Friday, April 06, 2007
Tech's Holland needs to bring it now
Randy King
Randy King's Tech Insider is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Thursdays in season.
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Roanoker Brandon Holland turned 21 years old last Sunday, the first day April. Now he figures it's about time he proves to the Virginia Tech football coaching staff that he's not some kind of April Fool.
Fully cognizant of the fact that he ranks among the nation's most elderly rising sophomores, Holland knows the Hokies' ongoing spring practice presents him a huge opportunity to finally show Frank Beamer & Co. that he can be a factor in Tech's offensive line rotation the next three years.
About time, the 6-foot-4, 320-pound ex-Northside High standout says.
It's been a long wait for a guy who originally signed with Tech as part of its 2004 recruiting class, only to find his entry into college waylaid by a year of prep school at Hargrave Military Academy. After enrolling in classes at Tech in the winter semester of 2005, Holland never got onto the field until last fall, when he participated in a paltry 16 snaps in three games as a backup guard.
This spring, Holland finds himself in a much more prominent role, running with Tech's No. 1 offensive line at right guard in the wake of returning starter Sergio Render's absence from workouts because of January knee surgery.
Holland doesn't have to be reminded that this is his big shot to turn some heads and impress. While he knows he's not going to steal the starting job of Render, who started every game and was named a freshman All-American last season, Holland knows an impressive showing this spring and in August's preseason camp could put him in a position to challenge redshirt junior Nick Marshman for Tech's No. 1 left guard spot.
"Right now, I'm thankful to be running with the first group," Holland said. "Basically, I'm trying to get as many reps as possible so I can get ready to try and compete for that left guard spot when [Render] gets back in the fall."
Holland, who was lugging 335 pounds on his frame most of last season, looks quicker and much better in his uniform these days.
"I definitely can tell a difference," said Holland, who has admittedly struggled to make the transition to guard after being an All-Group AA first-team performer at defensive end his senior year at Northside. "I've lost some weight and gotten a whole lot stronger. I think I gained more muscle than I did fat this past offseason, which is a good thing."
Holland said he's finally starting to make the mental transition that came slowly to him after the coaching staff decided to move from the defensive to the offensive trenches.
"Last year it was just so much because I was coming from high school, where I played defense my whole life," he said. "The little parts ... I've gotten 'em down finally. Now it's just me and working on my stance and playing low. Playing low is the main thing because I have a tendency to get high when I come off [the snap]. But the little things are perfect now and I've just got to work on staying low."
With Tech's line losing three seniors who played a lot last season -- center Danny McGrath, left tackle Brandon Frye and top backup Brandon Gore -- Holland fully realizes he needs to make his presence known now.
"It's been a long time coming to get back on that field, and that's why I'm working so hard," he said. "Last year was disappointing, but a learning experience for me. I want to get out here and help this team out as much as I can, left side or right side. I can play both now since I played left last season."
Tech coach Frank Beamer said before the start of spring drills that if the O-linemen in the program can't show they can get the job done this spring that he won't hesitate in thinking about going to battle this fall with some of the freshmen who will show up on campus in August.
Currently, Tech is set at left tackle, where senior Duane Brown has moved from the right side, and at center, where redshirt Ryan Shuman has been moved after spending last season at left guard. The 6-5, 351-pound Marshman, the biggest player on the roster, is working as the No. 1 left guard. Redshirt junior Ed Wang, who was moved from tight end near the end of last season, is penciled in as the No. 1 right tackle.
Tech's ability to get the job done up front this fall lingers as the club's biggest question mark. No one has yet to forget how Tech's O-line looked like a row of spinning turnstiles in the second half of the Dec. 30 Chick-fil-A Bowl, when Georgia rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to beat the Hokies, 31-24.
"I think one of the things that led to our bowl situation is we got a couple of guys [Frye and Render] hurt, and we weren't able to run the football effectively and we weren't able to protect [quarterback Sean Glennon] as well as we wanted," Beamer said. "We're looking for some toughness and I think we've got the possibility of getting that. And we're looking for some quickness and I think we've got the possibility of getting that. This is a big, big spring for our offensive line."
Of course, that's hardly big news. Frankly, the Hokies have been running short with capable O-line troops for the past several years. Beamer said he sees that merry-go-round stopping soon. Whether it has been a case of some recruits not panning out, some being hurt, or others simply not wanting it bad enough and cashing in their chips, Tech has had its problems recently in the offensive trenches. In hopes of solving the dilemma, Tech has a stockade of reputed talented blockers slated to enter the program in August.
"For one reason or another, I think we just got behind a little bit," Beamer said. "But I like the attitude of this group we have now. Plus the kids coming in ... what you worry about for the most part is are they strong enough to handle the toughness in there? I think every single one of our offensive line recruits have the ability or have the strength to compete right away. We're going to give these guys a shot this spring and see who fits in and who doesn't, then after that we're put freshmen people in there if that's the case."
Holland has heard Beamer's mantra. He sounds confident that he will have the goods to hold his ground.
"That's not really more pressure," Holland said. "A freshman coming in here in the summer ... well, it's going to be all for all. Whoever is contributing, whoever is putting out on the field is going to be playing.
"Right now, I'm pretty confident I can get the job done. I have more experience than those guys do. They've got a lot to learn in a short time. Those guys might be good -- if they are, it will help us out, too -- but in the meantime I'm just worried about what I've got to do get on the field."
Second-year Hokies O-line coach Curt Newsome said Holland has the goods. Now the big Roanoker simply has to learn how to to bring the right stuff every time he steps foot between the chalk lines.
"Brandon had a good offseason," Newsome said. "He's continued to work. A year ago, he wasn't working as hard in the weight room as he needed to. I think he's headed in the right direction.
"Certainly, he's athletic enough to play. And now he's starting to get over the hump as far as him working at it. He's struggled from a knowledge standpoint and he's worked in that direction.
"Right now, he's in there for Sergio, but I think Brandon Holland can be a good football player here. No question, I see him helping us up front [this fall]."
So there it is. It's right there for Brandon Holland. Will he become a contributor? Or will he continue to be some kind of bad April Fool's Day joke? A definitive answer should come this fall.
