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TSLMail #299 - Friday, October 5, 2007 |
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Tech Sports News |
The ACC's Stars:
Offense
A month into the season,
we are starting to get an idea about who the top players in the ACC are at each
position. Today we'll take a look at the offensive stars, and next week we'll
focus on the defensive side of the ball.
The ACC lacked good
quarterback play last season, but this year there appears to be some
improvement. Four players in the conference are averaging at least 231 passing
yards per game. They are Matt Ryan of BC, Thad Lewis of Duke, T.J. Yates of UNC
and Cullen Harper of Clemson. No other ACC quarterback is averaging over 200
yards per game.
Matt Ryan is hands down
the First Team All-ACC quarterback. He is averaging 309 passing yards per game
so far this season. Lewis and Harper have been very efficient. Yates has been
spotty at UNC, but he's only a r-freshman. He looks to be a future ACC star
quarterback.
The ACC has plenty of good
tailbacks right now, though not all of them were expected to breakout this year.
UVA's Cedric Peerman is leading the conference in rushing, averaging 113.2 yards
per game. Maryland's Keon Lattimore and Georgia Tech's Tashard Choice are also
averaging over 100 yards per game. Andre Callender of BC and James Davis of
Clemson are getting over 90 yards per game.
There are other very
talented running backs in the conference that don't have great production
because they are forced to share carries. That includes Andre Brown at NC State,
and Javarris James and Graig Cooper of Miami. Josh Adams of Wake Forest had a
breakout 100+ yard performance against Maryland, and he looks like a perfect fit
for the offense.
Other very good backs
haven't been so lucky this year. Toney Baker of NC State is done for the season
with a knee injury. Virginia Tech's Branden Ore, who was First Team All-ACC last
season, is banged up, averaging just 59 yards per game, and hasn't had a 100
yard game since October 2006.
Although the conference
lacks a big time receiver, there are a number of guys who are putting up solid
numbers. Five ACC receivers are averaging five catches or more per game. They
are Kenneth Moore of Wake Forest, Brandon Robinson of Boston College, Aaron
Kelly of Clemson, Hakeem Nicks of UNC and Jomar Wright of Duke.
With Matt Ryan at
quarterback, the Eagles easily have the best passing game in the ACC. Three of
the top eight receivers in the conference have Matt Ryan throwing them the ball.
Brandon Robinson averages 5.6 receptions per game, which ranks second in the
ACC. Kevin Challenger catches 4.8 passes per game, while Rich Gunnell averages
4.0 catches per game.
Of
course, there are many other talented receivers in the ACC as well. Miami,
Florida State and Virginia Tech all have great athletes at receiver, but they
have all been limited so far this year for one reason or another.
Partly because of the lack
of talented and experienced receivers, Virginia tight ends Tom Santi and
Jonathan Stupar have become two of the top players at their position in the
league. Santi leads the team with 17 catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
Stupar is right behind him with 16 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. Four
of the Hoos' six touchdown passes this year have gone to the tight ends.
Other tight ends who are
establishing themselves this year in the passing game are Ryan Purvis of Boston
College (another BC player putting up big numbers with Matt Ryan at
quarterback), John Tereshinski of Wake Forest, Marcus Stone of NC State and Sam
Wheeler of Virginia Tech.
While there are plenty of
talented offensive players in the ACC, there aren't many good offenses as a
whole.
ACC
Offenses |
Team |
Total
Offense |
National
Rank |
Boston College |
451.6
ypg |
23 |
Clemson |
401.6
ypg |
53 |
Georgia Tech |
350.4
ypg |
83 |
Maryland |
348
ypg |
85 |
Miami |
348
ypg |
85 |
Wake Forest |
338.5
ypg |
89 |
Florida State |
336.3
ypg |
91 |
NC State |
326
ypg |
97 |
UNC |
323.8
ypg |
99 |
Duke |
303
ypg |
106 |
Virginia |
294
ypg |
109 |
Virginia Tech |
285.6
ypg |
112 |
Ouch. You can't put a dress on that pig and make it look pretty. Only one ACC
offense ranks in the top 50 nationally, and 10 of the 12 ACC teams rank 83rd or
lower in total offense out of 119 Division 1-A teams. The Hokies are ahead of
only Syracuse, Army, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Utah State, Notre Dame and Florida
International in total offense.
The good news is that
things can only get better from here.
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TechSideline.com
Updates From the Past Week
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Scouting Report and Game Prediction: Clemson
October 5, 2007
Clemson
offensive coordinator Rob Spence will use multiple formations and
personnel packages in a ball-control offense oriented to their running
backs. Spence likes to get his backs the ball in space using screens,
draws, counters, sweeps, and any other play that will give his backs some
room to operate. Clemson will often run in passing situations, and
Spence's play calling has received criticism from fans for his
conservatism.
more
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TSL
Audio: The Len Martez Show, 10/3/07
October 5, 2007
On
Wednesday evening's show, Chris Coleman and Len Martez reviewed the UNC
game and discussed Branden Ore's status, Tyrod Taylor's performance,
whether Kenny Lewis should get more carries, and UNC's young, but talented
team (WMA format, compatible with Windows Media Player and MP3 players,
3.5 MB, 14:51).
more
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Class
of '09 Profile: Orange County's Quintin Hunter
October 5, 2007
One
would've thought that losing star quarterback Bradley Starks (currently a
freshman QB at West Virginia) would have taken a serious toll on the
Orange County varsity football squad this season, but that simply hasn't
been the case with 6-2, 185-pound junior Quintin Hunter taking over
the helm. Hunter's playmaking skills and big-time athleticism were evident
last Friday, when he racked up 361 yards passing and 153 yards rushing in
a 61-42 loss to Monticello.
more
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Keys
to the Game and Matchups to Watch: Clemson
October 4, 2007
The
first big conference road test awaits Virginia Tech as the Hokies travel
to Death Valley to face the 22nd ranked Clemson Tigers. Many offensive
questions still exist for Virginia Tech after a lackluster performance
against a very young, but talented North Carolina Tar Heel team, but even
more questions may exist for a Clemson offense that only managed three
points against Georgia Tech. Basically, this game pits two inconsistent
offenses against two talented and experienced defenses, so I would not
expect a lot of scoring in this game.
more
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Class
of '09 Profile: Brookville's Logan Thomas
October 4, 2007
Brookville
(Lynchburg, VA) junior Logan Thomas is certainly off to a
successful start to his recruiting process. A prospect in football and
basketball, the 6-6, 220-pound Thomas has already received official
scholarship offers in both sports. The focus right now is on the sport he
is currently playing, football, but the sport he'll ultimately choose to
play in college is a question.
more
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Hokies
Doing Well in GSR Calculations
October 4, 2007
The
NCAA released the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) data on Wednesday,
and the Hokies are doing well in most of the major sports in comparison to
the rest of the ACC. Much-maligned in football for years in the old
standard of Federal Graduation Rates, the Hokies are now above the
national average in the GSR data, which has been the measuring stick for
several years now.
Also: Ike Whitaker Not Traveling to Clemson
more
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3-Star
Guards Enjoy Virginia Tech
October 4, 2007
A
pair of talented senior guards traveled to Blacksburg last weekend, each
making an official visit to Virginia Tech. St. Anthony's (Jersey City,
N.J.) star Tyshawn Taylor and Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville, FL)
standout Shaquille Johnson, rated 3-star recruits by Rivals.com and
Scout.com, had excellent experiences in Blacksburg. Where will their
respective recruitments go from here?
more
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Football
Game Preview: Virginia Tech at Clemson
October 3, 2007
Virginia
Tech will travel to another Death Valley this Saturday, with hopes that
this trip turns out better than the first one back on September 8. This
time the Hokies will take on the #22 Clemson Tigers, a team that looked
like they could be the best team in the ACC until Georgia Tech embarrassed
them 13-3 in Atlanta last Saturday.
more
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Bennett
Discusses Season, Recruitment
October 3, 2007
6-8
(almost 6-9), 290-pound West Potomac (Alexandria, VA) star offensive
tackle Jimmy Bennett, a Washington Post first-team all-metro
performer last season as a junior, is having a great time in his senior
season. His team is off to a 5-0 start and he is playing well, thanks in
large part to the chemistry his team has been able to build throughout
this past off-season.
more
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UNC
Game Analysis: A Work in Progress
October 2, 2007
Another
ACC opener. And another ACC victory for the Hokies. But it was also
another game that left everyone asking a lot of questions, particularly
about the sputtering offense. After all, this was a young UNC team coming
off a lopsided loss at South Florida. (Don't those guys have something
nice brewing down there in Tampa?).
more
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Brandon
(FL) PF Deciding Among Four
October 2, 2007
6-8,
245-pound Brandon (FL) power forward Evan Ravenel enjoyed his
official visit to Blacksburg this past weekend, and now he is faced with a
tough decision. Ravenel, who wants to sign a letter of intent in November
but is not in any rush to make a commitment, now plans to focus on making
a decision among four schools - Penn State, Tulane, Virginia Tech and
Wichita State.
more
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Hokie
Hotline Notes for 10/1/07
October 2, 2007
Monday
night's Hokie Hotline guests were quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain, athletic
director Jim Weaver, and head football coach Frank Beamer. O'Cain talked
about Tyrod Taylor's development, and Beamer discussed the injury status
of various players and talked about what the Hokies can expect at Clemson
this Saturday.
more
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A
Decision Coming Soon for Gilbert?
October 2, 2007
Monacan
(Richmond, VA) senior offensive lineman Justin Gilbert has taken
two unofficial visits each of the past two weekends, including trips to
East Carolina on September 22nd and Virginia Tech this past Saturday.
He'll make a third unofficial visit this coming Saturday and could have a
college decision as soon as next week.
more
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Monday
Thoughts: UNC
October 1, 2007
Coming
into this game, we didn't know which game was representative of how the
Virginia Tech offense would operate under Tryod Taylor: the Ohio game (473
total yards, 287 passing by Taylor) or William & Mary (287 total
yards, 72 passing by Taylor). This game indicated that the struggles of
the Tech offense will continue, and even games against 19-point underdogs
will turn out to be dogfights.
more
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Hokies,
Blue Devils to Kickoff at Noon
October 1, 2007
Virginia
Tech's October 13 game at Duke will be televised by Raycom/Lincoln
Financial, and will kickoff at noon, according the TheACC.com.
Also: ACC in the Top 25, VT Injury Report.
more
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Around
the ACC: Week 5
October 1, 2007
The
ACC has taken a lot of heat this year, but Saturday was a better day when
it comes to out-of-conference games. ACC teams knocked off ranked teams in
Rutgers and Alabama and also defeated Pitt. The two most impressive teams
in the first four weeks, Clemson and Boston College, struggled in Week
Five. Once again, it's obvious that the ACC is wide open.
more
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Painter
Has Excellent Official Visit
October 1, 2007
TechSideline.com's
top overall recruit in the state of Virginia's 2008 class - Maury
(Norfolk) offensive lineman Vinston Painter - made an official
visit to Virginia Tech this past weekend and had a great time. The 4-star
prospect rated the visit a "10" on a scale of 1-10 (with 10
being the best), as he enjoyed spending time with the players and
attending his first Virginia Tech home game.
more
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Virginia
Tech Lands Big-Time Commitment
September 30, 2007
One
of the bigger prospects in the state of Virginia's 2008 class verbally
committed to Virginia Tech earlier, giving the nod to the Hokies over
offers from Clemson, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Liberty Christian Academy (Lynchburg, VA) offensive/defensive lineman Bobby
Massie, a 6-7, 330-pound prospect, is the latest recruit to join
Tech's 2008 recruiting class.
more
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Hokies
Struggle, but Pick Up Key ACC Win
September 29, 2007
Virginia
Tech's offense struggled, but the defense came up with two big turnovers
to propel the #17 Hokies to a 17-10 victory over UNC in Lane Stadium on
Saturday afternoon. With the win, Tech improved to 4-1 overall, with a 1-0
mark in ACC play. The Tar Heels dropped to 1-4, with an 0-2 record in
conference play.
more
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