Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 9 No. 1 | August 2016

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9
by
Jimmy
Robertson
Preseason talk is all about offense, but Hokies’
chances hinge on improved play from their defense
Forty-eight hours before the kickoff of
August football practices, Bud Foster stood
at a podium ready to field questions from
reporters.
One reporter opened the questioning by
asking about the added weight at the defensive
end position. Foster smiled before he heard,
“at the defensive end position.”
“I thought you were talking about me,” he
said. “I’ve had a good summer, but not that
good of a summer.”
Foster seemed at ease, but those who know
him best know better. As he got set to kick
off his 30th fall in Blacksburg, he did so fully
motivated to get Tech’s defense back to where
it has normally resided—in the penthouse
with the rest of college football’s elite.
Media members, Tech fans and everyone
else with an investment in Virginia Tech
football keep talking about the Hokies’ offense
under new head coach Justin Fuente. They
keep throwing out words like “tempo” and
“pace.”
Tech’s offense may well get to the point
where it justifies all this conversation, but
make no mistake about this—for the Hokies
to win in 2016, they need a bounce-back year
from their defense.
The numbers last year were ugly for a lot of
reasons. C.J. Reavis’ dismissal hurt and Dadi
Nicolas played a portion of the season with a
broken hand. Andrew Motuapuaka missed
two games and Kendall Fuller’s season-ending
injury created a mess in the secondary.
As a result, Tech ranked 44th nationally
in total defense (369.8 ypg), 75th in rushing
defense (180.7 ypg) and 59th in scoring
defense (26.3 ppg). The Hokies allowed 30
points or more in six games and lost five of
those.
“Last year was very poor according to our
standards,” Foster admitted. “We’re going
to get back to that level [among the nation’s
best]. When Coach [Fuente] and I first started
talking, he told me that I wouldn’t have to
play perfect defense any more. I told him
that he doesn’t know me very well from that
standpoint. That’s my expectation. It’s hard to
play perfect, but we are looking for excellence.”
Foster and his staff went about retooling
the defense this spring and he is excited
about the current product. Tech is bigger up
the middle, with guys like Tim Settle, Nigel
Williams, Ricky Walker and Steve Sobczak all
around 300 pounds. While the Hokies lack
experience at defensive end, they do have size
there. Only two of the ends (Trevon Hill and
Jimmie Taylor) weigh less than 245 pounds.
“I’m hoping that will make an impact
on our ability to stop the run, which, for us,
last year was disappointing, but at the same
time, there were a lot of factors that went into
that,” Foster said. “I’m hoping up front that
experience and having some size and athletic
ability will help that.”
Tech’s defense lacks depth at the linebacker
and cornerback spots, but Tech’s starting
unit appears to be a solid bunch littered with
several playmakers—guys like the Edmunds
brothers, Ken Ekanem and Chuck Clark. That,
combined with certain schematic changes,
provides reasons for optimism.
Foster and his staff got the secondary
settled this spring, keeping those players in
their spots. He also played more zone coverage
this spring, wanting more eyes on the football
when facing spread offenses.
He knows that he’s straddling a fine line.
The same man-to-man coverage that struggled
at times last season also manhandled Ohio
State in front of 100,000 fans in Columbus
two years ago.
He’s not punting man-to-man coverage, as
many seem to indicate in news stories. But he
plans to mix things up a little more.
“I am excited to be able to play multiple
defenses again back there,” Foster said.
“Obviously, we can play man coverage and
challenge the quarterback, but offenses also
can design some ways to attack you that can
stress you out defensively. I want to be able to
make it hard on them.”
If they make things hard for opposing
offenses, then the Hokies will be in position to
win a bunch of games. They know that formula
works. It has for the past 23 seasons.
But it is an ‘if.’ Returning to the top of the
mountain is never an easy climb.
“Our kids understand the tradition we have
here,” Foster said. “There is a responsibility
and accountability to uphold that tradition
and responsibility.
“They understand the expectations here and
what we have done here. I am not concerned
about the offense. They are going to be fine.
Those guys do some unique things. We just
have to take care of business on our own, and
hopefully, that will be enough.”