Thursday, August 24, 2006
Avoiding injuries will be key for Hokies
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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We've got to stay away from injuries.
I've been listening to football coaches drop that line in their preseason spiels to the media for years.
Usually rolled my eyes, too, taking the statement as simply standard lip service, something way too cliche to possibly stick in my story.
Not anymore, though.
See, this thing hit home this week. And I'm feeling the torment. Of course, the real pain is being felt by my son, Justin. The toughest guy in the house, a senior captain who was expected to go both ways on the line for Northside High this fall, is lying upstairs with a broken right ankle that was so blown up that the repairing surgeon issued us a pain prescription for Oxycontin. Talk about an eye-opener.
We've got to stay away from injuries. It's some lip service, all right ... akin to a hard punch in the mouth, that is. A mere cliche? If it is, don't give me anything straight then.
OK, enough beating 'round the bushes here. What's all this got to do with Virginia Tech this fall?
Plenty, I say. Talk about having a new quarterback all you want. Talk about a revamped, inexperienced offensive line until doomsday if you want. As pivotal as those ingredients will be in Tech's recipe for success, the biggest possible poison that must be kept out of the Hokies' mix is a key injury at certain positions.
Start with tailback. The Hokies should pray every night before they hit the hay that sophomore Branden Ore stays healthy. This guy is Tech's running game. He's the Hokies' only home-run threat.
Backups George Bell and Elan Lewis?
Bell looks like he could run through a brick wall. But he's got to get there first. A chronic bad knee that he's been fighting since his junior year of high school makes one wonder if the guy isn't permanent damaged goods.
And Lewis? Hard straight-ahead runner who can run over folks. But he's still packing 235 pounds on his 5-foot-8 frame. He's way too heavy to elude defenders or even think about popping outside. Plus, he's running on a knee that required surgery last spring.
The other place on offense where Tech can't afford any sort of serious injury is upfront. Beamer says he thinks the starting five will be fine in time. He says he needs about three more lineman who can play, too.
That's where the jury is severely hung at the moment. Tech's second-tier linemen going into the season opener include: redshirt freshman Richard Graham, who has never taken a college snap, at left tackle; overweight sophomore Nick Marshman, who has never started a college game at right tackle; Mason Baggett, a fifth-year senior walk-on who never played in a college game until last season, at left guard; and fifth-year senior Brandon Gore, who has started one game in his career and is coming off a broken ankle in the ACC title game against Florida State.
It's imperative that the five starters stay upright. Shoot, we're already talking what very well may be the least experienced O-line in the nation.
Incredibly, the most experienced starter of the bunch is a guy who hadn't even been a lineman until a year ago. Duane Brown, who was moved from tight end to tackle last August, went on to start all 13 games last season and easily ranks as the club's top lineman.
Senior center Danny McGrath has seven career starts, all coming last season. The other three starters have combined for one start. That's not a typo, folks.
Fifth-year senior Brandon Frye hadn't started a game in his four years in Blacksburg until he replaced injured Jimmy Martin in last January's Gator Bowl, in which he performed admirably. The guards -- third-year sophomore Ryan Shuman and freshman Sergio Render -- have never heard their names introduced in a pregame lineup in college.
Good thing first-year O-line coach Curt Newsome doesn't smoke. Imagine how many heaters it might take to get him through 13 games with this thin bunch. Every snap this season will be pins and needles stuff for Newsome, count on it. If one or two of these guys get hurt and have to miss time, Tech's most lethal offensive weapon could very well be a quick kick.
On defense, Tech is loaded. Linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi, end Chris Ellis and rover Aaron Rouse could play for anybody in the country. Sophomores Brandon Flowers and Macho Harris are among the best -- if not the best -- young cornerback duos in the nation.
If the Hokies want to have any shot at going to their third straight ACC title game it's imperative that all the aforementioned names avoid injury.
In the past several years, the Hokies have been very fortunate in avoiding major injuries. Last season, tailback Mike Imoh missed four games, but it wasn't a bad blow due to the depth at the position. Elsewise, Tech dodged any serious bullets.
Beamer's bunch will have to enjoy similar fortune this fall in order to make a run at the ACC crown. Everybody stays healthy, and I think Tech has a shot at a third consecutive Coastal Division title. Record-wise, they have a shot at going 11-1, or perhaps 10-2 at the worse. But should an Ore or a Duane Brown be taken out by an injury that would keep them sidelined for a significant length of time, the numbers on the final ledger won't near as pretty.
So knock on wood, coach.
I wish I had.
