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

28 Inside Hokie Sports Some of Hokie Nation’s focus after the conclusion of the 2017 season centered on replacing standout linebackers Andrew Motuapuaka and Tremaine Edmunds. But replacing team MVP Greg Stroman deserves just as high of a priority ranking. Stroman’s departure, along with that of fellow starting cornerback Brandon Facyson, left two huge vacancies for a Tech pass defense that allowed just three 300-yard passing games this past fall. Stroman led the team with four interceptions—including one that he returned for a touchdown—and 11 pass breakups, while Facyson broke up five passes. So cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell went into the offseason and this spring practice looking for replacements. He fully expected Adonis Alexander to be part of the solution, but the rising senior missed nearly all of spring practice with an injury and to focus on academics, leaving a group of inexperienced and thus untested guys learning on the job. As far as experience goes, Jovonn Quillen possessed the most among the players who received plenty of reps this spring. Quillen, a rising junior, has spent nearly all of the past two seasons playing on special teams and made a name for himself on those units, too. But on defense, he has bounced between several spots in the secondary before finally landing at cornerback. It took him a couple of years to make the transition to playing defense, as he spent most of his prep career at Hampton High School in Hampton, Virginia at the quarterback spot. “There’s a transition,” Mitchell admitted. “You’re talking about a kid that played quarterback in high school and lined up in the middle of the field [on defense], and they told him, ‘See ball, get ball’ because he was so dynamic as an athlete. “When you start talking about the verbiage that we have in this scheme and then the techniques that go along with it, I mean, there is a learning curve that’s going to go along with that process, and I think he’s getting to the point now where he’s comfortable with what we are doing down in and down out. “Last year, we didn’t ask that much of him because we had Stroman, Facyson and Alexander - guys that had been veterans in this game. But now it’s his turn to step up and carry the mantle, and he’s doing a good job of being assignment sound.” The other player who received quite the initiation at the position was Bryce Watts. Like Quillen, the rising sophomore spent nearly all of his time on special teams a year ago as a true freshman, playing in all 13 games. Watts brings what every defensive backs coach wants—pure speed. He won the state title in the 100-meter dash during his senior season at Toms River North High in New Jersey, and he showed some of that ability this spring. In one scrimmage, he intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. Watts, though, needs to get bigger and stronger. He only weighs around 170 pounds. “[He’s] a young man that has grown tenfold since the start of last camp to this spring session,” Mitchell said. “He’s a kid with tremendous gifts—I mean, he’s a 100-meter champion from New Jersey. He’s got that speed, and I think he’s relied on that, but now you’re starting to see himmaster the techniques as well and master our scheme, which is not easy to do as a young player. “You need mental reps, you need physical reps out there day in and day out, and he’s doing a great job of just being a playmaker for us. We’re going to ask our corners to do exactly Youth and inexperience the top stories , as Tech staff continues search for CORNERBACKS by Jimmy Robertson BRYCE WATTS