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Inside Hokie Sports
2016
SAFETIES, ROVERS
AND NICKEL BACKS
Most fans know that the NCAA frowns upon
wagering, but a couple of Virginia Tech players
recently made bets on their own talents.
Rest easy, Hokie Nation. The stakes
involved push-ups and nothing of monetary
value, though Terrell Edmunds and Chuck
Clark are approaching this as if the ante is
rather high.
Essentially, the wager is this—whoever gets
the fewest interceptions this season has to do
100 push-ups per however many interceptions
he trails. For example, Clark getting three
interceptions and Edmunds getting one would
result in Edmunds doing 200 push-ups.
“It’s a little thing to help us go out and play
our best,” Edmunds said.
Edmunds found himself involved in one
of the offseason’s most important moves
when Tech’s coaching staff decided to move
him from cornerback to rover following last
season. The rover position plays an integral
role in Tech’s defensive scheme and requires
a player with good tackling skills and also the
ability to play in pass coverage.
Last fall, the staff rotated several players at
the position, with varying degrees of success.
Edmunds started eight games at cornerback
and recorded 34 tackles and seven pass
break-ups, but defensive coordinator Bud
Foster and his coaches felt Edmunds’ skills
fit better at rover and asked him to move.
“I wasn’t upset about it,” Edmunds said. “I
was actually excited because rover at Virginia
Tech is an important position. Those are big
shoes to fill, considering the past players who
have played that position. I just know that I
have a lot to learn and a lot of work to do to
get to that level.”
Past rovers include guys like Kyshoen
Jarrett, Davon Morgan, Dorian Porch, Aaron
Rouse, Kevin McCadam, and Cory Bird. All
those guys enjoyed success at the position
and Jarrett, Rouse, McCadam, and Bird all
were drafted by NFL teams at the conclusion
of their collegiate careers.
Foster and the rest of the staff thought
Edmunds possessed similar potential. Then
Edmunds went out this spring and played
terrific, easing most of their concerns,
particularly those of his new position coach,
Galen Scott, who took over the safety spots
when Torrian Gray departed to take the
defensive backs coaching position at the
University of Florida.
“It wasn’t difficult,” Edmunds said.
“Playing at corner, you have to know what
the safety is doing because we’re all playing
together. We’re all trying to be on the same
page at all times. I’m telling the corner what
to do and he’s telling me what he’s seeing. We
have to play off of each other.
“I really like it now. I think I like it better
than corner. At rover, you get to come down
and hit people and that’s my thing. I like to
come down and make tackles. At corner,
you make a few tackles, but at rover, I’m in
on the action. I know that if I miss a tackle,
it’s almost touchdown. So I really like having
that on me.”
Edmunds and Clark solidify the back end
of the Tech’s secondary. Clark, of course,
always has been one of the Hokies’ most
dependable players. The free safety enters his
third season as the starter. He started all 13
games last season and finished with a team-
best 107 tackles and an interception.
Der’Woun Greene, a fifth-year senior,
backs up Clark and provides experience and
talent. Jahque Alleyne, who played last year
as a true freshman, sits behind Edmunds on
the depth chart.
Edmunds
excited
about new role
as
ROVER
in
Tech’s defense
by
Jimmy Robertson
TERRELL
EDMUNDS
