Monday, August 30, 1999

Bill Roth, Frank Beamer and offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle discussed these and other topics:

• WHICH TRUE FRESHMEN ARE EXPECTED TO PLAY IN 1999?
• MIKE VICK STEPS UP AT QB
• BIGGEST SURPRISES ON OFFENSE
• INJURY INFORMATION
• TEAM SPEED STATISTICS

THE FRESHMAN CLASS

The coaches didn't offer a formal list on the show about which true freshmen will play and who will redshirt, but they did talk about some individuals enough to give an insight into their plans.

Nathaniel Adibi will redshirt, as will Andrae Harrison, both gems of the 1999 recruiting class. Receiver Deon Provitt also appears to be a likely redshirt.

So who makes it on the depth chart at receiver as a true freshman? None other than Shawn Witten.

The only other freshman mentioned was Anthony Davis. Coach Beamer was giving a rundown of offensive linemen and said that Davis, "as a true freshman, is gonna get in there."

Bustle said that Witten got the job because he has caught on so well to what the offense is doing. "Shawn just understood it." He has caught the ball very well in fall camp. And while Witten doesn't have the speed of a Provitt, Bustle said, "he has savvy."

With Harrison it became a matter of missing so much practice time and getting behind. (Harrison had to complete a third math class in summer school to meet entrance requirements, which delayed his arrival).

Bustle said that left the staff spending time trying to catch Harrison up on offensive assignments and not enough on fundamentals. Bustle talked about Harrison's considerable talents, but implied that it was in his best interest not to force playing time this year.

He said Harrison was actually relieved and that Harrison knows he needs to learn a lot and develop his body. Bustle said Harrison had been feeling a lot of pressure up until then from back home about playing and all the references about him being Mike Vick's buddy.

Provitt apparently got a long look before the coaches decided to redshirt him. Provitt and Witten "picked up on what we're doing as good as any," Bustle said, but he also said that Provitt "leveled off."

THE RECEIVERS

The Hokies are set with the six receivers they intend to play, Bustle said.

The rotation at split end is Emmett Johnson, Ricky Hall and Witten. At flanker it's Andre Davis, Terrell Parham and Donahue.

He said Donahue is a Ken Handy type of player who had a good spring. Beamer has him on several of the special teams because he's dependable.

Bustle said the most impressive (surprising?) player on offense this fall has been 6-foot-3 Emmett Johnson, who is bigger, stronger and has worked himself into the top spot at one receiver. Bustle said Johnson was moved ahead of Hall about a week ago, and that, in turn, has made Hall work harder. If the game were today, Bustle said, Johnson would start.

THE QUARTERBACK

Roth prompted Bustle to talk about redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Vick, and drew some comparisons to other young quarterbacks developed by Bustle, in Will Furrer and Maurice DeShazo.

Vick is "much further advanced" in the passing game out of high school and his background will give him more free rein, Bustle said. They have tried not to overload him, but at the same time they don't want him to be a robot and afraid to make plays. Bustle is confident in the offensive package that's been put in for Vick to run.

What does Vick do best at this point, Roth asked. "He reacts," said Bustle -- a quick reaction to pressure and uses the pocket very well for such a young QB.

The experience that's all around Vick on offense means he doesn't have to win games by himself, Bustle said. He recalled last fall when there were three returning lettermen on offense. Now there are 18. The starting backfield features two Super Iron Hokies in tandem for the first time in years, in Stith and Ferguson.

The Hokies will use the no-huddle to some extent, as well as the option, Bustle said. The option will not necessarily be used a higher percentage of the time, but will be part of the package.

INJURIES

Backup free safety Reggie Samuel had an MRI done Monday afternoon and was expected to hear around air time what the prognosis was for his knee. He reportedly has a torn ACL. Beamer said the doctors believed it would require surgery. But nothing was definite as of air time.

Samuel was injured while trying to avoid Vick on a play in practice. They don't allow the QB to be hit in those situations, and Samuel caught his foot wrong while trying to avoid Vick.

Linebacker Jake Houseright (knee scoped) ran on the side in practice Monday and is expected to be cleared to practice full speed on Tuesday, Beamer said. If that is the case, he will play Saturday.

It was also noted on the show that Miami running back Najeh Davenport, who ran for 81 yards Sunday against Ohio State, is out for the year due to an ACL injury.

ON DEFENSE

Beamer said the defensive front of Moore, Engelberger, Williams and Bradley "is the heart of our football team, really."

Moore and Engelberger appear to be stronger and quicker at the ends, and each has the other going for him if an opponent tries to shut one of them down. Beamer talked about all that Adibi can learn from being around those two.

Elsewhere, Beamer said that Cory Bird had an excellent preseason at rover. Phillip Summers has missed a lot of work and is now the backup there. He also singled out Whitaker for a strong fall. Anthony Midget will be the backup to Sorensen at safety after Samuel's injury. Beamer said they'd like to see Willie Pile develop as a player there, but he has been slow in coming along.

TEAM SPEED

Bill Roth talked at length about the team's speed, although no individual times were mentioned.

An example: the 1994 Gator Bowl team had eight players who could run the 40 in under 4.5 seconds. The 1999 squad has 21. And 31 players run the 40 in 4.59 seconds or better.

Then Roth listed eight current VT players who are the all-time fastest at their positions. (Roth said the total was seven, but he named eight players). They are: Andre Davis, WR; Vick, QB; Charlton, DB; Moore, DE; Lee Suggs, RB; Anthony Lambo, OL; Browning Wynn, TE; Ben Taylor, LB.

Beamer gave credit to the Merryman Center and strength coach Mike Gentry for giving VT the top strength/speed program in the country.

IN GENERAL...

• It was explained that VT will play a 1AA school like JMU only once every four years -- the maximum that such a game is allowed to be counted toward the required number of wins to qualify for a bowl game.

• Beamer told a caller who asked, that a game with VT and Tennessee at the 140,000 Bristol Motor Speedway "is never gonna happen." UT will never agree to give up a home game at its 100,000-seat stadium in order to split the gate at Bristol, he said.

• Roth said that LSU will play seven home games in each of the next eight years and will play NO away games out of conference during that time. "We're approaching that point," Beamer said (he said he likes playing all the non-conference games first, as the 1999 seasons holds).

• Roth acknowledged that Beamer told him last week that Miami "could get Ohio State" on Sunday and that Roth had said he didn't think so.

• The 1992 game vs. JMU was 14-14 at the half and 21-20 in the third quarter before the Hokies pulled away to win 49-20. This was a game that featured Maurice DeShazo and Antonio Freeman in their first starts.

• The 1999-2000 men's basketball schedule was released Monday. The only detail given was that the opener is Nov. 22 at William & Mary.

• Browning Wynn has been the other big surprise on offense this fall, according to Bustle. He has improved to the point that he has been getting work with Carter and Slowikowski in battling for the top two spots at tight end.

• After the final scrimmage last Thursday, Beamer complained about the team looking sluggish. But he said Monday that after reviewing the video, there was "pretty good energy going" in the scrimmage. The offense was plagued by one guy breaking down here and there, but the play was pretty good overall. He said the second team defense needs to improve.

• Roth said he has never seen as much excitement across the state about VT football. Beamer said this week's number 11 ranking (AP) shows that people respect the VT program and know it's a good football team. The question, he said, becomes how well the team defends that status -- how they practice and prepare.

-- GalaxHokie

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