Thursday, October 14, 2004
Seldom-used reserves like Florida A&M matchup
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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VT's off this week, and being that Mr. and Mrs. King will be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, look for the Tech Insider on Friday afternoon this week.
While the starters and other main-line players on Virginia Tech's football team may not be jacked about facing Florida A&M on Saturday, some of the pawns buried deep on the Hokies' depth chart likely have had Oct. 16 circled in red ink on their calendars for months.
For guys such as sophomore linebacker Chad Grimm, the appearance of the I-AA Rattlers in Lane Stadium is much anticipated. After all, this could be the Saturday that they finally are handed something besides special-teams assignments.
"Oh, yeah, a lot of guys look at this game as a chance to get out there on the field," said Grimm, who stands fourth in line at the Hokies' whip position. "I know a bunch of guys, young guys like me, are looking forward to trying to get out there, get some time and make an impression, I guess, on how it will be in the future."
The guys who toil in oblivion on Tech's scout team will never get a better chance to get some "real time" than on Saturday. No matter what Tech coach Frank Beamer says, the Hokies should be able to name the score against a totally overmatched foe that already has taken spankings by an average score of 43-13 from three of the worst teams in Division I-A: Illinois (52-13), Tulane (39-19) and Temple (38-7).
Think Tech's offense will work this week? The misfiring Hokies should run like a top against a defense that ranks 97th among the nation's 119 I-AA programs in yards allowed (408.3 yards per game), 99th in scoring yield (32.7 points per game) and 107th against the rush (229.2 ypg).
While A&M does possess the No. 7 passing offense in I-AA, the Hokies' secondary should enjoy a pick party while its defensive front munches on an offensive line that has yielded 23 sacks in the first six games.
None in Lane will be more interested in Tech scoring early and often and building an insurmountable cushion than Grimm & Co.
"We're always telling the starters to try and get it out of control for us so we can maybe get some shots in there," said Grimm, whose only playing time so far has come on special teams. "This week there have definitely been some people trying to get them going and get them playing good.
"A lot of the guys who are like third and fourth [string] are on the scout team still. So we're trying to go hard and make sure they're focused so it can get out of control. When games like this come around, you always hope you can jump in there and get some time for all the effort you're putting in."
Senior cornerback Eric Green said the front-line guys would love nothing more than to stockpile a big lead and spend most of the second half as sideline spectators.
"We've got to go out and take care of business first," Green said. "If we take care of business it's going to be fun to see some of these guys get out there.
"Yeah, those guys tell us no matter who we play to 'beat 'em up, man, so we can get in the game ... get up big, man, so we can get in the game.' I'm like, 'man, we'll do what we can.' But in the past few weeks it has been tough. If we can go out and jump on these guys and take care of our responsibilities, we should give them an opportunity to get in there and get some valuable playing time."
Grimm and the others on the 72-player dress roster who rarely -- if ever -- see the field on offense or defense realize this game will likely be their only chance this season to show their position coaches what they can go in a live game. Even if it's just a handful of snaps, it will be a reward for the unknown behind-the-scene players who practice, lift weights and condition every day just like the celebrated front-liners.
"You've got to keep going," said Grimm, the oldest son of Russ Grimm, the former four-time Pro Bowl left guard who played for the Washington Redskins from 1981-91 and helped the team capture three Super Bowl titles.
"It definitely can be stressful at times. You've just got to let yourself know that your time is going to come. You've just got to keep working hard day-in and day-out, and, eventually, good stuff will come your way."
Grimm, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound walk-on from Oakton High School in Fairfax, realizes he could be a career backup. Sophomore Aaron Rouse currently resides as the backup whip behind junior James Anderson.
"My goal right now is trying to stack up," said Grimm, whose only scholarship offer was a partial grant from I-AA Maine. "I mean Rouse is a good player at my position. He and James are like rotating time, even though James is quite obviously the starter. Rouse is getting a lot of reps and series in there, even in big games and stuff.
"So me and him being the same age, it's tough. I've just got to hope I can back him up when games like this come around, or even in the future get some reps in there. God forbid that anything happen to him and I might have to go in there. I'm just trying to get up there near the top and hopefully get some time on the motor."
Besides, sticking a few people from his linebacker spot Saturday would help Grimm shake off some of the frustrations of his beloved Redskins' 1-4 start under returning coaching legend Joe Gibbs. Grimm rooms with freshman linebacker Brett Warren, whose older brother, Blake, is a junior linebacker for the Hokies. The Warren boys are the sons of Don Warren, who played 14 seasons with the 'Skins.
"We definitely get frustrated watching the [Redskins] games on Sundays," said Grimm, whose father is now an assistant head coach and offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. "We always get pretty upset about it. Even though our dads don't play anymore, we're still all big Redskins fans.
"Obviously, I watch the Steelers now, too. When the Steelers are winning and the Redskins lose, I don't feel so bad. But when they both lose it's a bad weekend."
But if the kid gets to play a little linebacker Saturday in Lane, this weekend will be good no matter what transpires in Chicago and Dallas on Sunday.
