Virginia Tech Hokies’ Defense Preview

PART II: DEFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS

What word encapsulates Virginia Tech’s defense? Brash? Hard-nosed? My choice would have to be lethal. The Hokies defense coached by defensive coordinator Bud Foster allowed only 168 points last season, a devastating 12.9 PA/G average.

Returning for the Hokies are the tandem LB’s Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi. Without question, these two guys lead one of the top 5 linebacking corps in the nation. In addition, 2007 NFL Draft prospect Rover/SS Aaron Rouse will be one of the keys to shoring up solid play for Tech’s secondary.

After the loss of Jimmy Williams, Daryl Tapp, James Anderson, Jonathon Lewis, Justin Hamilton to the NFL draft, the Hokies find themselves having to fill in holes left by key playmakers. Let’s take a look at each unit of the defense and analyze their strengths and weaknesses.
DEFENSIVE LINE

Last year for the Hokies, the defensive line was an absolute force. The line was creating such great pressure, they could often rush the lineman without using many blitzes to create an effective pressure on opposing team’s offensive lines. With Jonathan Lewis plugging up the middle and Daryl Tapp’s excellent speed pass rush on the edge, the Hokies will have to replace nearly half of their sack totals from last year. Enter #49 Chris Ellis. Ellis has all the makings to make a big splash this season after posting six sacks last season, good enough for second on the team behind Daryl Tapp who registered ten sacks.

Ellis is another edge speed rusher that the Hokies love to implement. Ellis has been nominated for the Lombardi award (best lineman in college football) and that alone is a major accomplishment. He will undoubtedly be the anchor on the line for the Hokies. At the other end, the Hokies have redshirt senior Noland Burchette. Although he may not be a household name, he has been what I would call a “5th man” for the Hokies’ defensive line the last couple seasons. He may not have the breakout talent of Chris Ellis, but he should definitely provide a lot of experience to the line.

Defensive tackle is one of the concerns heading into the 2006 season. DT Carlton Powell has been nagged by injuries, especially last season, but I expect big play from him at the tackle position. Although he’s not going to get much recognition, he will still cause a lot of havoc for opposing offensive lines. Barry Booker and Kory Robertson are both competiting to share time at the other DT position with Booker in a slight lead. But coaches have raved about Robertson’s potential. The flaw for him has been alluded to his motor, where coaches have doubted his ability to play a full game. But they have also said that when he brings it, he can be devastating at a whopping 340 pounds. I expect great, unexpected things from this line this season but, inexperience also lends itself to the occasional big play which hopefully the Hokies can avoid this season.

Grade: B. The Hokies benefited greatly by having Noland Burchette being their guy to swap in as needed last season. This season, the Hokies do not have a talent on his level to bring in when someone needs a breather. This lack of depth is a concern in case of injuries, but it also limits how much credit I am willing to give this fresh-faced defensive line. Chris Ellis’ bumps up the grade from a B- to a B because he’s just going to be that good this year and you can put that in the bank. But, the Hokies may need to find a player who can step up late in the games to fill in for these guys and that is when you can really get burned by inexperience on the defensive line.

LINEBACKERS

Whew. In my time following the Hokies, we’ve never had these kind of playmakers at the linebacking positions. As long as new starters Brenden Hill and Corey Gordon can fill in admirably for the departed James Anderson, there is just no downside to this unit.

Vince Hall, the team’s leading tackler last year, shores up the middle linebacker position and this kid can do it all. He led the team with 112 total tackles, 3.0 sacks, 2 INTs, 8.5 TFL and he even had 15 QB hurries (that’s 1 more than Chris Ellis had last season and he played every game at DE!) Oh, and did I mention Vince was only a sophomore last year?!

Alongside Hall, we have Xavier Adibi. Adibi is an absolute freak athlete. He has lightning fast 4.41 40-yard dash speed and trust me, he’d be the #1 LB star on almost every other team in the country, that just goes to show you how great Hall is. Adibi is lacking some in pass coverage, but he makes up for this with his speed and tenacity. He is the brother of former Hokie Nathaniel Adibi and I hold the opinion that whenever Adibi enters the NFL draft, he will be without question a 1st round pick because of his amazing NFL caliber speed alone. Last year, Adibi had 69 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 2 INTs and 7 TFL. Oh, and did I mention Xavier was, you guessed it, only a sophomore last year?!

Grade: A+. I honestly don’t care who the Hokies line up at weakside LB, Adibi and Hall are going to cause total anarchy for offenses this season. When you’ve got two All-American candidates at LB, you can afford a 3rd LB with less than great credentials.

SECONDARY

Jimmy Williams will be missed and who could forget seeing #2 lifting his arms up and down on almost every single drive to the crowd, wanting the fans to show their support for the defense? But just like when the Hokies had to replace former star at CB DeAngelo Williams, the Hokies will again have a player who will not disappoint.

Victor “Macho” Harris. With a nickname like that, how could he disappoint? The former 5-star athlete recruit will showcase his amazing ability for the Hokies. On the other side, we have Brandon Flowers who came up big as the season wore on for the Hokies. In the Gator Bowl, after Jimmy Williams was ejected, Flowers played great and he is not a cornerback who is afraid of a little contact.

But let’s not forget one of the top 3 strong safeties in America, #36 Aaron Rouse. With Williams getting the limelight last year, I noticed Rouse wasn’t getting all that much attention. Let me tell you something now, if the Hokies decided to move this kid to weakside LB, which they could considering how much depth the Hokies have in the secondary… Rouse could be just as highly touted as Adibi and Hall. Undoubtedly the leader of the secondary, Rouse is looking to start off the year like he did last year against NC State where he posted 8 tackles, 2 INTs and 1 FF. This kid hits like a ton of bricks and with last year under his belt, I foresee a fantastic year for him.

At free safety, the Hokies have a few options but will most likely stick with DJ Parker. Parker saw action in every game at free safety and could even line up at CB if need be. He provides excellent leadership and you may remember him returning that blocked FG versus Georgia Tech. With last year’s starting CB Roland Minor as a nickel corner this year, the Hokies have amazing depth within their secondary and look to provide fans with not only great coverage but a few returned interceptions for touchdowns!

GRADE: A-. The only flaw I could force myself to find here is that the Hokies are relying on sophomores at CB this year, but at the same time, you could deduce that the coaching staff really loves these kids heading into the season. The only thing that could slow down the Hokies this year is a couple injuries sustained by Roland Minor, Brandon Flowers and key backup Jahre Cheeseman. Minor could miss the first few games while Flowers should be ready to play by the opening of the season. Jahre Cheeseman should also miss the first few games of the year after having surgery on his knee to repair a partial tear. (What a great name!)

SPECIAL TEAMS

Beamerball is almost a household term in Blacksburg with Frank Beamer creating one of the great special teams programs in college football history over the years. After having the number of blocked kicks slowly decline over the last few years, Beamer pledged a new found emphasis on special teams. For those Hokies fans who reveled in watching a game turn on a dime with a blocked kick, get ready to cheer on the Hokies on special teams with some extra enthusiasm!

Placekicker Brandon Pace has connected on nearly 80 percent of his field goals the last two seasons. He doesn’t have the ideal leg strength that NFL scouts might look for, he certainly is accurate after being named a Groza award semi-finalist (best kicker) the last two seasons. He was again nominated for the Groza award heading into the 2006 season.

Punter Nic Schmitt is not your average punter. At 6’2″ and 276! pounds, he’s certainly going to confuse some fans for a linebacker. After averaging 43.2 yards per punt last season, good for second best all time at Virginia Tech, Schmitt has to be looking forward to improving upon that average. His net punting average could afford to be better (punt length minus the punt return length), but that can only be placed on his shoulders so much since its highly hinged on the special teams unit.

GRADE: A. When you have a nickname for your special teams unit (BeamerBall), you’re probably pretty good, wouldn’t you say? With Beamer’s close attention being paid to special teams, we could see a lot of big plays from the special teams this year. Keep an eye out and maybe jingle your keys around for every punt and field goal for the opposing teams just to let the Hokies know you expect a block on every opportunity!

Defensive MVP: MLB Vince Hall
Underachievers looking to shine: CB Roland Minor and the entire special teams coverage unit
New starter who will impress: CB Victor “Macho” Harris
Player withmeet big expectations: DE Chris Ellis
Role players needed to step up: CB Brandon Flowers, LB Branden Hill, DE Noland Burchette