Tech Thoughts: what the heck re: Coleton Beck?!?

I DNK he ran the high hurdles?

Virginia Tech football may or may not be luke warm or warming up to the human blur otherwise known as Rb Coleton Beck of Blacksburg high school fame.

This depends upon who(m) you ask and more importantly when you asked them. Nonetheless, why are some so inflexible on this pure burner of a kid? Those of us who have actually balled know that you can’t coach height; the Gift of grab, or speed; and we also know that speed kills. And make no mistake here Hokie fans, this kids 100m time is lethal indeed. Though is that enough to merit a full-ride O&M (football) scholarship offer to stay home and ball in his 24o6o backyard? Read on to find, out…

The Vitals:

  • Jersey #: 32
  • Positions: Rb, Ss
  • Height & Weight: 6’1″ 188 lbs.
  • 40 Yard Dash: 4.29 @VT!
  • Shuttle: 4.21
  • Vertical: 34”
  • Bench: 275 lbs.
  • AAA State Champ’ 100 Meter Dash: 10.41!
  • (now the all-time Virginia H.S. 100m record holder for it)
  • back-to-back 4x100m champion, too!
  • Squat(LBS): 34o lbs.
  • Class of: 2018

His Offers:

Appalachian State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Florida, Coastal Carolina, Delaware State, East Carolina, East Tennessee State, James Madison, Kent State, Kentucky Christian, Liberty, Louisville, Marshall, Massachusetts, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Temple, U-Alabama Birmingham, virginia, Western Michigan, Youngstown State.

non-offers (at least not yet):

Clemson, Marshall, N.C. State, Wake Forest, w.v.u. and someone named… Virginia Tech.

Stats:

  • 2,227 rushing last year (Jr. season),
  • 2,818 total yards.
  • 9.8 yards per carry,
  • long=78 yards.
  • 4o rushing TD’s.
  • (did only amass 82 total yards as a Fr. and Soph. combined)
  • 13 career catches for 92 yards and 1 TD.
  • Only 1 career fumble!
  • 37 yard average on KO returns. Long of 93 yards with 1 TD.
  • 1st team all-state KO return specialist.
  • (does NOT return punts).
  • 18 career tackles and 1 INT over on D.

Breaking of tape:
Cole has a 1970’s ‘esque Chuck Foreman spin-move and runs better than expected for a pure burner in heavily congested traffic. Patient, sets-up blocks well, waits/hesitates for blocking help to arrive. Has a modest to decent jump-cut, it’s not an Allen Iverson ankle-breaker to be fair; although it’s not half-bad and at least he has this move to boot. Beck brings a more than serviceable shoulder-dip and slip moves alike downfield. Coleton runs very well internally with a sensational instantaneous “punch it” burst. He has a LOTTA fast-twitch with epic acceleration and a sixth gear when he needs to kick in the afterburners on rare occasion(s). Has very sporting field-vision and simply avoids a lotta contact with said vision and said burst between the tackles. Had way more scoring internal runs upon breaking tape than sweep style plays. Way more than you’d ever expect for a unanimous speed-merchant Rb who typically fields so many race to the edge calls historically.

Beck does not look to bounce a ton of plays on the spill to the outside as you might expect for a T&F sprinting champion turned football. Therefore, he must be pretty comfortable running inside. He’s not a bulldozer by any means though I did see him deliver his shoulder and break a few tackles Eric Dickerson style when he had too. Has a really nice chin-tuck on the inside when catching contact | like someone has taught him how to field and uppercut in boxing. #32 is a shifty almost darty runner as opposed to truly cutting on a dime and leaving you double-nickles for change ground gainer.

Concerns:
Not a huge kid right-mass wise; that being said, do you really wanna add a lotta right-mass here and risk Ken Oxendine slowing him down? I honestly did not see the “stiffness” or “can’t catch” tags upon breaking tape. And the people who tell you he’s a “single move” Rb are the people who can’t catch a cold, much less pony up and run down this Colt’ from behind. Only other possible knock I had was possible need for a little more agility/footwork type drilling. As he will probably need to synthesize a few actual cuts to survive big time power conference D-1 contact if he wants to play Rb full time in what amounts (currently) to a pure slingshot sprinters T&F physique. Nonetheless, he sure runs A or B-gap between the tackle’s way better than expected and there has gotta be a pious reason for that.

“Meep meep” zip, BANG!

…the skinny…
Sources seem to think Coleton to be an early E.C.U. lean at the moment although the recruiting process will have some say in that as potentially bigger name offers come rolling in; 2018 gridiron seasonal health and Coach God willing.

The O&M caveat however is thus… does coach-Fu’ offer a potentially part-time player? A KO return specialist or a jet-sweep specialist all the same? Some coaches would, like say a true Fb needy full time option based service Academy coach. Some coaches take the best available and depth-chart sort it all out later on like G.M. Tex Schramm always did for the Dallas Cowboys. So there are two mutually exclusive competing zero-sum schools of thought here.

***

Someone knows for a fact that Virginia Tech football has their eye on this Cole kid. The hints, vibes and feelers are that said interest may be beginning to increase or expand.

However, if you ask me -and you did via reading these very words- if you ask me if coach-Fu’ takes may partial player? I’d answer: “more often than not I’d doubt that he would.” However, this kid is so damn Greased Lightening fast; and he can do so much on not only Kick-Off returns –Coleton’s thoroughbred velocity can also give you horizontal stretch max’ to the jet-sweep or quick hitting hitch type patterning on zero-read screening elements to the Fu’fense itself… that to me? This kid would be hard to pass up just for what his Formula-One alacrity can bring in terms of East-West max’ stretch per such lethal speed in the first place; (championship T&F pun fully intended).

And as we saw in 2016, the Fu’fense operates second-half and late game best off of getting a very solid sideline-to-sideline stretch max’ for the first 40+ minutes or so of scrumming. As this Beck kid can actually do more than just vertically rocket a KO return to the house per year for you.

Coach-Fu and Virginia Tech football should do what, here?

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Virginia Tech offer=not, yet.

LETS GO!

Hokies!

bourbonstreet**

 

21 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. I like everything I see about this kid and hope VT offers him a scholarship. I also think he’ll be quite teachable, as well as amenable to working out in the weight room—thereby augmenting his natural gifts and allowing him to become more than just a kick returner.

    1. From what someone has heard -and someone has a good connection here- they 100%; agry.

      b.street

  2. Preferred walk-on? Definitely not the first time that turned into contributing scholarship player.

  3. What’s his level of interest in staying in the ‘burg.?

    Fu loves speed and recruited smaller or skinnier kids than this based on speed so why not? Keep him running 4.3 right at 200 lbs (only 12 to go) and we should be able to something with him.

  4. Fuente has been around this game for a good many years and has yet to offer even with the lightening speed. I think that would lead me to believe that his future is more likely track based as opposed to NFL based for what ever that is worth. I honestly think that is where his gifts and his heart are both based but you can’t blame a kid for trying to expand his opportunities. Offer or not, I am at peace with either decision.

  5. I see another Stephan Curry in this guy. Come on Coach Fu, don’t mess this up.

    1. Ouch.
      LOL, (a little).

      And ouch some mo’, Stranger Things…

      b.street

  6. I’m not sold on Fu’s running game. The passing game looked improved to me but anything is better than Frankenstein O. The RB coach never even played RB so that might mean Fu isn’t as committed to run game. The highlights show the young man can play ball and the track speed confirms that he can run away from any backfield. Offer should go out to keep local folks happy.

    1. RB Coach Shane Beamer barely played college football at all, let alone play RB and I don’t think you could argue that CFB wasn’t committed to running the ball. If you offered kids to make local folks happy, I’m not sure you even build the best team in the state, let alone the ACC (Coastal). He may be worth an offer but not by your arguments.

      1. Shane Beamer was possibly a nepotism hire and Billy Hite stayed on for a couple of years on staff to help Shane learn the position. CFB’s problem was that he generally ran on 1st/2nd and then had the qb pass or scramble for the conversion. CFB was all about defense/special team and forgot about the offense. I would think that the coaches wouldn’t want Blacksburg High School kids following Beck to UVA if he doesn’t get an offer from Tech.

    2. +1!
      As this is one of the more interesting posts on here this year.
      (in a couple of years; Frankly)

      Hmmmmmmm…………I can see why you would say that.

      As I’ve been wondering what kinda (recruiting) tag the Fu’fense is gonna get and therefore have to wear reputation wise.

      As it does strike me as something of a pass-first set.
      Or a less than run heavy commitment set. Put it that way.

      As I’d love to see what he (Fu’) had at Rb @Memphis?
      Did he have a star(s)?

      What workload did that star(s) receive?

      ^there’s your most objectified, answer^

      b.street

      1. You have to have a trigger man that is willing to study tape and work completely within the system before you can reach an objective opinion on that question though. A center that can snap the ball would be helpful as well.

        I really do not think that the cupboard of the offensive line was really full to over flowing for Coach Fuente coming in. He had to piece meal a team together built from the parts recruited by a different staff and designed to run a different system. I think he did remarkably well given the adverse situation.

        That being said, I do not think we will see a single back get 25-30 carries per game in the near future under Fuente. He has said repeatedly that he is more than happy to work within the confines of what the defense allows. If they sell out to stop the run, then he will sling the rock around. If they sell out to stop the pass, I think we will see the tailbacks by committee grind up some yards on the ground. He does not see overly opposed to riding the horse that gets lathered up the quickest though for what that is worth.

  7. Maybe Coach Fu already knows that he wants to go to college away from home….lots of kids have the same mindset, I know I did!

  8. I do think KO return is very important to the game& Beck’s straight line speed is ideal for that,certainly if you put a punter on scholly,this threat is worth having,& anything else brought to the table could be a bonus,but it’s a numbers game &the coaches get to inspect the product up close,after all,this drama is all being played out in Blacksburg.

    1. That’s pretty much where I come out.
      His speed is always a threat.

      Forces any D to scheme/recognize; accordingly.

      b.street

  9. You can’t coach speed. Speed kills. He is definitely worth a spot even it’s just as a special teams stud. With that said I think Coach Fuente is a great coach and I trust in his decision on this and all recruits that he does or doesn’t bring to Blacksburg. He will bring VT to the college football playoffs within the next few years. Count on it.

  10. Offer him, already.

    Now, more importantly, who’s the blonde in the Preakness article pic?

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