#MoreSpringBallRightHere!

Virginia Tech football may be finished as spring practice 2016 went. However, there is at least one more page of individual baller a schematic outtake type notes laying right here in my 1987, 424 Shanks dorm room compressed particle board old-school style clipboard. So maybe I should do something with them; like maybe I should publish them?

Probably should, as someone took the time to run them down and someone really should corresponding take the time to thank their behind the scenes peep’s. As their way ahead of the other publications O&M learning-curve call’s this spring practice were nearly nonpareil. The early Motley rise, the spring long Lawson wane, some nifty net Gaines (if he returns); the emerging Osterloh, the always energetic Sam, the onus on pure pulmonary and cardio elite conditioning way back in January before off-season conditioning had even begun, et alii…

I for one would say: “I’m impressed”, and I for one would like to say: “thank you” to all of them. Nevertheless, we have a bit more ground to cover as odds and Ends go so let us hop right to it.

Someone found it rather illuminating to see the pre-game on-field team psych-up huddle leaders emergence this spring under coach-Fu. Recall last year it was (mostly) Riley who carried a surprisingly pretty fair voice as leadership goes in audible terms. This past spring to a lesser extent it was Andrew Motuapuaka and to a much fuller extent it was Sam Rogers. I realize some of you want -and dearly- for Carson to unseat Motuapuaka as the starting Mike-Lb. However, and I want to memorize this, the kid with the greater physical tools (Carson) gained no real live Mike-Lb depth-chart traction and therefore had no -as in none- depth-chart movement this past spring. And if he (Carson) does not beat Andrew out this August camp; raise your hand if you think coach Foster is going to sit a personal favorite r-senior 3.5 year starter down for Delaware o9.o6.2017? Yah; me neither on that –so it is now or 2018 and a one year stint as the starting Mike-Lb for the guy with the greater physical tools. Take a deep depth chart breath, and let that one sink in, for a moment folks… (p.s. the team seemed to respond very well to Sam here, that is most welcome indeed; as do recall Andrew has worn the: “too quiet” tag from coach Foster for a while)

Interesting to see way more Tb releases on in-line middle seam stretching patterns from the coach Corny O. Before you ask? Before we’d see the Tb -who did not know how to block- stay in and try to block; or simply safety value release out into the flat on rare occasions. This I favor; the last-second safety value release point I mean. However, coach-Fu and company are sending the Tb into the hook-zone drop area vacated by the opposing MLb or inside-linebacking twins. You can get away with this in a quick hitting offensive set that typically only has to pass protect for “one Mississippi” or so. Notice as well that this is a much more clinically aggressive move, because it is technically a move that leaves you -1 in pass-protect and there are some whispers that the back-up Tb McClease kid has the best Tb hands. Although the McMillian or Tb1 kid got more than a few looks here to boot. And if nothing else, at least we are not asking non-blockers who have carried the rock their entire gridiron lifetimes to actually block. As try as we perpetually might, football still ain’t rocket-surgery men. And no red herrings, pink elephants, cow tipping, snipe hunting, wild goose or crocodile tears need be shed for a team that gets too dang cute for its own dang good. (Square peg—–>square hole … “whack!”  Simple as that.)

Curious to see the pretty bulky -for being an ex-Qb- Chris Durkin looking about a good 10 lbs.  svelter; more athletic, better conditioned if you will. Not only is this fitness kick a hallmark of coach-Fu overall, it sure looks good on Chris. As he even looks a good deal leaner in the face. Like he might be a more dynamic performer and more than just an ex-Qb who actually -and oddly enough- likes to smash people. I for one likes that one as well.

Really enjoyed hearing how coach-Fu himself, is actually coaching Behaviorism for a wilder and more emotionally energetic Hokie sidelines in-game. I have heard of stickler coaches who have actually coached/drilled guys on where to stand on the sidelines, or where not to stand and to stay in the sideline player/coach boundary box. Not sure I’ve heard of ever teaching -or even having to teach a team- to be more amped up in-game? I’m all for this, nevertheless; you can see how there is the need for some clinical de-conditioning in a classical Pavlov’s dog’s textbook sense in play here. As the sideline Lane on the whole somehow came to be a bit stale or sanitized in a sense, during the twilight of the former Staff’s years  –and it may take a little while to un-ring that bell, as Lane was not emotionally built in a day. However, I like the clinical vector here or the program trajectory as the pure mental-game goes under coach-Fu; which is very very cognitively refreshing indeed. And this football program needed a sporting breath of fresh, air.

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Wanna say one thing for (now) regarding back-up Mississippi Delta Community College transfer Ot, junior year Demetri Moore… this is one flexible, athletic, nimble, mobile dude. Recall that this upcoming football season, is only his 4th, that’s his fourth season of football in his very own personal game of Life. As he’s only been lacing them up for the gridiron since his varsity senior season in high school! Yes, he did play hoops k-12. Accordingly, you can see that Demetri is a very flexible, nimble, agile guy; and that would appear to cast the shadow of being a really good Coach-Fu offensive spread set fit. I’ll admit it here and now, I was a little disappointed by Dimitri this spring –although pretty impressed by Parker over at right-Ot. In a utopian O&M sporting world, we’d r-shirt Demetri and let his pigskin (lack of) experience curve try to catch up to the rest of his basketball player playing football athletic game. Not sure if coach Vice can afford to do that, although I am sure that is what is best in 2019 terms. I am likewise sure that this kid is a fine pure athlete playing Ot, what I’m no longer sure about is… will we have him at Virginia Tech playing Ot for long enough, for all of that to full manifest itself out on Worsham Field terms? As, as good as Mister Moore is in terms of testing metrics stopwatch abilities, he’s got a ways to go in terms of playability itself. A 4.89 forty says so, and yet so did his 275 lb. bench.

Under the pending (legal) circumstances, don’t wanna hit this one too hard; don’t wanna ignore it, either… as you can see a lot of pure human genome project talent under the hood of the right now out-of-favor Stud-De Gaines kid during the spring game itself. Very Gifted kid in coach God terms as I’d dare say there is something of Dadi/Dooley hybrid blend of more than enough athletics (read: Dadi) and yet a Dadi+ (Dadi plus) hung on a more naturally powerfully sleek higher voltage frame. Sure hope he (and Adonis) gets this mess sorted out. As there is no small Genesis of pigskin talent in play between these two, which would sure hurt as any O&M (potential) talent Exodus would go if these two are really gone. “Time is the greatest critic of them all.” -George Burns- …and time will tell.

Observe the coach-Fu version of the Read Option… a play the former regime ran quite a bit going back to Logan Thomas. Now observe where the literary potion of the read-option programing takes place, or should I say “when” it takes place. As it now takes place almost instantaneously at the moment of the reception of the pass from the center, to the Qb, on a Tb belly hand-off, an End-around almost jet-sweep looking play (and BTW: wild to see little C.J. Carroll getting the End around call here); or on a Qb-keeper in the opposite direction which affords you a very backside oblique east-west defensive stretch. Or in other words, nobody named The Quarterback is taking a couple or several jab-steps to either side before making the final De/OLb read. This is truly bang-bang football and the teaching point here being… there are way more pre-snap alignment reads or what is sometimes called first-tendency reads in play here. And you’d dang well had better be fully grad’ school level literate on the coach-Fu Wechsler Reading Comprehension Scale here, and quickly, if you wanna keep your Qb1 job.

Possibly starting Punter Mitchell Ludwig deserves some mention here, as there are some whispers that hint that the Staff is bringing in at least one more quality (walk-on) Punter to compete for the 4th down change of possession kicking duties in a few weeks time. However, and in lieu of that, I wanna point a couple of Ludwig things out in the meantime. First of all, Mitch’ has added some muscle mass. As this is a much stronger more muscular looking kid this spring than in seasons past; in particular downstairs where the addition of southern hemisphere right-mass in noticeable indeed. And do recall he was already strong enough to kickoff for the former Staff in 2013 and 2014 terms. He was willing enough to do some of the coverage dirty work and amass seven total tackles during that time frame as well. Is he consistent enough as a starting Punter? Of this no one I know of seems to be sure. Hence the added arrival of punting competition this summer; as I got to say, for someone that has enough leg (as a verb), to kickoff; somehow, someway, some of that is missing in translation as punting goes. That being said, Mitchell did average 44 yards per punt on his way to being named 1st-string all-state Kicker (FG’s and KO’s in addition to punting) in scholastic terms. And 44 would get the Atlantic Coast job done smart enough. Just want to see a bit more consistency here and see Ludwig carve one, that’s just one more reliability notch in his O&M punting belt before we liberate the Vols in early September.

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Wanna give a personal shipshape and shaped up after being down right out-of-shape shout-out to starting Center Eric Gallo. A picture may be worth 1K words, although this is way way more than just  a 1K caloric spring time burn. This segue me neatly into this…

I’ll say this for coach Vice, the emphasis on footwork and agility drills designed to inflict the same, is his offensive line’s tactical, and the entire offenses’ overall strategic mythos extraordinaire. As someone has not see this level of nimbility type conditioning drills at Virginia Tech since basically half-past-never. Curt Newsome did a little of this, although nothing like coach Vice. And I’d love to slap a calorie counter on all of this and see just how many joules of energy or Chi is being burned on the Virginia Tech practice circuit today? And then to compare 2016’s caloric burn to every other season at Virginia Tech. Probably have to go back to salt-tablets issued from college football Hall of Fame member and former V.P.I. Gobbler coach Jerry Claiborne –who had a whip cracking conditioning reputation per what he learnt from “bear” Bryant during the borderline terminal conditioning regime that was made into the Junction Boy’s ESPN movie in order to compare… as it is that damn physically demanding down in Blacksburg, Va. these days folks.

Like the Tb esque pantomime emphasis on Wr tackle breaking drills as well. Every yard, every inch, every everything under coach Corny, counts; and is therefore, fought for! As the cliché teaches us, football is indeed a game of inches and with coach-Fu every inch counts. Someone has seen us try to teach Wr’s to block, we’ve even had to try to teach a few of ’em to… catch. However, someone has not seen much -if any- as attempts go at teaching them how to break tackles downfield. I like this style of detailed t’s crossed i’s dotted drilling; a lot! I really really do.

Virginia Tech=leaner, faster, quicker, in better shape!

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

bourbonstreet**

V.A.D.A. approved