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Extreme Look at Virginia Tech's Defense

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Buckeyesprize's picture
September 1, 2015 at 3:44pm
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Good Afternoon everybody, I will be doing my best to educate everyone on the Hokie D we are about to go up against on September 7th, 2015. We all know what to expect on the 7th in Lane, a hostile environment ready to put us down again, but I don't think it will play out the way they hope. Without further ado, and I hope you guys like this, here is my analysis and background of the Vaunted Hokie Defense.

From my understanding Virginia Tech likes to run man coverage almost all of the time. In every game film I have watched, it looks like Torian Gray (VT secondary coach) loves to trust his corners to lockdown their opposition. Granted he has the talent to do so.

SAFETIES:

It appears Virginia Tech calls their safeties the Free, and the Rover.

The way the Rover works: It looks like Bud Foster loves to keep his Rover near the line of scrimmage, and for those who don't know, the Rover is almost like a free hitting Linebacker who can cover. He is usually one of the strongest hitters on the team, but also one of the smartest players on the team. He needs to know all coverage assignments and when to adjust. This was C.J. Reavis' job before he was kicked out of school for unknown reasons, and lucky for us because Reavis was supposed to be the next big thing out of "DBU" - TKP

Enter R-Junior Desmond Frye, 6-2 200lbs. Desmond Frye #26 is new to starting on their defense, and I fully expect Urban to attack him sooner rather than later. From my understanding, Frye is known for his hitting ability rather than his coverage ability.

Free Safety for them is not an area of concern. Chuck Clark #19 returns after playing corner last season, and from my personal analysis of film, he looks to be one of their better defenders. He covers, and he hits. Bud Foster trusts him so much, he named him Captain for the game on Monday night. From watching film on him at corner, he truly is an outstanding cover man and does not get beat often, if at all. I expect Urban not to test Clark too much, as he's come up with a plethora of interceptions and PBU over his career in Blacksburg.

CORNERS

At this point everyone knows of the Hokie corners Brandon Facyson #31 and Kendall Fuller #11. NFL.com ranked these two as the best corner tandem in the Nation. (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000497818/article/dynamic-duos-rank...)

Brandon Facyson is 6-2 196, and plays tall. His weakness seems to be his back pedal and run support. Facyson seems to be a true cover corner, and Urban and CO will be smart to exploit him rather than Fuller.

Kendall Fuller is 6'0 196, former 5 Star recruit out of Baltimore Maryland. In my humble opinion, Fuller looks to be a top 10 pick in next years draft. After watching film I have never seen a DB cover as well and support the run as well as he does in the last few years. Foxsports has him ranked as the #6 player in the country, and the #1 DB in the country. Getting yards in his direction will be no easy task, he is truly elite and could be a nightmare for our offense on his side of the field. I don't expect Urban to test him much.

Linebackers

This is where the question marks begin. It seems the Hokie faithful fully trusts their outside Linebacker Deon Clarke (6'1 227) #40 out of Richmond, Virginia. His film shows he is a playmaker, he can sack the quarterback as well as shade in coverage. Bud Foster loves to blitz Deon at will and we can expect to see a lot of Clarke attempting to get in the Buckeye backfield. Clarke may be their fastest linebacker outside of backup Dahmon Mckinnon who runs a low 4.4. Bud Foster has been praising Clarke on his work-ethic to become more of a complete linebacker (Read from TKP).

Andrew Matuapuaka (6'0 238) #54 out of Virginia Beach, VA (I hope I got his name right) is a young gun. Coming in as a freshman last year to replace the injured Chase Williams he seemed to show signs of struggle. He would often overcommit and over-pursue, he seems to love contact and his aggressive nature came back to bite him a few times. If we can establish a run in the middle, it will be because of Matuapuaka's inability to stop it.

The Hokies 3rd linebacker is called a WHIP, mostly used for hybrid looks of coverage but he also seems to be the biggest linebacker the Hokies field this season. Ronny Vandyke r-Senior 6-5 216 #37 is a big body on the field. I will fully expect Foster to implement him in stopping the run more so than not, his advantage is seeing over the line and dissecting the plays. I haven't seem much film on Vandyke, I'm not so sure he has played but so much.

This is their weak spot because of the depth behind these guys, it is a huge drop-off from my understanding.

Finally we get to the Praised Hokie Defensive Line

We all remember Ken Ekanem (6'3 249) #4, and Dadi Nicolas (6'3 227) #90

Both of these players made multiple watch lists, and Bleacherreport ranks these two as the #1 Pass-Rush Duo in the Country. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2460637-top-10-college-football-pass-rushing-duos-for-2015-season) Respect to our opponent, these boys absolutely wreak havoc. They aren't the biggest guys but they use that to their advantage. They have the quickest first step I've seen on film, and get around blocks in the blink of an eye. The O-Line (slobs) will truly have their work cut out for them.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

One area the Hokies are deep on is at the DT position. From reading over at TKP they have about Nine guys in rotation who can come in and contribute without drop-off production.

Luther Maddy returns for his senior season in Blacksburg (6-2, 286) #92. From my understanding He is the heart of this defensive front and is a disruptive force inside. He is quick off the ball along with fellow NT Corey Marshall (6-2, 268) #96. Both have lethal spin moves as well as great bull-rush techniques. This may very well be the best D Line we face all season, and if/when we come up victorious we have a LOT to be proud of and build on.

Another thing to note: This VT DLINE is supposed to be the best ever in Blacksburg, and if we push them around a bit it is a true testament to how great this OSU offensive line is. Also, every starter on the Hokie Defensive Line is a Senior, so experience for them is not a concern, I'm sure they've seen it all. Here's to an awesome game, and an even better outcome. GO BUCKS!

Six Days!

 

 

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