that he has a challenge because of all the inexperience and rawness the position has below Coles. But Moorehead did say he liked the intangibles of the group and was high on the potential of Demitri Knowles and Joel Caleb.

For full audio from Frank and Shane Beamer, Moorehead, J.C. Coleman and Trey Edmunds, follow this link: https://soundcloud.com/wuvt_football/sets/spring-practice-03-27

For the first time in nine games, the Virginia Tech men’s basketball is victorious.

The Hokies (12-15, 3-11) took down the Florida State Seminoles (14-13, 6-8) tonight, 80-70.

“That was a great team win tonight, we had a lot of guys step up,” Head Coach James Johnson said after the game. “To get a win, it’s definitely a relief. It tells a lot about this team, and tonight, it wasn’t easy.”

The Hokies came out with a noticeably different energy in the first half, compared to previous games.

One of the biggest sparks came from forward C.J. Barksdale, who finished the game with a career-high 17 points and 9 rebounds.

“He’s just feeling more comfortable,” Johnson said about Barksdale’s performance. “Going to the offensive glass, he’s shooting his 15-footer when the opportunity presents itself… he’s just getting a little more acclimated to moving and getting himself involved in the offense.”

The contributions from his teammates became apparent to Erick Green in the second half, when his supporting cast accounted for 37 points to go along with his 15 points in the half.

“Once I saw [Robert Brown] come and hit the floater, Marshall [Wood] hit the 3, C.J. playing well, I was like ‘I could facilitate here,’” Green said. “It feels great when the ball goes in.”

Green, the nation’s leading scorer, finished the game with a game-high 26 points, didn’t need to get on track until late. Instead, he found open teammates throughout the game, and worked of his teammates’ successes.

“I wanted to get them more involved, I wanted to find them and get their confidence going,” Green said about his distribution. “I got a great team. I love these guys, and they… really started coming along here.”

Though he accounted for 7 straight points for the Hokies to put his team up by 9 points with 6:19 left in the game, it was the first time in a while that Green’s scoring wasn’t the only reason the team was competitive.

When the final media timeout stopped play with 3:52 left in the game, Coach Johnson huddled his players on the court, knowing that their 9 point lead needed to be secured.

“I just told them ‘guys we’ve been here before, we’ve been here before,’” said Coach Johnson. “We’ve talked about finishing all the time, we can’t talk about it, we gotta do it. And everybody needs to make the plays.”

Miami began to intentionally foul the Hokies after their next possession, but the Hokies responded, hitting 18 of 20 attempts (90.0%) from the line in the last 2:37 of the game, including 8 from C.J. Barksdale.

The victory marks the first time since December 10 (Mississippi Valley State) that the Hokies have sealed a victory after leading at half time, and the first time since January 12 (Georgia Tech) that three players scored in double-figures en route to a victory.