Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 4 | March 2019

16 Inside Hokie Sports Kitty Newton Photo KitKatNewt1@gmail.com “The Farmhouse... Eating Great Food here for over 30 Years.” – Coach Frank Beamer thefarmhousechristiansburg.com 285 Ridinger Street, Christiansburg, VA 24073 • (540) 251-7600 Prime Rib • Steaks • Seafood • Outdoor Courtyard • Private Dining • Weekend Brunch freshmen [Josh Fuga, Mario Kendricks and Norell Pollard] coming in and another JC kid [Jaden Cunningham]. You’re hoping that a couple of those guys can figure in as we move forward. But yeah, that’s a big concern—a big, big concern. We need to find a guy or guys that can play a little bit. We’ll have to be smart how we practice this spring because of limited numbers, but also at the same time, we’ve got to expose them to everything and get them good quality reps and get a great evaluation on certain guys to see if they can play. Q: Is Robert Porcher in that mix, too? BF: He is, but he’s on the shelf right now with a shoulder. We’ll see when he can get back. That’s the other thing. We’ve got a handful of kids that are on the shelf. You’ve got a kid like Porcher, and you’ve got a couple of kids on the back end in Nadir Thompson and Jeremy Webb and Khalil Ladler, House Gaines … we’ve got a handful of guys that you’d like to continue to get better and get some evaluation. Nadir Thompson, I think, is going to be a really good player. Jeremy Webb has a chance to be a really good player. We’ll see how he recovers after two Achilles surgeries, but it’s hard to create an opinion or an evaluation on guys when you don’t get a chance to see them. Q: On the flip side, though, it appears you have a lot of young returning talent at defensive end, right? BF: I think we do, but we were very inconsistent at that position. That’s a playmaking spot for us. As you know, over the years, our ends have been disruptors and playmakers, and we’ve got to find consistent play at that position. We’ve got to get some guys to play at a higher level. I’m talking about guys like a Zion Debose, Nate Proctor and TyJuan Garbutt. I love what Emmanuel Belmar is about. I know what he’s going to give us. He’s a fighter, and he’s going to be a rugged guy, but we need a guy or two now that are like him—but can also be disruptors and can rush the passer and be just big-time playmakers for us. I want them to be fast and play aggressive and be a playmaker. We want those guys to feel more comfortable and confident and be able to pin their ears back, so to speak. Just play faster and make more plays. Q: Zion Debose is a guy who has been talked about quite a bit since committing to Virginia Tech. Now is his time, isn’t it? BF: I hope so. It’s going to be a big spring for Zion and for Nate and for TyJuan. Also, I’d include Eli Adams and Jaevon Becton in that group. Jaevon’s a young guy with size and has shown some things in some one-on-one and middle-drill stuff. We need to find some playmakers, some disruptors—some dudes, so to speak, at that spot. I don’t want just guys. I want performers. Q: You’re returning your top three linebackers in Rayshard Ashby, Dax Hollifield and Dylan Rivers. Ashby led the team in tackles in 2018. I’m guessing you feel good about having all three of those guys coming back. BF: Those guys were all first-year players. Rayshard Ashby didn’t take a snap the year before, and after Ricky Walker, he was probably our most consistent football player. Outstanding tackler. It’s really important to him. Obviously, you’ve got Dax Hollifield, who continued to get better. There was a drop-off in speed when you take out Tremaine Edmunds, but I think those guys are really good football players. I like Dylan Rivers. He was playing solid and improving until he ended up having an ankle injury, and it just sidelined him longer than we had hoped. That’s when Dax stepped in and continued to improve. We’ve got some other guys, too, that I’m anxious to see. You’ve got Keshon Artis at mike linebacker, who I really, really like. He’s a kid that’s got size. He’s an extremely intelligent guy. He’s a you-tell-him-once guy. Alan Tisdale is another guy—we ended up putting himon the shelf because of shoulder surgery. He’ll go through spring practice. I’m anxious to see what he can do. He came in early last year, and I thought he showed some signs of playmaking ability at that spot. Obviously, we have Jaylen Griffin. He’s a big kid. We’ve got to figure out where he fits best. I’m going to look at him at mike this spring, but I’ve talked to him about, as he’s getting bigger, maybe he’s a guy that we move closer to the football and maximize some strengths he has. I really think, in that mix of kids, Continued from page 14