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

inside.hokiesports.com 27 Getting HEALTHY biggest summer task for FREE SAFETIES , ROVERS and NICKELS by Jimmy Robertson Following the season, those on the Virginia Tech staff expected the free safety, rover and nickel positions to be positions of strength for the 2018 season—and they may very well end up being that. But coming out of spring practice, Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster faced a tad bit of uncertainty with these spots. Well, he actually faced that going into spring ball. For starters, Terrell Edmunds made a surprising decision to forgo his senior season and make himself available for the NFL Draft, which created an unexpected opening at the free safety position. And steady reserve Deon Newsome, who started three games this past fall, graduated. Then Mook Reynolds, who worked mostly at the nickel position this past fall, missed spring practice with an injury, and Divine Deablo re-injured the foot that he injured early this past fall, and missed the rest of spring ball. Plus, starting rover Reggie Floyd went down with an injury and sat out the final four practices, including the Spring Game. So where are the Hokies at these three positions? “Reggie just rolled his ankle, and we didn’t want to risk it,” Foster said. “We know what he can do. Divine, yeah, he missed some time, re-injuring that foot, and that’s critical for us and important for us because I think he’s got the capabilities of being a really dynamic football player. He’s got everything you’re looking for, as far as being long and athletic and tough, but it’s hard to show those things when you’re on the sideline with a broken foot. Hopefully, we can get him back and be ready to roll.” The final few spring practices consisted of Khalil Ladler holding down the free safety spot, along with freshman D.J. Crossen. Walk-on John Jennings and Shawn Payne worked a lot at the rover position, and sophomore Devon Hunter took care of things at the nickel spot. Ladler brings much-needed versatility, with the ability to play both free safety and rover. Last year, he started the final two games after Edmunds went down with an injury, and he finished with six tackles combined, including a key goal-line stop in the final seconds of the Pittsburgh game. “Khalil is a kid that I trust and is dependable and is going to communicate and get us lined up,” Foster said. “He’s going to do some good things for us.” Foster expects to get Floyd back at that rover position, and he hopes to get Deablo back to play free safety. That would give him three players at two different spots with playing experience, and it would allow him to play Crossen on special teams, while slowly working him at either rover or free safety to prepare him for his future. “If Divine can come back, then Ladler can back up both spots, and I feel good about that because he’s smart and can do those things,” Foster said. The nickel position figures to be handled by both Reynolds when he returns and Hunter, who played well this spring. The prized recruit in the 2017 recruiting class, Hunter battled injuries at times and spent time adjusting to a position change, which limited his effectiveness this past fall. Thus, he played in 10 games as Floyd’s backup at rover, with nearly all of his action coming on special teams. But Hunter appears to be a good fit at his new nickel spot. At 220 pounds, he brings a physical presence to stop running backs and to rush the passer. He still needs to improve in coverage. “Devon played very, very well,” Foster said of Hunter’s spring. “Obviously, it’s a new position for him, but I think he showed some gamesmanship that the position needs. He shows an ability to make some plays. He has the size to be a good blitzer and some of those things and be physical at the point of attack. I like his future.” The bottom line at these positions coming out of spring practice is this—the Hokies need to get healthy. If that happens, t h e n for sure, those guys can be the playmakers that this defense needs. DEVON HUNTER Free Safeties, Rovers and Nickels Free safeties 9 Khalil Ladler (5-11, 189, r-So.) 17 Divine Deablo (6-3, 212, r-So.) 20 D.J. Crossen (6-1, 191, Fr.) Rovers 21 Reggie Floyd (6-0, 221, Jr.) 27 Shawn Payne (6-3, 190, r-Sr.) 42 John Jennings (5-11, 173, Sr.) Nickels 6 Mook Reynolds (6-0, 185, Sr.) 7 Devon Hunter (6-0, 218, So.)