Virginia
Tech Hokies
Preview 2009
By
Richard Cirminiello
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about Virginia Tech football?
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us know
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2009 CFN Virginia
Tech Preview
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2009 Virginia Tech
Offense
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2009 Virginia Tech
Defense
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2009 Virginia Tech
Depth Chart
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2008 VT Preview
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2007 VT Preview
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2006 VT Preview
Head coach: Frank Beamer
23rd year: 177-89-2
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 17, Def. 20, ST 3
Lettermen Lost: 16 |
Ten
Best VT Players
1. DE Jason Worilds, Jr.
2. RB Darren
Evans, Soph.*
3. OG Sergio Render, Sr.
4. CB Stephan
Virgil, Sr.
5. QB Tyrod Taylor, Jr.
6. FS Kam
Chancellor, Sr.
7. LB Cody Grimm, Sr.
8. LT Ed Wang, Sr.
9. DT Cordarrow Thompson, Sr.
10. TE Greg Boone, Sr.
*Evans is out for the year with a torn ACL. |
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2009
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
10-2
2009 Schedule: 0-0
9/5 Alabama (Atlanta)
9/12 Marshall
9/19 Nebraska
9/26 Miami
10/3 at Duke
10/10 Boston College
10/17 at Georgia Tech
10/24 OPEN DATE
10/29 North Carolina
11/5 at East Carolina
11/14 at Maryland
11/21 NC State
11/28
at Virginia |
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2008
Schedule
CFN
Prediction: 9-3
2008 Schedule: 10-4
8/30
East Carolina
L 27-22
9/6 Furman W 24-7
9/13 Georgia Tech W
20-17
9/20 at N. Carolina W 20-17
9/27 at Nebraska W 35-30
10/4 West Kentucky
W 27-13
10/11 OPEN DATE
10/18 at Boston Coll L 28-23
10/25 at Florida State
L 30-20
11/1 OPEN DATE
11/6 Maryland W 23-13
11/13 at Miami L 16-14
11/ 22 Duke W 14-3
11/29 Virginia W 17-14
12/6 ACC Championship
Boston College W 30-12
Orange Bowl
1/1 Cincinnati W 20-6 |
So what do you give the ACC team that has
everything? How about a crack at a national
championship?
Now that Virginia Tech has won three of the last
five league titles, including the last two, it’s
thinking bigger in 2009. Much bigger. And why not?
By all accounts, 2008 was supposed to be a
rebuilding year by Hokie standards. The starting
lineup had been pillaged by graduation and the
season began with a humbling loss to East Carolina
of Conference USA. Yet, by the time all the leaves
were off the trees, Tech was back in a familiar
place, pounding Boston College in the ACC
championship game and beating Cincinnati in the
Orange Bowl. This year’s veteran-laden squad figures
to be better, which might explain why there was a
record crowd of 41,000 at the spring game.
No doubt, there’s offseason tinkering to be done,
but the rest of the league would love to have
Virginia Tech’s problems. The defense has all the
necessary parts to match last year’s top 10 finish
in total D and scoring D. The running game has
1,000-yard rusher Darren Evans and Ryan Williams, an
early candidate for newcomer of the year. The
passing game? Now that’s touching a nerve in
Blacksburg.
The Hokies sport a conservative offense and have
already proven that a prolific passing game is not a
prerequisite for winning 10 games. However, Tech
wants more in 2009 than just another Orange Bowl
trip, and it knows that a viable passing attack
improves its chances. Enter Tyrod Taylor, a winning
quarterback and a dangerous quarterback, but not a
reliable passing quarterback. He’ll be looking to
actually earn the
dual in
dual-threat by giving defenses a reason to respect
his arm as well as his legs.
If Frank Beamer was shrewd, he’d hire Tommy Bowden
to speak to his kids in August. Bowden knows a
little something about the fleeting nature of lofty
expectations. His Clemson team started the 2008
season ranked No. 9, but ended it with a new man on
the sidelines. Virginia Tech doesn’t want to be
Clemson in 2009. It’s hoping to remain in the
national hunt long after the opener with Alabama,
carrying the ACC flag on its journey.
What to watch for on offense:
The young skill position players. It’s been years
since the Hokies had so many budding stars at
running back and wide receivers. It’ll be up to QB
Tyrod Taylor to make the most of them, and the
beleaguered offensive line to spring them. While
Darren Evans is already a 1,000-yard rusher, Ryan
Williams is a dynamo, who’ll be hard to keep off the
field. At receiver, Danny Coale led the team in
receptions a year ago, and Jarrett Boykin was the
most dangerous pass-catcher as the season wound
down. The one thing that links all of these Hokies?
They’re all underclassmen, with yet-to-be-tapped
potential.
What to watch for on defense: Same old, same
old. Year after year, Virginia Tech has been one of
the most consistent, dependable defenses in the
country. Expect to see a rerun in 2009. Sure, there
are holes that need to be plugged, but nothing so
egregious that the Hokies won’t have one of the
nation’s dozen or so stingiest defenses for a third
straight season. This time last year, the interior
of the defensive line was the biggest question mark.
Today, it has no holes, featuring borderline
all-stars Cordarrow Thompson and John Graves, and
valuable backups Demetrius Taylor and Antoine Hopkins.
This team will be far better if … the offensive
line plays a full season. Yeah, the passing attack
has been feeble, but the line has been undisputed
weak link of the program for the last two years. The
unit has underachieved on a consistent basis,
especially at protecting the pocket. It’s incumbent
upon the starting five to create space for a vastly
improved set of backs and receivers. Ed Wang, in
particular, needs to finally deliver a next-level
season as the left tackle.
The Schedule:
The defending ACC champions will know exactly where they
stand in the college football pecking order after day one with a battle
against Alabama in Atlanta. September games against Nebraska and Miami
(along with Marshall) will make for an interesting start to the season.
Getting a rematch of the last two ACC title games against Boston College
will make for an interesting October, with games against Georgia Tech
and North Carolina which will likely determine whether or not the Hokies
will get to a third straight championship game. November eases up a bit,
even with three road games in the final four weeks, with trips to East
Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia wrapped around a home game against NC
State.
Best Offensive Player: Sophomore RB Darren
Evans ... next year. After Branden Ore was kicked
out of the program, Tech was forced to hold auditions for the feature
back opening. Evans answered the call in his first season of activity,
rushing for 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns. A tough inside runner at 6-0
and 213 pounds, he can also bounce outside to pick up more yards, and
has the soft hands to be a viable outlet in the passing game. With just
one year of experience, he still has a full career ahead of him.
Unfortunately, he tore his ACL and is out for the season (making guard
Sergio Render the team's best offensive player), but it happened early
enough that he'll have a full year to recover.
Best Defensive Player: Junior DE Jason
Worilds. While it was common knowledge around the
program that Worilds was a great athlete, he didn’t
become a great pass rusher until last fall. In his
debut as a full-timer, he broke through with 62
tackles, and team-highs with 18.5 tackles for loss,
eight sacks, and 21 pressures. He’s a blur coming
off the edge, flashing suddenness off the snap and
uncommon speed for a 6-2, 240-pounder.
Key player to a successful season:
Junior QB Tyrod Taylor. Can the Hokies win the
league if he remains a one-dimensional player? Well,
they’ve already answered that question. However,
Virginia Tech has loftier goals than the last two
seasons, which include remaining in the hunt for a
national title throughout the year. To do that,
it’ll need Taylor to be more than just a running
threat, progressing as a thrower in order to get
young receivers Jarrett Boykin, Danny Coale, and
Dyrell Roberts more involved with the offense.
The season will be a success if ...
the Hokies win a third straight ACC championship.
It’s certainly there for the taking, especially
after they took the crown in 2008 with so many
question marks on both sides of the ball. Tech will
be the league’s highest ranked team in the preseason
polls and a heavy favorite to three-peat. There’s
only one truly daunting league road game, an Oct. 17
return to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech.
Key game:
Sept. 5 vs. Alabama. Having already
conquered the ACC in back-to-back years, the Hokies
have their sights fixed on a bigger prize in 2009—a
shot at a national championship. To get there,
they’ll need to survive this doozy in Atlanta in the
Chick-fil-A College Kickoff. If they can’t get past
the Tide, it’ll be shades of Clemson all over again
and a crushing blow to both Tech and the ACC.
2008
Fun Stats:
- Sacks:
Opponents 42 for 224 yards - Virginia Tech 35 for 270 yards
- Time of
possession: Virginia Tech 33:00 - Opponents 27:00
- Interception
return average: Virginia Tech 16.8 yards - Opponents 6.3 yards
-
2009 CFN Virginia
Tech Preview
|
2009 Virginia Tech
Offense
-
2009 Virginia Tech
Defense
|
2009 Virginia Tech
Depth Chart
-
2008 VT Preview
|
2007 VT Preview
|
2006 VT Preview