Guys, just wanted to pass along a few notes from the day:
*Freshman DT
Tim Settle says he's 349 pounds, 10 less than when he first arrived at VT. Weight has always been an issue, but since he's been on campus, the Hokies have been able to watch what he's eating, plus he's been busy working out and practicing. Settle still wants to drop more weight, to around 330 or so, but make no mistake, he isn't dropping a ton, just a more manageable spot. He also said he hopes to get some reps, but wouldn't mind redshirting if that's what the staff decides to do with him.
**The guy who's added weight is freshman QB
Dwayne Lawson. Offensive coordinator
Scot Loeffler said he's gained about 30 pounds, to about 6'6" and 230 pounds now. Loeffler described Lawson as big, strong, fast, accurate and spins the ball well. It sounds like it's still 50/50 whether or not Lawson redshirts or plays some role this fall, but Loeffler definitely likes the development.
***So the injury report from earlier was a little off. Guys who the coaches said weren't gonna play, like running backs
Trey Edmunds and
Deshawn McClease, played, while still a good handful of others did not. The guys who were out were:
DJ Reid,
Kyle Chung,
Wade Hansen,
Dadi Nicolas,
Corey Marshall,
D'Andre Plantin,
Marshawn Williams and
Shai McKenzie.
****I'm becoming more and more convinced thatLawson will have a role this season. He is just too athletic and too quick. My guess is he would come in on wildcat formations over
Brendan Motley because Lawson is also a threat to pass. Lawson is basically a Motley 2.0. This is one of those things that had I not seen today's scrimmage and seen for myself, I'd still say Lawson would redshirt. Now, I'm leaning towards 80/20 that he plays in some capacity.
*****One of the highlights for sure of the scrimmage was watching Settle make an interception off a tipped pass by Lawson at the line of scrimmage. Settle then rumbled about 10 yards before being called down and was mobbed by the entire defense. "Hey, you've gotta do something with a pick," Settle told a few of his teammates afterward. I still think Settle is more 50/50 on if he redshirts, but he moves better than anyone else you'll see that size. So if not this year, he probably starts next year.
******Just a few plays after Settle's interception,
Donovan Riley made another impressive interception. A pass by Motley was thrown behind
Deon Newsome. It hit Riley in the arm, caromed off of Newsome, then Riley intercepted it and returned the ball 15 yards. Very impressive pick.
*******To me, there's no doubt that
Joey Slye will be the top kicker.
Michael Santamaria has shown promise, but Slye has a boot. He nailed his first try, from 57 yards, that would have been good from another six or seven yards. Slye was 2-3 on field goals, while Santamaria was 1-3, missing from 47 and 54 yards, hitting from 32 yards.
********Linebacker Deon Clarke started the scrimmage with two sacks of Motley and looked strong all day. But he got an earful after one play about two-thirds of the way through. Clarke came from the weakside and smacked the arm of QB
Michael Brewer and hit him overall pretty hard on his throwing arm. Brewer got up and yelled at Clarke, then coach
Frank Beamer chased Clarke and did the same. Clarke immediately was taken out of the game and I don't think he went back in.
*********The one big mistake the defense made on the day came relatively early on in the scrimmage. Not sure if it was an all-out blitz, but someone screwed up on their assignment. Brewer hit sophomore tight end
Bucky Hodges over the left-middle of the field and he basically waltzed in, untouched for a 20-yard touchdown catch.
*********McClease looked impressive on a few runs about midway through the scrimmage. He made a nice juke on the left side of the field and picked up about 15-20 yards. He ran for another 10 on the following play.
I'll mention it on another thread, but a couple of recruits worth mentioning on hand, East Forsyth (NC) 2017 three-star cornerback
Madison Cone, who has a VT offer and 2016 Magna Vista (Va.) QB
Shaolin McGuire, who does not. McGuire is looking like a good candidate for a walk-on spot at this point. More coming from both players.
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