Your Furman Virginia Tech football preview is, up!

 #139 R.P.I. Furman @ #21 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

Today’s word of the day is… Paladin

(palədn)
noun, French. (from Latin: for officer)

  1. Any of the twelve peers of Charlemagne’s court, of whom the Count Palatine was the chief.
  2. A knight renowned for heroism and chivalry.
  3. The team nickname, the Paladins, was first used by a Greenville, South Carolina, sportswriter in the 1930s. For many years the name “Paladins” just referred to Furman’s basketball team. Until 1963 the school’s baseball teams were known as the “Hornets” and the football teams as the “Hurricanes”. On September 15 of that year, the student body voted to make “Paladins” the official nickname of all of the university’s intercollegiate athletic teams.
  4. V.Tech is about to get paddled by the Paladins?!?

Furman Head Coach: Clayton David Hendrix: age=56, (1-1,  year; 14-7 overall); has a rep’ for offense, blocking overall; and offensive-lines in particular.
$291,000.oo (plus car, plus performance markers)

Baller Hendrix is a native of Commerce, Ga., where he was a three-sport standout in football, wrestling, and he even dabbled in Olympic sporting a bit, as a pretty fair to middling prep golfer. Baller Hendrix starred as an offensive G on the gridiron, helping Commerce High School to a 13-1 record and 1981 Class 2A state championship. PROPPers!!

Baller Hendrix then came to Furman in 1982 on a football scholarship under head coach Dick Sheridan and over the next four years, including three seasons as a starter under the tutelage of offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell. Baller Hendrix played a strong role in the Paladins posting a 39-10-1 record, winning Southern Conference championships in 1982, ‘83, and ‘85, and in finishing as national runner-up his senior year.

Coach Hendrix then broke in as a Grad.Ass. at his alma of Furman before making his way to NC.State and then back to Furman as an Oline coach. Then Coach Hendrix went and worked-up his disciplinarian ways for a decade worth of tenure at Air Force Academy. So you know he knows option football like a stud. Coach Hendrix has also been a Recruiting Director thrice. That would seem to hint he gets/relates well enough with today’s kids. He has also won basically everywhere he has been… check it out: Furman’s successful 2018 campaign extended Hendrix’s legacy of notable success and consistency, underscored in the fact that in 37 years of collegiate football, spanning his years as a player and as an assistant coach, he has been part of 31 winning teams that have combined to go 296-160-3 (.648). That’s not half bad men when you ain’t exactly running murder’s row or the Lakers or Clemson/’bama which basically run themselves.

Daddy Hendrix and his wife, LeeAnn Hedgpeth ‘90 of Taylors, S.C.,
have two sons, Cal and Mac.

Furman 2018 record: 6 up, 4 down and 6-2 and 1st place in the Southern Conference.

Furman Defense: (starters back=6)

  • 85th in Total D.
  • 73rd vs. the run.
  • 78th vs. the throw.
  • 90th in 1st-down D.
  • 74th in 3rd-down convert% allowed.
  • 31st in Red Zone D.
  • 16th in Qb’s sacked.
  • 51st in Tackles for a Loss (TFL) inflicted.

    base D in 3 main layers off of the LOS:
  • N/A in dLine Havoc. Squirrely looking dLine… it has a Ng/Nt crossover listed with another Dt and a De. Both internal guys operate from old-school 4-point stances with only one guy tipping the Toledo’s >264 lbs. i.e. if we don’t move/dislodge this lot we won’t be moving or dislodging anyone this entire campaign. Younger dLine in the two-deep and as Chris has already told yah; their Ng is 5′8″.
  • N/A in Linebacking Havoc. Spur-Lb, Sr., Jordan Willis is the hombre here. He’s a keeper. Very active sideline-to-sideline baller to be a smaller 6′, 2o9 lb. ex-Safety/Rb turned collegiate Lb. Who would make one helluva a Whip if he could grad’-transfer to us and if Bud Stōut was on 2020 tap. Linebacking is the arrowhead of the Paladins halt-unit. Pretty good 3-way second-layer straight across. Combo’ De/Sam-Lb or “bandit” in the Furman halt-unit nomenclature: Adrian Hope is supposed to be some kinda sacking-wildman… tho’ we need to see this, first.

    Base D: 335 give/take:
  • N/A in Secondary Havoc. The defensive backfield is prolly the next best layer for Furman. S Bryan Okeh (all-Conference), and Cb Travis Blackshear are solid if not unspectacular players. And there is experience in the hind-4 for the Paladins. That said, the Paladin secondary takes risks and plays the ball not the man and tends to get balled for it. Not getting there in time when you break on the ball is code for “bang-bang” plays allowed the ‘rong way. Not to mention really suspect inside leverage on tackling shapes upon breaking-tape. Hind-3 is 50% 5′9″ or less and 50% 170 lbs. or less… you do the maths!
  • D overall:  D is not uber physical and catches blocks -as opposed to shedding them- more often than not. Shallow run-fits dotted their Directional Georgia game-tape. Not a good tackling team downfield… should be some real live Y.A.C. (yards after contact) to net if you mount these Paladins after breaking contain. D definitely honors forward-thinking and lets guys get behind them in a Qb-hurry or run-support northerly fit. Pretty experienced hind-8; even if they tend to play more parts freshmenic or sophomoric. They will take risks… they plum (try) to git after your Qb. And they are pushy-shovey and personal-fouly post-play. (plus: their top-4 2018 tacklers did return; and therefore, more was defensively expected of the Paladin’s this season)
  • ∑ (summary): returning D prodcution=N/A%. This is not a good D, this is not an average D, this is not even a C— quality D. This is a very user-friendly D and we should do rather well to treat it, accordingly.

Defensive letter-grade:

Furman Offense: (returning starters=9)

  • 9th in Total O.
  • 6th in ground O.
  • 4th in aerial O.
  • 4th in 1st-down O.
  • 7th in 3rd down-converts.
  • #1 in Red Zone O!
  • 18th in completion% O.
  • 64th in sacks allowed | 11th in TFL allowed.

    More I-back Pro Qb under C:
  • O overall: Qb: F.c.s. National Freshman of the Week, So.Co. Player of the Week and one #4, 6′4″, 194 lb. r-Fr. Pivot Darren Grainger sure is fun to watch. And you gotta wonder what he’d be on 2 fully healthy good-knees? (As his left one was blown out; may St.Nikhon bless!) As is, this is one plucky, cocksure, Qb1 who loves to play the game. Kinda their version of our DAX taking snaps. An ex-Wr by trade, who (thank Coach Christ) survived a pretty bang-up High School car-crash that left everything (much less football) in final-jeopardy in 2017. 4.59 forty, tho’ seemed quicker or at least more reactive than that on tape to me. Grainger has a 186 Qb-rating, NTTAWWT. He has hit a nifty 68% of his throws for a shiny 5:0 passing ratio with nearly a centennial 100-yards gained on the ground. Nice legit dual-threat hot-potato Qb that makes you wonder what he will be, come 2022 as an r-Sr. starting Qb1? Rb: Wynn, Devin (as he wants to be called), is a 5′12″, 2o3 lb. third-year runner. Who only nabbed 5,106 yards and 62 TD’s in his prep career; virtually 2,500 of which were as a scholastic senior with 34 final-year majors (touchdowns). T&F star; so you know he has the speed to burn and his history of HR hitting as a rusher speaks to this. Wr: Thomas Gordon is the alpha here. Gordo’ is a 6′, 178 lb. darty, jumpy, jukie, jitterbug of a Wideout. Lotta swivels in #89’s hips and he has a history of leaving his feet’s and making circus -esque diving-snags. Not bad work from a 3-time consecutive North Carolina State Champion who was said to be no better than a “return-specialist” coming outta high school. Te1 Jake Walker is basically their Jeff King; ’nuff, said. OLine: Furman is smaller, lowercase on raw burly weight. This ain’t “where’s the beef”. Tho’ they are nimble, agility driven and do a decent job getting a slanting lead-elbow/shoulder out in front and shield-block as opposed to just 220v pwning peeps. All Jr’s, too! Third-year or r-Jr.’s so whatever they 2019 are they should be 2020, more. All go 6′4″ or less, less one guy; and three guys are 283 or less in poundage. That said, 5 different guys with starting experience did return and they have combined for 86 career starts thus far. So, experience/playbook literacy should be good-to-go. (although 80% of the oLine2 are t-freshmen! Ergo, the Paladin starters gotta play a long day vs. V.Tech this weekend; and that back-up 80 % are small— still high school prom sized). Even if this prolly is the So.Con. alpha starting o-Line.

    2 Wingbacks Flexbone type Option-O look:
  • ∑ (summary): returning O prodcution=% (N/A for D-1aa). In jus’ eight Q’s of play, the Paladins have four rushes north of 43 yards with four snags >29 yards to boot. So, this team will hit for power both on the ground and through the airwaves alike. Lotta misdirecting 1st-jab steps play here, so we gotta mind the backside store. Including in their double-screen game. LOVED the old-school “(toss) sweep style play”. With different versions of Option-this, pitch/keep-that. With Grainger possibly putting a true Flex (i.e. the passing element) in their modified Flexbone O. Oline tries to block downhill, tho’ more so off of jab-steps and quality footworks as opposed to plain ole Spartacus burly size. This O’s give a Foxtrot is broken; this is a wild-n-wooly lot. Thick ass playbook lives here and so does the effusive offensive variety to boot. Offset-I, broken-Veer, and whatnot. With plenty of shifting, motion, movement pre-snap and then play-action off of all of that… V.P.I will have to mind their assignment P’s & Q’s. Did see medium type throw-points and angular works downfield. What with 9 different Rb’s already carrying the mail this young year and 6 of ’em are getting significant touches. To wit, this 2019 Furman O has already broken four that’s (4) team or individual PR’s (personal records) in just eight Q’s of play! Leaving a whole lotta Furman moving offensive parts to mechanically account for; for a single-Gap or spilling/funneling signature Bud Bõck defensive set.
  • 57% run:pass 43% mix.

Offensive letter-grade:

Paladins Special Teams: (return)

Furman is an impressive 8th best in Net Punting and so is P Grayson Atkins. Gray’ doubles as the Padalin’s Place-Kicker and leg-game double-dips. The 5′10″, 180 lb. K was All-So.Conf. last year and has not missed an FGA in 371 days if you need him. With 13 straight on the seasonal wrap-around if you are keeping {sic: box} scores at home. With a career-long of 53-yards so far; and a career connect percentage of 80% from ≥50 yards; dang! Mister Atkins is also 1st-string All-Southern Conference Honor Roll for football; classing it up while holding court never sucks. And he initiated the Grayson Atkins Kick It To Cure Campaign that has already raised over $5,000 for pediatric cancer research. With $1 generated from family and friends for every extra point, $3 for every field goal, and $5 for every touchback. May St.Nektarios bless!

  • 34th in Punt Returns | 64th in KO returns.
  • 3rd in punt coverage | and 64th in suicide-squad.
  • Furman has blocked 0 kicks and allowed 1 (back-up) kick to be blocked.
  • Furman has blocked 0 punts and allowed 0 punts to be blocked.

As a Punter, Grayson averages just shy of 44-yards/punt with 42% of his punts pinning peeps inside their very own 20-yard-line and no career blocks either way (P or K). Good dang leg swings live here men.

Special Teams letter-grade: 2 pretty good legs attached to the very same hip make for a high B+++ hipster kicking swagg for the Paladins. And that grade could improve if they find a little more return game kick; or block some of the same.

Unit Rankings:

  1. VT O.
  2. Furman O.
  3. VT D.
  4. Furman D (tho’ it’s really closer to 3a. status).

X-factor(s):

  • motive: All Furman. 25/8. Upsetting mighty Vah.Tech is their Super Bowl, N.b.a. Finals and World Series all rolled into one. And you have to know that they are preaching: “O.d.u. just did it last year… so why can’t we?” Go on and expect the Padalins to be as high as the International Space Station for this one. (big) EDGE=Furman.
  • weather: IF, the New River Valley quenches its parched thirst? That will not aid and abet our aerial attack. It will help shorten the game, and might possibly even favor Furman in the dirt. EDGE=Furman.
  • health/off-field: Furman has a few dings/dents, and V.Tech has about ~400-500% more depending upon which injury report you get. EDGE=Furman.
  • penalties: both teams are way better than average in yellow-laundry. Pretty much awash here. EDGE=push.
  • intangibles: Guess who is ranked dead-last in Turnover Margin? I’ll give you a hint… it ain’t The Paladins. EDGE=Furman.
  • fatigue: N/A. Both teams are ballin’ on their third game in 15 days. EDGE=push.

Beating 22-point underdog Furman @Home during Orange Effect and Military Appreciation Day is all about what?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Padalins' who could hold court @Tech=3'ish, maybe 3.5?
VT‘s odds to win:

the takeaway:

The takeaway here is… #13 F.c.s. ranked Furman won the Southern Conference last year and seeing how they only court three or four senior starters this year… they are prolly your odds-on favorites to guzzle even mo’ So.Co. until 2021 gets there.


That praise and satirical attempt rightfully bestowed… Furman is not the “heavyweight” trap-game or hysteria you see being reported over on TSL.com. They are a good So.Co. club— maybe the best 2019 So.Co. squad. They are a pretty dang good D-1aa football team— quite possibly a playoff-caliber one and it may just take a few points to dismount these Padalin’s from their offensive high-horse. Tho’ defense does not live here and at some point, they won’t win their final basketball on grass F.c.s. pigskin game.

***

As we all know… he who lives by the 3-point shot dies by the 3-point shot and to mix my sporting metaphor? Furman sure tries to drain a lotta long-range 3’s out on the gridiron.

Come People’s Republick of the 3o4 see us!!!

permutations:

  1. Δ1=70% Prolly still a decent shot we suddenly “click” and go off big time here. You might could argue that we are due to balance out the VomiTorium that was @BeeCee. As our beloved Hokies really should Worsham Field superior ballers in ~17 to 18 different spots in this one.
  2. Δ2=~30% Nonetheless, who is to say our D is suddenly right with the tackling and (correct) gap-filing world? Furman is likely to get a few points and if they catch a few breaks they too could make this a single-play game (same as O.d.u. did) early in the 4Q. (hopefully, before wearing down and physically fading out, late)
  3. Δ3=≤.oo7% Or a Daniel Craig “old dog, old tricks” Miami of Ohio, Temple or J.m.u. kinda day happens. Stranger Things have… don’t believe me? Just ask Netflix.
the optics
This is a small football team. Don't give away your size edge and fight small!

the skinny

Forum Guide:

  • closed for October head-to-head in-conference round-robin repairs.

Splits:

  • VT is out-rushing Furman by 14 yards/game and yet being outrushed by 186% per carry?!?
  • VT is out-passing Furman by 100 & change yards/game and yet by only about 12′ per catch?
  • However, over on D Furman is better in Total D by ~95 ypg, and a by over 80 ypg on the ground. Hmmmmmmm…
  • Furman’s D, however, is allowing a virtual sieve-like 78.4% completion metric and that should play right into our throw-game hands. Ry’ on wheat’s favorite Hors d’oeuvre you ask? Wings!

Furman Projected S&P+: 17th.
Furman Projected S&P wins: 8.1 W’s.

Furman‘s odds to cover:

the call...
Don’t die of shock if 900 yards of total combined offense is turned out here. Maybe even an outside shot at 1K yards of total combined offense if Bud Lytē is back on tap.

oOo

Virginia Tech has won 25 straight contests when holding opponents to 21 points or fewer dating to 2015. Nevertheless, and that seemingly potentially pertinent factoid aside… I also would not die of shock if Furman inches northward on Ace-10 or “twenty-one” in Greenbrier Casino blackjack table terms. I mean it’s not like this is a good defense. It is a formerly dirty, smell, ugly 2019 defense trying hard to be 2019 average or less catty by-the-bye.

Fu’rther, it’s not like we’ve busted 31 hardly at all… in point of fact, we’ve busted it just once -vs. a totally tanked like Shamu Marshall squad- in the last 350 days of regulation 60-minute play. Per se, who am I to say that 31-21 is not R.A.T.T. in, play?

12noon tip!

And here you thought Eye was gonna pick a close one?

As the Padalin’s tack one on late to narrow the final margin and “grumble” and “groan” a collectively hard to maintenance O&M fanbase all the mo’.

Now, let us hope that these Paladin-Charlemagne’s really are proven charlatans in the end.

(i.e. no matter how offensive they may be to begin;
we can at least sagaciously outscore Furman,
and you kind readers may… Count, on that)

upset Index=19%

#wimps!

Virginia Tech=41, Furman=27

LETS GO!

HOKIES!

bourbonstreet**

 

 

NEVER Forget!!!

12 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Fu and Corny , will they learn anything or just be another day of bad Play calling. OL l know needs these pansies..

    1. Eye (mostly) agry with Eric… they went Beamerball and “simplified things” for Ry’s
      R.P.O.’s last time and it did help a bit.

      So that’s not a negative step…

      b.street

      1. And does he sit King @Miami or @N.Dame?

        (i.e. not much of a risk sitting your R in your RPO vs. O.d.u.)

        b.street

  2. I *assume* furmans QB has little to no experience reading the bud mix/match/hide coverage combinations. Our guys get a couple picks.? after that he holds it a bit longer, and the sack total goes up.

    On O, looks like a size advantage everywhere. Play jump ball. O/U passing yardage 375.

    These guys were tough back in 2008. We had around 330 total yards on O.

    Just win. And please no injuries

    1. Good Ginkgo on 2008. 11 years impressed—->b.street

      B.P.’s article seems to think their version of Trip-Option(s)
      will veer in a good direction for them. And with a D that lacks
      Gap-integrity vs. far more normalized O’s? Who am Eye to, disagry?

      b.street

  3. We play the French twice this year? As a Huguenot, I’m hoping we roll les Paladins into a crepe.
    So, the RB is 5’12”? Our QB is 4’28”.

    This is a for-pay scrimmage. For better or worse, that means lots of subs and various position play by our OLmen. VV likes to move ’em around (ugh). I’m expecting RW and our WR corps to go off on these French. Likewise, look for some ints. Wouldn’t it be cool to see our D score points (again, like the old days)?

  4. You didn’t mention another significant Paladin; the main character of the late 50’s-early 60’s TV series “Have Gun – Will Travel”. Paladin was played by Richard Boone.

    1. Great reset.
      I did not ’cause I could not. Only heard of that…

      neat add-in thought.
      bra-vo!

      b.street

  5. love roberb7 real paladin ref. I am sick to death of the wonders or the RPO fad. A damn QB and line should set in a good pocket and throw the ball, this gimmick crap is not football, and if that’s the future state, I think I’ll stick with Green Acres reruns, at least I can laugh at Hank Kimball and Mr. Haney

    1. +many for “…is the place to be!”

      Hahaha!

      I agry.
      And smaller leaner Spread fighting D’s are ripe for anyone
      to reinvent the heavy-set Power-I narrow splits type of wheel.

      football=cyclic; same as neckties, you keep your playbooks;
      they will always be back in, style.

      b.street

Comments are closed.