BLACKSBURG – Contrary to a season ago in which Virginia Tech struggled to put away FCS member Delaware following a short week of preparations, the Hokies did exactly what a good team does against an inferior opponent.
The Hokies played mercilessly Saturday. After turning the ball over on their first possession, they scored on their next 10 possessions en route to a 62-17 victory over William & Mary.
They rushed for more than 300 yards and finished with nearly 600 yards of total offense. The lead allowed the coaching staff to substitute freely starting in the first half and then especially during the third quarter.
The constant scoring and the strong performances by the defense and special teams led to a Pepto-free day for Hokie Nation.
So what was learned from Saturday's performance? Well, here are some takeaways:
Tech's o-line impressed – After averaging just 2.8 yards per carry in the win over Florida State, the Hokies, as expected, ran the ball with much more vigor Saturday. Tech finished with 305 yards rushing and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
Now, nearly everyone expected this given the disparity in size, strength and talent between the two teams. But what made the performance impressive was that it came about even though the Hokies' staff juggled offensive linemen constantly throughout the game. The staff dressed 12 offensive linemen, and all of them played extensively.
Line coach Vance Vice started rotating guys in and out early in the game even though conventional wisdom says to play one group and let that group develop cohesion. Zachariah Hoyt's snapping problems precipitated some of that moving, but one rarely sees this much rotating over the course of a first half. Regardless, it worked – there was little drop-off no matter who played.
It will be interesting to see if this continues going forward. The staff certainly likes its talent on the line, as Saturday showed.
Wheatley getting a lot of run – Give Justin Fuente credit. He certainly reveals very little about his football team to the media or fans.
How many people envisioned Terius Wheatley enjoying a prominent role two games into the season? Yet Wheatley has played quite a bit in two games, and he continues to be productive.
Talk about the tailback position usually centers on Steven Peoples and Deshawn McClease, but staff creatively has been using Wheatley on jet sweeps/end arounds. The redshirt freshman has carried the ball nine times for 80 yards in two games and scored his first career touchdown Saturday.
Though he looks skinny, Wheatley has bulked up to 197 pounds. At 6-foot, 197, he is not exactly small, which gives the staff an array of options in which to use him. The creativity in the ways the staff has used Wheatley thus far certainly deserves recognition, and fans should keep an eye on this young man, as the Hokies prepare for East Carolina.
Tech staff increased dress squad – but not much – As expected, Virginia Tech's staff increased the size of the dress squad for the William & Mary game, pushing the squad to 77 players, which marked only a modest five-player increase from the ACC-mandated limit of 72 players for conference games.
Some fans wondered after the game why some of the true freshmen either didn't play against the Tribe (e.g. Quincy Patterson), or played only a few snaps. The reality is that Tech's staff needed a game like this to get the backups more reps – guys like Ryan Willis, Hendon Hooker, Jaylen Griffin, T.J. Jackson, Lecitus Smith, Zion Debose and many others – and that figures to be the case going forward.
The NCAA rule that allows freshmen to play in four games and keep their redshirt season still stands as a good rule, but barring injuries, Tech's roster appears set for 2018.
Numerous make collegiate debuts – As a follow-up to the previous note, the game served as the collegiate debut for scores of Tech players, which reinforces the youth on this roster. Those who played for the first time in a collegiate game Saturday includes Keshon Artis, Silas Dzansi, Jaylen Griffin, John Harris, Hendon Hooker, T.J. Jackson, Nasir Peoples, Darryle Simmons and Lecitus Smith.
Stout making folks forget about Slye – No one probably realizes this, but not one player has gotten off to a better start this season than redshirt freshman kicker Jordan Stout, who replaced longtime kicker Joey Slye on kickoffs (Brian Johnson handles the placekicking).
Stout has kicked off 16 times in two games – a surprising number in its own right. But more impressively, 15 of the 16 have gone for touchbacks.
People knew little about Johnson and less about Stout coming into the season. Yet the two young men have accounted well of themselves thus far.
Now, it's on to play East Carolina for this Tech team. The Pirates just stunned North Carolina, which, for sure, caught the attention of Tech's players.
The Hokies get a normal week of preparation now. Here is hoping the continue their strong start.