|
RB
Branden Ore |
|
|
2006
Statistics |
Coach:
Frank Beamer
156-82-2,
20 years |
2006
Record: 10-3 |
|
NORTHEASTERN |
WON
38-0 |
at
North Carolina |
WON
35-10 |
DUKE |
WON
36-0 |
CINCINNATI |
WON
29-13 |
GEORGIA
TECH |
LOST
27-38 |
at
Boston College |
LOST
3-22 |
SOUTHERN
MISS |
WON
36-6 |
CLEMSON |
WON
24-7 |
at
Miami FL |
WON
17-10 |
KENT
STATE |
WON
23-0 |
at
Wake Forest |
WON
27-6 |
VIRGINIA |
WON
17-0 |
CHICK-FIL-A
BOWL |
Georgia |
LOST
24-31 |
|
2006
Final Rankings
AP-19, Coaches-18, BCS-15
|
2007
Outlook |
Not
much really changes this year for
head coach Frank Beamer, now in his
21st season at the Hokie helm. Most
of the talent on offense remains steady;
only the young, reshuffled line might
require time to gel for Tech to reestablish
the superior running game that usually
defines Beamer’s ball moving
machines. The defense has only a few
spots to fill before it likely returns
to its top form from ’06. Again,
they will be able to carry the offense
if needed. Both kicking jobs turn
over, and Beamer’s superior
special teams have some work to do
if they want to stay that way. Otherwise,
bouncing back from last year’s
bowl loss to a struggling Georgia
offense is all this Tech team needs
to do to keep their momentum going.
The key difference this year is that
the Hokies don’t start with
three or four easy opponents like
they have of late – going to
Baton Rouge in week two means Tech
finally earns its early rankings.
Last year saw Tech, like usual, start
great against some cakewalk opponents
only to then go down hill once the
(tougher part of the) conference slate
hit. Getting his team going for an
early-season showdown with another
elite program will allow Beamer to
kick-start the ‘can do’
attitude in Blacksburg much sooner
than usual. To their favor, three
of their toughest five foes come to
Lane Stadium from late October through
the regular season finale. Tech has
the wares and the schedule to make
a serious run at the BCS and a spot
in the title game, but until the struggles
of both their still-maturing QB and
a developing running game are sorted
out, this will be another year of
coulda-woulda-shoulda in western VA
due to at least one or two poignant
losses.
Special
Note: In the wake of the school’s
tragedy, Virginia Tech canceled its
spring football game to focus on matters
directly pertaining to the situation.
Frank Beamer, who was born and raised
an hour from his alma mater, was direct
but sensitive in the wake of the events.
"What I'd like to see now is
all people, all people associated
with Virginia Tech, come together
and become stronger than ever as a
university, with more caring, loving
and respect for one another than ever
before. And that's what I think we'll
do."
In
times like these, the best step forward
and make something this negative into
a personal learning experience so
all can be stronger for having dealt
with it…and that is what we
expect Beamer and the school to resolve
from a forced situation. When dealing
with life changing situations like
this, shock may affect the immediate
proceedings, but when led by the fortitude
of upstanding men and leaders like
Beamer, the longterm affect is just
what coach said…to become even
more loving and caring toward each
other through a reflection of strength.
We
have no doubt that Beamer and his
staff will lead the school into the
fall with football as its usual compass,
but this time with the cheers of an
entire nation supporting the abundant
humanity that already comes together
to create the ‘lunch pail toting’
Hokies. The upcoming season will hopefully
redefine the greatness of this school’s
legacy through its involved community
and their evident courage, as well
as through its excellence in sports.
Projected
2007 record: 10-2
|
|
VIRGINIA
TECH
*POWER RATINGS |
Offense |
Defense |
QB
- 3 |
DL
- 4 |
RB
- 3.5 |
LB
- 4.5 |
WR
- 4 |
DB
- 4.5 |
OL
- 3.5 |
.. |
|
RETURNING
LEADERS |
Passing:
Sean Glennon, 170-302-11, 2191 yds.,
11 TD
Rushing: Branden Ore, 241 att.,
1137 yds., 16 TD
Receiving: Josh Morgan, 33
rec., 448 yds., 4 TD
Scoring: Branden Ore, 17 TD,
102 pts.
Punting: None
Kicking: None
Tackles: Vince Hall, 128 tot.,
61 solo
Sacks: Chris Ellis, 4.5 sacks
Interceptions: Victor Harris,
4 for 75 yds., 1 TD
Kickoff Returns: Eddie Royal,
19 ret., 22.7 avg., 0 TD
Punt Returns: Eddie Royal,
23 ret., 13.2 avg., 1 TD
|
|
|
LB
Xavier Adibi |
|
|
|
VIRGINIA
TECH
|
|
|
OFFENSE
- 9 |
----RETURNING
STARTERS---- |
DEFENSE
- 8 |
|
KEY
LOSSES |
OFFENSE:
Jesse Allen-FB, David Clowney-WR, Brandon
Frye-OT, Brandon Gore-OG, Danny McGrath-C,
Brandon Pace-K |
DEFENSE:
Noland
Burchette-DE, Brenden Hill-WHIP, Aaron
Rouse-ROV, Cary Wade-ROV, Nic Schmitt-P |
|
|
2007
OFFENSE |
The
maturation of a young line has to equal
a better running attack if coach Beamer
wants to reclaim a spot atop the league.
Beamer Ball needs a steady ground game that
can average more than the 3.2 yards per
try it did in ’06. Hey, junior All-ACC
TB Brandon Ore did his job as the workhorse
– he finished 25th in the nation for
rushing. That means this line, with three
returning starters and reserves ready for
their first starts, has what it takes to
succeed…they just need to make sure
all of Tech’s backs produce like Ore
before the running game can be considered
in full health (ranked an un-Hokie-like
90th). Ryan Shuman moving back to center
means the junior can command the blocking
schemes with his vocal approach, and the
left side sees hard-working tackle Duane
Brown bring his all-conference ability over
here for blindside protection. Huge soph
Nick Marshman will be found on the inside
left after playing tackle due to need there.
Factor in Freshman All-American RG Sergio
Render back in time from knee surgery for
fall and ex-TE Ed Wang at RT, and you will
see why this young group can likely come
together quickly to help in resurrecting
this offense. The main cog, of course, is
junior drop-back QB Sean Glennon, who proved
some worth but will have to play better
if he to avoid getting the hook in favor
of either Cory Holt or this year’s
top dual-threat hurler in Tyrod Taylor.
Taylor looks to be the future here, so we
expect he will see some real game reps,
regardless. Either little speedster Eddie
Royal or senior classmate Josh Morgan will
likely find himself the new ‘go to’
guy. Two huge TEs who are both viable targets
down the deep middle, along with the improved
running results, mean that the entire offense
should be able to rank much better than
their 99th total effort from last campaign.
|
|
WR/KR/PR
Eddie Royal
|
|
|
VIRGINIA
TECH 2007 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters/Key
Players |
OFFENSE |
QB |
Sean
Glennon-Jr (6-3, 215) |
Cory
Holt-Jr (6-4, 216)
Ike Whitaker-So (6-4, 200) |
FB |
Carlton
Weatherford-Sr (5-9, 226) |
Kenny
Jefferson-So (5-10, 230) |
TB |
Branden
Ore-Jr (5-11, 207) |
Kenny
Lewis-So (5-9, 195) |
WR |
Eddie
Royal-Sr (5-10, 174) |
Josh
Hyman-Sr (5-11, 188) |
WR |
Josh
Morgan-Sr (6-1, 210) |
Justin
Harper-Sr (6-3, 206) |
TE |
Sam
Wheeler-So (6-3, 240) |
Greg
Boone-So (6-4, 240) |
OT |
Ed
Wang-So (6-5, 260) |
Richard
Graham-Jr (6-6, 255) |
OG |
Brandon
Holland-So (6-4, 325) |
Eric
Davis-So (6-7, 315) |
C |
Ryan
Shuman-Jr (6-3, 290) |
Beau
Warren-Fr (6-3, 252) |
OG |
Nick
Marshman-Jr (6-5, 346) |
Sergio
Render-So (6-3, 320) |
OT |
Duane
Brown-Sr (6-5, 280) |
Aaron
Brown-Fr (6-6, 300) |
K |
Jud
Dunleavy-Sr (5-10, 183) |
Jared
Develli-Sr (6-1, 230) |
|
|
2007
DEFENSE |
With
five of their front seven being senior returning
starters and three of their four starters
at DB also back, Tech’s top defense
(pass defense, scoring and total) can remain
one of, if not ‘the’ top stopping
force in all the land. It all begins with
disruption in the middle up front –
starters Booker and Powell offer the athleticism
to penetrate while the oft-seen reserves
here provide needed girth and consistent
results. We expect to see proven junior
Orion Martin earn the start at end opposite
Chris Ellis once Ellis is back from spring
shoulder surgery. Martin as the other DE
means no drop off will be seen with the
departure of Burchette, and three new four-star
recruits mean plenty of healthy competition
that could equal even better results. The
same logic applies to having the tandem
of All-American Vince Hall and All-ACC Xavier
Adibi at inside linebacker. For his size,
Hall plays in coverage as well as he busts
through double-teams, and these two form
one of the best tandems in the nation. Corey
Gordon can fill the hole at WHIP, but his
recognition of how a play unfolds needs
to be sharper, leaving room for special
teams maven Cody Grimm to pass him on the
dept chart. Both play a lot early until
one of them distinguishes himself. Junior
Brandon Flowers, first team All-ACC as a
sophomore, is as tough in run support as
any corner and suffocates his mark at will.
Fellow junior Victor “Macho”
Harris is sure to again see lots of action
due to foes avoiding Flowers, but little
developed depth behind them means any health
issues could be costly. Senior safety D.J.
Parker truly plays the deep middle, but
he also finds himself surrounded by mostly
new faces who will likely need time to adjust
to the superior schemes run by Bud Foster.
The ability of Foster to perennially find
a way to make his defense’s efforts
equal more than the sum of their parts is
a huge reason Tech prospectively finds itself
amongst the nation’s best once again.
|
|
LB
Vince Hall
|
|
|
VIRGINIA
TECH 2007 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters/Key
Players |
DEFENSE |
DE |
Chris
Ellis-Sr (6-4, 255) |
Nekos
Brown-So (6-2, 236) |
DT |
Barry
Booker-Sr (6-4, 294) |
Cordarrow
Thompson-So (6-2, 318) |
DT |
Carlton
Powell-Sr (6-2, 285) |
Kory
Robertson-Sr (6-2, 331) |
DE |
Orion
Martin-Jr (6-1, 243) |
Demetrius
Taylor-So (6-1, 220) |
ILB |
Vince
Hall-Sr (6-0, 246) |
Brett
Warren-Sr (6-1, 224) |
ILB |
Xavier
Adibi-Sr (6-2, 224) |
Purnell
Sturdivant-Jr (5-10, 209) |
WHIP |
Corey
Gordon-Sr (6-2, 220) |
Cam
Martin-So (6-1, 180) |
CB |
Brandon
Flowers-Jr (5-10, 186) |
Stephan
Virgil-So (5-11, 185) |
CB |
Victor
Harris-Jr (6-0, 180) |
Roland
Minor-Sr (6-0, 203) |
ROV |
Dorian
Porch-So (5-11, 180) |
Kam
Chancellor-So (6-4, 217) |
FS |
D.J.
Parker-Sr (5-11, 181) |
Mario
Edwards-Fr (6-2, 200) |
P |
Brent
Bowden-So (6-2, 180) |
.. |
|
|
|
2007
SPECIAL TEAMS |
The
placekicking job is open until someone decisively
takes it for his own, but Brett Bowden, the No.2
for two years now, looks like the chosen one at
punter. Receivers Royal and Morgan handle the
return jobs well enough, but Harris is in the
mix since spring of last year, so hearing his
name on returns wouldn’t surprise us, either.
|
|