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Inside Hokie Sports
The Tradition Continues... 285 Ridinger Street, Christiansburg, VA 24073 (540) 251-7600 The Premier Steakhouse In Roanoke. Located on Je erson Street, Downtown Roanoke www.frankierowlandssteakhouse.com (540) 527-2333 www.thefarmhousechristiansburg.comneeded to for personal development. For him, that’s important, and
then for us, it’s obviously nice to have a guy that’s been in some battles
and has leadership qualities. It’s nice to have a guy that’s a seasoned
veteran, and one that’s going to be a leader on your football team.”
Q: You also lacked depth at the cornerback positions
last season. Who are some young guys in the mix at those
two spots?
BF:
“You’ve got Tyree Rodgers, and I’m anxious to see him compete.
We’re probably going to start Caleb Farley at corner. We’ve got Jovonn
Quillen. All those guys are going to get long looks, and I think they’ve
got a lot of abilities. Who knows? Deablo could be a corner. We’re going
to find out. Khalil Ladler has shown some things. We’ve got a core
group of guys, and we’re going to find out if they’re corners or safeties,
but I like their movements and abilities.”
Q: So having lost four starters and with several others
out with injuries, is this spring one in which you focus on
development as opposed to schemes?
BF:
“We’re technique and fundamental driven, but we’re going to
install our packages. We’re going to introduce them to what we do.
We’re not going to hold back because we may be young at some spots.
We’re going to expose them to what we do because I want to be able to
do what we do. That makes us who we are.
“When we’re able to do what we do, we’re pretty good, and we can be
disruptive, like we were last year. Our final numbers were a lot better
than the year before, but they’re still not where what our expectations
are. We’re always going to work hard to develop our guys, and the
development comes fromunderstanding their positions, evaluating their
strengths and liabilities, continuing to improve, and then ultimately
finding the right spot where they maximize their assets and limit their
liabilities. At the same time, they need to be exposed to what the position
entails, so we’ll throw a little bit of everything at them.”
Continued
from page 17
Brandon Facyson was the
only Tech cornerback to start
all 14 games last season, and
his return helps to solidify the
Hokies’ pass defense.