Friday, August 29, 2008
To tell or not to tell?
The quarterback dilemma
Doug Doughty
Doug Doughty's College Notebook Plus is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Fridays.
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Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer doesn’t have a reputation for taking shots at rival schools or coaches, but I found his comments interesting this week in light of Virginia’s reluctance to designate a No. 1 quarterback.
More than a week before the first game, the Hokies announced that sophomore Tyrod Taylor would be redshirted and fifth-year senior Sean Glennon would start the season.
“When you settle on a quarterback, I like to have things going in a direction, so you know exactly where you’re going and not you ‘may do this’ or you ‘may do that,’ “ Beamer said Tuesday in the ACC’s first teleconference of the season.
“I think, having done this, it gives your football team a direction and it’s full speed ahead.”
Again, I don’t think he was taking a dig at Virginia, but the Cavaliers and Florida State were the last two teams to announce a No. 1 quarterback, and the Seminoles still had a week to go before their opener with Western Carolina.
Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, who has turned over the selection process to offensive coordinator and head-coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher, has a history of naming a starting quarterback as quickly as possible.
“I think Jimbo would, too,” Bowden said. “He wants the team to know as soon as he’s positive.”
Most observers have conceded the FSU quarterback job to senior Drew Weatherford, “but it’s not cut and dried as some people think,” said Bowden, who is also taking a look at sophomore Christian Ponder.
“The quarterback battle is a lot closer than expected.”
Regarding the Virginia situation, it was interesting to see that sophomore quarterback Peter Lalich was listed as “probable” on the Cavaliers’ injury report made available Thursday night.
I’m still not convinced that Lalich isn’t on some kind of probation stemming from his midsummer arrest for underage alcohol possession. I’m not saying he doesn’t have some kind of nagging injury, but I think there’s been some hesitation in designating him as a starter until he shows he can behave himself (see Thursday’s UVa Insider).
ONE REASON I was surprised by Tech’s plans to redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor was the effect it might have on the recruiting of Hargrave Military Academy quarterback Kevin Newsome.
Newsome, who left Western Branch High School in Chesapeake after his junior year, committed to Michigan last spring but subsequently changed his mind. Many observers looked at Tech as the new frontrunner for Newsome, a recruiting target of Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring since early in his Western Branch career.
We stop here momentarily to report that Stinespring, after backing out of a 50-yard swimming challenge, had the gall to don USA swimming apparel in a photo made available to Notebook Plus. We are currently investigating Stinespring’s claims that he was a lifeguard in high school.
But, back to Newsome. If Taylor had played this season, which would have left him with two years of college eligibility, would Newsome have been any more inclined to consider the Hokies? In that case, there would have been as little as one year’s overlap between Taylor and Newsome, if Taylor were to play and Newsome to redshirt in 2010.
Of course, that’s assuming that Tech has become Newsome’s favorite now that he has decommitted to Michigan, and that may be jumping to conclusions, based on my conversation with Hargrave coach Robert Prunty.
Next time I speak with Prunty, I’ll be interested to hear if Virginia has inquired about Newsome, who is a good student, by the way. The Cavaliers already are filling up and they’ve taken a commitment from Sherando High quarterback Ross Metheny, whom they like, but Newsome is ranked among the top 10 quarterbacks in the country.
ON THE SUBJECT of quarterbacks, it will be interesting to see if N.C. State is forced to revisit its decision on redshirting freshman quarterback Mike Glennon, brother of Virginia Tech’s fifth-year quarterback.
Starting quarterback Russell Wilson, a redshirt freshman from Richmond’s Collegiate School, suffered a concussion that forced him to be taken from the field on a stretcher Thursday night at South Carolina. He was replaced by veteran Daniel Evans, who was 4-of-12 for 37 yards and was intercepted twice in a 34-0 loss to the Gamecocks.
Wilson was diagnosed with a Grade III concussion, which is the most serious level. The Wolfpack already has lost one other quarterback, Justin Burke from Lexington, Ky., who transferred to Louisville in the preseason. State’s options for next Saturday’s home opener against William and Mary would include Evans and Harrison Beck, who began his career at Nebraska, unless Glennon re-enters the mix.
OF THE 356 VOTERS who responded to last week’s poll on Skyline Drive, a whopping 84.6 percent said they had made the mountainous trek from Afton Mountain to Front Royal.
“Is that the road that has a toll,” noted cheapskate Jeff White asked.
“I think I heard something like that,” was my reply.
“No, I don’t think I’ve been on it,” said White, who lives maybe 10 miles from Afton Mountain.
Readers who said they had been on Skyline Drive were asked it if was worth it. Some of the best replies:
>> “It should be on your bucket list. Same with the Maple Festival in Highland County, first two weekends of March every year.”
>> “Depends on who you go with.”
>> “It’s worth it in the fall. Don’t drive off the road looking at all the colorful foliage. Let your wife drive you if you trust her.”
>> “Don’t be in a hurry because you are going to be stuck behind some RV from Kansas going 18 mph (official speed limit on the Ole Miss campus btw). But the views are amazing.”
>> “It’s a beautiful trip but it lengthens the time between two pints tremendously. Tell Randy we hope he’s doing better. I miss the bickering!”
I’M GUESSING THAT the last of those posts meant to say “points,” but with Randy you never know. Last I heard, there were 14 Budweisers in the King refrigerator that haven’t been touched since “Nappy” was in the hospital Aug. 18-21.
The fact that there were only 356 respondents would suggest that last week’s poll question didn’t resonate with the readers. The previous week, there were 1,589 respondents to a poll asking for the readers’ affiliations.
I was surprised that 50 percent said they were Virginia fans, given that the Roanoke Times is headquartered in Hokie territory, but more readers may associate me with UVa, a beat I have covered for close to 30 years.
I’ll work at getting the split closer to 50-50.
Forty-four percent said they were Tech fans and 5.5 percent said they are fans of both schools, which confirms what I have long believed, that it is difficult be a fan of both schools. The percentage of fans who said they were not a fan of either school was 1.4, which conforms with the emphasis I try to give this column.
I have just printed out nine pages worth of responses to that Aug. 29 column and have passed them along to newsroom decision-makers. Until I have more time to study those comments, here is this week’s poll:
