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The backup situation is a little more
precarious. Darius Fullwood, Jarrod Hewitt
and Jimmie Taylor went into August as
the top backups at the two defensive tackle
spots. All three bring various attributes, but
all three played inconsistently this spring
and need to improve in certain areas. They
all need to get stronger and quicker.
The same holds true at the end spots. Wiles
played a trio of Raymon Minor, Emmanuel
Belmar and Xavier Burke at the end positions
this spring because of the injuries to Mihota
and Hill and the suspension of Houshun
Gaines. None of the three have played the
end position in a college game. In fact, Burke
played tight end for two seasons before being
moved to defense.
All three got better in the spring, and
certainly in the cases of Minor and Belmar,
they bring much-needed speed to the
position. That ability to turn the corner
caught the eye of Mihota, as he watched
spring practice from the sideline.
“I have a lot of faith in our end guys,”
Mihota said. “I see them developing every
day and really coming into their own. You
look at Minor and Belmar, and they’re two
converted linebackers who picked it up real
quick. I’m excited to take some plays off
and watch them go. They’re really good with
speed. They’re a lot faster than I am.”
Gaines could be the wildcard of the
Returning starter:
Vinny Mihota
(14 career starts)
Starters lost:
Ken Ekanem (39 career starts),
Woody Baron (21 career starts),
Nigel Williams (20 career starts)
Projected new starters:
Ricky Walker,
Tim Settle, Trevon Hill
Top reserves:
Houshun Gaines,
Darius Fullwood, Jarrod Hewitt
Newcomers:
Hewitt, Emmanuel Belmar,
Robert Porcher IV, J’Bril Glaze, Zion Debose,
Nathan Proctor, TyJuan Garbutt
Breakout candidate:
Settle
Notes:
Mihota’s 43 tackles were second
among Tech’s defensive linemen in 2016 and
the most of any returning defensive lineman …
Tech’s returning defensive linemen combined
for 6.5 sacks last season … Minor (coaches’
decision) and Belmar (redshirt) did not play in a
game last season …Walker recorded 11 of his
28 tackles in his four starts … Both Walker and
Hill made their first career starts in Tech’s 37-
16 win over Miami … Walker had three tackles
and half a sack in that game, while Hill had five
tackles and 1.5 sacks … Hill had four tackles
and a sack in the Hokies’ win over Arkansas in
the Belk Bowl.
QUICK FACTS
ON TECH’S DL
defensive line. He played in 12 games last
season as a redshirt freshman, and the staff
wants him to put it together both on and off
the field. He brings a nice combination of
size and speed and hopefully he takes the
next step in his development.
Wiles expects continued development
from the entire group, but if these guys lack
consistency throughout the remainder of
August practices, then he won’t be afraid to
play one or more true freshmen—provided
they progress enough to warrant game reps.
Tech’s staff signed five defensive linemen
in February, including Robert Porcher IV,
J’Bril Glaze, Zion Debose, Nathan Proctor
and TyJuan Garbutt.
Somehow, some way, Wiles wants eight
quality defensive linemen in his rotation.
When the Hokies play their best on defense,
they usually rotate eight guys up front.
Last season, Wiles essentially rotated
seven—Baron, Williams, Ekanem, Settle,
Walker, Mihota and Hill —and the Hokies’
defense overall played well.
They possess the talent to play well again.
They just need to work at it and make the
most of opportunities in practice—and they
need for Mihota to lead them along the way.
“I try to lead by example,” he said. “I’m the
only returning guy, but truthfully, all those
guys are starters. They all could have started
last year. If the guys there weren’t ahead of
them, they could have started and been just
fine. They all started at some point because
a guy went down, and they performed
beautifully. I think we’re going to have a
great d-line.”