The Hokies held another scrimmage in Lane Stadium Wednesday, and our insiders
returned the news on which players looked the best, highlighting some of the
plays that were made by names you would expect, and names you wouldn't expect.
Here's the lowdown on a scrimmage that we were told was a good one, in which the
guys "really got after it."
Marcus
Vick was again impressive, hitting Justin Harper with a 94-yard touchdown pass.
Vick sold the pass with a play-action fake, and free safety Justin Hamilton bit
on it, leaving Harper running free, wide open behind the defense. Vick hit
Harper in stride at about the 50, and Harper carried it into the end zone from
there.
"He [Vick] also made a great pass over the middle to Duane Brown,"
our insider said. "I don't think I need to say much about Vick
anymore. He is the truth. Glennon was very good today I thought, but
Vick is the real deal."
Aaron Rouse looked better at rover, and Cary Wade continued his strong play.
"He [Wade] made another great open field tackle today, this time on Humes
in the backfield," we were told. "The last two scrimmages, he
has attacked the line of scrimmage in run support, and has been very good in
pass defense. I'm starting to feel pretty good about him this year.
I still want to see it every single day, but a lot of progress has been
made."
Corey Gordon has been moved from free safety to whip linebacker, and he
received rave reviews for his performance Wednesday. "Today was only his
first or second practice at the position, and he excelled today. He was
outstanding in run support, making tackles behind and around the line of
scrimmage," our observer told us. "Don't look for Gordon to change
positions again [he has also spent time at rover]. He looked like a natural
there today."
If our source is correct, then that sound you hear is the whip and rover
depth chart falling into place. Previously, the coaches had two rovers (Rouse
and Wade) and two whips (James Anderson and Rouse). The idea of Rouse spending
time at both positions was a possibility, and there had also been some buzz that
the coaches might decide to scuttle the Rouse rover experiment, because of
Wade's improvement, and move Rouse back over to whip.
But if Gordon is truly a good whip linebacker, then he can back up Anderson,
and Rouse can spend full time at the rover position. Then you have a depth chart
that looks like this:
String |
Whip |
Rover |
First |
Anderson (6-3, 222, r-Sr.) |
Rouse (6-3, 222, r-Jr.) |
Second |
Gordon (6-2, 220, r-So.) |
Wade (5-10, 184, r-Jr.) |
If you're wondering who else is available after those first and second string
listings, the answer is pretty much "nobody." In any event, comments
from whips and rovers coach Jim Cavanaugh in the coming days will be very
telling about this important position battle, and about Gordon's progress at
whip.
Brandon Pace also excelled Wednesday, kicking field goals of 48 yards, 18
yards, and about 50 yards. The 50-yarder hit about five rows deep in the
South End Zone and would have been good from 60+. Pace had no misses
Wednesday, as the action with special teams heats up in the second half of
spring practice.
Xavier Adibi (224 pounds and looking every bit of it) and Vince Hall (6-0,
246 pounds, and described as "huge" by TSL intern Stefan Adams, who
encountered Hall at Subway the other day, where Hall ordered the Sweet Onion
Chicken Teriyaki) were impressive Wednesday and are
starting to look more like seasoned veterans. On one play, Hall blitzed up the
middle, mowed over Matt Welsh -- or at the very least, a left guard wearing #51,
which fits Welsh's description -- knocked him flat on his back into the ball
carrier, and made the tackle.
Lastly, a new name emerging on the depth chart is walk-on defensive end Orion
Martin, the older brother of 2005 recruit Cam Martin. Orion Martin (6-1, 243, r-Fr.) is
listed as #2 at the End position behind Darryl Tapp, ahead of Jordan Trott, and
our insider gave us some observations of Martin:
"He still needs to turn his body into a football body, but he can make
some plays. He is pretty fast out there, and plays hard. His
weightlifting numbers indicate he has strength, but it's not really football
strength right now. But he can run. He got in on a sack of Glennon
on the first possession, combined with Gordon for a tackle for loss on one play
in which he had to move laterally, and chased one of the backs downfield about
ten yards past the line of scrimmage to make the tackle. He hustles every
play. I paid special attention to him because of Charley Wiles' recent
comments, and I came away impressed. He still may be a year away, but he
is a walk on that will stick."