Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 5 | May 2018

26 Inside Hokie Sports Following the Spring Game, Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster received questions about the defensive line, then the linebackers and then the secondary. And he answered all of them pretty much the same way—the Hokies are young and inexperienced, with unproven players at numerous spots. “I sound like a broken record,” he said, laughing. For sure, each position on Tech’s defense features its share of youth and inexperience, but none more so than Foster’s two linebacker positions, where he went about replacing Tremaine Edmunds and Andrew Motuapuaka this spring. The latter was a three- year starter who compiled more than 300 tackles in his career, while the former wound up being a first-round NFL Draft pick. At the mike linebacker position, Rayshard Ashby went to the forefront in the battle to replace Motuapuaka. The rising sophomore played in 13 games this past fall, but all that action came on special teams. Still, he showed an ability to be that leader for which the position calls. “I think Rayshard separated himself from who he is competing with at the mike,” Foster admitted. At the conclusion of spring practice, Rico Kearney was at No. 2 on the depth chart at mike linebacker followed by Daniel Griffith and Zack Treser. The backer position is a little more unsettled, as the trio of Dylan Rivers, Jaylen Griffin and Alan Tisdale were battling for the job. Like Ashby, Rivers played a lot of special teams a year ago, and he played a meager amount of snaps in the North Carolina game, so that experience gives him an edge—but only a slight one. “I thought Dylan was solid,” Foster said. “That position to me is still a little wide open. I thought Dylan had a really good spring game, though. I always like to use that game because it’s a little different than practice. All of the sudden, you’ve got 40,000 people there, and it’s a little different environment and a true game atmosphere. Kids respond a little differently. “I thought he [Rivers] played pretty well, pretty solid, in that environment. But it’s [the position battle] wide open.” Foster wants to see more consistency among a group of players playing at arguably the most important spot on Tech’s defense. The backer needs to be able to stop the run, play in coverage, blitz and basically do anything else that may be needed. But Foster sees talent at the spot in addition to Rivers. Griffin took a redshirt season this past fall and got bigger and stronger, checking in at 242 pounds at the most recent weigh-in. He wasn’t afraid to mix it up in rush defense, and he improved in pass coverage, but more importantly, he showed the toughness that Foster wants to see in all his defenders. “Jaylen is a guy that’s big and physical,” Foster said. “I thought he showed some toughness. He hurt his elbow in one practice and didn’t miss a practice, which made a big- time statement to me about him and about his toughness and caring about this football team. I thought that was a big statement, just how he responded to that.” FosteralsospokehighlyofTisdale,afreshman who enrolled at Tech in January. Tisdale looked a little lost at the beginning of spring practices, but he got better with each and every rep. Now he’s put himself in the conversation. Foster came out of spring practice feeling good about the two positions, but with only a few solid answers. Fortunately, the season doesn’t start tomorrow, as the Hokies now enter summer workouts before beginning practices again in early August. For this group, though, summer workouts are important. Every day offers an opportunity to get better—something that each one of them needs to do. “The biggest challenge we have is what we do over the next 3.5 months,” Foster said. “I really do think that’s where our football team over the past couple of years has improved. You’re battling time as much as you’re battling opponents this time of year, and that’s where we can separate ourselves from our opponents. That’s what these guys need to do, in my opinion.” LINEBACKERS improve , but neither position solidified as HOKIES head into summer by Jimmy Robertson Linebackers Mike linebackers 23 Rayshard Ashby (5-10, 228, So.) 38 Rico Kearney (6-0, 232, r-Fr.) 48 Daniel Griffith (6-0, 231, r-So.) 57 Zack Treser (6-5, 222, r-Jr.) Backers 34 Alan Tisdale (6-3, 208, Fr.) 41 Jaylen Griffin (6-1, 242, r-Fr.) 44 Dylan Rivers (6-1, 233, So.)