Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech head football coach Justin Fuente and his staff entered spring practice Saturday looking for replacements for a lot of talented players who either graduated or left school early to pursue NFL riches.
Arguably, the spot receiving the most attention is the backer position, where projected first-round NFL Draft pick Tremaine Edmunds left – and where 19-year-old Dylan Rivers finds himself squarely in the spotlight.
Rivers, a rising sophomore, saw nearly all his action on special teams a year ago as a true freshman. His only time on defense came in a mop-up role during the Hokies' 59-7 victory over North Carolina.
Now, the 6-foot-1, 233-pounder finds himself attempting to replace the best player on Tech's defense and one of the best in school history.
"I'm just trying to be my own player right now," Rivers said Thursday at a pre-practice news conference. "Tremaine was a freak, and you can't take anything away from that guy. He was awesome, but I'm just trying to be the best player that I can be right now and learn from Coach [Bud] Foster and put his ways to use."
The reality of his situation arguably hit Rivers when the linebackers gathered for a position meeting in the position meeting room inside the Merryman Center before the start of spring practice. He, Rayshard Ashby, Jaylen Griffin, Daniel Griffith, Rico Kearney, Alan Tisdale and a couple of others – none with any meaning playing experience – walked in and found the seats of Edmunds and Andrew Motuapuaka vacated.
Edmunds started the past two years, while Motuapuaka was a three-year starter. The two of them combined for 559 tackles in their careers, including 67.5 for a loss, and 21.5 sacks.
"We leaned on Andrew and Tremaine to fill those spots for us when we didn't know what was going on and stuff like that," Rivers said. "It's definitely weird going in and sitting in Tremaine's spot and having Rayshard Ashby sitting next to me in Andrew's spot and just not having those guys to lean on a little bit. But we're young, and we're starting to pick it up a little bit."
STATE OF THE #HOKIES @CoachFuente is in full teaching mode with a young team while @JoshieJack17 + @RickGoGetEmWalk are embracing leadership roles.
— Virginia Tech Football (@VT_Football) March 22, 2018
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Fortunately, Rivers used his time wisely this past fall. He adjusted to the speed of the game as a freshman by playing on special teams, and he also learned Tech's scheme and the techniques of playing the backer spot.
Not surprisingly, Edmunds was a good mentor.
"I learned a ton," Rivers said. "I was always in his ear, always asking him questions – how to do things right and how to perfect my craft a little bit. Tremaine did a tremendous job of helping me take that next step forward."
"You can tell he is a very conscious young man, meaning in terms of football, he wants to do well, he wants to please and wants to execute the way you are explaining it to him," Fuente said of Edmunds. "He also is willing to put in extra work to do that, and we saw him mostly on special teams last year – and it was really amazing to watch him grow in those assignments throughout the season. Our confidence in him in special teams grew throughout the season, too.
"Now, he is obviously in a little bit different position. He is trying to execute the same level of growth in a quicker time while playing linebacker."
Rivers admitted the adjustment to college was rough when he arrived on campus last July, but a year in the system certainly helped. After all, he not only learned from Edmunds, but he has a great teacher in defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Bud Foster, who knows how to get the most out of the players at his positions.
And sure, he might incur Foster's wrath from time to time, but Foster and the rest of the staff love Rivers' potential and want to see him get the most out of it.
"Coach Foster is who he is," Rivers said. "He'll be rough, and he'll be loud sometimes, but he's the best in the game. We listen to him. Obviously, he's been the best defensive coordinator here and in all of college football for a very long time. We're just taking in what he's telling us to do and trying to put it on the field."
Other notes from Thursday's news conference:
• Tech practiced in pads Tuesday after spending the first two practices in helmets, jerseys and shorts/sweatpants. Though only three practices in to the NCAA-allotted 15, the Hokies at least appear headed in the right direction, according to Fuente.
"I do like the way they are trying to go about it," Fuente said. "I believe they are listening, and that it is important to them. I do believe that they are generally excited because there are a lot of young guys running around out here and are trying hard. And as position coaches, it is their job to get them dialed in to the techniques and the assignments that we are asking them to do. And it is my job, as the overseer of all of it, to make us work together, and we can see those strides of improvement."
• As expected, Kyle Chung has been getting reps at center, where he played early on in his career. This past fall, Chung started all 13 games at right tackle, but the rising redshirt senior found himself moved to center following Eric Gallo's graduation.
"Last season, I would snap before practice and after practice, too, just in case something happened where I had to move back inside," Chung said. "I was there pretty much my whole career before playing tackle last year, so it wasn't really that hard of a transition back. Just some of the little things, the little dynamics of it are different from tackle, obviously, but I'm getting back in the swing of that."
• Speaking of Chung, he showed up with a Philadelphia Eagles hat, which served as a reminder that his favorite team won the Super Bowl this past February. Chung's father, Eugene, played at Tech and earned All-America honors, and now he works as an assistant coach on the Eagles' staff. Kyle Chung went to the Super Bowl game to support both his dad and the Eagles.
"It was pretty special," Kyle said. "That was an experience that doesn't happen a lot, and for my dad to win his first Super Bowl as a coach or as a player is pretty special. And for me to be there with him for that was an amazing experience."