By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – A season ago, Bud Foster resembled a parent trying to teach a kid how to ride a bike.
With the exception of Dylan Rivers' handful of snaps in the Hokies' 59-7 rout of North Carolina in 2017, none of Tech's linebackers had played a snap from scrimmage. That lack of experience left Foster entering the 2018 season with a group on training wheels.
Now, mere days from the 2019 season opener, Foster has taken those training wheels off, and this group rides at full speed, ready to exact some revenge for the scrapes, bumps and bruises inflicted upon them last season.
All of the Hokies' top linebackers return, led by the trio of Rayshard Ashby, Dax Hollifield and Dylan Rivers. Those three received on-the-job training last season and give Foster both talent and experience with which to mold.
"I really got a good crew, and we have some depth all over the defense, which I'm excited about," Foster said. "Overall at those spots, it's been a good situation."
Ashby certainly anchors the group from his mike linebacker position. The junior led the Hokies and ranked fourth in the ACC with 105 tackles in 2018. His 9.5 tackles for a loss were second on the team, and he also forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble.
Ashby is the top returning tackler in the ACC heading into this fall. The three players who finished ahead of him last season used up their eligibility.
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Keshon Artis, a sophomore, stands behind Ashby in the mike linebacker pecking order. Artis played in 11 games as a true freshman last season, with nearly all of his reps coming on special teams. This August, he has been more and more productive with each passing scrimmage.
Foster, though, usually wants his most experienced guys on the field, so he interestingly has tinkered with the position during portions of August practices. He has shifted both Hollifield and Rivers to that spot at various points throughout August to allow them gain some experience. The moves serve as contingency plans in the event that Ashby misses time for whatever reason.
"We are trying to find some more athleticism behind that, with manipulating people with moving them around, including Dax at mike," Foster said. "I feel confident about him playing there. We also have worked Dylan Rivers there recently. There is a little bit of a logjam at linebacker with those guys."
Of course, the backer position features both Hollifield and Rivers. Rivers, a junior, actually started the first seven games of last season before suffering an ankle injury in the Hokies' loss to Georgia Tech. He missed three games and amassed just four of his 35 tackles during the final six games.
Rivers' injury allowed Hollifield to jump into the starting role, and a true freshman at the time, he produced. He recorded 10 tackles in his first collegiate start (vs. BC) and registered 37 tackles in the final six games. He finished with 62 tackles on the season – fourth on the team and strong numbers for a freshman.
The emergence of a redshirt freshman at backer has enabled Foster to move some guys around to find the best overall fits. Alan Tisdale, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, has impressed everyone with his play this August.
Tisdale missed last season while recovering from a shoulder injury. That injury limited him in the weight room, preventing him from gaining much-needed muscle and keeping him on the sideline in what resulted in a redshirt season.
But this offseason, Tisdale bulked up to 220 pounds. He got better and better with each spring practice, and over the past few weeks, has worked himself into a position for possible playing time.
"The guy that's been a pleasant surprise – not that he's that because I expect that – is Tisdale," Foster admitted. "He's playing very, very well; very fast. He reminds me of Xavier Adibi [a former All-American linebacker], if I had to compare him to somebody with how he's playing and the speed he's playing with. He's been around the ball all camp, whether it's in practices or been in scrimmages."
Foster also likes another newcomer at the backer position – junior college transfer Amaré Barno, who enrolled this summer after two seasons at Butler Community College in Kansas. Barno, a South Carolina native, stands an impressive 6-6 and weighs 235 pounds.
"Barno is a JC [junior college] kid, and I wish he was here earlier in January," Foster said. "But he's been a quick learner."
Others also getting reps at the linebacker spots are Daniel Griffith and Dean Ferguson, a freshman from Sterling, Virginia. Griffith played in all 13 games a season ago, establishing himself more as a contributor on Tech's special teams.
Last fall, Tech's youth, particularly at linebacker, but also at a few other spots, handcuffed Foster in terms of making in-game adjustments. He is not expecting a similar problem this season.
"I think we'll be able to do a little bit more this year," Foster said. "We've thrown a lot at these guys. They worked hard this summer. The newcomers are the ones we're trying to get caught up – the young defensive tackles and a couple of linebackers.
"The big thing last year wasn't what you could throw at them, but the adjustments you had to make. Those were things where you couldn't call a timeout and walk them through a formation or a motion. Now … I think they'll be able to make the adjustments and understand what we're asking."
For sure, the training wheels with this group have been stored away. Hopefully, they and the rest of the defense can pedal their way past the opposition, starting on Aug. 31.